The end of an idea.

Modes: this is the only place to load this. If diary material, please move.

I'm not sure where to start. Maybe it's, "Hi, my name is Todd and I am a Michigan-aholic?"

I am in mourning today. Not for the coaches or the players (maybe a little for Brock Mealer who may be the real loser in all of this), but for the idea of a new dynamic direction Michigan lacked for some time the day Rich Rodriguez stepped onto campus toting a big-time offense.

I found mgoblog after Carr retired. Quickly becoming a daily (sometimes hourly) reader of the blog as the readership speculated and squirmed during the failure of a coaching search played out. I'll never forget the day I found out Rich Rod was coming. I was out shopping for my wife for Christmas, mad about the lack of parking spaces, the number of people shopping at the same time and more so hating the daily speculation of subpar coaches turning down the job when they should be begging to coach at Michigan. Things seemed to be getting pretty desperate.

During my fruitless wandering, I would check my phone from time to time for updates when Brian broke the news of a coach with mutual interest and a successful track record. It’s sad to say this out loud; my mood changed immediately like the scrooge waking up on Christmas morning. I was happy and excited; thankful we waited for a national championship caliber coach. As many did, I pondered what kind of success he would have working with Michigan caliber talent at better facilities.

Days, weeks and months later we learned what coaches were coming and who was not. Many of us poured over the resumes of those assistant coaches and found the strength and conditioning coach who - with a raspy voice and a cage of wild wolves scared and delighted us both. With a mix of wizardry and snake oil, we were on our way.

The first year was filled with disappointment, but in my mind a necessary process in order to right the ship of the old three yards and a cloud of dust mindsets and traditionalist ways. Besides, the talent pool was depleted. The coaches just needed time. Add in public fight between WVU and Rich on a buyout lawsuit. Needless to say, we were all ready for some good news which signing day provided. We already had a San Diego kid who was polished and ready, the biggest recruit in Michigan, plus this unknown guy named Denard who was fast and didn't tie his shoelaces.

Year two was something of fascination. A moxie filled freshman was leading Michigan to big wins in the beginning, only to get nicked up as losses mounted in the B10. A kids shoelaces flopping in the wind as he hit mock 1 headed into the end zone. It was amazing to watch as it was tough to watch sometimes. However, everyone saw a glimpse of what could be starting to take shape. There was a lot to be excited about. On the flip side, another controversy swelled with outside allegations from a local paper and a full blown NCAA investigation underway. Oh yeah, and some bad investment scheme Rich got into.

This year? Well, the expectations were higher and we all know what happened from there. Someone convinced me we had to go another way because it was time for a man from Michigan to come home. After watching a colossal beat down of VT, I was ready for the move only if it was "this guy."

Now, Dave Brandon tells us Rich wasn't good enough and Jim is acting like we aren't big enough. So; I sit here looking like my dog just died. For me, the dismissal of Rich was also the death of an idea conceived three years prior of a new direction in the program and the rise back to national supremacy once again.

Don’t get me wrong; while I am a supporter of the offense of system Rich brought to Michigan, the facts say Dave Brandon had little choice but to make a change. In a selfish way, i was looking forward to seeing the team get better; placing Michigan back on the mountain top of Michigan football - not looking at the possibility of 2-3 years of additional change where the team may get back to where 9-10 wins is considered good enough or where domination by PAC 10 and SEC teams that get explained away due to academic standards.

In the end, I was excited for the next generation of Michigan football to start 3 years ago. Now we'll never truly know if the foundation of the program would have been successful under Rich. It feels like we are stuck in the mud waiting for another coaching search that may require the implementation of another system, a handful of player transfers and a recruiting class that falls apart all together. Are we in for another 3 years of turmoil only to run the coach out of town for not doing well enough again? Time will tell. Dave Brandon's legacy will be written by what happens next. Will he continue what Rich started or look to revert back to the Michigan of old? I hope not the latter. Can you envision a team next year without Denard?