Gameday Crew & RR Interview
Well they got it out of the way right off didnt they? The RR interview was, as i wondered on yesterdays blog, not very telling. RR didnt beg for his job, but you could tell there was an underlying current of, please just one more year and you will see. Plus i get the feeling that we might be waiting a few days for the other shoe, which ever one that is, to drop. WE the fans might not see anything until late next week or the week after. You figure the travel back from the bowls, a day or so of dust settling and then we might know, but dont hols your breath for an instant decision.
I agree with the Dear Desmond blog as well. ALL of the alum are not represented by Des statement, i believe that Desmond represents a majority of the most powerful alum, but come on Desmond lets not put personel feelings into your reporting! I know you are Blue thru and thru but unbiased reporting is more important. I do like the comparisons to the Miles situation THAT WE DO NOT WANT A REPEAT OF!! Granted i doubt DB will be yachting anytime this week in the Gulf.
Coach and Herbie are pretty adament that RR needs to go, Herbie especially...but what would you expect from a buckeye, 3 more years of turmoil!! Herbie says the D is the issue and we all know that, but i believe another year of recruiting un RR we will get more D recruits....at least i hope. You cant build a NC team overnight, it takes time and the O is AMAZING.....lets work on the D now!!
Hope i dont get negged into obilivion by this but oh well if i do. LETS GO BLUE!!
January 1st, 2011 at 11:53 AM ^
....awww shucks, I missed it. Is it possible for anyone to post it on here? Much appreciated.
January 1st, 2011 at 11:53 AM ^
January 1st, 2011 at 12:17 PM ^
What do u expect from a hung over fan??
January 1st, 2011 at 11:54 AM ^
That's not exactly what I heard from Corso (about him bring adamant that RR should go). He basically said he should stay, but JH is out there so you have to go get him.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:32 PM ^
To clarify what Corso said, it was more along the lines of if JH wants the job, then you give it to him, otherwise keep RR for another year.
January 1st, 2011 at 11:56 AM ^
... it was Les Miles - JH wasn't even in the running (well he was - not as strong though)
... this year - its JH coming off a successful year with Luck and co (pun not intended)
... next year it will be another successful coach
We will find a good coach to lead the program when we need to - this is not the time.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:06 PM ^
i thought the comment on recruiting defensive players during RR tenure was very interesting. Basically, the caliber of the players was not BT material. I had a similar thought recently when a kid from my area (who i saw play against my son's team) signed with Michigan. My thoughts at the time are you kidding me. Maybe, with some strength training the kid will develop, but I still question the defensive staff's ability to recruit. One way or another this problem will be over soon. GO BLUE
January 1st, 2011 at 12:15 PM ^
Basically, the caliber of the players was not BT material.
Bullshit.
January 1st, 2011 at 1:04 PM ^
RR's recruiting they were referring to. At least that's not they way I heard it.
It's too early to tell if RR's D recruits are "B10 material." Way too early. His only real recruit from the 2008 class was Taylor Hill. All other current RS seniors, seniors, and juniors on D are Carr staff recruits. If the discussion is confined RR's D recruits, is it a shock that first and second year players don't look like "B10 material" yet? It shouldn't be.
Different discussion, but his 2009 D class does looks iffy for the long run:
- BWC: now on offense
- Vlad: gone
- Ike Bell: TBD
- Thomas Gordon: Looks to be a solid contributor
- Brandin Hawthorn: TBD
- Witty: didn't qualify
- Turner: Gone
- Lolata: Gone
- Roh: Pretty good. Too early to tell if he'll be great.
- Position switchers: Cam Gordon (looks like he'll be good, probably not great); Quinton Washington: TBD; Teric Jones (who knows what side of the ball he'll play week to week)
January 1st, 2011 at 11:58 AM ^
I thought what Herbie said was interesting. He thought that RR might not be the right fit, but pointed out how bad the defense was. He said that the defense hasn't been ranked top 10 since the championship year. He seemed to imply that Michigan always had a top 10 defense before that. Maybe it was because he was getting killed by us. Is not having a top 10 defense make the defense bad? I was wondering where he was going with those comments.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:02 PM ^
B10 type defenses. Burly, brute strength ala Wisconsin defenses in the past seasons with consistency and reasonable continuity.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
One quick addendum since I can't edit my post. Herbie said we had a top 10 defense once since championship year, I am guessing that was 2006.
They way he said it, made it sound like he thought the defense has been bad for a while and not necessarily completely just RR who has had a bad defense. He even said some of those defenses were under Lloyd. I wish he could have been more clear or finished his thought. Or maybe I am over thinking this one.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:10 PM ^
The defense has been ranked in the top ten once since the championship. Doesn't change the fact that the D has been bad, though.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:17 PM ^
You are right and Herbie was right. I mis-worded it, which is why I edited it, check my post right above yours.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:14 PM ^
that some people (ie, the fanbase) act as if the arrival of Rich Rod also ushered in an era of Michigan defense that hasn't been up to snuff, that it's been the only time when our defense has been terrible (or in Desmond's words, "hot garbage")
And I guess he's wrong if you look strictly at the numbers
But on the other hand, I certainly can remember many years after '97 where some of the fanbase was calling for Jim Herrmann's or Ron English's head...
(even though in those cases "the fanbase" = me)
January 1st, 2011 at 1:04 PM ^
Herbie painted with too broad a brush and that made the point he was trying to make unclear. There's a huge difference between a good but non-top 10 defense and a horrible one. In the era he was referring to, 1998-present, Michigan's defenses were mediocre to excellent under Carr, never below average. Under Rodriguez, they have ranged from below average to horrible.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:01 PM ^
RR doesn't have time to work on the D or another year to recruit. Rod has produce now, not two years from now.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:07 PM ^
Although Herbie did make some valid points, part of me wanted Desmond to leap over the table and punch him square in the jaw. GO BLUE!
January 1st, 2011 at 12:40 PM ^
Than anybody else on that panel. I always appreciate the fact that Kirk Herbstreit is routinely more careful in choosing his words, with more precision in his thinking, than anybody else in his position. We all know the history with Herbstreit in December of 2007. Herbstreit got hosed by his sources, or got out in front of the facts, and he was wrong. But most of the time, he's just about the best in his business. Desmond could learn from Herbie.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^
I think Desmond is getting there. Herbie has a lot more experience. I am glad to see him speak up more. My impression was that he just seemed to agree with everyone and flash that million dollar smile in the past. This year he has stood up to Herbie more. It could be just a don't rock the boat until I get more comfortable being on the crew issue.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^
focus on the defense. It will not take 2 years. We are a very young team. We can do this. DB needs to step up his game too.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:43 PM ^
If what I've been reading over on Rivals is true, and there are other options besides JH that are not BH and are big time coaches w/NFL ties, then there is no need to make a change, imo, b/c it means that the Michigan job will always garner strong interest and DB will always be able to get someone top-notch, unless it becomes apparent that if one is the coach at Michigan, he might not get time to implement his program before the plug is pulled.
- Win now w/70 scholarship players.
- Win now w/no upperclass, experienced players.
- Win now w/players not geared to your system.
- Win now w/recruiting scales stacked against you.
- Win now w/local media looking to use you to make a name for itself.
- Win now w/former players and coaches demanding you do it the Bo way, otherwise you're not "one of us;" not a "Michigan Man."
This is what agents will be telling top candidates if DB pulls the plug b/c RR still has a great reputation in coaching circles.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:49 PM ^
I agree with the gist of your post, but a few of those bullet points weren't really relevant in 2010 (we had more than 70 scholarship players, virtually all the players are spread-type players, etc.)
January 1st, 2011 at 4:01 PM ^
All the ex-players/coaches who are against RR were saying he should've made a bowl game in 2008.
January 2nd, 2011 at 9:49 AM ^
True, but that's retarded.
January 1st, 2011 at 12:50 PM ^
Painting RR as the first true "coaching failure" in Michigan history will do far more damage to the program than anyone can imagine right now. Coaches come to Michigan to kick ass and take names. Expelling RR after just 3 years will do irreperable damage to that image. Besides, we don't want to be Notre Dame, right? Right.
January 1st, 2011 at 1:10 PM ^
It doesn't matter who is coaching Michigan, these demands will always be there.
- After three years, no coach has the excuse that he doesn't have players to fit his system or that his players are too young.
- It's not so hard to recruit at Michigan. The school and the program have some nice selling points.
- The media is always looking to take down someone powerful. When you're the head coach, you're a target.
- And, yes, Bo's legacy will stick with the program for a long time.
January 2nd, 2011 at 1:48 AM ^
January 2nd, 2011 at 1:53 AM ^
Lloyd Carr won a national championship. So yeah, give me that.