January 8th, 2011 at 12:29 AM ^
January 8th, 2011 at 12:28 AM ^
This might be a minor meltdown, but I remember how many topics and comments there were on this board for the past three year about how sleazy and corrupt Rich Rod was and how his "win at all costs" attitude was despicable. None of those things had a shred of truth for those who looked a little more closely (e.g. judging Rod by Pacman Jones and Chris Henry is laughable because they behaved their entire time at WV).
Now people are turning to a guy who very clearly treats his players like commodities and then LIES about it to the media and throwing their full support behind him!
Incredible.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:30 AM ^
Seems pretty obvious to me that whoever is hired isn't going to be given even the faintest chance by people who make posts like this comparing every little thing to the grave, inhumane injustice of the RR era.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:34 AM ^
Last I checked, pulling scholarships from kids already moved into dorm rooms for no reason other than being buried on the depth chart then lying about it wasn't a "little thing."
For the record, Les Miles is the only coaching candidate mentioned thus far that I have an actual problem with outside of coaching ability.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:47 AM ^
I'm with you there. Especially after we got hit with sanctions under RR, I don't think we need to eagerly welcome someone with NCAA concerns. One thing I don't get is that MSC had (allegedly) a problem with Harbaugh and his love for women and blanco...but we'd be cool with someone (allegedly) screwing over his kids?
January 8th, 2011 at 12:39 AM ^
January 8th, 2011 at 12:47 AM ^
You went off on the violations, sad day for Michigan, how we always did think the right way...and now you have no problem with a guy kicking a player off the team after he moved into the dorm because he signed too many players, and then not even talking to him?? Bo or Lloyd would never have gone along with that.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:09 AM ^
Never said I was OK with it.
Just pointing out that every single candidate not named Jim Harbaugh has received an invariably negative reaction, accompanied by a comparison of their faults to the downfall of Rich Rodriguez. That's all.
Any shred hope of the fanbase uniting behind anybody seems particularly implausible at this point, especially when our fearless leader seems to be really pushing the general groupthink about the perceived candidates for the job. Coincidentally, he's particularly negative on both Miles and Hoke, who seem to be the two most likely candidates at this point.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:40 AM ^
As one who frequently pointed out flaws with RichRod, I've gotta say that "sleazy and corrupt" was not the calling card of RR critics (at least here). "Stubborn", "not winning", "ignoring defense", etc...were all common actual complaints about RR. I'm sure there were a couple of folks here and there (the sort who type "scUM"...which is beyond lame, but that's a different story) who might have called him sleazy and whatnot, but no need to battle with an argument rarely (or not) levied.
Anyway, RR is gone. He deserved to lose his job by nearly every measurable standard (unless the "everyone deserves 4 years" standard is your preferred rule). Let's just see who comes next and not continue to harp on arguments with strawmen. I think there are a number of coaches who can bring us back to a position of national prominence and hope we get one of those.
January 8th, 2011 at 2:00 AM ^
January 8th, 2011 at 2:56 AM ^
Three down years and no patience did this. Sad.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:34 AM ^
Apparently any momentum we can ever get as a program towards a coach must be immediately dissolved. Gotta love it, all in for Brady.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:35 AM ^
I really hope we don't hire Les. The rumors in regards to Moeller and negative recruiting against Lloyd aside, the whole oversigning issue is a sign to me that he sold his soul to the dark side of the SEC to just win games. It's a business down there and to be honest I'd rather take a risk with Brady Hoke. Hoke is young, his players love him and he coaches defense. You can't say Hoke would for sure be a bad coach here, and from what he has done thus far in his career he'd probably be successful. I don't even care about Miles' clock management, and I actually like watching his games because of the unpredictability. However, he's always been someone that I like watching coach only a team to which I have no real connection to. That being said, if he is our next coach, obviously I will support him 100%, however I will lose a lot of respect for David Brandon in how he's handled this ordeal.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:40 AM ^
agreed so much with the first statement in a paragraph and disagreed so much with the second.
I would take Hoke slightly over Miles because he's clean. BUT:
Hoke is not young. He's 52.
Did you read his comments about the spread? Even most pro-style coaches aren't that hard-headed and misinformed.
What has he done in his career? He took six seasons to get over .500 at Ball State and has one good season there and one good season at SDSU. Totally unproven.
If I "can't say Hoke would for sure be a bad coach here" then I guess I can't say that about any coach in the nation, either.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:49 AM ^
He's not gonna over sign at Michigan period. If he wants the job I'm sure DB has talked to him about playing by Michigan and Big 10 rules. Don't you think coaching in the SEC might have something to do with over signing and gray shirting? It's not like he's the only coach that does it. Saban is the master at it and ESPN/MSM treat him like a king.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:57 AM ^
He can't oversign even if he ignored Brandon. B1G has rules about class size. They make it basically impossible to do what the SEC does.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:37 AM ^
@LSUBeatTweet Glenn Guilbeau
January 8th, 2011 at 12:43 AM ^
That sure isn't an OMG YES I'M STAYING.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:47 AM ^
The opposite. It's a dodge and pretty much means he's leaving, or at least seriously considering it (IMO).
The guy is one 7-8 win season from being run out of the state of Louisiana. I can't see him staying there. He went 11-2 this year and took a ridiculous amount of shit.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:24 AM ^
I watched about 3 1/2 quarters of the Cotton Bowl. LSU was dominating ATM on both sides of the ball. Other than a missed field goal, LSU looked pretty darn solid to me. Miles' stock will likely never be higher and I'm sure he knows he isn't getting any younger. If that teary-eyed press conference about Michigan being his "dream job" in 2007 was true, this is his hour.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:50 AM ^
WJBO Baton Rouge radio (same station alleging Miles to UM) reports that Miles danced around the Michigan rumor question at the press conference. He did not say no to the rumor and that he was saying
January 8th, 2011 at 12:39 AM ^
I can deal with the looniness and clock managemtn stuff, but I don't like the oversigning/greyshirting/lying stuff. The thing is, he may be the only remaining options that can lead to a winning season (maybe more?) next year compared to mass defection from recruits and current players that would have long term repercussions.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:39 AM ^
It seems after each late bowl game finishes, the higher touted coach is immediately accepting a deal to become U of M's coach. We really need to just name a coach already!
January 8th, 2011 at 12:40 AM ^
I'm really hoping DB doesn't disappoint but I can't shake the suspiscion that he has a plan. I think the Miles rumors are just the predictable speculation we knew was coming after his bowl game. Just like predicting RR's firing or Harbaugh leaving Stanford for X, Y, or Z job, there is a decent chance it could be right and since no one is ever held accountable why not just spout some bullshit theory. Still, I'd be okay with Miles being hired if it turns out to be true.
Barring that though, where do we turn? For me it makes no sense for DB to not give Rodriguez a fourth year only to turn around and hire a coach with a similar or lesser pedigree of success at lower level stops. This would seem to describe every college candidate we are hearing about.
For me, someone like Gruden or perhaps John Evenharderballz are the guys who can come in with instant credibility and name recognition. Hopefully DB proves the skeptics wrong and in the next few days we're following the most talked about program in the country (for good reasons). If not, this will all have been one very long, drawn out disappointment.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:44 AM ^
I never got the Gruden love, honestly. His Super Bowl was with Dungy's team. And even with that team he finished 2 games over .500 in Tampa. Was a little better in Oakland. But then the team he left was taken to the Super Bowl itself.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:53 AM ^
It wasn't Duny's team. It isn't like he recruited the players. It is the GM/owner's team and Dungy didn't win there, then it took him a bunch of tries and a matchup against Rex Grossman after he had Peyton Manning at his disposal.
Gruden is one of the best X and O's guys in football, high energy, still under fifty, and a visible/charismatic potential recruiter. "Hey remember me from Monday Night Football? Yeah, check out this ring. Sweet, huh? Want to put some wings on your helmet?"
The guy is the truth. It would be an absolute home run to bring a guy who won despite Al Davis to Ann Arbor and put all the resources Michigan has at his disposal.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:03 AM ^
By your line of thinking then the Raiders team that played in the Superbowl against TB was Gruden's team and not Callahan's. I'm not saying I want Gruden at UM, but you do have to give him some props as an NFL coach.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:47 AM ^
I'm really suspicious of DB's plan thus far. Dragging out the coaching search just gets everyone upset, and the wounds will linger once this is over, look what happened with RR. I hope he announces a coach this weekend, I think it's going to be Hoke or Miles, I'd prefer Les, but I hope I'm completely wrong and its Keller or someone else
January 8th, 2011 at 12:48 AM ^
I've agreed with pretty much everything you've said throughout this debacle. Thanks for being an assertive voice of reason (imhe).
As for the Gruden rumors, I thought Gruden was a pipe dream until I saw on another thread that he saidy Michigan is his dream job (and the jet was in PHX, where Gruden is). I'd love to see the original quote in context. Anyone know what he said in ESPN magazine?
January 8th, 2011 at 1:00 AM ^
Someone else mentioned a book he wrote where he talks about ND and Michigan as potential dream jobs (his dad was an assistant at ND). My head keeps telling me it is a pipe dream too but when I try to play out a "Dave Brandon hasn't fucked this up" scenario in my head Gruden begins to look more and more realistic.
To me he's a guy who loves the game but I don't think sees any benefit in another NFL job (already done 11 years and won a Super Bowl, what is there to prove). He's taken a break from coaching and spent some of his free time investigating the exact type of offense we've been running here at Michigan. If he wants a big time head coaching job at a midwestern college (the "dream jobs" he referred to) his options are slim elsewhere. Kelly is there at least another three years at ND and even if Tressel leaves who would want to have to follow him. If he shows up in Ann Arbor he'll be hailed as a savior at a school with lowered expectations and damaged pride (How pumped would people be at this point just to beat State?) and a team with loads of returning talent. If he wins 9 games next year (where I thought the bottom rung of the expectations would/should be for next year under Rodriguez) he's already the man. If he does better he's the hottest name in college football. If he beats OSU to break the streak he's a legend already in year one.
Seems like a job I could see somebody like him being interested in. So as you can see I've totally talked myself into it in order to avoid embracing the nightmare of Hokeamania.
January 8th, 2011 at 3:31 AM ^
I love the idea of what you say. But I force myself to not believe it so I don't get all depressed when we hire someone less appealing.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:07 AM ^
Purplestuff has hit it on the head. After Harbaugh, no one meets all the criteria of being: young, a Michigan Man, a proven winning head coach in college, ethically clean, and knowlegable of the Mid-West. The only viable MM candidates are Les and Hoke. Les is older and has ethical issues from the SEC. Hoke is hardly proven. The rest are outsiders to the program and, essentially, match RR's profile when he was hired.
Brian made this point on WTKA yesterday - the perfect coach is gone. Everyone else is a compromise. Someone who is less than ideal will be hired. The question is - will we support him or divide into factions and eat another coach alive?
January 8th, 2011 at 12:41 AM ^
If Miles is out, I would say go all in for Gruden. Makes most sense.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:42 AM ^
Please, please, please let this be true!!!
January 8th, 2011 at 12:43 AM ^
If it is true that it is Miles, I wonder if any of his recruits would follow him to Michigan. It looks like the majority of their recruits are from Louisiana, but they have a very good class.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:53 AM ^
Wayne Lyons is supposedly announcing tomorrow at the Army AA game, supposedly deciding between Michigan, Stanford and Nebraska. Stanford just lost its coach. If Pelini leaves NE for LSU, that probably eliminates them. Lyons also was looking at ND, but they have been assuming they are a long shot. Could we possibly go from the hell we have been in for the past two days to getting the Mad Hatter, Kris Frost and Wayne Lyons all in the same day?
January 8th, 2011 at 1:06 AM ^
If we get Miles and Pelini goes to LSU, we hamstring Nebraska heading into their first B1G season. That's pretty cool.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:17 AM ^
not like les would sign both michigan's and LSUs classes and sort out over the summer once ervyone arrives.
helluva coach. damn fine recruiter. excellent football mind. very worried about integrity.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:43 AM ^
January 8th, 2011 at 12:45 AM ^
They only won 10 games this year Pawl. Saban clearly isn't the right man for the job. That's all I have to say, I'll hang up and let you respond Paaaawwwwl.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:16 AM ^
It's all a conspiracy Pawwwwwwwl. I can't believe you let that guy say that Pawwwwwl.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:43 AM ^
Les Miles will be the next coach at Michigan. His post-game comments do not sound like those of a man intent on staying at his current job. Really, who says anything about the jobs kids can get coming out of a school after winning a bowl game? Only someone wishing to soften the blow of their imminent departure, that's who.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:44 AM ^
I will be behind whomever is hired. I think we all should learn from the RR era. As corny as it is its true " a house divided cannot stand" whoever is hired we should all consider it day 1 and give them a chance.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:05 AM ^
I see some time in the clink has softened your hard candy shell.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:23 AM ^
January 8th, 2011 at 1:05 AM ^
I see some time in the clink has softened your hard candy shell.
January 8th, 2011 at 1:35 AM ^
This sounds like something a James Bond villain would say to a large-bosomed heroine chained to a dungeon wall over a pool filled with sharks.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:44 AM ^
They mentioned that Brandon played with Miles on one of Bo's teams. Anyone know what side DB was on during the last coaching search? I wonder if he wanted Miles back in 2007.
January 8th, 2011 at 3:04 AM ^
Miles should have been given every bit of consideration any other candidate got. Not glowing, but not negative. Wish I could find the link.
January 8th, 2011 at 12:45 AM ^
I haven't posted here before, but have been a long time reader. My grandfather played for Fritz Crisler... My Great Uncle was captain of the 1910 team under Yost. I have been a Harbaugh fan since the 80's, but I believe that if he were our next coach, we would have been doomed to 3-4 more years of wandering in the wilderness. My first choice for coach is Patterson, with Mullen as number 2. Both of them would be better equipped to utilize the existing offensive personnel. I have Patteson ahead of Mullen because TCU has always run a variant of the 3-3-5 under Patterson, and has (almost) always been in the top 25 of defenses. At this point, I don't want to see radical change, but improvement. Not a ground-up rebuilding of the program, but an injection of new ideas and new energy. I'll support whoever the new coach may be, but I'm not disappointed that it's not Harbaugh.