DetNews on Interim AD Jim Hackett

Submitted by Everyone Murders on

Lynn Henning has put up an ARTICLE on Jim Hackett and player-alums' reaction to his serving as interim AD.  It's rich in fluff, but helps to give a better picture of the man to whom Mark Schlissel has entrusted the Athletic Department for the near term.  And coming from Henning - who I like when he writes about the Tigers but can grate when he shows his MSU biases - it seemed to be a uniformly positive article.

The article focuses on Hackett having a good personal touch and being a man of the people.  (Some may find that in contrast with later statements that Hackett oversaw a 40-50% workforce reduction at Steelcase, but corporate America ... .)  Based on the article, Hackett does not seem to be imperious, but also seems to be willing to make hard decisions for the benefit of the stakeholders.  And former Michigan assistant coach Jerry Hanlon (remember his offensive lines?!?) had this to say:

"But number one, for me, is that he's a very cordial man. And he will listen. I don't know anyone they could have picked who would be better."

Someone who will listen sounds like a step in the right direction.

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MeanJoe07

November 6th, 2014 at 10:38 AM ^

Rhonda Jones said the boxes are going back to Chicago and then I have to stay at my parents house with the plastic bags and then put it on my phone in a bad mood for you always have a good feeling of the gym tonight and get it checked out.

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cutter

November 6th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^

It'll be interesting to see the reaction if Jim Hackett does transition to permanent Athletic Director much like Bill Martin did over a decade ago.

It'll mean that many people's prerequisite for the job, i.e., having previous experience in athletic department administration and/or being a current Athletic Director, will be out the window.  It would be intriguing to see how those people react to such a move and whether or not the instant analysis being made at that point would be critical or not.  I also wonder how people would react if/when he does make a mistake as in the AD position (such as hiring a less than stellar replacement for Hoke)--would they be as charitable in their opinions with Hackett as they would with someone with a different background coming into the job? 

Hackett would also be the fourth AD in a row transitioning from the business world into college athletics (Tom Goss, Bill Martin and David Brandon being the other three).  It would also mean that Michigan has never hired a person with experience in athletic department administration in all the years UM has been fielding teams in any intercollegiate sport.

It would also be intersting to see what sort of critique people would make if Hackett didn't make major changes in the athletic department itself and kept matters on roughly the same trajectory that Martin and Brandon have put the AD on during their tenures.   Like any manager, I could certainly see Hackett making personnel changes within the department either for budget reasons or simply to have people in place that he feels comfortable with, reflect his management style, etc.  But Michigan athletics is an expensive proposition, and I wonder how people will react to Hackett (or any future AD) either not cutting ticket or PSL prices to the general public or making only a cursory gesture with a small price cut.

I was kind of amused when Kirk Herbstreit said last weekend that David Brandon failed because he ran the athletic department like a corporation.  Herbstreit's employer ESPN has certainly been a catalyst for a lot of change in college athletics, including its rampant growth in popularity and revenue (not to mention long television time outs, helping to arrange non-conference opponents and causing the game start times to change as part of a larger schedule of games).  When Bill Martin first assumed the UM AD job, the athletic department's budget was just under $68M (FY 2003/4).  Now it's at around $152M and television will contribute even more money when the Big Ten Conference negotiates its new television conference.

The other reason I was amused by Herbstreit's remarks is that Ohio State is as "corporate" as Michigan is regarding how sports are run and the game day experiences themselves.  Expensive tickets/PSLs, high priced concessions and parking, general admission for students (who will now have the most expensive ticket in the Big Ten), naming rights for buildings/coaching positions, renting seat cushions, no food or water allowed in during games, etc.  If anything, because Ohio State has commercial advertisements in its stadium, the Buckeye football experience is probably more "corporate" than at Michigan.

I hope the fans on this board get the sort of football experience that they're looking for in terms of personal ownership of the program.  Whoever the new AD is, that's going to be hard to pull off without some difficult decisions being made, the first of which is to find a football coach that will energize the base and return the football program to one that UM fans feel is part of their birth right.  I doubt any of the Harbaugh or Miles rumors are true, but getting one of those three guys in Ann Arbor would be a start.

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ChiBlueBoy

November 6th, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^

Just a tin-foil theory here, but if I'm Schlissel, and my goal is to bring in Jim Harbaugh, I could probably do worse than bringing in an interim AD who is a former Bo-coached OL who has met Jim and, at a minimum, has direct or indirect connections with him. If Hackett convinces Jim to join, perhaps it would be with the understanding that Hackett is made permanent, or Jim will be comfortable with whomever is selected to be the permanent AD.

 

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