Stop Venerating Brandon
I don't follow other sports as closely, but David Brandon is NOT doing a good job managing over the football program.
Strike 1: He is responsible for neutering the Ohio State rivalry. Michigan and OSU should be in the same division. The last game of the season decides who wins between them. There is no rematch the following week. End of Story. Brandon, wisely, floated the october-game scenario as a red herring and most bit on that as the issue. Bottom line: he compromised the rivalry -- forever. The Game will never be the same. This will probably be his greatest legacy as AD and its not a positive one.
Strike 2: The general "I'm here to make as much money as possible for the athletic department" corporate mentality. Brian complained about this a few weeks ago. UofM is more than a corporation. The athletic department is more than a business. Michigan football is more than a cash cow.
Strike 3: The "we'll decide at the end of the season" strategy is crap. Every single day he waits to decide one way or the other damages the program. Make a decision and let everyone know. Harbaugh's regular season is over. If he's the guy, hire him YESTERDAY. If Harbaugh hesitates in the least, give your full unconditional support to RR.
I like how Brandon handled the ncaa investigation, i like how he's dealt with rebuilding the basketball program, and I like how he handles the media. All that said, "the pimp hand" is slapping the Michigan football program in the face as we speak. What has this man done to deserve your trust and unwavering support?
November 29th, 2010 at 6:03 PM ^
I'll stop as soon as he gives me a reason to stop.
November 30th, 2010 at 4:07 PM ^
*****THIS IS AN IMPORTANT POST TO READ BECAUSE IT'S 'THE' TRUTH*****
#1) Michigan is NOT Jim Harbaugh's 'dream job.' He wants an NFL job, because him and his brother are so competitive. SD, SF, Oak and Car (and maybe even Dal and Min) are all going to be fighting over him this off-season.
#2) Dave Brandon is going to be doing absolutely everything he can to convince him to come to Michigan over the next month.
#3) In all likelihood, Rich Rod will be brought back (signing a two year extension after the bowl game), and Greg Robinson will be replaced (along with the 3-3-5). Ron English is supposedly an early DC candidate.
November 29th, 2010 at 6:04 PM ^
Well, since you asked, my personal opinion is that I like how Brandon handled the ncaa investigation, i like how he's dealt with rebuilding the basketball program, and I like how he handles the media.
November 29th, 2010 at 6:11 PM ^
I will give two guesses as to which entity is Mat and which is Dave Brandon:
November 29th, 2010 at 6:14 PM ^
He said he would evaluate the program at the END of the season after bowl games. Let the man do his job he's a smart guy.
November 29th, 2010 at 6:14 PM ^
He has kept advertising out of Michigan Stadium, no small feat.
He helped preserve THE GAME.
He did NOT decide the division makeup by himself.
He is NOT responsible for your happiness.
The AD is a business, like it or not. College football, and college sports is a business. He has a job to do, he wears many hats. The most important one is to put the best possible man on the sidelines for Saturday afternoons(nights). Give the man the opportunity to make a decision before rallying against him!
November 29th, 2010 at 6:25 PM ^
Would I trust a sharp mind who has run a major corporation that not only is from the program while playing under Bo but also maintained close working ties during his career or some random administrator for the athletic department? I think I will go with choice number one and stick with that choice for the moment, thanks.
November 29th, 2010 at 6:18 PM ^
We don't the story of what is happening behind the scenes right now between DB and Harbaugh. Maybe DB has reached out to Harbaugh and Harbaugh has said wait until after the bowl game. That would mean DB has to wait to make any commitment on RR status. We will need to see how the whole process plays out to know how to evaluate DB.
November 29th, 2010 at 6:18 PM ^
I'm sorry, but have you tasted the crust of Domino's pizza lately? How dare you question the man behind that?
November 29th, 2010 at 7:33 PM ^
I just enjoyed an offering from Domino's with my family. Obviously baked with keen intelligence and high levels of judgment.
November 29th, 2010 at 6:27 PM ^
Strike 1: Because Bill Martin totally could have stopped the other 10 schools going "We want you seperate, deal with it". I'd say Brandon did a good job making sure we play each other every year and as the last regular season game. The only other option here would have been to Yost it and leave the conference, but I don't predict that would have worked out quite as well for us this time.
Strike 2: Oh really? Stadium lights, basketball practice facilities, soon-to-be renovations of Yost and Crisler, and making lacrosse DI is free now? Martin ran this place with the dollar signs in mind. Brandon is running it with dollar signs in mind with the direct intention of investing it back into the athletic department AND the University.
Strike 3: That's pretty much a way of saying RR is staying. He's only not saying that directly in case we lose 100-0 in the bowl game.
That's three strikes to you. YOU'RE OUT!
November 29th, 2010 at 8:50 PM ^
Seriously? You think RR looks at all of Brandon's public statements over the last 48 hours and confidently concludes (as you do) that he'll be roaming the sidelines next year? I'd be stunned if he's feeling reassured about his job status, especially after reading what Brandon said to the Detroit News earlier this afternoon.
I recommend that you go back and read Brian's post on his assessment if the situation. There are no done deals at this point and Brandon is trying to be as flexible as possible. He's certainly hedging his bets. But he's not hedging against a bad bowl outcome; he's hedging against not landing Plan A (Harbaugh).
November 29th, 2010 at 6:29 PM ^
Strike 1: He is responsible for neutering the Ohio State rivalry. Michigan and OSU should be in the same division. The last game of the season decides who wins between them. There is no rematch the following week. End of Story. Brandon, wisely, floated the october-game scenario as a red herring and most bit on that as the issue. Bottom line: he compromised the rivalry -- forever. The Game will never be the same. This will probably be his greatest legacy as AD and its not a positive one.
I will say this as often as I need to: It would have been stupid as hell to engineer the divisions based on a single possibility which might happen once in a generation, if that. Brandon wasn't told "here's a sheet of paper, give us your divisions and we'll implement them." If this is what you're hating on Brandon for, you need to resort your priorities.
November 29th, 2010 at 6:39 PM ^
Know what venerating means.
November 29th, 2010 at 6:43 PM ^
I agree with - this year's RR coach handling remains to be seen - he's done some good things and some are venerating too much too soon.
BUT - the reasoning behind your post title statement is flawed, as many have already pointed out.
His decision to keep or fire RR and the subsequent 2011 season results will decide if he is venerated or villified.
November 29th, 2010 at 6:54 PM ^
November 29th, 2010 at 7:16 PM ^
I agree with the OP to the point that DB really hasn't done anything that we can decide was "good" or "bad." Time will tell on his decisions and I am not really certain they were all the right ones. I agree with the aforementioned Strike 2 and I couldn't agree more with Strike 3. Strike 1, IMO has yet to be determined.
I may be in the extreme minority in thinking he wasn't a great CEO at Dominos. He was not at all vocal or visible (when compared to thier current CEO) and he has never been the type to get out in front of issues.
I just feel that all of this talk about him being a great AD and that we should all trust in his decision making, (as if we had an alternative) is hasty at best.
November 29th, 2010 at 7:43 PM ^
A soon as we stop posting thoughts and opinion, the contrarians will run out of material. Come on people, assume the fetal position and tune out.
November 29th, 2010 at 8:22 PM ^
Are you seriously dissing Brandon already? Jeesh just because he is making you wait. How can you judge the job he is doing already? This is just weird. There is no way and AD will make everyone happy unless he hired a football and a basketball and within 6 months they won a national championship.
I guess this is what you get when everything in our world has to be fast. Fast food, fast forwarding cd's, faster computers, faster smart phones, microwaves that heat our food fast. Heaven forbid we would have to wait a WHOLE MONTH to make a very important decision regarding the future of Michigan football.
November 29th, 2010 at 9:07 PM ^
So I was going through seven stages of dealing with Michigan Football.
1) This Sucks (Family friendly terms)
2) Not Again
3) Maybe Its time for a change
4) Harbaugh!!
5) Maybe Not. It's not a guarantee
6) Keep RR
7) Lose My Mind
Well before I got to step 7. Maybe I was already in step 7 but doesn't matter. I came across a quote from a true Michigan Man. Bo once said "When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when your team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing."
Combine that with "No Coach is bigger than the team" and we have all we need from a Michigan Man.
I dont wake up on Saturday Morning to cheer "Let's Go Rich Rod" or "It's Great To Be a RR supporter" (doesnt have the ring). I wake up to cheer for my team the Maize and Blue. I'm here to root for my team not a coach. Of course I want what is best for my team and sometimes this means voicing my opinion on a coach. or player. The people out there who say they cannot take/handle another of Michigan Football are disgracing this program. I can always take another year of Michigan Football even if we were to go 0-12. This is MICHIGAN Football! It's knowing where we once were and where we need to head that allows me to "Keep Believing". I will continue to support this team no matter what is decided and when I do comment I will do so rationally and not repeat what is already known.
I'm here for the team and want them to succeed. We have a team that goes out every gameday and plays their asses for all of us and we don't 100% support them. I am ashamed there are Michigan fans who boo our own players and coaches. This is an awful way to appear to opposing fans. Players on the team see the front page of the Michigan Daily and see an article calling for Rich Rods job. I may not agree with everything the team has done but they are still my team. Rich Rod is still my coach(for now) and I will continue to support the Head Coach of the Michigan Football team.
I now issue a challenge for all of you. THIS IS OUR TEAM! We all need to put our heads back on and settle down. What ever happens happens. We still have one game and it seems Rich Rod is gonna be our coach for it. So lets support the team and every member of it. We still have a bowl. After that I will allow myself to go crazy speculating but until then...
"Keep Believing" and GO BLUE!
November 29th, 2010 at 9:18 PM ^
As of today, Brandon has hired exactly zero revenue sport coaches in his career so any indicators of his ability to do that are all proxies from the pizza and coupon business. Whether Brandon's acumen in picking pizza recipes or pizza executives translates to success running a major college sports program remains to be seen.
Certainly in neither of those businesses was Brandon ever subjected to the kind of public scrutiny and vehement reaction he will experience with the first touch decision has has to make in this job.
A CEO in the private sector has the luxury of telling his critics to eff off. Not so in this biz. Do that in this biz and you'll get a Sunshine law demand for all your emails and phone records.
Right now the only guy in the hot seat is Rich Rod. If Brandon lets RR have a fourth year, and he goes 7-5 or worse (A real possibility. Sayanora Indiana and Welcome Nebraska) or UM gets pummelled again by MSU, OSU and Nebraska, then next year there will be two guys on the hot seat, Rich Rod for being a loser and Brandon for letting it happen and allowing another lost year.
November 29th, 2010 at 9:58 PM ^
While I disagree on the specific talking points the OP brought up, I do agree that the amount of "DAVE BRANDON WILL DELIVER US FROM EVIL OMGZ" is a bit disturbing. He seems to be making some good decisions, but let's wait and see before we annoint him as the next Don Canham.
