No coffee for Brandon
January 5th, 2011 at 11:20 PM ^
They're going to have to rename the Business School.
January 6th, 2011 at 12:41 AM ^
....is it safe to assume that Harbaugh wants NOTHING to do with the university.
(harbaugh is the chick, and ross is the guy shaking his head)
January 5th, 2011 at 11:02 PM ^
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.
January 5th, 2011 at 11:08 PM ^
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.
January 5th, 2011 at 11:34 PM ^
January 5th, 2011 at 11:52 PM ^
The article has one very interesting quote:
"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."
If this is true, then what another poster asked becomes even more to the point: If he is not interested, why doesn't he just come right out and say so. I would certainly like to know the source for the quoted material.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:09 AM ^
Ross doesn't want to step on Michigan's toes before he pursues Harbaugh, yet he'll send his entire front office to California to interview him despite NOT FIRING HIS CURRENT COACH???
Something's fishy.
January 5th, 2011 at 11:37 PM ^
he is not interested in UM. All this is coming from people not named JH. Why doesn't he come out and say he is not interested in the job so we can end this madness?
January 6th, 2011 at 8:21 AM ^
Right. After all, Michigan is Harbaugh's Dream Job! Of course he'll come here! Because we want it that way.
Fervently-held notions are like zombies. Very hard to kill off.
January 6th, 2011 at 11:32 AM ^
When in doubt, kill it with fire. I think this "Harbaugh hasn't said no so we still have a chance1!1!!1!" meme is a self-coping mechanism to survive this shitstorm. Personally, I am clinging to vain hope that the U can invent a time maching and go back to get young Bo. That or a Serpentor-style hybrid using the DNA of Yost, Bo, Crisler, Oosterbaan, and Crisler
January 5th, 2011 at 11:50 PM ^
ESPN reports re Miami's owner, Steve Ross, a Michigan alum:
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<br>"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."
January 6th, 2011 at 12:00 AM ^
January 6th, 2011 at 12:49 AM ^
Ty Willingham entered his third season after going 5-7 in year two. With a promising sophomore quarterback (Brady Quinn), the Irish started 5-2 including a win over Michigan (making Ty 2-1 against the Wolverines, essentially their equivalent of us beating them) and entered the top-25 only to lose three of their last four games, including a 41-10 drubbing on the road against archrival USC (making Willingham 0-3 against the Trojans, though SC went to a BCS bowl game each of those seasons making it sort of understandable that a rebuilding team might lose to them). Notre Dame sought redemption in a bowl game against an opponent with lackluster history/tradition (Oregon State) but fell behind by 21 points in the second quarter and were beaten soundly.
Fans saw no progress and no sign of improvement, citing a failure to compete against the best teams and in rivalry games (the rivalry game they were quite successful in was, of course, ignored). They also thought that hot coaching prospect and former ND assistant Urban Meyer, coming off a BCS bowl win, wanted more than anything to come back and lead his beloved Irish. So they fired Ty Willingham.
Sadly, Urban Meyer wasn't interested and took a better job. Instead, ND was forced to settle for a portly gentleman who had never been a head coach in the NFL or at the highest levels of college football. This was overlooked because of his tenous connections to the school's football program having graduated from ND after getting to be roommates with Joe Montana, though he never played football there (which is perhaps slightly less meaningful than being a defensive line coach under Lloyd Carr nearly a decade ago).
Luckily for new BIG man on campus, he got to coach all the promising young freshmen and sophomores the last coach got no credit for bringing to campus, and it turned out those guys were pretty good when they got to be juniors/seniors. The team won 19 games in his first two seasons and even came close to beating those hated archrivals.
So yeah, as long as we don't give Brady Hoke a ten year extension we should be in great shape.
January 6th, 2011 at 1:09 AM ^
This is a depressing read. Especially because it's so consistent with our current situation.
January 6th, 2011 at 1:24 AM ^
Blank coach is really good but he just wasn't a good fit at blank university. We need to hire someone who understands the unique/special characteristics of blank university. These characteristics amount to "Win in three years or you're out, especially if you are different from the blank university men we are used to."
You'd think we could have seen this coming after we spent so long laughing at the folks in South Bend. I just hope Brandon lands a proven coach who can take advantage of this situation and have sustained success rather than cave to the "He's a blank university man!" nonsense.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:12 AM ^
Thanks for the comments. As I posted ealier, we have 9 back on both sides of the ball. I'd say that's a fair start for the next coach.
I'll have some of the purple stuff. =]
January 6th, 2011 at 4:25 AM ^
transfers
January 6th, 2011 at 1:33 AM ^
So, wait, Rodriguez is Willingham? Is this the analogy you want to use? I can't wait to see what Rodriguez's Washington is then.
January 6th, 2011 at 1:44 AM ^
Willingham walked into a smoking crater after the Neuheisel firing and the Gilbertson extended interim coach fiasco at Washington and again got just 3.5 years to rebuild. And of course the guys he brought in just finished 3rd in the Pac 10 and won the Holiday Bowl. I'm pretty sure Sarkisian isn't playing a team full of his freshmen recruits but rather is starting guys like, you know, Jake Locker, but you probably figured that out, right?
Hopefully when Rodriguez chooses his next job he'll have a better sense of context and circumstance than most internet users.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:12 AM ^
Wait, you mean the Washington team that was supposed to be OMG amazing this year and finished 6-6 before Nebraska decided they didn't want to show up to their bowl game? I watched that game. Nebraska didn't want to be there and Pelini never had them ready to be there. You also seriously didn't just roll out Jake Locker as an argument, did you?
Sark is a good coach, but he inherited a pile of rubble from Ty. Trying to argue that a guy that owns the worst winning percentage in the history of Washington football was really just a great guy and coach makes you look foolish.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:14 AM ^
Ty Willingham was a mediocre coach who had two good years at Stanford (where he went 8-4 and 9-3) and whose success in the Pac10 came pre-Pete Carroll to USC.
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<br>Further after Notre Dame he ran the Washington program to the ground, going 0-12 his fourth season there (and if you think they should have kept him after that, your crazy). Washington fans absolutely despise the guy and it's really Sarkisian that's cleaning up the mess left behind by him.
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<br>Notre Dame's problem wasn't that they fired Ty Willingham, it was that hired Charlie Weis. No one realistically thinks Willingham would have ever been successful there, even if they had given him 10 years.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:20 AM ^
are you suggesting willingham was a good coach? washington may have been in bad shape when he took over, but it was certainly in worse shape when he left.
at the time nd fired him, this was a more complex question. but, after washington, i think he answered it fairly definitively...2-9, 5-7, 2-7, 0-12. if that doesn't render him a weak coach, what would? the pattern of teams getting worse the longer you're there isn't a favorable one for a coach.
when nd fired him, i would have said the same thing that michigan fans are saying about rich rod now: fine coach, wrong situation. after washington i concluded that he is a lousy coach.
January 6th, 2011 at 1:39 AM ^
Also, out of curiosity, at what point did Rodriguez go 10-3 at Michigan? Ty had two winning seasons and the trust of much of the fanbase after one. Rich had one "winning season" that felt like a sham.
Will you ever be able to place the blame on Rodriguez, or do you really think the fans did him 100%?
January 6th, 2011 at 1:45 AM ^
If Brady Hoke goes 10-3 next year and everyone is thrilled, don't say I didn't warn you.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:14 AM ^
Ah yes, because it was Bob Davie that stacked Notre Dame before he got fired.
Do you read the shit you write before you post it?
January 6th, 2011 at 2:18 AM ^
We go 10-3 next season not only will I kiss your gangly bare feet but I'll send a one thousand dollar check to your favorite charity, ok?
January 6th, 2011 at 7:25 AM ^
if we're comparing career arcs, then willingham seems fairly different. ty had an excellent first season where (largely through luck) they won a ton of games with pretty good talent on hand, this set unfortunately high expectations. he then cratered the next two seasons, including his last season where the team obviously quit on him. if willingham had gone 8-4 first first season and not established falsely elevated expectations the sting of his next two seasons wouldn't have been as bad. similarly, the both sides of the ball looked worse over time (especially the offense). the other kicker was that while his first recruiting class was excellent, his subsequent two were godawful and his reputation was as a guy who didn't want to work that hard to recruit.
rich rod, by contrast, had a godawful first year (surely not a problem with setting expectations too high) with limited talent and made significant improvements on one side of the ball while doing very little on the other side. the talent-on-hand is perceived to have improved while he was here.
i'd characterize rich rod as being most similar to weis - their strengths and weaknesses were fairly similar, even though the career arcs were not. both were excellent tactical offensive guys who placed too much faith in the strength of their tactics. neither developed a decent defense. both crafted teams that weren't physically up to snuff. neither seemed like a particularly effective motivator...and at the end of the day they felt like excellent offensive coordinators and mediocre head coaches.
January 6th, 2011 at 12:00 AM ^
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.
January 6th, 2011 at 12:30 AM ^
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.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:29 AM ^
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.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:30 AM ^
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!
January 6th, 2011 at 4:29 AM ^
Indications from sources (e.g., Schefter, Mortensen, etc.) are that SF is not willing to ante up to the $$$ JH is looking for. MIA (Ross) might be willing to. But even so, my personal feeling is that it'll have to be the right situation (control, etc.) for JH to make the jump. If he decides (in spite of the $$) that the sit isn't right, then he'll likely just stick with Stanford.
Just MHO.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:30 AM ^
yes because coaches who are 1 step away from reaching the pinnacle of their profession turn down more than one opportunity at it to take over a college program they have to spend 4 years rebuilding AGAIN. no, he's going to the NFL.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:10 AM ^
Agreed, but he's doing it in an awkward way - why is he interviewing with Miami when Sparano hasn't been fired? Seems unethical at best to me...
January 6th, 2011 at 1:22 PM ^
I understand that you can make more money in the NFL, but other than money, what is so great about coaching in the NFL versus college? In my opinion, college life is a thousand times better than professional life, at least in terms of personal satisfaction. And what can be better than helping mold young minds and bodies, helping them reach their goals? Plus, if college coaches think the scrutiny is hard, the NFL is exponentially worse. There sure as heck are not long-standing coaches in the NFL like there are in college.
I'm not naiive, but I sure as heck would take a big-time college program over an NFL gig every time and once more on Saturday.