Interview with an icon: Desmond Howard - Omaha.com
The Omaha World Herald's Nebraska football blog, Big Red Today, recently interviewed U-M legend Desmond Howard as part of their ongoing Big Ten Roundup. Never short of an opinion, Howard shares his thoughts on a wide range of topics including Jim Tressel, NCAA rules, Reggie Bush, and Michigan's coaching change.
On Michigan's transition with Brady Hoke:
I don't think Rich Rodriguez was a bad coach. I don't think he was a bad guy. He did the best he could. It just wasn't a good fit. I think Brady Hoke is a much better fit. He understands the culture. He's coached here before. I think it's his dream job. You want someone there that pretty much wants to die there. This is like their end game. I believe that's how Brady Hoke feels about the Michigan job. He was a guy who said he would've walked from San Diego State to Ann Arbor. That's kind of what you want in that position.
Click here to read the entire interview: http://omaha.com/article/20110620/BIGRED/706209847/-1#interview-with-an-icon-desmond-howard
I found it refreshing to hear such honesty about Bill Martin and the "heinous" nature of Tressel's coverup.
Rich Rodriguez never had close to the passion Hoke has for the Michigan. Not saying Rich Rod was a bad guy, but if he was successful here and a better opportunity arose for more money ... there was a chance he would have walked away. I say no chance in hell Hoke ever walks away no mater what offer comes down.
I really don't understand how you can say that. If it'd worked out, there's no where else he'd likely go. NFL teams wouldn't knock on his door. What could other College programs offer him?
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<br>He wanted to be here, what more could he have done to prove it? I love RR but he just didn't win enough (games and in perception, I suppose.)
"He wanted to be here, what more could he have done to prove it?"
i don't think it had anything to do with lack of effort on RR's part. like desmond said, it just wasn't a good fit. i know that's vague and seems like a cop out, but there's really no other way to put it. michigan fans have certain expectations (see: mascot rage for a recent example) that just didn't mesh with RR's style as a coach.
But that's not what the poster above is arguing. He's saying "well Hole would never leave, RR may have...". I think that's a horse poop claim. RR wanted to be at Michigan, but the results on the field didn't improve fast enough for DB to ignore the obvious "culture clash."
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<br>In the end, keeping RR led to too many distractions. I guess this is where I end it with the "Brady Hoke gets it..."
Sorry that's Hoke no Hole.
i get what you're saying, but there's also really no evidence to support the idea that RR wouldn't have left michigan for greener pastures at some point if he was successful. hoke has made it abundantly clear he's in it for good.
At the point between RRs firing and Hoke's hiring, DB was looking for a restoration of a good defense, (and ultimately winning) and a coach who doesn't have to learn M tradition on the job. Not whether or not someone would leave. The fact that he wouldn't leave just speaks to the fact that he knows Michigan intimately and loves it for that reason. I see your point as well I just don't see how RR would have given any impression that he'd leave. Michigan is a final destination for head coaches, not a stop on the Career train.
Using your logic and the factual information I have, I'll say there's really no evidence that you won't leave your wife/GF for a better looking woman if you're successful.
and exactly what factual information do you have on this particular topic???
He has just as much factual information on that particular topic as you do regarding RR leaving Michigan. That's the point.
/Captain Obvious
Sure there is: there aren't any greener pastures.
Why isn't it enough to simply say that RR had some serious flaws as a head coach that manifested themselves at Michigan? The "fit" stuff is irrelevant horseshit. If he'd been a better HC in terms of recruiting decisions and managing his defensive staff, he'd have won more games. If that had happened, he'd still be here and nobody would be moaning about "fit"—they'd be talking about how the infusion of new blood and fresh ideas were just what the program needed, which is a big reason why he was hired in the first place.
Do you know both men personally? If you don't, you can't really say one man has more passion for the job. But if you look at how each man was welcomed, there is quite a difference.
RR arrived with a track record as the "godfather" of the offense that is accepted as "modern" for colelge football and a record of 60-26 at a BCS school. He was sabotaged by the outgoing coach, many of that coach's ex-players, and even members of "his" own compliance staff from the day he stepped on campus. From the day he got here, he was told by the good ol' boy network that he didn't fit in. It became a meme and was used against him by those who should have done what Bump did for Bo and what Bo would have done for RR if he were still alive.
Contrast that with Hoke. Hoke was 47-51 with two non-BCS schools and was embraced as a savior. The same good ol' boy network that sabotaged RR has decided to get behind Hoke. He made his comment about how he would have "walked to Ann Arbor" and it was chosen to be his meme. And now everyone is pulling in one direction, which is what they should have been doing for RR in the first place.
It's no accident that almost no "outsider" with any decent track record interviewed for the position this January. The rest of the coaching profession now knows that the UM job is for inbred talent only. They know that outsiders will eventually be forced out by the good ol' boy network. Michigan is a top ten job for inbred talent, and a bottom ten job for anyone else.
RR would have been a great fit for Michigan; he only "crime" was that he was a bad fit for the good ol' boy network. Shame on RR for bringing new DNA to Michigan. He should have known better.
I am sure that will impact some folks preception of the interview..
Go Blue!
In Brian's "tips for former players on speaking"
Comically, Desmond made the original quote that started the firestorm
...RichRod stuff. That ground's been plowed and replowed. These answers, however, are very interesting:
WH: Have you been to Lincoln for a game?
DH: Yes, we did a show there (USC in 2007). It's a great place for football. It reminded me of the Big Ten when I was out there. It's just a perfect fit. You've got coach Bo Pelini, who played at Ohio State. He played at Ohio State when I was at Michigan. So he understands the Big Ten. He has that blue-collar mentality, that rough, rugged, physical style. ...
It has to sicken him seeing (the events at Ohio State). Guys who came up in our era, listen, if Woody Hayes was around now, I'm thinking he would grab Jim Tressel by the collar and punch him in the throat. Because what he has done to that program, it's just embarrassing.
WH: With Nebraska's addition, can the Big Ten stack up with the SEC as the nation's best conference?
DH: (Laughing) I don't think there's a big gap, but the SEC is very competitive. But there's a lot going on down in the SEC. A lot going on. I think if everybody played by the same exact rules, then everybody across the whole landscape would be a little more even. Their best teams I wouldn't say are just head-and-shoulders above the Big Ten's best teams. I just think that they have more depth.
WH: Are you referring to rules like over-signing? Or advantages like Cam Newton had in the recruiting process?
DH: There's a lot — a lot — of stuff going on. Like I said, the Big Ten with this whole Ohio State situation going on, they can't stand on any moral high ground. But there are many more scandals in the SEC than in the Big Ten. That sort of thing speaks for itself.
Do tell, Desmond. Do tell.
if Woody Hayes was around now, I'm thinking he would grab Jim Tressel by the collar and punch him in the throat.
But, But JT has a better winning % than Woody. /s
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