Why Rich Rod is Not Josh McDaniels

[Ed-M : Interesting comparison, but not a diary]

So the big news in the NFL was the Broncos firing Josh McDaniels as their head coach.  When both Rich Rod and Josh McDaniels were hired, there were some parallels in the type of hiring that took place.  I think Michigan and the Broncos made a similiar coaching decision when hiring their respective coaches.  Happily, the bottom line is that Rich Rod is a better coach and a much better person, two factors that will hopefully weigh heavily in Dave Brandon's pending decision.  

Michigan hired Rich Rod knowing that he was a paradigm changing coach for our program. He was/is relatively young, though with a track record of real success.  We took a chance on the exciting prospects of higher octane offense and schemes on both sides of the ball that had built West Virginia into a real program.

The Denver Broncos hired Josh McDaniels following the Mike Shanahan era.  Shanahan's time in Denver was not unlike Lloyd Carr's at Michigan.  Shanahan won Super Bowls in 97 and 98 with John Elway, only to spend the next ten years with successful- but not championship-caliber teams.  The Broncos needed a change even though Mike Shanahan was an excellent coach, a feeling many of us had about Lloyd in 2007.  (Obviously no disrespect to Lloyd Carr, he was and is a class act and one of our all time greatest coaches.)

McDaniels was hired because he was going to bring fresh life to the Broncos.  As a Belichick disciple, McDaniels had done extremely well as the Pats offensive coordinator.  He built Matt Cassel into a legitimate NFL quarterback.  He was a young, bright coach who was going to bring a new and exciting system to Denver.

Fast forward to today and the firing of Josh McDaniels.  Part of the decision to fire McDaniels was his overall win-loss record.  Since starting 6-0 last year, McDaniels had subsequently gone 5-17 with the Broncos.  This sounds not too dissimilar from Rich Rod’s 4-0 and 5-0 starts over the past two years, right?  No, not even close.  Here are the differences:

1.  McDaniels had lost the team's confidence

If one thing came out of the end of this season, it is clear that the players still believe in Rich Rodriguez.  Our guys believe in Rich Rod and want him to succeed.  Effort has never been an issue this year.  Even our defense, which admittedly has been tough to watch, has played hard for Coach Rod week in and week out.

2.  McDaniels was arrogant and destroyed the talent base

Say what you will about Coach Rod's speech last week, his message was humility and belief in the Michigan program.  He is not arrogant.  Josh McDaniels didn't get along with his star players and destroyed the Broncos by trading Jay Cutler, Peyton Hillis and Brandon Marshall. Rich Rod has been quietly building and improving this Michigan team.  The talent level of this Michigan team is rising.    

3.  McDaniels was coaching for himself, not for the players

When watching Broncos games this year, one thing above all else struck me about Josh McDaniels.  He had little to no interaction with any players on the sidelines.  Literally none.  He was aloof and didn't bother to check in with his players, whether things were going well or poorly.  Chatter from within the Broncos organization was that McDaniels was not well received by the players this year, after having alienated many of the veterans.

Rich Rod is clearly fully invested in his players at Michigan.  He cares about them and is fully engaged in their success as athletes and people.  One example: he wouldn't let Denard back into the game against Illinois out of concern for his head injury.  Rich Rod was emotional last week at the Bust when talking about how much his players mean to him.  

While no one is ecstatic about the win-loss column over the last three seasons, it is instructive to see how Rich Rodriguez looks when compared to Josh McDaniels.  The two shared more than a few commonalities when hired to be the new head coaches of their respective teams. Luckily, Michigan hired a guy who has maintained a high quality environment for the Michigan football program.  Josh McDaniels provides a great reference point for the type of coach who should be fired.  Rich Rodriguez deserves a much better fate.