Fans didn't do RR in
January 1st, 2011 at 6:30 PM ^
he has an accent?
January 1st, 2011 at 6:34 PM ^
I will put your children through college.
<br>
<br>The media didn't do Richrod in either.
January 1st, 2011 at 6:35 PM ^
January 1st, 2011 at 6:39 PM ^
Neat.
January 1st, 2011 at 6:40 PM ^
Chizik would still be hated had they not gone out and bought a new QB.
January 1st, 2011 at 6:45 PM ^
he wasnt purchased, ok?
it was a tax-deductible deduction to the good reverend's church. check your facts, man.
January 1st, 2011 at 6:44 PM ^
on the coaching changes being discussed for the past month and I have tried to avoid it. I took great pride in being a Michigan fan but I have never been more disappointed or discouraged to be one for the last month. This has nothing to do with the way we played but has everything to do with the fan base's action toward RR. I used to be able to brag that Michigan fans are different from the SEC fans that I am surrounded by, but this last month has shown quite the opposite. I am also very disappointed in the way DB has handled this as well. What is the purpose of leaving the coaching staff, players, recruits and fans in limbo for so long? How can anyone get mentally prepared for a bowl game with all of these supposed changes going on? It just disgusts me that so many people want to whine about RR when he (and those players) are giving there all out there. I will always love Michigan with all of my heart but my opinion has changed dramatically of the fan base from the pure ignorance of it all.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:04 PM ^
This.
I always thought that Michigan fans were somehow different than the rest of CFB. Obviously I was wrong. Right now I would say that the fan base that Michigan reminds me of most is Notre Dame, and given how much I hate that school, kills me to say.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:21 PM ^
is a concern of mine with Harbaugh being hired possibly is part of me thinks we need to get the hell away from the old Michigan. It has failed miserably in the past 5 years and we might be better off with someone else and let RR be the sacrificial lamb that got us through the transition. Or just keep RR.....
January 1st, 2011 at 8:37 PM ^
Michigan has about half a million living alumni. Michigan graduates about 7000 students (undergrad) each year. It is not possible to "get the hell away from the old Michigan."
January 1st, 2011 at 8:57 PM ^
This comment does not really make sense. I don't quite see what one has to do with the other.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:16 PM ^
I may be arguing against a straw man, but I took the comment about getting away from the "old Michigan" as a criticism of the "blue hair" alumni who don't understand or appreciate RR's offensive philosophy vis-a-vis the Big 10.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:34 PM ^
So let me get this straight.
We are supposed to watch our defense get worse every year, the same fundamental breakdowns year after year that lead to penalties and turnovers, and never getting wins over solid opponents and just take it all in stride and say "Well, I'd like to express that I am upset, but by golly, I'm a Michigan fan and, no sir, I will not stoop to SEC-levels of complaing for they are not a rational people. So I will say nothing at all and let others assume that my silence means I support our head football coach for that support is what any University of Michigan coach deserves."
Gag me. The "Michigan difference" crowd needs to realize that they are snobs and get over themselves.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:40 PM ^
to a girl meeting a guy...at a bar and thinking it will be different from the last guy she met...at a bar
"But, I thought you were different!"
January 1st, 2011 at 8:11 PM ^
Obviously the point is missed. Fans can be displeased all they want. However, whining for over a fucking month? It has been a constant rant over and over and over again. You have to be kidding me. These kids and our coach deserved a hell of a lot more than what the fan base gave them over the past 4 weeks (or 3 years even). That was the point.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:34 PM ^
Are you suggesting that poor treatment from fans is the cause of the poor preparation for this bowl game?
January 1st, 2011 at 8:51 PM ^
I don't know if I should be a douche or just answer the question. I think I will just leave you to wonder.
January 1st, 2011 at 10:14 PM ^
You misunderstand my intent, and I may have misread your post. You said,
How can anyone get mentally prepared for a bowl game with all of these supposed changes going on?
in conjunction with,
These kids and our coach deserved a hell of a lot more than what the fan base gave them over the past 4 weeks
and I interpreted it to mean you thought the apparent lack of progress for today's game was somehow related to the fans' behavior towards the team. I don't believe that's a valid criticism of the fans regardless of their behavior.
However, re-reading your post, it sounds like you blame DB's lack of support for RR for causing the staff and players not to be "mentally prepared for a bowl game" today. I'm not sure I think that's any more valid, but I understand if you are blaming DB rather than the fans.
Hope this makes sense. Correct me if I'm wrong.
January 2nd, 2011 at 1:20 AM ^
That was my intent. I was blaming DB for his "timeline". He should have already made a decision. I don''t think that this is to blame for the loss, but the "mental" part of the game has a lot to do with the way it is played and/or coached. I would like to know how if it would have turned out if DB's decision had already been made. Again, I don't blame this loss on that but all the controversy going on certainly did not help things. Sometimes a coach "coaching" to save his job or players playing for his coach to keep his job can both have some very negative or positive effects. The fans had nothing to do with the loss. I was mainly pissed because of the constant whining about RR. None of us control this issue so I was aggravated that it has been beat into the ground constantly for this long when we could have concentrated on these kids playing their hearts out.
January 2nd, 2011 at 11:29 AM ^
Good point about support. If you don't have it, it's harder to succeed. I think you made a very valid argument that I agree with. I have one question for you about next year though. Unless DB gives RR an extension, RR and the players will go through the same environment next year. Do you really think they can be much better. The pressure will be just as bad if not worst than the last month. My biggest worry is that DB gives RR another year and the lack of support or extension give us another year like this year. I don't see DB giving him an extension. As much as I like RR and still think he is a good coach, I have become indifferent about him being here. I think we will win with him or someone else.
January 2nd, 2011 at 1:53 AM ^
That speaks to Brandon's timeline. There's been a constant rant for over a month because that's how long RR has been in full-blown limbo, leading to debate over the issue.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:34 PM ^
I am not sure if the fans and media did in RR, but it certainly didn't help with all of the BS from day 1.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:37 PM ^
Now I know that some of you put Flick up to this, but he has refused to say who. But those who did it know their blame, and I'm sure that the guilt you must feel would be far worse than any punishment you might receive. Now, don't you feel terrible?
-Miss Shields
"Adults loved to say things like that but kids knew better. We knew darn well it was always better not to get caught."
-Ralphie
All that to say is I put you in Mrs. Shields category and the folks wringing their hands about this and not giving two flips what your opinion is as Ralphie.
With all due respect, fans are fans. Short for fanatics. Zealots. No one that has had an opinion about this stuff really cares what others think about them. I respect your passion for the Blue.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:01 PM ^
I didn't think it was possible, but over this season we as a fanbase, have proven to be worse than ND. It's sad.
January 2nd, 2011 at 2:31 AM ^
BS. Let's put this "we are turning into the ND fanbase" line to rest. ND fans complained when their coaches were dragging the program into mediocrity. None of those coaches were ever under 500 at any point in their careers!
RR has gone 15-22 and currently has us in the Big 10 basement... and posters here sound absolutely heartbroken that he might get canned. The ND fanbase would have abandoned him completely 2 seasons ago. Get a grip.
January 1st, 2011 at 6:48 PM ^
I wish I had more than one vote to pos-bang the OP with. The "true believers" at this point are every bit as offensive to me as the elitist snobs who were out for RR from day one.
Yes, he's faced a lot of unfortunate obstacles. But the guy has done a crappy job. I can't believe it's even still up for debate in some circles.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:06 PM ^
When RR is fired sometime this week, he will have earned $10 million for 37 months of employment.
You mean that RR will have received $10 million.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:07 PM ^
inventing this "True Believer" meme for the sake of an argument. I don't think you're going to find a single fan who thinks Greg Robinson was a good hire or a fan who thinks RR has met expectations. But to me, it simply seems short sighted to write off all the adversity RR has had to deal with as being trivial.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:43 PM ^
You are both wrong and miss the point in the same thread. Impressive!
First, the comparison to Auburn is completely misplaced. For one, Cam Newton would never, ever have attended Michigan. Even if he wanted to enroll, he would have been denied admission. So to claim that Auburn is a good example of how things should have happened with Rodriguez and Michigan if Rodriguez was good is plain silly. Without Newton, Auburn is merely above average at best.
Second, the point people were making in wishing fans would chill the f- out was that the bad publicity is/was affecting recruiting. And you are sorely mistaken if you claim that is not the case. Kids coming out of high school are either sold on a school as they grew up or are sold on it by a coach(es). For the latter, those kids are not going to pick a school where there is a possibility that the person(s) that they grew close to and fond of is being burned by the supposed fan base. This was the fear of people like myself in reading all of these "CC" threads. (Personally, I don't think most of the posters have thought about the real ramifications of firing Rodriguez and bringing in someone who will run a different style of offense on the next few years and that, in and of itself, has been extremely frustrating.)
January 1st, 2011 at 7:27 PM ^
A coach with a proven track record of success at multiple stops came here, got handed a bad football team and a roster with well-documented gaping holes in it, made the team better two seasons in a row, has the team poised for continued improvement with nearly his entire roster returning next season, and people want him fired while members of his first full recruiting class are still redshirt freshmen.
Yes, fans who think Rich Rodriguez showed up and broke the Michigan football program are the fucking problem.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:44 PM ^
We're always poised for improvement, but we never improve. This team is a train wreck. I don't understand how you can stand by a coach that fields such historically bad special teams and defenses. Even the offense looked helpless today. We are years behind the best teams of the Big Ten. RR is ultimately a good offensive coordinator, but this is not what a program like Michigan should settle for.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:49 PM ^
+1 to you both.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:56 PM ^
We've improved by two wins each of the last two seasons. If you think the team is a train wreck now, what do you think they were when they went 3-9 or were getting blown out by worse versions of teams like Illinois and Notre Dame that we beat this season?
If this guy is such a shitty coach, why does the team keep getting better every year?
January 1st, 2011 at 8:18 PM ^
Your mistake is that you think the team has gotten better. The team is actually worse than it was last year. The record is a bit better because we squeaked past Illinois and purdue. In the games that really matter, against rivals and good teams, this year we fared far worse than we did last year. We were thrashed. The gap widened. It doesn't matter how many crap teams you beat. You're judged bases on how you measure up to quality teams. It's not even close. Accept reality.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:24 PM ^
we lost to Illnois last year by a lot. We were blown out. By Illinois, who was much worse last year than this year.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:36 PM ^
3 < 5 < 7
I'm not the one arguing against it just because I'm mad the U-M football team isn't as good as I would like it to be right now.
January 1st, 2011 at 11:46 PM ^
3, 5, 7 = all less than 9-4 the year before RR arrived. We've only improved relative to 2008 after RR nuked a successful program.
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:14 AM ^
RR didn't nuke shit. Look at the players he was left with. He inherited a bad team, period. He has steadily improved this team and in my opinion did one of the better coaching jobs you will see when starting as many freshman and sophomores as he did.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:44 PM ^
I want Rodriguez fired, but the argument that this team is worse than last year's team is terrible. We won 7 games this year and made a bowl. We did this by beating two teams we lost to last year. We also beat a good Connecticut team and a good Notre Dame team. Yes, we were beaten up by MSU and OSU and that sucks, but MSU is a hell of a lot better this year than they were last year and we played OSU on the road this year.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:18 PM ^
See also: Iowa, Wisconsin, Mississippi State.
January 2nd, 2011 at 2:24 AM ^
Your claim is that we are equal to or worse than we were last year because we lost to some teams by a greater margin than we did last year. This is not much evidence to overcome the fact that Michigan has a better record against a schedule that is at least as good as last year's and that pretty much every statistical ranking system for overall team performance has us higher than last year. Yes, the net improvement was modest considering that the progression on the offensive side of the ball is coupled by the regression of the defense and special teams, but it is improvement nonetheless.
January 1st, 2011 at 7:52 PM ^
for example, he didn't improve the team 2 seasons in a row - believe our 2009 b10 record was worse than our 2008 record. you probably just don't have a lot of life experience. RR may have been successful at other stops, but that's not a guarantee of success at Michigan. Maybe it was the Peter Principle, maybe UM is a bad fit for RR's spread. I guarantee you it sure as hell wasn't the fans. RR needs to man up and take responsibility. As Bill Parcell's said, "You are what your record says you are." Let's cut the bullshit!
January 1st, 2011 at 8:04 PM ^
Having one healthy upperclassmen in the secondary makes it tough to field a good defense? Maybe having one first day NFL draft pick over a three year period means your team isn't as talented as the ones you are playing against?
There are two possibilities: Rodriguez has screwed up while coaching Michigan, or he walked into a shitty situation and has had to battle against that.
All the facts (prior resume, lack of draft picks, holes in the depth chart so wide that freshmen from the general student body can walk right into the starting lineup, better record each season as more Rodriguez recruits come on board, etc.) all point to the latter. The only one that doesn't is: "This is Michigan and I'm mad we lost."
The Parcells comment is nothing but a bullshit platitude. Do you really think the difference between our offense in 2008 and our offense this year is simply better coaching?
January 1st, 2011 at 8:11 PM ^
this year than in 2008 is a little better oline play and a sophomore dual threat QB. better comparison is between '09 and '10. IMO team didn't really improve a great deal. We shot it out w/ Indiana both years. LMAO Two wins had nothing to do w/ RR's coaching. Bullshit platitude? RR is what his record is, 14-22, at UM. Not f&*ing good enough.
January 1st, 2011 at 9:53 PM ^
Stay classy friend, stay classy.
January 2nd, 2011 at 7:18 AM ^
So his record isn't what it said he was at West Virginia. When RR has players, he wins. When he has to start freshman and sophomores throughout the roster he loses. As would every other coach in the NCAA. It's all about the players.
January 2nd, 2011 at 9:44 AM ^
won the Big East this year (and we beat them 30-10). Job's a lot harder in the B10.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:02 PM ^
Our 2009 Big Ten record was worse than our 2008 recored. And it was only by the skin of our teeth that we got a 3-5 record in the Big Ten this year: We all know we had some luck beating Indiana and Illinois .
Rodriguez's Michigan teams never performed above expectations, they always just barely met the very lowest expectations. 2011 would be no different.
And this has been said before, but he's not going to be fired because people don't like his personality. He's going to be fired for being the worst coach in Michigan football history.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:15 PM ^
One third of the season doesn't count because it doesn't suit the argument you want to make that Rodriguez deserves to get fired? Winning close games doesn't count as improvement (even if crappier versions of the same team blew us out two years in a row) unless the name of the team is impressive to you?
No one is happy that we haven't won more. But ignoring progress and diminishing the hole we were working out of simply because you wish we were better means you are being intentionally obtuse.
January 1st, 2011 at 8:22 PM ^
weak non conf teams (which ND won't be) and the B10 bottom feeders, the false improvement you claim will disappear and our ceiling will become apparent. we can't seem to beat good teams.