At what point do you start putting some blame on the coaching staff?

I am not advocating that we throw in the towel on RR and his staff just yet, but I don’t think it is very prudent for us to try and cover up, or make excuses for some of the mistakes this year by pointing all the fingers at the players or Uncle Lloyd, and giving  RR and his staff a free pass b/c we are going through a transition.  Under no circumstance should we have lost to Toledo, who was routed by a Brady Hoke coached Ball State team 31-0 (No I am not advocating for Hoke to be the head coach at Michigan). However I do think we need to open our eyes and realize that this is not just bad execution by the players, but also bad coaching and their inability to put in place the right schemes to compensate for some of our young, as well as veteran players, deficiencies.  Every week I feel like we are trying to force a square peg in a round hole while all I heard about before this year started was how RR’s system was adaptable to the personal. From what I have seen so far, that doesn’t appear to be case. We can try to blame Lloyd and Mallet and the Douchebag who transferred to that shit hole down south, but reality is we have had Top 15 recruiting classes over the last 4 years (see below), and our players are not getting better every week like we expected, in fact, they seem to be heading in the wrong direction. I think RR could potentially have great overall system once it is in place, but I question his ability to adapt and his ability to lead. If you watch the post game press conferences, he doesn’t appear to have the qualities I would normally associate with a good leader and motivator, and that worries me, no matter how good his system might be.  My only logical explanation for why this staff appears to be inflexible is they wrote off this season long ago and are trying to get the younger players into, and familiar with the system as quickly as possible.

Is it worth going 2-10 or 3-9 and at what point do you start putting some blame on the coaching staff?

Rivals 2004 - #5

Rivals 2005 - #6

Rivals 2006 - #13

Rivals 2007 - #12

Good Q&A Article by Michael Spath on Rivals.com…some pieces below.  

Q: Should fans maintain faith in this coaching staff?

A: For as many legitimate excuses as one could make to support why this program is down this season, regardless of coach, U-M never should have lost Saturday's game. Never. This offense has regressed, this defense at no point has been dominant this season and now Michigan's kicker is suffering confidence loss.

The coaches can talk about lack of execution all they want, but at some point they have to be held accountable for that lack of execution. Is that time now? Tough to say. The dearth of experience offensively, combined with below-average talent at key positions, is really hurting the Wolverines, but the adage 'wait until next year' doesn't fly after a loss like this.

Maybe Rodriguez isn't working with the right kind of players, but he's working with football players that have been recruited to U-M and they're not improving. In these final six games, the coaches' job is to prove they can get the most out of this talent. If they cannot, then there will be serious questions come December.

Q: Where can the coaches make immediate adjustments?

A: In play calling. Offensive coordinator Calvin Magee was pretty disgusted after the game, but he needs to begin asking himself, 'Why am I putting these kids in position to do something they cannot?' The perfect example is Michigan's commitment to call screens and passes to the flat in which a lineman must get outside the hash marks and put a block on a linebacker and/or cornerback. This offensive line simply does not have the athleticism to get it done and yet we have watched this play call fail over and over and over again. Why?

Why insist on running plays without a lead blocker when there is at least one defender in the offensive backfield within moments of the snap? I'm not advocating Michigan change its offense like so many are insisting but this team has strengths and a lot of weaknesses and the coaches must begin finding ways to compensate for those weaknesses. If that means employing tight ends on the line in blocking roles then so be it. If that means throwing to the sidelines instead of the middle of the field so be it. If that means abandoning their screens so be it.

No good will come from trying to run a pro-style offense – these coaches don't know it and this offensive line isn't good enough regardless of scheme – but the coaches can shore up their weaknesses with better play calling and that execution is on them.