Gregg Henson: Sources- Dave Brandon next domino to fall
Saw this in the thread below this one.
http://gregghenson.com/new-information-on-the-new-michigan-coach-and-ad/
This was just posted 20 minutes ago. He details his sources (without naming them), talks about the Regents not being DB's corner anymore and that they will not pursue a new HC without a new AD.
My three separate sources tell me that the next domino to fall is Brandon. He must go before any potential football coach can be approached as he totally botched the Hoke hire, never offering the gig to Miles or either Harbaugh. As a matter of fact, he never even returned calls to Les Miles when he was interested. In his mind Hoke was the only option from day one.
The two names surfacing in the AD hunt are Ward Manuel the AD at Uconn and Brad Bates, the current AD at Boston College.
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:53 AM ^
Is that Gregg Henson is a clown show. He's throwing shit against a wall and seeing what's sticking. It's not extremely hard to fathom that they may be looking for a new AD. It's not too hard to fathom that two "candidates" happen to be guys from Michigan currently working as ADs in other big programs.
This is a man with an agenda. He's rabble rousing because he doesn't like Hoke/Brandon. He has a right to not buy what they're selling, but he's trying to base his agenda with a sort of "extra legitimacy", likely mostly for clicks. He's connected to a few other people that don't like Hoke and/or Brandon and he's using them as "sources", and then he's throwing shit and seeing what sticks and trying to get clicks.
Brandon may not have offered the job to Miles, but from all accounts he did speak with Miles. The place where I lost it is where he insinuates has their choosing of either Harbaugh or Miles as long as they just had one of these other ADs rather than Brandon. That's complete BS. That is bait for page views, to get people excited about the possible AD change and to drop some popular names; but it's BS. Maybe, maybe they'd be able to land one. I doubt it, but maybe. But to insinuate that they would have had their choice of the one that they thought best is insulting to human intelligence. Unfortunately, the people that are his target audience, for some reason, don't seem so insulted.
September 23rd, 2014 at 9:40 AM ^
This is has was pointed to earlier, but your post is much more coherent and well laid out than the one I agreed with earlier. This makes exactly the points I didn't articulate earlier in a response.
September 23rd, 2014 at 9:56 AM ^
I'm less interested in Henson's motivations than I am in the motivations of the sources.
This seems to have come from people whose principal grievance against Brandon is his "over my dead body" as respects Miles.
Of all the many grievances various parties have against Brandon, that doesn't seem likely to be the one that's reached Board level right now. But somebody's using Henson's platform as a way to frame the story that way for public consumption, start putting hire-Miles/hire-Harbaugh pressure on a new AD before a decision's even been taken to hire one.
I don't think this is shit-at-the-wall; it's more calculated than that.
September 23rd, 2014 at 10:03 AM ^
3G has the same opinion as many Michigan fans...so I'm not sure I would call it an agenda. If that is the case than he is just broadcasting an opinion that most of us share and doing us all a favor.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^
Just curious, you seem in the know on a lot of issues. Do you have insider information on Miles or Harbaugh's feelings toward Brandon? Could it have changed based on the last 4 years?
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:22 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:47 AM ^
The Hawthorne thing to me seemed very much sour grapes. He basically said "I was the best LB on the team, but I didn't play because of politics and people in the program with an agenda. When they did play may, they called plays specifically to not show my strengths. There is no other possible reason that I didn't start every game. That's the difference between Michigan and Bama, I would be in the NFL right now if I played at Bama, and so would guys like Marvin Robinson, Mike Jones, Vincent Smith, Martavious Odoms, Justin Turner, etc. I had 100+ tackles and 27.5 sacks my senior year of high school, you do the math"
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:57 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 9:02 AM ^
That I saw posted elsewhere. If someone wants to link it, they can, but to me it doesn't really have credibility enough to link.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:24 AM ^
coaching decision, never ever! Hopefully he will resign because of his gaffs!
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:29 AM ^
Oh yeah, I'm buying what this guy is selling.
Here's what he said right before the season...
http://gregghenson.com/at-least-one-si-expert-thinks-highly-of-michigan…
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:36 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:37 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:29 PM ^
This is the same Gregg Henson from the Detroit market! In fact, I'm pretty sure I saw him at a local restaurant over Labor Day Weekend. No kidding!
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:30 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:32 AM ^
So are we changing the skywriting kickstarter from "Fire Dave Brandon" to "Dave Brandon is Fired". Do you pay for these things per letter? It's a few extra bucks if so.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:39 AM ^
Just go with "Fuck Dave Brandon." Works if he's fired or not, same price, barely changes the pilot's job.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:48 AM ^
I like your efficiency and focus on cost. Would have any interest in working in the future athletic department focusing on promotions - coke or otherwise?
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:57 AM ^
God no, I'd prefer we borrow from the Golgafrinchans and launch all of our marketers into space, telling them they were an important part of our colonization efforts, and then totally forgetting about them.
Beat that for nerdy obscure references, suckers.
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:00 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:03 AM ^
should have a good time. Message repeats.
September 23rd, 2014 at 4:19 PM ^
Not as obscure as you think, or I'm just that nerdy.
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:51 AM ^
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September 23rd, 2014 at 12:37 AM ^
Word is David Brandon will be delivered the news via drone at his seat at a future game by the incoming AD. New AD is awaiting FAA approval....
/I'll be here all week
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:40 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 5:30 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:54 AM ^
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September 23rd, 2014 at 10:05 AM ^
Nice!!!
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:43 AM ^
On one hand I don't like DB and I think that most of the criticisms aimed at him in this article are spot on. On the other hand, I hate reading:
"Yes, the days are dark in Ann Arbor for Michigan football, but it appears Bo's boys are coming home to right the ship."
So I guess we just have the wrong "Bo's boys" right now. Don't worry, these new "Bo's boys" will fix everything! How are we still wrapped up in this?
What makes the University of Michigan great is that it has fostered a culture of excellence from top to bottom, and when they hire people to come lead, that culture makes them even better. They don't arrive Michigan Men: they become Michigan Men.
Take a quick glance at any academic unit at Michigan: the vast, vast majority of the faculty DON'T have their doctorates from Michigan. Mary Sue Coleman didn't go to UM and I'd say of all the Michigan Men out there, she might be the Michigan Manniest.
It's institutional incest to hire from your own protege pool. Just stop. Please stop!
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:49 AM ^
I think the article, and its tone, are completely understandable if you imagine that the story has been fed to him by a certain faction of "Bo's boys".
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:14 AM ^
Born and raised in New York, total New Yorker, total Michigan Man.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:46 AM ^
Brad Bates
Pros:
- Bo's guy all the way
- Hasn't worked at Michigan since the mid-80s. Limited exposure to the last two regimes.
- Holds a PhD, can spin academia with Mark Schlissel and some of the non-football regents.
- Extensive experience in college athletics, in revenue and non-revenue sports.
Cons:
- Mixed record with football coaching hires.
- Almost an outsider, will not please the Brandon / Lloyd faction of the donor base.
- More academic than businessman, may not mesh well with fundraising responsibilities.
Warde Manuel
Pros:
- Michigan Man all the way. Extensive experience with Michigan Athletics as an administrator.
- Owns a national championship at UConn. (Men's hoops)
- Experience in digging out NCAA sanctions.
- Solid track record with hiring football coaches. (Turner Gill / Jeff Quinn at Buffalo; Bob Diaco at UConn)
- Younger
Cons:
- May be tight with the Brandon / Lloyd faction.
- More administrator than academic, may not see eye-to-eye with Schlissel
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:55 AM ^
Schlissel is the x-factor. I think two things are true, which work against each other here. One, Schlissel is a new president, and does not want to intitiate (or even facilitate, absent a clear mandate from the Regents) a major change early in his tenure, before he has his footing. Two, Schlissel detests guys like Brandon, and probably even Brandon himself; Brandon grew up giving guys like future-faculty-senate Schlissel noogies, and I don't think he's sorry for it either.
Whether Schlissel perceives this to be a crisis, or merely discontent among the fanbase/rabble/alumni, will drive how he reacts in my opinion.
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:43 AM ^
This is an opportunity for the new Prez to assert himself. And if he lines up all his ducks carefullyl, to do it in a way that shows his new leadership style. Obviously, you don't screw something like this up. But the stars are aligning for the change.
September 23rd, 2014 at 9:49 AM ^
Brad Bates is almost an outsider? Bo said he wouldn't be surprised if the guy became Michigan AD in the future. Maybe that comment wasn't there when you posted this though.
September 23rd, 2014 at 10:09 AM ^
Again...why are we placing any credence in what he thinks? Didn't he endorse the Rich Rod hire? That turned out well...didn't it?
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:49 AM ^
There is certainly internal logic to what is written there--how can Brandon, who is himself on thin ice, be trusted to conduct a coaching search? And I think this is the change the program, and University, need. Both of the ADs named make sense, and would be excellent choices. All of which is to say: it's too good to be true, unfortunately.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:55 AM ^
Let's all indulge ourselves and assume this is true.
What would be the timeframe on hiring a new AD? Even if the regents have already decided to fire Brandon, what's the process for officially terminating him? And even if Brandon is fired tomorrow, is that enough time to have Bates/Manuel in place by the end of the season to lead a coaching search? Would they be able to just bolt their current jobs at a moment's notice or is it more complicated than that?
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:01 AM ^
I wrote Brian this question last night because I was curious too. So maybe he'll say some things in a mailbag post if he doesn't have awesome breaking news that makes it irrelevantish.
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:21 AM ^
If I were AD and I had decided to make a change I would be begin back channel work on "interest" via 3rd parties during the frigging rain delay vs Utah.
No on a serious note I'd be beginning now. I'd want a candidate in place Nov 30th to announce to the public. (or whatever is 2 days after the OSU game, one day to give Hoke his due and the next day to announce the hiring). There should be no open window between the firing and the hiring. No going after guys in public and being denied. Twice. Candidate should be signed to the dotted line within hours of Hoke being let go. So you can't do that in November.
The only fly in that ointment is if you are going the NFL route for the "2 dream candidates". If you do, obviously hiring someone by Dec 1 is not going to work. But if some dream scenario (which I think is a low probability event) happens where a Harbaugh indicates interest you would also know that by November and you should be laying the ground work for that thru October and November.
So short answer - if Brandon is let go and it doesnt happen until November 30, along with say Hoke - that's bad management on our side IMO.
On the flip side I wouldnt want to be with an open AD for weeks on end either so probably if this is all true you need to have an agreement in place with your future AD before you act.
I'd also be curious how the AD firing process works - it has to be a lot more complicated than firing a coach which is a decision by a dictator. Was Tom Goss fired? I don't recall. We don't fire ADs too often so I am wondering what a timeline would be; is it something discussed off the record among regents before a public announcement; is it a public vote? Dont know any of this.
EDIT - looks like Tom Goss "resigned" (wink wink) under public pressure.
September 23rd, 2014 at 2:03 AM ^
Tell the faltering AD he should resign to make it look better on the University and himself from getting shit canned. I would expect a resignation by October 1st. Just a hunch.
September 23rd, 2014 at 8:46 AM ^
hire both Harbaughs! Or would they cancel each other out? At least when they tussled on the sidelines. . . I'm not sure what.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:54 AM ^
If Brandon actually hired Hoke without offering the job to Harbaugh OR Miles that is just unreal. I find it almost completely impossible to believe because it would show a level of incompetence that even I didn't attribute to Brandon.
I figured Hoke was Brandon's decent backup or 3rd choice option after his top flight options fell through due to outside circumstances. If Hoke was actually his go-to guy all along--good grief.
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:58 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 1:11 AM ^
hide yo wife
September 23rd, 2014 at 2:08 AM ^
I remember the part about Les Miles... but I thought there was a quote in there that Brandon offered Harbaugh 5 million/yr and he turned it down? Am I confusing it with someone else? Maybe Pat Fitzgerald?
EDIT: I was correct, sort of. The money quote:
"But Michigan's new athletic director, Dave Brandon, was late to get to Harbaugh, so even Brandon's offer of $5 million a year -- double Rodriguez's salary -- was not enough to keep Harbaugh from taking over the San Francisco 49ers, which didn't even require Harbaugh to move his family. Harbaugh's camp is not convinced Brandon was ever truly serious about hiring him. Either way, Harbaugh was not coming to Ann Arbor."
September 23rd, 2014 at 7:24 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 9:22 AM ^
September 23rd, 2014 at 12:59 AM ^
Bacon has always insisted that none of the three were ever offered. Though the reporting on Miles is confusing. He may have been offered in '07 but not January '11. I'm pretty sure everyone agrees neither Harbaugh was ever offered, which is completely fucking insane with regards to Jim. Worst case is you get turned down by the guy who turned Stanford into a national power in like four years. Maybe Brandon's ego is big enough that's a deal breaker, but Jesus.