Michael Taylor on WTKA regarding Corwin Brown being blown off by Hoke/Brandon

If it's true, that's a huge mistake IMO.  Huge recruiter.  The staff is sooooo white, and it bothers me.  

what did he say?

I like Coach Hoke, but I don't understand not at least talking to Cornflakes.  There has to be something else going on.  Didn't he coach with GM at ND. 

Edit : Sorry, I checked Wikipedia and they never coached together at ND.

Have to say, but has an on-air meltdown/hissy fit about what they are saying. Apparently white letterman don't count to him (even if they've previously worked with these coaches before). Might be time for MT to go the way of Ricky Leach and just keep it mouth shut rather than remove all doubt, if you know what I'm saying.

Mike Taylor needs to sort this stuff out behind closed doors.  He came off poorly in my opinion even though I generally really like the guy.

I wonder if he knew at the time of the call that another former player was hired?

Mattison should get to choose his own coaches. Should he have given Brown a pity interview? maybe. Should he have hired him? Not if he thinks Mallory is better.

Very inappropriate if true ... you might even say "Braylonesque."  This is from a guy who was often lauded for being a "smart" player, too.  (That might have been a nice way of saying his downfield range was about 13 yards.)

Is this evidence of a conflict between Lloyd Loyalists and Schembechler <somethings>?  Is Corwin just maybe not the best candidate?  Based on where he's been and what he has done, I have a hard time believing Curt Mallory was a better choice, but (seriously) WTF do I know?  Any insiders care to shed some light on this?

Man, I really wanted Corwin Brown as our DB coach. Great recruiter, has been a D-Coordinator (ND) and has most recently worked on Belichik's staff. 

I like Mattison, Hoke so far. But holy shit, having a staff comprised of old bald white men isn't going to help recruiting.

If this in fact happened, bad move. I also think it's classless if they didn't call him back.

University of Michigan."

And, Marc from Novi?  I got two words for you, behind closed doors.  Braylon.  Edwards.

Is Corwin the dude who used to tell ND recruits he would have gone to ND over Michigan if given the opportunity?  

This isn't good on a lot of fronts.  

First, if it's true that Cornflakes tried to call BH or GM and didn't even get a return call, that's just wrong.   It's one thing if they didn't want him there for whatever reason, but you just don't disrespect an alum like that.  

Secondly, what the hell was wrong with Cornflakes as a coach?   No offense to Curt Mallory, but it would seem that Corwin is at least as qualified and would bring a little diversity to the staff.

Lastly, even if all of this is true, Taylor shouldn't be going on the radio and airing this out.  As others have said, go to DB and discuss this.   I mean, Corwin Brown hasn't gone to the media about this, not sure why Taylor felt the need to do it.   I'm sure he meant well (sticking up for a teammate), but not good.

Hopefully, this can get smoothed over, last thing we need is the Gary Moeller faction to go to war with the Lloyd Carr faction, with the Bo and RR clans figuring out which side to choose.

This is not a big deal.  Let the coach(es) hire who they want.  No rift, just a bunch of pissing and moaning from people who didn't get their way.  But, but, but...they didn't even call me back.  Who gives a shit.    

Corwin Brown back. And more diversity. But I cannot have everything I want and neither can MT

Everybody quit your whining.   Gary vs Lloyd, Bo vs Gary, him vs him....yata yata yata.....geeeeeezz!!!  

Give the coach a F'in break.  He' s been recruiting 24/7 for 3 weeks trying to assemble some sort of class for 2011.  Bunch of frickin' babies.

wow, didn't see that coming man

This is just the first sign that no matter who our head coach is, there is always a whiner out there who didn't get his way. 

There are rumors that he trashed his alma mater on the recruiting trail while he was at ND. If his interest in the position wasn't reciprocated, that may have something to do with it.

The point about wanting a more diverse coaching staff is well taken. Most college players are black. It's time coaching staffs reflected that. It's still a white-boy club. Plus, diversity will the school more desirable to recruits. 

That being said, who knows why (or whether) Hoke didn't call Brown. He may have a very good reason. Bitching about on the radio seems stupid.

corwin brown wouldve helped greg banks workout

Please tell me this isn't true.  Corwin Brown would be the PERFECT coach for our DBs.  This would be a horrific oversight, and the worst move made by the Hoke regime so far, if it turns out to be true.  Who cares about anything he said while he was at ND.  The dude is a monster recruiter, former DC at a top national program, and a current DB coach under Bill mf-ing Belichick.  This would have been an absolute home run hire and to think he didn't get an interview, let alone a phone call, is an absolute shame.  

I think one point people are missing who are making the "omgzzzz affirmative action!" argument is that, simply, having another African American helps recruiting. Regardless of it's Mallory or Corwin Brown or whomever, it is absolutely a consideration, and should be, especially at a position like defensive backs, where, (and save me your "Vinopal! Kovacs!" argument) the vast majority of successful players are African American. Not to mention, Corwin Brown has an outstanding reputation as a recruiter. Frankly, I think his recruiting prowess alone makes him a better hire than Mallory, and not even giving the guy a call back is, in fact, a disrespectful move. Now, Michael Taylor probably shouldn't have put it on blast like that also. But yeah- i really want/wanted Corwin Brown, and if we still have a spot on our staff, why not make Mallory the "Beyonce" and bring in Brown to coach the DB's? I think that would be a home run, assuming he's not butt-hurt from the lack of call back (which I'm sure could be smoothed over with a "hey man, meant to call you; shit's been ridiculous here the past couple of weeks...wanna come in for an interview?" call from Hoke).

.......it seems like there are more white coaches than black, and thus, more white coaches near the top of the food chain.

No numbers to throw around, but it does seem like there are more top-flite black players who go pro than white, although I'm sure that in some years it's vice-versa or close to 50/50. That being said, there are probably more white ex-players who don't make the pro ranks and get into coaching instead, starting off as a GA and progressing through the coaching ranks. Meanwhile, although some black ex-players start off similarly, the rest who get into coaching play pro-level ball first and then come into the coaching community afterwards. They end up being older and out of the college game for at least a few years, thus, I believe it may be harder for them to break into  coaching than it is for the ones who get into it immediately after their college career is over. Just a thought, and maybe not necessarily correct, but it is an off-hand observation.

As for the success of white or black coaches, and comparing them to one another, that is a topic that shouldn't even be discussed, anywhere. In my opinion, a coach shows how good he is by the product he puts on the field, the quality of young men (or women, in a general coaching sense) he puts out into the world, and the respect his ex-players and other coaches and players have for him. At UM, the school that I root for, I want them to get the best coaches who can put the UM athletes in the best position to win on the field and in life. I don't really care what color their skin is. If he's purple, but churns out a Brady, Woodson, Harris and/or Woodley every year, then that is fine by me.

For those that say Taylor should have taken this to Brandon or hoke . . . Why should they talk to him about this? Is it really any of his business? Yes he was a former player but that doesn't mean he has a say in everything or anything that goes on there now. Brutal.

suspects come out and grumble about getting the best guy. But somehow blacks continue to be miserably under-represented in the ranks year in, year out--why is that? And are people really so naive that they don't think that if word gets out that Michigan isn't even making an effort it will hurt on the recruiting trail, perhaps irreparably?

Put many of these same reactionary graybeards in a place where 95+% of people are black for a few years and tell me they wouldn't be uncomfortable. . .

I bet Cornflakes is really looking forward to his next meeting with Belichick.

The opening press conference was lather fest about how the program, its alumni and boosters need to be united behind a "Michigan Man".  I am not going criticize Hoke, if he thinks Curt Mallory is the best man for the job than great.  But he and Brandon do have to watch out, perception is reality and creating a racial division in the program could get really ugly.  Hopefully this is just the rants of a rouge former player and not signs of a further schism. It would be interesting to find out the whole story here I just hope Brandon really is, to steal a term from GWB, the uniter he has been sold as, the heir apparent to Bo and not a stubborn narcissist.

I am trying to think of all the great notre dame dbacks from the weis era . . . . and wasn't it the horrible defense that got charlie canned?  Someone enlighten me.

There is a LinkedIn group of former letterwinners and MT has been going OFF for a couple months now.  He's certainly spoken his mind and and made his opinion very well know . 

However, I have ONE major issue with something that was said early in this thread....

"He said he (MT) had been on the phone all day with former letter winners and all were PISSED OFF!"

Obviously I can't comment on the people Michael spoke to on the phone, but to hint that ALL former letterwinners were pissed off is misleading.

Corwin's DB work at Notre Dame:

In 2007, opponents gained 1939 yards through the air against Notre Dame.  19 TDs, 11 Ints.

In 2008, opponents gained 2544 yards though the air against Notre Dame.  15 TDs, 14 Ints.

In 2009, opponents gained 2730 yards through the air against Notre Dame.  17 TDs, 12 Ints.

Which means, rankings wise, Notre Dame went from being the #3 pass defense in terms of yardage (in a year they went 3-9, wha?) to the #27 pass defense, to being right above Ball State and Florida Atlantic in 2009, with the #76 pass defense.  Michigan was 66th in pass yardage defense in 2009.

that I think they are doing more harm than good. Some of them are representing their own narrow self-interests to the detriment of the program, the university and the team. I also suspect that for every one that shoots his mouth off, there are a dozen with an opposing view who don't air it publicly.

You wussed out. Should they be black or white?

Unless there is any evidence that he was passed over due to the color of the skin, then this is nothing more than sour grapes. People need to get over themselves.

A Michigan Man lamenting that another Michigan Man chose to hire one MIchigan Man instead of an alternative Michigan Man.

Sacrilege!

A Michigan Man lamenting that another Michigan Man chose to hire one MIchigan Man instead of an alternative Michigan Man.

Sacrilege!

Damn, Leach and MT do NOT hold it in.  

I don't think you can afford to be racist if you're a football coach