Warde Manuel Extended
February 15th, 2021 at 9:08 AM ^
I'm surprised she didn't have the FOIA request by now.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:53 AM ^
Well she said she just found out today.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:53 AM ^
It seems rather "coincidental" that the announcement came right after the tool who shall not be named wrote a lengthy piece today in the other local rag about why he might not be extended. I love Angelique.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:05 AM ^
You’re unbelievable. Angelique is a lazy toady who basically republishes press releases. She never criticizes the program, offers meaningful analysis or breaks news (other than news that the program feeds to her.) She’s the definition of a hack. That’s how you want your “news”?
February 15th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
Mackbru - Angelique is an enjoyable, fresh, and intelligent voice for the beat. She also tends to keep it light-hearted, which makes sense, because it’s sports. She is one of my favorites.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:18 AM ^
Mackbru = Rainer Sabin?
February 15th, 2021 at 1:02 PM ^
Michigan does not lack for critics and "analysts."
She's informed and positive, two qualities in increasingly short supply in college sports.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
Dear Mr. Putingrad,
I agree that you're unbelievable, though I suppose my reasons for thinking so are slightly more positive than the Angelique hater.
Mr. Vet
(Mr. Putingrad and Mr. Vet: I make us sound like an old-timey vaudeville team.)
February 15th, 2021 at 1:03 PM ^
Thanks! I'd be happy to do a show with you anytime.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:13 AM ^
Nice recovery, OP with the embed.
Go Warde!
Go Blue!
Link embed is highlighted below:
Click on the chain link icon and it opens a window to paste your link.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
Again, helpful rather than hateful. WHAT a concept.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
Just wait until the lithium orotate wears off.
February 15th, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
Annoying thing is I know what I’m doing, apparently I just biffed the embed in the OP. ??♂️
February 15th, 2021 at 9:15 AM ^
Oh boy, the haters will be out for this one.
February 15th, 2021 at 1:04 PM ^
Wondering when the first "if it lasts more than four hours, see a doctor" joke would be posted.
..oh what, I just did that.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:17 AM ^
*WD clutches his Nike branded maize and blue pearls*
February 15th, 2021 at 9:20 AM ^
Not a surprise... There have been some hiccups in PR, but they've only been hiccups and only involved PR that, really, only invested fans like us care about (the schedule with MSU/OSU; defending JH after 2016 refs; ND scheduling; etc). For the most part, the AD has been run smoothly, there have been no big, ugly incidents, facilities are looking good, fund raising seems to go well... The worse stuff (Anderson, 2-week COVID shutdown) has largely been out of his control.
He's not going to rebuild the Michigan AD into the juggernaut that Canham built, but it's not going to be Tom Goss' department, either...
February 15th, 2021 at 9:54 AM ^
The schedule was made before Warde got hired.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:26 AM ^
Almost every sport besides football competes for a championship.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:53 AM ^
Football did share the division title in 2018. (Maryland could have done us a solid with that 2-pointer...)
February 15th, 2021 at 9:22 AM ^
Some people will be mad, but I'm good with it. He nailed the basketball hire with Juwan, all of the other non-rev teams are thriving, and he was able to get Harbaugh on a good contract from Michigan's perspective.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:33 AM ^
I agree.....all things considered (timing, COVID, available candidates) renegotiating Coach Harbaughs' contract to lower his buyout; shift more $ to incentives and enable paying assistants was progress. Hopefully it results in a great revival; but if not then UM is better positioned to make a change and has time in which to operate.
February 15th, 2021 at 3:11 PM ^
Yeah, I think he's done a good job all things considered and feels like the type of AD Michigan needs in this circumstance. And I think his handling of Harbaugh's situation made a ton of sense; I absolutely could have seen that end far worse with UM scrambling for a back-up in a tough environment.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:22 AM ^
Reasonably good work so far - not perfect, but almost all positive and some quite good. Hiring Howard may end up being his greatest action.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:32 AM ^
Good to hear. He provides a steady hand to Michigan athletics.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:34 AM ^
I demand a recount
Even though I think this extension was a good move
February 15th, 2021 at 9:37 AM ^
As he should be.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^
Interesting title, but I knew what you meant...
February 15th, 2021 at 9:49 AM ^
And he didn't panic and cut loose Harbaugh like so many people would have loved.
If he had done that and NOT gotten Campbell, oh boy sad face.
February 15th, 2021 at 9:55 AM ^
At the end of the day, it’s definitely the right move. There have been some small things here and there that the fan base hasn’t really cared for, but all in all it’s been really positive. Hiring Juwan was a brilliant hire and is looking smarter by the week, but he’s really going to have to continue proving his chops by fending off the NBA inevitably coming to call for Howard’s services, as early as this upcoming offseason. He got Harbaugh down to a more reasonable “prove it” contract, where they pay reflects the results thus far, and the rest of Michigan sports appear to be in a very good spot.
There really wasn’t another move to make.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:08 AM ^
I know he has mixed reviews from the MgoBlog realm. However, replacing him is like replacing a coach in some sense, in that who is out there that would:
1. want the job, and
2. be better than Warde?
February 15th, 2021 at 10:09 AM ^
People poop on Warde all the time around here and 95% of it is unjustified. Jay Harbaugh receives similar treatment.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:11 AM ^
The Juwan hire alone earned him that extension. Everything else is frosting on the cake.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:38 AM ^
I heard he was gonna get fired if they didn't win yesterday
February 15th, 2021 at 10:38 AM ^
When it comes to Warde, I'm relatively neutral. He's done some good, some bad.
The part that confuses me a little bit is how heavily this board has slammed him over the months- how he's handled COVID, Harbaugh's contract, etc. And now this move seems to be universally loved?
Help me.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:43 AM ^
This board slams everything. And the people you are hearing from now are not the Warde haters.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
What are your thoughts? The guy has been brilliant. He got the right guy for basketball and he is giving the right guy for football a chance to build.
Firing Harbaugh would have been an absolute shit show. No matter what media pundits say, to fire Him Harbaugh during a pandemic would have been embarrassing and there was no guarantee Campbell would be here.
February 15th, 2021 at 10:48 AM ^
I think he's been alright. You guys know how I feel about Harbaugh; he's had his chance here, it's time to move on. I wish he had the guts to make that decision, but Harbaugh has this program in a vice grip.
I think he made a mess of the basketball pandemic these last few weeks.
Otherwise, he's been fine. Howard was a fantastic hire.
I'm just generally confused about what I've read about him the past year and now everyone loves him. It's an unusual dynamic.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:03 AM ^
I suppose a case can be made that you'd rather have the guy who's weathered a few storms. In a program as big as Michigan's, you're going to have the occasional scandal, such as the Xavier SUV incident and the supposedly botched handling of the initial Anderson complaint. I'm not sure any of the Covid stuff is worth determining his fate, considering the extraordinariness of the circumstances. And let's face it, as bad as it looked during the postseason cone of silence over Harbaugh, the final result was about as good as can be expected. So while I don't think anyone is doing cartwheels over this news, he seems to have earned the opportunity to continue leading the department.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:25 AM ^
"about as good as can be expected."
Even this statement is way understating how well things went. Other than losing Somerville, there was nothing even resembling a negative (it appears our OL coach was hated by everyone), and 3 quality DTs to close out wasn't expected. We have Harbaugh on the cheap, the new staff is younger and already showing results as recruiters, we finished top 10 in team recruiting rankings, and we're off to a great start in 2022 recruiting. Warde gets an A+ for how that turned out (so far . . . let's see how the assistants are at coaching).
February 15th, 2021 at 12:24 PM ^
This. A huge part of the problem with Harbaugh was the contract it took to get him (which WM was not part of). How many versions of "we are paying Saban prices and he can't even win his division" have there been on this board? The reality is Harbaugh is a good coach that was not living up to his contact in the W/L department. The JH extension puts Michigan in a strong place going forward. Either it lights a fire under Harbaugh and his young staff to go prove they can do this, or Michigan can easily (from a contact standpoint) move on. That's all on Warde.
The Juwan hire speaks for itself. Mel looking pretty good also. Point, Warde gets too much criticism in my opinion. The extension was earned.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:14 AM ^
The one big hire he made so far, he nailed it. Though i pray he was joking about Cooley...
Congrats to AD Manuel.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
I'm very happy having Mr. Manuel extended. He understands and appears to fiercely protect the culture that most alumni value. He has navigated several very difficult situations with grace and good outcomes. He has hired and enabled great teachers and leaders of young athletes. He does his best work outside the glare of the media. This was a no brainer decision.
February 15th, 2021 at 11:21 AM ^
Like his waist?
February 15th, 2021 at 1:06 PM ^
Good.
February 15th, 2021 at 1:49 PM ^
Pros and Cons.
Pros
Obviously has Michigan best interest at heart.
Seemed to negotiate with Harbaugh correctly (protecting both the University & the Coach).
Seemed to home run hire Howard.
After hearing the media call our football team cowards, called Herbstreit a fool.
Cons
Has not been "leading" in the Big Ten - just 'stays in his lane'.
Does not push scheduling to Michigan's advantage.
Has not formally "gone nuts" on the Big Ten and NCAA on referee bullshit calls on Michigan that NOBODY else gets (check YouTube).
Has not "gone nuts" on the local / national media for continually blasting Michigan.
Defund the Freep.
Go Blue.
February 15th, 2021 at 3:12 PM ^
Manuel has done a good job at the role and I'm happy thus far. I do wish he made the AD more transparent and less of a pain with stuff like FOIA but I assume this comes down from the school.