Further Brandon Support for RR
Please don't judge me too harshly for clicking on a Freep link, but an aa.com headline wooed me and I'm desperate for U of M information these days.
Anyhoo, I won't link to that paper here, but they reported a recent quote that I didn't see anywhere on the board from Dave Brandon concerning our head coach:
“All I can do as athletic director is make one thing perfectly clear over and over and over again. Rich Rodriguez is the coach at the University of Michigan football team. He’s our coach. He’s my coach. He should be everybody’s coach. We should respect him. We should respect the position that he holds, and we should support him and help him in every way we can to be successful, and that’s what I’m going to try to do.”
Nice to see such a firm statement from our AD, kind of sad that he has to make such a statement.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:38 PM ^
Why should you change your name, he's the one who sucks.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:47 PM ^
I told those bastards I liked Michael Bolton's music.
Actually he refers to them as "fudgepackers".
Minor correction.
Carry on.
For my money, it doesn't get any better than when he sings "When a Man Loves a Woman."
March 19th, 2010 at 12:56 PM ^
Check out Channel 9, it's the breast exam. Whoo!
Watch out for your cornhole man.
I actually celebrate the guy's entire collection
Fail...it is "entire catalog".
Nagheenanajar.
NSFW or Children
I love the mix, not to mention the home video of the cat.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:39 PM ^
that seems kind of non-committal.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:39 PM ^
I've long thought and got negbombed for believing 2010 would be RR's last.
When I hear statements like this from the new AD, I realize it's a certainty.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:41 PM ^
This makes no sense.
"I see A, and I see B, so Q!"
All the words longer than three letters are spelled correctly, so it's definitely not brianshall.
That does not make sense
statements of support often are a kiss of death. Not saying this is so here, but... anyway, all the statements of support or non-support mean nothing--if we win 8 or more with no new infarctions he stays, likely for years to come, if we win 6-7 he's likely gone.
I think 7-5 will be alright - it will ensure a winning season and a bowl bid. Can you really draw this line: 7-5=fired, 8-4=safe?
IMO 7-5 would have to be the right kind of 7-5, like 7-5 with a victory over OSU and ND
and why say anything supportive at all? Wouldn't silence about a coach's status be the kiss of death?
If RR wins 8 this year and UM comes out of the allegations relatively unscathed, he will get a contract extension, IME.
AD's do not go out and give public statements of "confidence" in their football coach -- except for times of the exact opposite.
not sure why i'd get negbombed for my statement. fact of the matter is, this is a COMMON act of AD's when the football coach is on the hot seat. has nothing to do with me, everything to do with RR and Michigan football.
I can't believe you were negbombed for such a brilliant statement.(Sarcasm Symbol)
for someone always means that their firing is a certainty? Do you think, in your world, that a statement of support could also, just maybe, imply an actual vote of confidence?
In other words, maybe you should take Brandon's words at face value.
so, uh, no, that's not how it works
Brandon was asked, like, 20 times about the status of the women's volleyball coach, and he deflected the question every time! I think you're on to something . . . .
March 19th, 2010 at 12:40 PM ^
I hope to god we have a winning record this year, not just because I need it, but because if we don't, it may be hard to resist getting a new coach, and if we end up changing coaches BEFORE we become successful again, it could be 6 or 7 years of losing records, rather than 2 or 3.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:45 PM ^
...my crystal ball sees eight wins this year, possibly nine.
my glass eye sees 6
TROL O LO O LO O LO
no, your brown eye sees 6.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:46 PM ^
To worry Blaze! We will have a winning record this year. No need to hope to God! If God's not on our side this year, who's side is he on?
March 19th, 2010 at 12:49 PM ^
Notre Dame
duh
March 19th, 2010 at 12:50 PM ^
"TOUCHDOWN!
... no, I'm just messing with you. Yeah, I was just bored of standing around here watching you guys suck."
Holding Jesus?
March 19th, 2010 at 12:51 PM ^
He left the Catholics side after many heavy petting incidents. Somethings he just won't let slide.
Nuh-Uhh.. Old Dominion's.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:59 PM ^
It has struck me over the past two years that those who HATE RR and want him gone are not nearly the loyal fans they proclaim to be.
In this instance, once RR was selected people should have got behind him regardless how they felt during the search. If you love the team and university, you accept it, embrace it and move forward hping for the best. Many of these guys are hoping for the worst so they can say "told you so".
If RR gets fired after this year there a few things I think will be pretty certain:
1) the experiment with the spread will be scrapped and we will go back to a pro-style O.
2) Because of the switch we will see mass transfers and upheaval with the team (many don't fit a pro-style offense).
3) Another 3 years at least for the new coach to come in, get "his guys" on the team and start winning again.
4) A tarnished image in recruits eyes because we start to look like a team who doesn't give coaches a chance. The lack of stability will hurt for years to come in the recruits eyes.
What's done is done. RR is here and I, for one, love it. If all fans could look past the end of their noses and see what is just over the horizon I don't think we would have all this infighting.
If RR gets to stay to see his first class through to their senior year, I will say with absolute certainty that he will have UM back in the thick of things again. I think, given the chance, that RR will have us challanging for the NC every year if we will just give him until 2011 to prove it.
edit* whoops....and I love Dave Brandon (didn't mean to hijack the thread)....GO BLUE!
I disagree. I support RichRod and believe he will succeed at Michigan, but I don't think anyone who doesn't is automatically an untrue (fairweather, maybe?) fan. Everyone has to blindly support a coach, regardless of who it is, to be a true fan? If John L. Smith was hired, everyone should jump on that bandwagon?
I think the situation is pretty analagous to politics: one can love their country and hate their president. You can love Michigan without blindly following the coach.
With that said, Michigan will win at least 8 games this year and RR's job will be relatively safe. That is all.
I didn't say anything about blind support. I said look past beyond what is right in front of your face.
Also, if it is wrong to "blindly follow" your head coach, it must sure as hell be wrong to blindly oppose him (which is what most of these fans did). He was never given a chance by the fans I am speaking of.
The only "blind" thing in all this is the fans who think it is a good idea to get rid of RR this year or next. Because one would have to be blind to not see that the transition that would ensue would be far worse than what we are enduring presently (and likely take just as long if not longer).
I agree that most members of the anti-RR faction are pretty ignorant and oblivious to the inner-workings of the AD. But what about the fans who, for example, love Michigan because of its status as "Quarterback U"? I think we can all agree that with RR here, those days are likely over. Someone can easily say, "I don't like RR and his scheme because I love sending guys like Henne and Brady to the NFL." Does that make them a bad fan? Maybe their priorities are a little out-of-whack but I don't think so.
And yes, I also agree that our 2-year slide will go much, much longer if RR gets the boot. The last thing we need is a revolving-door appearance for both our players and coaches.
But when you say, "If you love the team and university, you accept it, embrace it and move forward hoping for the best," it comes off as a bit fascist.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:44 PM ^
...whenever you say, "We should respect him," it's usually because the person hasn't earned the respect in the first place. I mean, it's just not a very good sign that you have to TELL people to respect somebody.
Hopefully Rodriguez earns it with about 9 wins this year.
March 19th, 2010 at 12:49 PM ^
you Magnus! When's the next World's Strongest Man Competition? I'm pullin for ya!
March 19th, 2010 at 12:53 PM ^
Rodriguez has earned my respect in every way but two: First, the wins column, and second, the NCAA violation allegations. Beyond that I have plenty of reasons to respect him. Brandon just has to keep reiterating this because for some reason all the asshats in the fan-base seem to think that the only way they can respect a coach is if he overcomes all odds and a horrible situation to win a MNC. He keeps being asked stupid questions and has to keep responding.
I don't know whether Rodriguez will be around after this year, but you're right, a nine win season would go a very long way towards fixing his image.
Coach Rodriguez will be around after this year, barring any extreme unexpected violation. He won five games last year with a true freshman and no defense. This year will be quite different. Even if only he were to win six games, he will still (barely) stay amid grumblings, simply because the perception of the jump in experience of our young roster vs completely starting over, would prevail.
man,i like rich rod and the kind of football his teams play, but I don't think he will be around in 2011 if he only wins 6 games next year
Wins will earn him respect.
However, I think this message was also directed towards people who disrespected him from the beginning because he does not speak eloquently and because he was not Les Miles, Debord, or Ron English.
A large amount of people did not like him from the beginning and saw him as an outsider.
True. The more emphatically you try to tell me that you are telling the truth, the more likely I am to think you are lying.
That said, there are times, especially when there are large volunteer or donor bases involved, that you have to remind people not to get sucked into lowest common denominator group think. These things can take a life of their own and can become a self fulfilling prophecy that really leaves the organization leader no room to succeed. In my experience in non-profits I have seen donor bases get riled up by a couple of squeeky wheels where the criticisms begin to take on a life of their own disconnected from the reality of the situation and so poison the atmosphere that the leader cannot lead. Sometimes, it takes a respected member of the community to say, "Back off, give the man some respect, let him do his job, be patient." I think Brandon has been excellent in that role, trying to get the lynch mobs to calm down and go home before they do something they will regret.
My interpretation was that he was referring to the unfair portrayals of RR by some media and fans (uneducated hick, greedy for dragging out the buyout lawsuit, stomps all over tradition, recruits thugs, etc.).
You don't have to respect him as a coach until he produces on the field results, but at least treat him fairly as a man and don't act like he's the scum of the earth simply because the team has had a couple down years (this was directed not at anyone in particular, just the aforementioned unfairness).
March 19th, 2010 at 12:45 PM ^
... great podcast today, worth checking out. Particularly part 2. The guy sounds great. Hopefully he can deliver.
http://wtka.com/index.php?fuseaction=home.podcasts_sel&id=4190
March 19th, 2010 at 12:54 PM ^
He got us a night game at the Big House! That is delivering to me.....though I know many don't share that sentiment.
deliver? 30 minutes or less.
brandon's early returns are encouraging. he's clearly a leader and media savvy. it's all quite simple for brandon with regards to rodriguez: win and run a clean program.