cutter

August 13th, 2015 at 1:22 PM ^

Except for the boat trip at the beginning of the excerpt, there's really nothing here that is a revelation.

But let's face it--Hackett didn't have a firm commitment in place from Harbaugh until the end of the NFL season.  Everything at that point had been strictly verbal.  If Harbaugh had second throughts or couldn't commit on Hackett's go date, then we might be rewriting the history of what happened.  In sum, we could have had a very different result than what actually happened.

I'll be interested to find out what happened after Rodriguez was fired.  If Harbaugh liked the idea of living in a college town, why did he go to the 49ers?  If he sensed that Rodriguez was in hot water in Ann Arbor, did he reach out to the Michigan AD or through any of the back channels available to him?

Lots of people complained that Brandon waited too long to get rid of Rodriguez and hire Hoke, but it looked like Hackett was willing to wait until Harbaugh finished the pro season to make his final move.  Hackett and Harbaugh did start talking in December, and it appeared this was a multi-week courtship and not a sudden marriage.

 

 

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 815

cutter

August 13th, 2015 at 6:02 PM ^

If Michigan had beaten Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl game (instead of getting creamed), would Brandon have held onto Rodriguez?

Michigan would have gone from 3-9 to 5-7 to 8-5 after three seasons.  Were there problems in the program?  Yes, if you take what Bacon wrote in his earlier book as gospel.  Would Brandon have thrown money at getting Jeff Casteel in as UM's defensive coordinator to help out Rodriguez with the big problems on defense?

I hope these are a couple of things that Bacon addresses in his new book.  When exactly did David Brandon make the decision that Rodriguez needed to be fired?  Did Brandon start the coaching search that December in case he did need to fire Rodriguez after the bowl game?  How much did the NCAA violations play in Brandon's decision to let Rodriguez go?  I'll be curious to find out what Brandon's thought process on all this.  

I did read the excerpt that said Harbaugh wasn't contacted directly by Brandon and that JH was unsure of Michigan's intentions.  I'd be curious to find out exactly what level of communications did take place between the two in the same way that we're getting a sense of the interchanges between and Harbaugh.

Joined: 07/07/2008

MGoPoints: 815

Reader71

August 13th, 2015 at 6:02 PM ^

Maybe. And he doesn't need a reason to tell his story the way he wants, but it immediately struck me as weird. Maybe I'm the weird one. He didn't quote people when talking about Harbaugh's spirited rendition of the victors, but he did when talking about a young lady's hindquarters. Made me chuckle.

Joined: 08/30/2009

MGoPoints: 22968

Perkis-Size Me

August 13th, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^

Still hard to believe he's actually our coach. I refused to believe any of it until I saw him walk up to the podium and say it for himself. 

This feels like a football version of the beginning of some old-time, classic story. The traditional powerhouse falls on hard times, loses its way, feels disunited, and all you could do was watch as your most hated rivals siezed their opportunity to kick you to the curb and ascend to the mountaintop themselves, and then everyone else races to take what they can from you in the power vacuum you left behind. 

Starting from the dirt. Absolute rock bottom, and slowly working your way back up until you get back to where you know you belong. In the process, you become stronger than before, because you know you've got the leadership to get you there. 

This will not happen overnight. There will be struggles, but it will make the ultimate victory and re-assertion of your power that much sweeter in the end.

 

Damn I really need to get back to work.....

Joined: 11/30/2011

MGoPoints: 105246

JFW

August 13th, 2015 at 2:25 PM ^

still skipped a beat when Hackett's PC died. Dangit UM ITD!!! In a coaching search like that have another one on hand with a backup MyFi in case it dies!!!!

Joined: 10/20/2010

MGoPoints: 15285

what would Bo do

August 13th, 2015 at 2:32 PM ^

Garrett Celek (the wedding they reference at the beginning of my high school) married a girl I graduated high school with.  He gave a toast at the wedding reception and started with Go Blue! and talked about how great it was to be back in the state of Michigan.  When the vast majority of the crowd booed, he responded with, "Don't make me sing The Victors again!" and proceeded to give his toast.  I remember watching that and appreciating his trolling...now he's our coach.

Joined: 12/27/2011

MGoPoints: 1152

Amaizing Blue

August 13th, 2015 at 6:33 PM ^

So many things to love about this story.  Wonder if John U. felt the same tingle most of us would have when he realized Jim was open to coming to Michigan?  Or did he know that all along? 

Joined: 12/02/2013

MGoPoints: 9145

MGoBender

August 13th, 2015 at 8:36 PM ^

OP, i would suggest adding an "[EXCERPT]" tag, or something along those lines, to the title.  I skipped over this thread earlier today, thinking it was some rando fluff piece, and just now heard about the excerpt and saw this thread again.

Joined: 03/26/2010

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