Rick Morrissey hit job
I had the unfortunate privilege of seeing Rick Morrissey’s column from the Chicago Tribune that was posted on the Freep. As a disclaimer, I hate the Freep, but I am always looking for new UM content so you can take the rest of this for what it is worth.
I don’t encourage you to read the pile of garbage, so I will summarize the key points:
• Don’t bitch about player decommits because coaches decommit on their players
• Enter villain = Rodriguez who emerged from the underworld to coach Michigan
• Weird connection to Bernard Madoff (for humor I guess?)
• Another timeline recap of his leaving WV
• Said villain job hops, has a leering eye on any new position and doesn’t pay his bills
Are you kidding me? First of all, isn’t the fact that he changed jobs a bit of an old story? Don’t we have numerous new examples? Gene Chizik
Should we look at this betrayal through another lens? Are coaches allowed to retire? Fulmer left his recruits high and dry!
Can schools fire coaches? Tommy abandoned his recruits! I mean Auburn helped Tommy abandon his recruits by firing him!
I could see someone calling bullshit if RR was out there bemoaning his fate of having decommits in this last class. However, I not read anything beyond him noting that decommits happen, you recruit all the way to the end and sometimes this works for the best, sometimes it doesn’t (would be happy to read something to the contrary). I am just amazed at what some columnists consider news. While I expect this fear and loathing from Douche Sharp, I am surprised to see it coming out of Chicago.
February 9th, 2009 at 10:55 AM ^
I lived and worked in the Chicago area for a couple of years, 1983-85. They really, really hated UM. They always cheered for UM to lose whenever they were on TV, and they gave no reason for their hatred, other than the requisite "arrogance," etc.
I confronted some fans and asked if it was because UM always trounces them in football, and they didn't really have much of an answer.
The bottom line, though, is that the little eight fans hate UM.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:03 AM ^
This was brought up over the weekend after it came out in Chicago.
As far as Chicago sports fans.... When I lived in the city (not 'burbs) in the early 90's it was like Ann Arbor west -- maybe that's the reason for the bad feelings you saw.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:30 AM ^
I live in Chicago and have come to read only Morrissey's headlines to see whom he was hacking today. No one here even pays attention to the guy -- he's a running joke amongst my friends who read (or, shall I say, still read) the Trib sports section.
For some reason, Chicago just attracts bums like him.
On the other hand, one should read everything Rick Telander writes -- usually insightful, nice style, rarely a hack job. This Rick is Morrissey's alter ego, I think. Telander's a Northwestern guy, and a former football player.
February 9th, 2009 at 11:49 AM ^
I have yet to hear Rich cry "sour grapes" about lost recruits. When asked about Boren or Pryor I seem to remember him saying something about reserving his comments for players who actually play for Michigan.
Morrissey can go pound sand.
February 9th, 2009 at 12:42 PM ^
I actually found that column bizarre. I mean it was a hit job but it wasn't subtle AT ALL. For example the sentence "This is a guy who, given the opportunity, would interview for the vacant Bernard Madoff job if he thought it would get him more money and a stud linebacker named “Ponzi.”"
I don't get it, Rodriguez had not changed jobs that much. He was at WVU for 7 years, and at Glenville State for 7 years too. The man is on his 3rd head coaching job in his life for meow's sake! And not a word in the whole column about Rodriguez's claims that Mike Garrison is insane and the fact that Garrison was shortly thereafter run out of WVU for being...well insane.
And "a slug can't escape his ooze?" "He’s the latest version of former Northwestern coach Gary Barnett, who never saw a job opening he didn’t love?" Come on.
February 9th, 2009 at 1:36 PM ^
lol @ super troopers reference.
February 10th, 2009 at 8:03 AM ^
I mean, here's a guy who didn't even make it three full years in his last job at Cincinnati before heading onto greener pastures at Michigan State. His first year of recruits didn't even play under him as seniors.
The lack of perspective amazes me. Sure, coaches "decommit" from their recruits. Schools also "decommit" from their coaches before the end of a contract, and understandably so. Any coach who moves around too much is presumably going to be penalized for schools for it, like Urban Mayer, Bobby Petrino and Nick Saban have been. Or, uh, will be, eventually, when they stop winning.
February 10th, 2009 at 8:15 AM ^
Everyone in the working world works at the same job for 25 years, right?
February 10th, 2009 at 8:23 AM ^
If coach mobility is such a problem, schools could limit it by changing their hiring practices. I don't see that happening any time soon.