No coffee for Brandon

But I think it needs to be said about every 10 posts to chill everyone out.  Let's give this a little time before we bury DB, k?  He's been doing something for the past month, presumably related to M football.  He had an idea he would fire RR, or at least knew it would be a possibility.  He did not starting thinking about this or doing his due dilligence this morning.  The guy didn't get to where he is by being lazy, that much I know.

There are a dozen coaches out there we'd love to have.  Some or most of them won't come, but one will.  We have more money, more history, a better school and more $$$ than all but a few schools and they have coaches right now.   Maybe it's not Patterson, but it wouldn't be too crazy for him to say "You know, I just went undefeated and didn't get a shot at a national title, and I'm moving to the Big East where the last team to go undefeated there (Cincinnati) also didn't get a shot.  I'd like to coach a team where if I put together the best team in the country, I get rewarded for it.  I'd like to coach in a huge stadium where my team is on national TV every year and I can attract numerous future NFLers.  Oh yeah, doubling my salary is nice too."

Or Dan Mullen, who knows no matter what, he'll never be able to out recruit Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Florida, therefore will probably never even win his own conference.  Oh yeah, a million and a half to two million dollar raise wouldn't be bad.  And for a guy not from the south, a chance to get out of the south. 

These are only two examples, and there are many.  We only need one.  I know Notre Dame has tried its hardest to disprove this, but the big programs are never down long.  USC, Alabama, Nebraska, they all had down periods lately.   We have the name, we have the stadium, we'll get the coach.

The last CC had the same pattern, our sites lock on one candidate and profess that any other is failure. Why not let Brandon do his job there will be plenty of time to comment when we actually know what we are commenting about. It just seems we look as dumb  as the talking heads when we try to beat the press. Good luck to all in this unsettling time, drive carefully if you are self medicating as I am.

does anyone see ANY way that DB can get JH here? I think not but I'm perfectly happy to grasp at straws right now.

Hoke is hired.  This is not a good start, I will say that.  What if really assuming to me is that all M fans are up in arms and Sparty/nuetral fans I've talked to are very impressed with Brandon and loved the presser.

I and i will if I am wrong, but this is the worst thing that could have happened.  If he did not have a coach lined up, why in hell did he wait to fire RR?  This make absolutely no sense now.  How do you fire a coach that you have invested 3 years in, increased wins by 2 every year and not have a coach in waiting.  Just because he is a CEO of Dominos does not make him a genius.  We all know it is not what you know, but who you know.We all gave him the benefit of the doubt because he ran dominos and he did handle the NCAA investigation well, but that is all he has done.  He is slowly selling the University to the highest bidder.  Frankly I am pissed off.  I am a RR supporter and was able to accept JH being our new coach just to find out he is not coming.  I am sure Brandon has no clue what he is doing.  Does he have any experiece in the athletic department?  Please let me know.

Another thing.. if someone else says that we need a MIchigan Man I think I will smack them.  Last time I checked, we are 0-2 on getting a "Michigan Man" to coach this "storied" program.  The BCS changed college football, we were about 10 years late in adapting and now we are behind the curve trying to play catch-up.  Kids now do not care about tradition, they don't care that we have more wins then any other program.  Most of these kids were in preschool when we won our national championship.  They want to win now.. period.  They are growing up in a society that requires instant gratification. Don't believe me?  How many of you wanted RR fired only after 3 years.

Since thread starting is severely restricted (which sucks big time, since, well, this would be an awesome time to be able to talk about this stuff with the people we are used to being able to talk about it with, but I understand the reason), I'll just deposit this here....

Pretty self-explanatory, but also equally seismic in State College.  Pertinent part as follows:

PITTSBURGH -- Penn State defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Tom Bradley will be named the head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh, WTAE Channel 4 Action Sports' John Meyer has confirmed.There was no indication of when the move will become official, but Meyer reported on Wednesday night that it was a done deal.

http://www.wtae.com/r/26381620/detail.html

This is actually encouraging news, at this point, in my opinion.  If Pitt can pull Bradley from Penn State in January, it stands to reason that Michigan can also pull someone of high quality from somewhere else, even at this late stage.

you don't know shit about whether brandon will or won't "close" this.  nobody does, and won't for at least a couple of years.  so spare us the sanctimony.

damn, but i hate our fans.

No one lined up.

One month to signing day.

Issue of his own making -- RR had one year left on his contract -- nothing drove this timing except Brandon himself.

This is a guy who sold lousy pizza and spent more money on advertising to convince people that his pizza tasted good than actually making the pizza good.

He is all about appearances and satisfying political constituencies than performance.

His solution for having a good coach in a bad turnaround situation?  Pay someone who is no better more money to extend the turnaround situation.

Next year?  7-6, including bowl game beat down, no recruiting class, attrition among key RR current roster.

2012? 7-6, including bowl game beat down, tentative recruiting class (because, hey, Michigan may dump this guy, too), some more attrition.

2013?  Who the hell knows who the coach will be.

We just became Michigan State and Notre Dame.

Woo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Sa_OQgWiPA

... let's take a quick look at timing.

1. Brandon said he would give the program a review at the end of season.  Michigan made a New Year's Day bowl game.  That's Jan 1.

1A. As as related point, I'm sure he didn't want to nuke the bowl experience of players who hadn't played in a bowl game the two prior years.  Or have Fred Jackson and a few grad assistants coach the Gator Bowl had he blown out RichRod the day after the Football Bust.  Again, that's Jan. 1.

2. If Harbaugh was a prime candidate, you don't want to nuke his team's experience and distract him before the Orange Bowl.  That's Jan 3.

3. Brandon meets with RichRod the next day, likely gives him the review, and tells him he's gone.  There are details to work out re recruiting schedules, team meetings, and tweaking RichRod's severance.  That's Jan 4.

4. Brandon completes RichRod's removal in the AM, holds the tough presser in the early PM, and clearly is nostalgic for the days of delivering pizzas to drunk frat boys.  That's TODAY, Jan 5.

So there we have it.  Harbaugh couldn't take any opening before he coached Stanford in the Orange Bowl. It's not Brandon's fault that Harbaugh has NFL aspirations.  It's also not Brandon's fault that Harbaugh's wife just dropped a kid, she likes the left coast, nor is it his fault that Harbaugh apparently feels a real pull to the 49ers to follow the path by a mentor, Bill Walsh.  Yes THAT Bill Walsh.

I also think that Harbaugh is using his alma mater as leverage, just like Les Miles did 3 years ago.  So good luck Jimmy working for the douchebag York family and don't take it personally when we don't return your calls in 4 years when the douchebag York family fires your ass.  You are following Mike Singletary, who drops his pants to make a point.

Yet because Brandon didn't pull back a maize-and-blue curtain today and introduce Harbaugh, everyone seems to think he screwed up. 

And to those who say you don't fire RichRod unless you already have Harbaugh? Well I would say you never ran a company or a major football program.  Brandon is AD of the University of Michigan, not the School of Harbaugh.  And RichRod may be a great guy, offensive guru, blah, blah, blah.  But on any objective standpoint, he failed and showed no real likelihood of succeeding. 

Unlike many (including me) flailing away anonymously on this fine board, Brandon has to deal with reality, and work very hard to get through a tough situation. One he didn't create and I believe he really wanted to work out differently. 

I for one am very glad David Brandon is AD and I have complete confidence that he will make an excellent choice.  And I really really hope it is someone like Bo.  You know, someone who is NOT a "Michigan Man".

"DAVID BRANDON: Is there a thought of getting a defensive-minded head coach; there's a thought of getting a defensive-minded everything. I want the -- I want the ball boys to be defensive-minded."

When, you know, the Blog returns to normal and we can edit that stuff.

Ross is recruiting Harbaugh to Miami, and according to ESPN, is willing to make him the highest paid coach in the NFL (that's crazy), at $7-8 M a year.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5993761

Ross, though, is a stand up guy and wanted to double check that's it OK to compete with his alma mater:

Furthermore, Ross had dialogue with University of Michigan officials to ensure that he would not be competing for Harbaugh's services with his alma mater, sources said. Ross, who is one of Michigan's largest benefactors, was assured by a Michigan official that Harbaugh was not reciprocating interest in the college's now-vacant head coaching position.

Saw this on the Wolverine. I don't know whats more interesting. DB's comments or the fact that the Huge show landed him for an interview, especially on a day like today.

"It's a dynamic list. It has been over the last year. You put people on the list, you get to know them a little better some come off, others go on? it's not just a hard and fast list, but a list that's evolved and will continue to evolve.

 

http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1172981

Earlier today, we heard that JH was meeting with the 49ers.  I am sure everyone thought (or was afraid) that he would be announced as the 49ers coach tonight.  Instead, no announcement and the ESPN headline now reads that he is being chased by Miami and that SF wants him, too.  So, who knows?  This may well turn out to be a big poker game that has one winner, identity presently unknown.

Take your building back and get me a Coach!

@davebrandon
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5993761&campaign=rss&source=...

ESPN reports re Miami's owner, Steve Ross, a Michigan alum:



"Furthermore, Ross had dialogue with University of Michigan officials to ensure that he would not be competing for Harbaugh's services with his alma mater, sources said. Ross, who is one of Michigan's largest benefactors, was assured by a Michigan official that Harbaugh was not reciprocating interest in the college's now-vacant head coaching position."

Bama post-Bear?
USC post-John Robinson?
UCLA?
Nebraska post-Osborne?
ND post-Lou?
MSU?
Tennessee?

Which cluster fuck do we resemble most, Pizza Man?

What a maroon.

We can't compete with NFL money.  I think someone posted earlier that the top salary in college is 5 million.  The problem is that we will not hire someone unti Harbaugh makes a final decision in case he deigns to choose us.  Therefore, we cannot seriously negoitiate with anyone else.  Hopefully, Harbaugh will make a decision soon or at least make his UM intentions known.

It has been less than 24 hrs since RR was fired......it takes some time.  Patience.  This is the beginning of a new era.  They don't always start with a bang.

What if Stephen Ross is scaring all the other NFL teams away until they all decide on other coaches and then tells Jim to go home to Ann Arbor, saying that he will pay half his salary of $7 million. That would be fantastic. They would just rename it the Ross College of Literature, Science and the Arts.

I've heard JH was very interested in coaching here just a few months ago.  May be he was just too successful this season and never imagined onslaught of NFL owners interested in him. Now SF, Denver, Carolina and MIA. May be a bidding war between SF and MIA? I doubt he will be interested in us enough to turn down an NFL coaching job!