Warde Manuel appreciation thread
Warde has raised the level of countless Michigan athletic programs. Every time you turn around we are winning a Big Ten championship in another sport with nationally ranked teams that are competing at the highest levels nationally. He confidently brought in Juwan Howard despite all of the naysayers. He has kept our elite coaches here and kept them happy. He managed the financial and logistical challenges of a Covid year as well as could be hoped. He has maintained a focus on academics and integrity for our student athletes.
But he and we always knew that he would be judged by how he handled football / particularly his friend and former teammate Jim Harbaugh. Almost everyone was ready to get rid of Coach Harbaugh last year, but Warde knows Jim. And Warde knows big time college athletics. And Warde knows and loves Michigan. He saw something that most of us did not. He skillfully took a former B1G MVP and wildly successful NFL coach through a contract negotiation where his base salary was cut in half with the cheapest buyout imaginable - and his relationship with the Coach and the program remained strong. Less than one year later, thanks to Warde’s decision, Coach Harbaugh has restored Michigan to a chance for its first B1G title in football since 2004 - and its first defeat of osu since 2011. Congratulations Warde, you are a world class AD, and we are very fortunate to have you.
November 28th, 2021 at 1:44 PM ^
i think it's time for Warde and Jim to renegotiate that contract. No, I don't think that Harbaugh wants to go anywhere else, but the optics of that contract are now poor - considering the latest deals with Franklin and Tucker.
November 28th, 2021 at 1:48 PM ^
That’s just the thing with Warde - he doesn’t worry about optics. He just makes sober-minded and well-reasoned decisions. But if we are going to talk about optics - guaranteeing an unproven coach barely above .500 for his career nearly 100 million doughnuts doesn’t look too good to me.
November 28th, 2021 at 1:44 PM ^
Thanks Warde for doing your job and not listening to emotional, idiot fans with fake internet names who don’t know shit about shit.
Made THE hire with Juwan, and restructured Harbaugh’s deal in a fair manner. All our programs are flying high and I don’t know a hire he hasn’t hit on.
November 28th, 2021 at 1:45 PM ^
I know I should give a pass to everyone, but I am not going to be able be nice about him. I might get negged but don't sell me that Warde did something wonderful to retain Harbaugh. Harbaugh loves AA and Michigan. I feel like he was dealt a bad hand but he made the best of it. I am not happy about our AD not getting into the grill of B1G for officiating fiasco. Warde is our guy and I will leave it at that. This season and yesterday's win happened because of Harbaugh and despite Warde.
November 28th, 2021 at 1:53 PM ^
^ This is dead-on correct ^
November 28th, 2021 at 2:26 PM ^
How?
Explain.
November 28th, 2021 at 3:24 PM ^
Okay, I'll lay out my thinking.
Warde negotiated an expiring contract with a world class athlete and storied coach, a proud alum with a great track record (let's argue that point at another time) who wanted nothing more than to stay at his alma mater and coach his former team. Warde surely knew that and knew that he could, for various reasons, low ball that coach and still get him to agree to low ball terms. And yes, I consider the current terms low ball terms.
And this is going on while the planet has locked down in an unprecedented pandemic with students opting out of playing, games being cancelled, morale falling to the basemnt, etc, and previously great (by track record) teams playing like crap due to decimated rosters. Nothing was "as usual" ...
To give kudos to Warde for Harbaugh's willingness to sign the diminished deal, taking one in the shorts because he loved the school, the sport, and the team is misguided praise. The praise goes to Harbaugh. Warde has/had zero to do with being 11-1. Nothing to do with stomping the Buckeyes. Nothing.
Warde can like balancing his budget, that's fine. Props to him. And I give him credit for attracting Jim and Juwan in the first place. But to give Warde any praise for Jim and his coaches instilling the pride and the work ethic to crush this season so damn beautifully? Nope, that's all Harbaugh & Co. 100%
November 28th, 2021 at 3:46 PM ^
No he is not, this is a horrible take.
November 28th, 2021 at 1:55 PM ^
I wouldn't be surprised if the most important thing you could do as an AD is the same thing as a CEO: don't get in the way of the people who are actually doing the work.
November 28th, 2021 at 1:58 PM ^
As CEO, you are tasked with retaining the best people and providing an environment that makes those best people want to 1. stay and 2. excel.
November 28th, 2021 at 3:16 PM ^
We have one of the most highly sought-after football coaches and he's excelled this season. What am I missing in your analysis?
November 28th, 2021 at 3:50 PM ^
Hmmmm. I seem to be not clear. I think that it's the coach that's excelled, not the coach's CEO (or CFO).
Harbaugh is now underpaid ... Jim needed to hire someone to negotiate his contract, because his current deal is a "poor" one. Yes, I recognize that 400+K/mo is decent money, yep, I do ... but relative to his credentials, historical importance, and track record --- he's underpaid and inadequately "retained" (i.e. to stay)
November 28th, 2021 at 2:38 PM ^
How do you know he didn't privately?
Michigan has enough problems with the conference for the way its perceived publicly.
Also, that's not the sole job of an AD.
Michigan Athletics, as a whole, is better than its been in YEARS!
FB - #2 in the country and he worked wonders restructuring a deal with a high profile HC...where he didn't fire the guy on a pandemic when the state was bleeding and the department was down tens of MILLIONS, and he was going to give a guy and his staff tens of MILLIONS just to go away (and pay millions more to hire a new staff).
MBB - Hired the greatest ambassador this University has ever seen as a head coach not named Carol Hutchens. Oh and they got to the Elite 8 last year, signed a great class, and will be primed for a late run when the group gels and the team gets experience.
MIH - He hired Mel, right? That program is riding high.
Softball, Baseball, Gymnastics, Swimming & Diving...all riding high. Women's soccer just lost an OT thriller for a chance at the Final Four/College Cup.
He's raising money.
Probations? Compliance violations? Scandals? Nope.
How about academic success? We're graduating student-athletes and we have countless Academic All-B1G student-athletes.
Facilities? He's built those, too.
...all of you claiming Warde is a bad AD, okay. Name me 5 elite ADs? Who's the Nick Saban of ADs?
What IS a good AD? What does that look like? What are those responsibilities?
I don't think the sun shines out the man's ass...but as someone who worked in college athletics administration for over 15 years, Warde is more than solid. It's just so strange that people rag on him, but don't even know what he does and can never point to someone who's doing it at an elite level (and state why).
November 28th, 2021 at 3:00 PM ^
Hold on a second. Did you read the OP? He wants to appreciate him for BB and FB and he posts this after our biggest FB victory in 10 years. Whether he talked to B1G privately or not is something we would never know. I can only go by what I see on the field -- crappy officiating that cost us a game. Harbaugh chose to stick around. It sounds like Warde somehow fought everyone to stick up for Harbaugh. May be, but no one knows for sure. The only thing I see is Harbaugh making way less than many other coaches who are not even good at their job. I just think the timing of this appreciation thread is not right. This is not about Warde. This is about players and coaches. Why insert AD into this? Makes no sense. That is going to be my last comment. Like I said before, Warde is our guy and I support our guys. But don't link that guy to our biggest victory in a long time.
November 28th, 2021 at 3:31 PM ^
Your point is correct. Jim was not going to leave and contrary to rumors, Jim actually brought up the issue of taking a pay cut. I know Warde personally and have worked with him, so I’m biased. His overall management of UM athletics has been excellent. He has a great reputation among University Presidents and many of them would love to hire him if he ever decides to leave.
November 28th, 2021 at 1:45 PM ^
Good for Manuel.
Though athletic directors usually only get noticed in the money-making sports, you're right that he's hired, helped, and encouraged throughout the program.
November 28th, 2021 at 1:47 PM ^
I’m glad Warde stuck with Harbaugh. Props to him for that. But I’m still disappointed that Warde did not back Harbaugh in his criticism of the officiating in The Game 2016.
November 28th, 2021 at 3:32 PM ^
I know for a fact that he did. Just not publicly.
November 28th, 2021 at 3:54 PM ^
November 28th, 2021 at 1:51 PM ^
No, fuck warde, be didn't stand up for Harbaugh in 2016.
November 28th, 2021 at 2:39 PM ^
...publicly.
And even still...that's one thing. If that's the mark of a great AD (or a terrible one), then we pay these guys WAAAY too much money.
November 28th, 2021 at 2:05 PM ^
This crowd has always been in sync with this lovely take. Lol
November 29th, 2021 at 11:11 PM ^
Have to admit, the man has pitched a near perfect game