Rich Rods job security
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:27 PM ^
I don't think many people are afraid of him being booted just because the AD is changing. Regardless of what Martin says now, if we have another 3-9 or 4-8 season I don't think he'll be sticking around. I don't think that will happen, but if it does, Martin won't have much to say about it.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:36 PM ^
but for the first time the possibility exists in the event of a dismal 2010.
I suppose the Luxury Box revenue will have a big say in the matter. If the big donors/revenue providers are depressed at the end of 2010, that always creates a real pressure.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:42 PM ^
Agreed. But its only a 4 year contract, right? So only 2 years remaining. Unless things go south again next year he will have his full 4 years. But after that who knows.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:22 PM ^
at somewhere around $2.0-2.5 million per year.
My guess is that the potential donor/revenue dip is much larger than that.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:27 PM ^
As much as I appreciate the sentiment, these kind of citations (friend of a friend of a friend is friend's with __________)aren't usually received well by this message board. Just a heads up when you wonder why people begin giving negatives.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:31 PM ^
Provided that he starts getting us back to bowl games once again. If he keeps improving, that makes perfect sense.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:32 PM ^
The Victors Club probably has more authority then the AD does at this point because they are giving him his paycheck. So, I think that Bill Martin or whoever the next AD is they will have the Victors club on their backs
Not trying to be troll.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:36 PM ^
You just said it yourself that the AD isn't the only one who has a say in this. If you're a Michigan fan you're pulling for RR to succeed this year. But be realistic, it is the older alum who basically finance the scholarships and coaching salaries who can pull the plug on their donations as a way of saying "coach needs to leave". Remember the halo fiasco?
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:40 PM ^
Of course im pulling for RR to have good season this year, but you just said what i just said.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:08 PM ^
Okay, so then you're contradicting yourself with what you said in your original post.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:55 PM ^
The many Victors Club members I know aren't exactly positive about the direction of the program. I mean, small sample size and all, but it's always struck me that energetic support for RR is a lot more prevalent in the younger folks than the Blues with the checkbooks.
There's also a lot of VC people fed up with Bill Martin and Athletics as a whole, but that's another topic altogether.
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:47 PM ^
I'm old (Grad '80) with a checkbook and I've been sending more $$ to the Athletic Department since RR has been getting heat. I'm a small potatoes member of the Victors Club but after some odd University policies (I'm too conservative) a few years ago I now only give to the athletic department and no longer to the the rest of the University (except the Band!).
There is not a long list of whale donors (I get the list with the Victors stuff) but a crapload of small and medium ones. Michigan's giving base is so large I think the economy is causing more problems with funding than dissatisfaction with RR. Most of the bitching I hear is from people who are ignorant and don't donate money anyways. This is just my opinion and I don't have any facts nor have I done a survey.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:34 PM ^
my second-cousins black lab is really close with bill martin's collie and he said richrod is going to be the new AD
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:37 PM ^
haha, thats good
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:44 PM ^
You forgot to tell everyone to "shut up"
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:03 PM ^
eat his own poop. You can't rely on poop-eaters to know anything about anything.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:34 PM ^
He'll be back for a fourth year regardless of what happens next year (unless a major violation happens).
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:10 PM ^
Obviously he would have to have a foul year (I'd say anything less than 6-6 constitutes foul) but it would be far easier for the powers that be to remove him if they could break the contract because of violations and not have to pay out the rest.
At the end of the day it will come down to wins and losses. If he can just get that .500 mark that will buy him 2011 and by then hopefully enough players have enough experience to do something big.
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:18 PM ^
The record isn' going to matter. He's going to get the fourth year. I don't really see any major violations happening either. If he is fired next year 2011 is going to be worse without him than it would be with him, especially if they bring in a pro style offense. Yea, he has coached three years, but he only has two recruiting classes. I think with Tate and co. from last year and the incoming class this year 2011 is going to be a good one, 10+ wins. Yea I want them to win this year. Hope they go to a bowl, but if they don't, i see great things in 2011. 3 years with HIS recruits, if not M will be taking 2 steps backwards.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:37 PM ^
Yeah, I think the rest of the gang here is correct. Martin won't have a say in it at all after he steps down, and it behooves him (and us) to talk up Rodriguez's job security.
That said, Michigan has never operated as a bloodthirsty, win-at-all-costs organization and I don't see them starting that now. Barring NCAA trouble or an absolute catastrophe of a season (two or three wins, for example), I think he'll definitely get a fourth year.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:46 PM ^
depends on a winning record and a bowl game next year.
Stating you heard from a friend of friend of Bill Martin's means as much as Dick Cheney talking about Obama's understanding and readiness to deal with terrorism.
This is my first post of the new year. Happy 2010 to all of us.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:13 PM ^
It doesn't make sense not to give him the fourth year no matter what the record is next year. If they bring someone else in after next year, we'll be starting all over again. Give him the fourth year, the third with his recruits, and lets see what happens. The blue hairs are gonna probably want a pro-style offense. Yea its probably easier goin from spread to pro-style, but thats not what some of these kids signed up for, or the coach that they signed on with. So you know there'll be transfers. It makes way more sense to let him have the fourth year.
And for the record these posts are getting really old. How many times can this be discussed? I know we'll see this fifty times before spring practice gets here, but damn this is old.
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:48 PM ^
So your Bill Martin number is 4, but what's your Kevin Bacon number?
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:05 PM ^
My Bacon number is pretty high, but my Obama and Bush the Younger number is 3. Weird.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:06 PM ^
No more than 6, I promise you
January 3rd, 2010 at 3:56 PM ^
A friend of mine who is friends with the person replacing Bill Martin (who I'm not at liberty to reveal) says Richrod will be fired the second Bill Martin resigns to his lake house.
See how that works?
But seriously, Rodriguez is the best chance for future success and any coaching change away from the spread philosophy most likely will result in an even longer transition period.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:03 PM ^
Look at the offense as it stands now and with the incoming recruits.
Tell me how the talent here and coming in even remotely resembles a "spread offense" team that would make a transition so hard that it would doom Michigan football for decades.
Any transition (which is hopefully as moot as "my friend of a friend of the mailman...") will be tough because the defense is a pile of shit.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:47 PM ^
Because Rodriguez getting fired would signify that he had failed. If he failed, that means the team didn't do well, again. If they don't do well again, that would be bad for the program.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:03 PM ^
Bill Martin cannot guarantee Rich Rod's job security especially since he is no longer the AD moving into the future. If Rich Rod goes winless i would be willing to bet my life savings that he is canned. that being said, the chances of him getting another season following the 2010 season is highly likely if the teams record is not horrible. Whats the logic behind bill martins influence continuing into the future following his retirement?
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:06 PM ^
Yeah, and I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night.
There needs to be at least seven wins next year or there will be a lot of pressure to replace him. As most of us know, year four is expected to be the breakthrough year, but another losing season will, in all likelihood, cause a lot of pressure to be placed on whomever the new AD will be.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:07 PM ^
Well I heard from a friend I used to know that Mary Sue Coleman has had enough of this Borseth guy and is taking over Women's Basketball herself. She's on the warpath so watch out RR.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:51 PM ^
Reminds me of Brian's one-liner on the mgo.licio.us feed when posting a link about MSC breaking her hand in a bicycle fall: "In an unrelated story, Coleman's husband 'walked into a doorknob.'"
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:57 PM ^
I'm getting an image of Mary Sue patrolling the sidelines in those tall stilettos Cheryl Burnett used to wear...
Hilarious.
Also, how good is she at throwing a clipboard at a podium?
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:18 PM ^
If his collie eats poop, does that mean he will poop food?
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:28 PM ^
Think back four years ago, everyone was bitching and complaining about how Lloyd can not coach and all Michigan can do is win 8 games etc... Well lets give the powers to be some credit for hiring Rich Rodriguez; don't you think they looked at the situation and asked why the program was starting to decline. There are at least three reasons why this happened 1) Lloyd admitted he did not have the energy to do the job anymore and relied on his players to prepare on their own. Lloyd thought that was the main reason they lost to app state 2) Facilities were starting to decline which makes it hard to get top tier recruits 3) The weather in the mid-west sucks which makes it hard to recruit against the Florida's and USC's of the world( not to mention they pay their athletes well). So how do you fix the problem ? Look at programs that are succeeding with a talent base that is not full of 5 star athletes. At the time that was West Virginia, Boise State, and Utah. So Bill Martin did the logical thing and hired RR the architect of the spread.
If you give Rich Rod a full 4-5 years to turn this program around, I think we will all be happy with the results. As it stands now Michigan is just a mediocre defense away from a 9 win season.
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:08 PM ^
Uh, if Bill Martin was so anxious to totally change the direction and culture of the program, please 'splain why he offered the job to Greg Schiano FIRST--and then only went to Toledo AFTER Rich Rodriguez's agent made contact with UM and Mary Sue grabbed Billy by the ear and dragged him to the interview.
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:15 PM ^
then only went to Toledo AFTER Rich Rodriguez's agent made contact with UMBecause we're not Notre Dame calling up coaches that have 0 reason to come to Michigan. Also, Schiano tried to get back in the running, and we told him no. Beside, do we know who was really offered the job and who wasn't? Nope.
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:45 PM ^
I think it can be safely said Schiano was offered the job.
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:09 PM ^
I think it can be safely said that nobody thought Rodriguez would be an option until his agent contacted UM.
January 3rd, 2010 at 11:07 PM ^
"Also, Schiano tried to get back in the running, and we told him no."
I know Schiano was offered the job. My comment was that we don't really know how was offered and who wasn't other than a couple names that seem to have solid reports behind them.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
he gets 6, 8, 10, 100 years, because the transition to another coach would just be TOO painful to watch.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:37 PM ^
I would have taken the under on January 3; surprising. Anyway, it being January I'm feeling hopeful about the recruiting.
In other news, despite my donations to the program my dog does not know any other dogs that can provide any info.
January 3rd, 2010 at 11:09 PM ^
Have your dog try the Twilight Bark.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:41 PM ^
a winning record and a bowl game (even the International Bowl for crying out loud). Can you imagine M fans in a dome in Toronto drinking Molson or Labatts?
Ed Martin will not have control or influence over the athletic department after this year. RR's employment will be up to other decision making sources. We have not had a winning record or been to a bowl since 2007.
Frankly, I see us at the Alamo Bowl next year. Ever been to the River Walk? A helluva good time despite what Mike Leach says. Could be a family road trip for the VAWolv crew.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:49 PM ^
I would hope Ed Martin doesn't have control over the athletic department. He's dead.
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:19 PM ^
I can go 2...
Anyway, I would bet we don't go to the Alamo Bowl next year...since it's no longer affiliated with the Big Ten. Which IS too bad; you're right, it's a blast.
I wouldn't object to trying the International Bowl; I love Toronto. Though I don't want to play U-Conn twice next season (once looks scary enough).
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:53 PM ^
Not doubting your sources, but I don't really see how Martin, who will be gone by (or before) the beginning of next season, can guarantee that RR will be there through 2013, which is when his contract expires. Just doesn't make sense. The bottom line is that if we miss a bowl for another year, I don't see how the powers that be will be able to kep RR in light of the inevitable outcry from the fanbase. I am not saying that this will happen - I actually think that we win 6-8 games next year - but if we have another bad season, he will likely be gone. Let's hope this doesn't happen.
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:36 PM ^
In the event we have another bad season it is most likely going to be the defense is poor (due to true freshman starting perhaps). As such, if the Victors Club would likely be handed Robinson to sate their blood lust. I personally would not support firing Greg (unless the defense shows very little to no improvement), but he is likely next guy who will be used to placate alums bloodlust.
If for some reason we have a total regression on offense for reasons not due to injury then it might be possible RR feels the heat, but I have a hard time seeing our offense getting worse. Another year with Tate, plus maybe we'll have Denard making good reads and throws, Roundtree has another year under his belt and a nice stable of RBs, it pretty much has to get better.
After thetOSU game, Stephen J. Ross came out and said he supported RR, and that right there represents a huge checkbook voting in favor of RR. So thereis money behind RR, of course that can change.
So basically , as long as the offense improves, RR stays and if needed defensive coaches are fired. Of course we haven't seen an 8+ win season by 2011 then there is no way in hell RR gets his contract renewed, no matter what he does on offense.
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:34 PM ^
I look at it like this, RR has had two seasons where he had to start a QB who did not fit his system and a true Freshman. The change UM was making was a whole offense philosophy change so many new guys needed to be brought in so the new system would work. Last year we were just beginning to see some of these guys and next year we will see even more. I think RR should feel pretty safe right now.