Grant Newsome may never leave Ann Arbor! Nice Article.
There are not many former players that I root harder for than Grant Newsome! He was an ascending player who caught a really bad break that derailed what could have been a dream career as a football player. He has bounced back admirably, and now he's an ascending coach with his, and our, beloved Wolverines. Is it possible that we may see him go from Tight Ends coach to OL coach to OC to... Head Coach? And, all here at the University? I'm big on the whole "Michigan Man" concept. I prefer our Head Coaches (especially football and basketball) to have prior ties to the University.
I can see Harbaugh coaching until at least 2030, and maybe, just maybe, an early 30's Grant Newsome could be ready for the top job.
I don't think it's a gavin that Newsome stays forever.
LOL we're not talking about the Bears or the Cardinal, we're talking about the Wolverines.
August 3rd, 2022 at 10:02 PM ^
Thanks for posting.
August 3rd, 2022 at 10:06 PM ^
That would be news, some importance of.
August 3rd, 2022 at 10:18 PM ^
That was a dirty play.
August 3rd, 2022 at 10:51 PM ^
Wisconsin is underrated as one of the dirtiest teams.
Fact.
Sort of like Garde, Wisconsin calls their illegal dirty blocks,"The Davidson!"
August 3rd, 2022 at 10:50 PM ^
Will always root for him to succeed. But penciling in a TE coach to be the HC at a top 5 (or 7, take your pick) in 8 years time is a bit...optimistic.
I also thought we were over the whole Michigan Man thing with the events that transpired, both on and off the field. Let the most worthy candidate get the job (especially with basketball and football). If that's Grant, great!
August 3rd, 2022 at 11:15 PM ^
I also thought we were over the whole Michigan Man thing
August 4th, 2022 at 12:45 AM ^
I've just always been frustrated that Bo's one-time "Michigan Man" comment was so misunderstood. He only meant that Michigan should be coached by someone who wanted to coach at Michigan, instead of someone who had already committed to coaching somewhere else.
For goodness' sake, Bo himself had no connections to Michigan when he was hired, and, as athletic director, he conspicuously delayed naming former assistant Steve Fisher the permanent head basketball coach, saying he wanted to make sure he got the right person for the job (meaning he would also consider external candidates). As events transpired, Fisher gave him no real choice.
So can we give this particular topic a rest, please? This "debate" about whether or not to hire "Michigan Men" is boring and irrelevant, in that, in fact, there's never been any kind of unusual institutional commitment at Michigan to only hiring former players (Harbaugh in football and Howard in basketball are literally the first former players to come back and coach in either program in the past 50+ years -- and both are home run hires that few would challenge).
August 4th, 2022 at 10:10 AM ^
Fielding Yost: Not a Michigan man when hired
Harry Kipke: Quintessential Michigan man when hired, started out fantastic, ended with four of the worst seasons in Michigan history at that point, fired under a cloud of allegations about no-work jobs for players.
Fritz Crisler: Not a Michigan man when hired
Bennie Oosterbaan: Quintessential Michigan man when hired, oversaw a slow descent into mediocrity
Bump Elliott: Quintessential Michigan man when hired, continued descent from mediocrity to downright lousy, with just two good seasons out of ten.
Bo Schembechler: Not a Michigan man when hired
John Beilein: Not a Michigan man when hired
August 4th, 2022 at 10:17 AM ^
Logged in specifically to upvote you! Well stated
August 4th, 2022 at 10:38 AM ^
Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you guys' Michigan Man sensibilities. LOL
First, I didn't say one had to be a former player at Michigan, only have ties. Further, I'm fully aware of Yost, Schembechler, and Beilein not having any prior ties to Michigan. However, since Bo 50+ years ago, the only non-Michigan Man hired in football was Rich Rodriguez. And that was an abysmal failure. My preference is that a head coach understands the University of Michigan culture. That they understand the desire to mold well rounded, educated, good citizens is part of the culture for our student-athletes. Win at all costs should not be the creed of Michigan athletics. Winning the right way is where the pride is derived from.
That's why Coach Beilein was perfect, albeit not a Michigan Man. He had the values, the integrity of a Michigan Man, and he rebuilt the program thusly. I'm not the Athletic Director. I'll never hire a coach at my beloved university. However, there are enough good coaches in the pipeline with prior employment, or player status, from which to conduct hires. Just so that you understand my position thoroughly, I would bring back Brady Hoke before I hired Nick Saban, Dabo Sweeney, Jimbo Fisher, Kirby Smart, Urban Meyer, Lane Kiffin, etc... Michigan values mean that much to me. Michigan means that much to me!
August 4th, 2022 at 10:39 AM ^
Agree 100%. The only thing I would add is that someone with ties to Michigan is more likely to want to be at Michigan, and might consider taking a position here over a comparable (or even slightly higher) position elsewhere. A good hire needs to be a good fit, but they also need to be willing to take the job. It should definitely not be a requirement, but it might help at times.
August 3rd, 2022 at 11:47 PM ^
Nice article. Looking forward to his success this year and beyond.
Grant caught an awful break (helped in part by a disgusting hit from a Wisconsin player) but has more than bounced back.
I've only met him once and he impressed me a lot. Word from others that know him much better than I do is only positive. Not a single negative.
The way they speak about him I'd be more surprised if he didn't hold the title of HC one day. It's that positive of a reputation.
The "Michigan Man" concept isn't a bad one but it wasn't being weighted properly. It should be like 10% i.e. a tiebreaker between two qualified candidates. Instead, it was being used to make up for/rationalize some pretty blaring inadequacies.
Well, if nothing else, it's hard to run out of things to do, even in a smaller city like Ann Arbor (if you count about 120,000-ish as small, that is), and you will definitely never run out of people with an interesting tale to tell, so it's worth it for that alone really.
Wait.... so Mike Hart isn't going to be the next HC? I thought that was already decided.....
August 4th, 2022 at 10:34 AM ^
Nah man, year one he only recruited a single 3* runningback. Career is over.
I think from a leadership, character, "molder of men" standpoint, he is a sure thing. The actual coaching chops, offensive vision and managing a staff aspect is what he'll have to develop. Sean McVay is already a Super Bowl-winning head coach at 35 and won his first conference championship at 32.
Like at least 1/3 of the forum, I'm a Gen-Xer and so it's been a while that I'd watch a game and realize that - dang - I'm old enough to have been a parent of all the players. Watching the Super Bowl it gave me pause to realize that I'm just old enough to be the parent of one of the coaches, which made me question for neither the first nor last time that day what I was doing with my life.
August 4th, 2022 at 10:11 AM ^
I was at the game when he hurt his knee, I couldn’t believe he walked off the field after seeing what happened (he was an up an coming favorite of mine to watch live).
Hopefully he also serves as a “too tough for your own good” example as he nearly lost his leg. It’s arguable he could’ve lost it without walking off the field as well, but it’s also arguable he did a lot more damage by doing so.
I’m still and always will be a huge fan of Grant, hopefully he can pass on some intangible characteristics to the players about taking care of their bodies too!