Thank you Coach Borges

Submitted by Rather be on BA on
Everyone is rightfully excited about the Nussmeier hire, but I think it is a good idea to take a quick timeout to thank Coach Borges for his time at Michigan. While his philosophy and performance were the subject of a lot of criticism he still dedicated a lot of time and effort to Michigan football. He always seemed like a very nice guy in his interviews and I wish him and his family the best. Thanks Al, and good luck.
MGoBoard

Rather be on BA

January 9th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^

Yes. I do not mean to imply that he was doing us some huge favor, simply thanking him for his time and effort. It's a cut throat business as I'm sure Al knows, but a man with a wife and young children just lost his job while our fan base collectively celebrates the hiring of his replacement. Taking a second to thank him and wish him luck seems warranted.

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Seth

January 9th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^

He also consented to interviews with Heiko despite the wishes of the athletic department, and had a strong appreciation for the fans and the media who tried to serve them instead of themselves. I hated his offense, but there are few better people Michigan could have found to coach the offense.

Joined: 10/14/2008

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jblaze

January 9th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^

but thinking him for the last 3 years seems insane to me.

I wish him well in life and hopes he is happy elsewhere in the future, but to thank him for the last 3 years? I understand your reason, with access but the casual fan should not be thakful Borges was the OC at Michigan for the past 3 years.

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Seth

January 9th, 2014 at 1:53 PM ^

He also consented to interviews with Heiko despite the wishes of the athletic department, and had a strong appreciation for the fans and the media who tried to serve them instead of themselves. I hated his offense, but there are few better people Michigan could have found to coach the offense.

Joined: 10/14/2008

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ThWard

January 9th, 2014 at 4:00 PM ^

It means we evaluate a man in full? That treating a guy decently, who, regardless of his salary, seemed like a decent guy, isn't fake but, um, normal?

That latter point is so fucking played out. Where is the line drawn? Be a dick to a coach if he fails because he didn't just fail but got PAID A LOT. Be a dick if a pro player fails because he failed and he gets PAID A LOT. Be a dick to a college player if he fails because he failed and HE GETS PAID A SCHOLARSHIP, and on and on.

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evenyoubrutus

January 9th, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^

Exactly. While I agree with Brian that it isn't appropriate to dance on his grave, the man was arrogantly stubborn about certain things that ultimately became his demise. I know he put a lot of work in and I don't doubt his effort but I believe it was his mentality and approach more so than his football IQ that did him in.

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ND Sux

January 9th, 2014 at 12:41 PM ^

He just PAID the price for that.  Wishing the man good will in the future is a right and decent thing to do.  The only reason to piss on his grave is if you don't think he even TRIED to do a good job here, or sabotaged us, brought trouble, etc.  None of those are true. 

Good luck Mr. Borges. 

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PB-J Time

January 9th, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^

It amazes me how many people in this thread want to continue the debate about Al Borges' performance. It was more bad than good, this is why he is no longer the OC. Its not as though there is some scadal or something improper that happened or he did that led to this.

But despite being paid hansomely (gorgously?) we can still thank the man for working very hard and committing 3 years of his life to try to improve the program. Thanks for your work Al, & good luck in the future.

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M-Dog

January 9th, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^

He did a masterful job with Denard.  He let Denard be Denard.  That could have been a round peg - square hole situation.  Denard took a big risk in staying.

I think Al would be a good offensive coach in the Pros where his complex cerebral schemes can be implemented with experienced talented players.  He was maybe "too smart" for the college level.

 

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WM-wolverine

January 9th, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^

Give me a break. Individual athletic ability is responsible for Denards success. He was able to succeed because he could overcome stupid play calling. Imagine the last 3 years without Coach Rodriguez QB's. If "execution" was to blame for failure, then why is "execution" not credited for success?

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DonAZ

January 9th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^

He was maybe "too smart" for the college level.

I think there's a lot of merit to this.  In a sense, Borges reminds me a bit of Charlie Weis (please, no fat jokes) ... someone who is enamored with sophisticated plays, and thinks they can out-scheme from the playbook and the booth.  That works if the talent on the field can play up to fancy schemes.  It's probably easier to make that happen on an NFL team than a college team.

It strikes me the best college coaches and coordinators are those that can take an honest assessment of talent and potential and design to that.  Despite a lot of jargon out there, setting the bar too high can be detrimental.

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M-Dog

January 9th, 2014 at 3:08 PM ^

TING!!

This is exactly what I meant by "too smart", as in out-thinking yourself.  In that sense, he was like Charlie Weiss without the arrogance.  

My observation about Weiss when he was head coach at ND was that you could always count on Charlie Weiss to do something stupid to show you how smart he was.  

Like throwing the ball against us and our 5-star CB in 2009 on third and 6+ when he would have been able to run the clock down to under 1:00 with a run.  It gave Tate just enough time to engineer a winning drive.  Clever if it would have worked, but stupid because of course it failed.

Al had some of this in him where he had something that worked but he would not stay with it because, I don't know, it was too pedestrian . . . didn't fit with the Grand Plan . . . whatever.

 

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michchi85

January 9th, 2014 at 12:02 PM ^

I don't get the "nice guy in interviews" aspect that some say.  He constantly threw players under the bus and said it was just an execution issue.  Didn't seem like a likeable guy at all this whole season.  Rough for his family to move, sure...but the $600,000 he will be getting next year for doing nothing helps soften the blow.  

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MaizeAndBlueWahoo

January 9th, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^

I don't agree that his execution spiel amounted to throwing players under the bus.  You have to do some kind of evaluation of your players in the press conference.  And if you always talk roses and sunshine then people will read between the lines when you don't, and it amounts to the same thing.  (Or else they'll know you're full of shit when you talk about scoring six points like the players played really well.)  "We didn't execute" is extremely generic and harmless and it's something everyone can see anyway.

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turd ferguson

January 9th, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^

I think this idea that saying there are execution issues is throwing players under the bus is so stupid. Throwing players under the bus is doing things like calling guys out individually or blaming their work ethic or character. Our coaches repeatedly said that they have to coach better. There were clearly execution issues this season,, many of which are on the coaches (which I'm sure they would agree with). What are they supposed to do, constantly tell everyone that the execution is great and it's just the scheme that needs work?

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Maize and Blue…

January 9th, 2014 at 1:01 PM ^

when you have 5 or 6 guys to block 8 or 9.  Generally the play calling sucked and put players in position to fail no matter if they executed or not.  It also didn't help matters that the team would get out of the huddle so late that there was little to no chance to audible out of a bad play if that was even an option under Borges.  If a corner is playing 10 yards off and the box is loaded a quick toss to the WR should be an automatic, but never seemed a possibility the last 3 years.

While I hate to see anyone lose their job, Al was greatly overpaid for the results (Mattison this year too) and deserved to be let go.  Good luck to him on his job search, but good riddance.

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TIMMMAAY

January 9th, 2014 at 12:03 PM ^

I always liked Borges, he seems like a good person. I was reserving judgement until next season, but when you can make a move like this you do it. 

Thanks Big Al, I'll always wonder what you may have done with a complete roster. That's life though. Best-a-luck. 

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991GT3

January 9th, 2014 at 12:03 PM ^

able to land another job soon. The poor performance of the MIchigan offense was not solely on his shoulders. Many factors  were involved particularly the slow transition of the offensive scheme while DR was still here.

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Mr. Yost

January 9th, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^

...and the Al Borges is gone posbang thread. I gues 1 for 2 ain't bad.

For every good farewell comment, there's going to be 2 good riddance comments.

Well, since it is here...let's please be civil.

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bubblelevel

January 9th, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^

But it just ended up his style doesn't quite fit this team at this point.  Kinda like RR not really fitting the culture (or vice versa) but it works for him in Arizona.

Good man, good family man.  Best of luck.

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Everyone Murders

January 9th, 2014 at 12:05 PM ^

I don't quarrel with the program's decision to ditch Borges, but I feel bad for anyone who gets fired (even in jobs where it comes with the territory).

Major credit to Borges for his flexibility with Denard Robinson.  He may not have done everything we would have liked to maximize Robinson's potential, but he absolutely sculpted an offense around Robinson's abilities, rather than trying to square-peg him into Borges's preferred round-hole offense.

Best of luck to Al Borges.  You were my favorite Jackie Coogan look-a-like in college football.  Nobody will take that away from you any time soon. 

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MLaw06

January 9th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^

agree.  it's like breaking up.  you might be happy that she's gone, but there's a human element to it - you spent time together and got to know each other, etc.  i'm a firm believer in what comes around goes around, so lets be good to people on the way out as we are to them on the way in. 

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