Herbie flappin his jaws again

Submitted by readyourguard on

"If the Michigan job opens up, Harbaugh will be the head coach in Ann Arbor"

Herbie just uttered this sentence during the Stanford v Arizona broadcast.

Knowing Herbie's penchant for being wrong about this subject, I'd say we're good to go with RR.

bluebyyou

November 6th, 2010 at 10:40 PM ^

That's a big "if", but why would you bet against it?  The Michigan job is a coveted position and Harbaugh, being a Michigan man, would no doubt be thrilled to have it.

Yostal

November 6th, 2010 at 10:42 PM ^

He then said "That's my opinion....Let's be clear, my opinion."  and then he chuckled with Brent like he knew what he just said was going to be a thing and a thing if were not qualified.

BlockM

November 6th, 2010 at 10:42 PM ^

He's stating his opinion and his opinions are usually honest and presented without bias. The only thing I have against Herbstreit is his premature assertion that Miles was coming here. I don't see anything wrong with what he said.

NOLA Wolverine

November 6th, 2010 at 10:43 PM ^

My goodness, if for some reason this ever happens, it looks like we'll just jump into another East Side Story here with "Rich Rod Backers v. Harbaugh Supporters." When talking about the future of Jim Harbaugh at Stanford, that's a pretty valid point to bring up.

emGeauxBleu

November 6th, 2010 at 10:44 PM ^

"if the Michigan job opens up...", what's wrong with that? I don't think that, given the circumstances, U of M fans would be AGAINST Jim Harbaugh being coach. I think it shows his respect for Harbaugh because he thinks that this guy is a good enough coach to coach at the best school in the history of the universe. I see nothing wrong with what he said.

griesecheeks

November 6th, 2010 at 11:45 PM ^

I'll take a jerk if it means consistently beating (out-jerking, if you will) our rivals and contending once again in the B-10. To be clear, I said this exact thing when Rich came aboard, as well. He plays the soft, aw-shucks part well to the media, it seems, but I could definitely see him being somewhat of an A-hole.

Obviously, we want things done the right way, but someone, be it RIch or another coach, needs to bring a sense of confidence and cockiness (back) to Ann Arbor. We've been a soft program with a soft fanbase for awhile now. It's really time to amp things up.

It's looking like RIch has done enough to continue on to next season as our coach. Nothing would be better than to have this team work their tails off and come out with an impressive bowl performance to kick off the campaign for '11. Next year, the stakes will be higher, and we need to start beating top-tier big-ten teams. This offense returns basically all of its parts. Defensively, guys will have gotten a good bit of experience from this season. Add in T-Wolf, and there's reason to think we can contend. 

Back to the topic at hand: I think many agree with Herbstreit's statement. The key word is "IF". there's nothing inflammatory there.

mGrowOld

November 6th, 2010 at 10:50 PM ^

Hang on a second.  I get the "RichRod must go" crowd having a field day LAST Saturday night but for crying out loud we freaking WON today.  Gerg is most likely dead man walking but I would be shocked if RR isn't back next year. 

So how about that Mack Brown anyways?  Things are going real smooth down in Texas this year.  And a big howdy to you Brian Kelly - I trust your finding the Irish fans as supportive as always.

If Rich isn't  completely off the hot seat now he will be after we beat Purdue next week.  Find another coach to replace please - we're going to keep ours.

NOLA Wolverine

November 6th, 2010 at 10:58 PM ^

Everything's okay now that we beat Illinois in 3OT? That's just as ridiculous as the situation here this time last week where playing like we had played all year was the last straw all of the sudden, justifications be damned. To qualify, he should stay regardless really, too many indicators of success, and as he showed today and against Iowa last year, he's all about the players well-being. This isn't a fluent situation, it's his job and the programs future. The past two weeks didn't change much about this team relative to any others teams improvement, and they'll show they've been atleast (and most probably) a 7-5 team regardless next week.

WolverineEagle

November 6th, 2010 at 11:05 PM ^

Those are outnumbered by indicators of failure. Horrid defense all three years of his reign, special teams have gotton progressively worse, inability to beat MSU or PSU, an unusual amount of defectors from the progra, past recruiting class saw 6 kids fail to make it to campus...I'd say that there are a significant amount of indicators that would lead one to believe that he is going to fail here.

All RR has got right now is his offense. It is dynamic. But his defense and special teams are atrocious. There is little reason to believe that this staff will be able to repair the defense as it has not displayed the ability to field a competent defense the past three seasons.

NOLA Wolverine

November 6th, 2010 at 11:15 PM ^

I don't disagree with any negative indicators you presented, and the reason his job is being discussed is because the pro-con list pretty much has two legs to stand on. I think there's enough room for positive growth to believe he'll succeed here, but it's close. You touched on the reason as to why the defense is so poor, recruiting/retainment. If you can find someone(s) to blame for that (now this is a redundant statement in this thread, what ever), go ahead and fire them. (or blame, if you believe it's retroactive). 

white_pony_rocks

November 6th, 2010 at 11:22 PM ^

with a change in D coordinator plus the fact that though our defense is going to be young again next year, it will be young with a year of game experience is a reason to believe the defense will be better next year. if we can hold all our opponents to less than 25 points, which isn't that spectacular, we will go 12-0

NateVolk

November 6th, 2010 at 11:30 PM ^

Jim Harbaugh would do the pretty much the same thing at Michigan, only probably better because he would have shots to recruit better athletes he couldn't get qualified at Stanford.

If you like what you see tonight with the physicality and soundness in all 3 phases, then he is one heck of a choice. 

Don't think there will be an opening at Michigan and not saying there should be either. Rich is building a very impressive offense that is heading towards devastating on a weekly basis.

Hard to say long term which direction would be better, but  we're way past the mystery stage on all this. At Michigan, Harbaugh would very likely bring a bigger, faster, more athletic and skilled version of his Stanford teams given a couple years to run things his way.

The Rich Rodriguez end game here is more of a mystery. Let's face it.

BlueTimesTwo

November 6th, 2010 at 11:42 PM ^

Jesus man, do you read this blog at all before commenting on it?  Find the search box on the top right of the page, search for "the decimated defense" and read it.  Look at some of the point totals that the 2007 defense gave up, and look at the lack of depth on defense going forward.  That was what RR had to deal with coming in.  Do you think he plays freshmen just for shits and giggles?

The defense is insanely young and has had a lot of injuries.  Most impact defensive players return next year, in addition to getting Woolfolk back, and getting help from some redshirts and other young talent.  Barring some insane progress in the next few games, Gerg may be gone, but with or without him the defense will improve simply by not having to play a ton of freshmen.

We all know that 2008 was a debacle, and last year we were not quite ready to compete with quality teams, but this year our offense is outstanding, and practically everybody returns next year.  With even modest improvement on defense (which is likely from experience, if nothing else), we will be able to beat anybody.  We are not going to cut our nose off to spite our face by firing RR.   The sooner we can put the "fire RR" bullshit to bed the sooner we will be able to ramp up our recruiting back up to where it belongs and keep building for the future.

cali4444

November 7th, 2010 at 12:45 AM ^

Agree totally.  The fact that this constitutes as one of RR's biggest victories in almost 3 seasons only underscores how far expectations have dropped.  How many home Big Ten wins does he have now?  Isn't it two?  How did he fare against the only above average teams he's faced this year? (MSU and Iowa) both losses.  If we lose to WIsc. and OSU that will make us 0-4 against above-average teams. Brandon knows the value of defense.  Michigan didn't bring in Rodriguez to simply match his old WVU teams, he was brought in to take Michigan to top 5 status.  (and yes, gaining top 5 status while playing in the Big Ten is different that gaining it in the Big East)  When you butt heads with the big boys, you better bring a nasty D to the table.  This has always been true and it will continue to be true.  RR may be a good guy, but when your coach is not really interested in defense, I doubt he ever takes Michigan to consistant prominence.  That was the goal when Carr stepped down, remember?

BlueTimesTwo

November 7th, 2010 at 1:52 AM ^

"RR may be a good guy, but when your coach is not really interested in defense, I doubt he ever takes Michigan to consistant prominence."

I was going to reply, but this is such a monumentally idiotic statement, that I was rendered temporarily speechless.  Like if RR just cared enough about defense, he could transform Kovacs into a 230 pound safety that runs a 4.4, and Avery and Talbott would magically be seniors.

cali4444

November 7th, 2010 at 9:21 AM ^

"I was going to reply, but this is such a monumentally idiotic statement, that I was rendered temporarily speechless."

Yet unfortunately,  the village idiot found a way to recover from his temporary speechlessness and responded anyway.

Last week, after 2 1/2+ seasons of awful defense, RR claims he is going to start getting a "little involved" in the defense, although it is "not really his thing".  To me, that statement makes it appear he is not very interested in coaching defense.  RR said it, not me, quasimoto.

WolverineEagle

November 6th, 2010 at 10:58 PM ^

If UM loss the next three games there is a very real possibility that he could be fired. I'd say iot would be 60-40 he stays, but no one knows how the people who really run the program--the boosters--feel.

 

David Brandon's job is owed to the wealthly alums. If they want RR gone, he's gone. That is how college athletics work.

 

I think what is likely to happen is that Brandon wil tell RR to fire the entire defensive coaching staff and hire a highly respected DC who will have complete control over the defense. If RR balks at that, Brandon fires him.

I like and feel for RR, but if he does not make drastic changes to his staff--meaning the termination of the ENTIRE defensive staff--than he should go. I sincerely hope he recognizes the problem is much more than Gerg and the 3-3-5.

NOLA Wolverine

November 6th, 2010 at 11:09 PM ^

Is there even a precident set for firing a coach after the season of their first bowl birth? I guess I can try and understand Nebraska''s "feeling wayyyy too entitled' alum base for the firing of Solich (In terms of not meeting expectations, not for the scenario here), but even that was ridiculous. This would be even crazier than that at this point.

And the problem does go much deeper than Greg and the 3-3-5, mainly that we don't have enough players ready to fill each tier of it. If you give Bobby Flay spoiled meat, it's still going to taste like shit when he's done cooking it. Kids have to grow up (and stay) before you can really grade Greg. Now if you have a good reason to fire someone over the current state of the depth chart, be our guest.