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People who did not see…

People who did not see exactly how this would play out...need to reevaluate.  It was obvious and too many were in denial. Warde Manual is a mediocre, behind the curve, empty suit.  He get beaten at this game over and over and over again.  A total loser who has by the second week of Moore's tenure already made it very, very hard for him to succeed.  There are very valid reasons JH hated the man.  And if you did not see this a long time ago...you need to ask yourself why you had blind spots.

Ray Tanter reference...

Ray Tanter reference...

Wheels falling off before…

Wheels falling off before our very eyes....  Time to go U. Chicago route...

Clearly, Nike hates American…

Clearly, Nike hates American's team...

Capitalism. It failed.  

Capitalism. It failed.  

Turn field hockey into a…

Turn field hockey into a club sport.  Problem solved.

And....therein lies the…

And....therein lies the problem.  A grand total of 500 people care about 22 of those 26 other sports.  Stop diverting the cash that football generates into stuff that is irrelevant.  Spend as much on keeping football elite (we finally got there in the last three years after a 20 year absence!!!) as is necessary.  And too bad for field hockey etc.

Fact:  The population of…

Fact:  The population of those who actually post here is much smaller than it was a few years back.  Why?  It became too unwelcoming, certain ideas became impermissible, etc....

You are absolutely correct. …

You are absolutely correct.  In addition, whatever huge salaries paid to ensure that Minter and/or Herbert stayed would have been investments that paid off in the long run.  Staying top five will bring huge revenue.  Warde is penny wise and pound foolish.  Football drives the entire bus folks.  Warde's way tilts the odds too much towards another RRod/Hoke swoon.  Not saying that is certain to happen.  Just saying that Warde's way tilts the odds the wrong way toward that sort of event.  

Warde cutting JH's pay in…

Warde cutting JH's pay in 2000 is a huge factor in JH leaving now.  Warde not having his back on burger gate and l'affaire Stalions added fuel to the fire.

There absolutely is a way. 

There absolutely is a way. 

Just stop so lavishly funding the country club sports.  Football, and to a lesser extent basketball, are the revenue sources.  Michigan spends way too lavishly on the country club sprots that will always be revenue drains.  Spend more on football and basketball.  

Spend to the level that keeps Michigan very near the top without the 19 year dry spell in Big Ten football championships that we had from late-Carr until three years ago. 

From 2004 to 2021 is WAY too long of a football conference title drought.  And that happened because the Athletic Department is dysfunctional and has its priorities out of whack.  Your post read like an inter-office memo in the Michigan AD.  

Wait.  You actually believe…

Wait.  You actually believe that deans and professors would be able to get raises because some dude on the Athletic Department payroll got a raise?  That is NOT how universities work.  Not even close.

Wait.  Your plan is to…

Wait.  Your plan is to intentionally offer 5-10% less?  Why?  What is the benefit in that?  If you are going to go all the way to 95% of market value, why not go all the way to 100%?

Wow!  Michigan is in a…

Wow!  Michigan is in a marginally better spot than Washington...   Low bar.  

It is as though you are…

It is as though you are Warde Manuel's very brain...   

As many have pointed out, there are not just two options.  Michigan does not have to copy what Texas A&M did.  But it also does not have to stand still with 'no NIL money until after your arrive.' 

It is great to continue to pursue guys that will fit the culture.  But you really do need a few five stars too.  Michigan does not get close to winning it all without JJ and Will Johnson. 

The NIL landscape is changing.  Going forward, players that are high 4 and 5 stars, and that ALSO can fit the culture, are very unlikely to come to Michigan if they can get upfront money elsewhere. 

NIL is not the same as it was the year JJ committed to Michigan.  Warde specifically stated that Michigan will stand pat and not adjust at all on NIL.  He is, yet again, behind the curve.  He will, yet again, require Michigan to experience bad results before he (or his replacement) will eventually have no alternative left but to adapt.   

He has interviewed for two…

He has interviewed for two NFL HC jobs.  He won't get one.  But it seems unlikely that a guy interviewing for NFL HC jobs would want to be OC at Michigan.  But...if he were interested, that could be a great hire.

This has to be a joke. …

This has to be a joke.  Michigan is going to promote Herbert's no. 2.  Simple as that. 

Manuel has been wrong on NIL…

Manuel has been wrong on NIL all along. 

He is the epitome of 'old Michigan' in that he wrongly assumes that Michigan football will be successful simply because it is Michigan football.  He needs to adapt to an ever-changing landscape. But he just recycles nostrums straight out of 1990s era CFB.   

He had to be dragged kicking and screaming into NIL. And now he is just sticking to the exact same NIL formula even though the NIL landscape is quickly evolving. 

He is just another in a long line of anachronistic 'Michigan men' who have been mediocre and behind the curve while occupying the AD seat. 

Michigan won so much over the last three years despite, and not because, of its approach to NIL.  The self-imposed handicap did not doom Michigan because the rosters were assembled at the dawn of the NIL era.  But standing pat and not evolving in NIL will become a huge handicap going forward.  

 

Stanford did not have to…

Stanford did not have to deal with any program like OSU when Shaw took over.  Shaw also had a better resume when he took over than Moore does.

I am not saying that Moore will fail.  I am saying that the Shaw analogy has flaws.  And I am also saying that the first few days the Moore era are not good. 

Warde Manuel's clear misstep with his NIL comments, losing Herbert, likely that other assistants leave too...   

It would be equally fair to…

It would be equally fair to ask if the board needs this much 'thread policing.'  Seems like the majority of threads now have scolds saying the thread should not have been posted.

You are highlighting some of…

You are highlighting some of the positive aspects of JH.  And, as I clearly said, he has that. 

But you are simply in denial about the other side of the JH coin.  He really does have some serious flaws, and to a level that is atypical.  Why not just admit the obvious?  Many in the fanbase have called him 'weird Jimmy' for good reason.  He is weird.  He has huge upside, but also huge flaws.

I am not really taking this personally. Rather I am looking at it dispassionately, like a person who is not a Michigan fan would.  Same with my analysis of Warde Manuel. 

People who follow CFB intensely, but are not Michigan fans, have seen the Harbaugh flaws.  And if they had any knowledge of Warde Manuel, and more generally how the Michigan AD has been run for decades, they would come to the same conclusions that I have: 'Wow, they really are their own worst enemies over there.'

 

LOL, Alabama's AD did have…

LOL, Alabama's AD did have warning.  He was eyeing replacements for the last 12 months.  He was proactive and got his man quickly.   A very quick transition.

Michigan football cannot be…

Michigan football cannot be reduced to a "place of business."  Any football program that is merely a "place of business" is not going to perform well.  It is a community and brotherhood.   Having or not having Herbert, Elston, or even Minter, would not alter the Chargers' W-L record over the next three years.  JH is so connected, and has such a strong record, that he can hire their equals.  But Sherrone Moore probably cannot. 

I guess if you think of Michigan football as merely a "place of business" then none of this will make sense to you.  But, of course, this is not comparable to the regional sales manager getting a higher paying offer at a different company and taking some sales people with him. 

More to the point, JH himself did not speak of it that way at all.  He spoke of it as a brotherhood, a community bigger than any one individual, a transformational lifelong commitment, etc., etc.  He spoke of the Team, the Team, the Team.  His actions are not compatible with his words. 

If he really followed through on his own words, he would not exit like the regional sales manager, but would exit as one who takes leave from a community in which he remains a member even though not present every day, and in the way that most allows it to thrive going forward.

So much for the Team, the Team, the Team.  JH in recent months; "I will be at Michigan as long as they will have me."  JH a year ago: "I am not going to look at the NFL again."   JH now:  He talked up Moore but has taken several unnecessary steps that significantly steepen the gradient he will face and make success far less likely.  

In short, here we are. with JH taking steps that will undermine Moore's start as he exits stage left.  It really is incompatible with the way he spoke of Michigan football to his players and in public.  And none of it is needed for whatever success he will have with the Chargers.  It is very much 'path of least resistance' and in a way self-centered behavior.  

Instead of defending JH, you should just admit the reality of JH.  He is, and always has been, very much a mixed bag.  Those who find him polarizing and problematic are on very solid ground.  He has huge upsides, but also some very well documented fatal flaws.  You take the bad with the good.  Package deal.  But don't pretend there is no bad side.  There is.  And the downsides are not minor things. 

False.  Michigan has always…

False.  Michigan has always been a bit dysfunctional, and we are seeing that again.  This should have been an orderly transition.  Both JH and Warde have made it anything but that, in their own individual ways.  Programs that are not so dysfunctional get this right.  Michigan (JH and Warde Manuel) did not.   

On this one you are wrong.  

On this one you are wrong.  

Did you read my post?  Once…

Did you read my post?  Once again, it is not about his rights, it is about doing what is right.  

Glad Michigan won it all. …

Glad Michigan won it all.  But Jim Harbaugh is...harming the program.  And Warde Manuel is terrible at his job.  Michigan has always been its own worst enemy.  Instead of building on winning it all, our former coach is raiding the program, our AD is way behind the curve, recruiting in the portal and elsewhere is stalled, and or new coach is being undermined by both Jim Harbaugh and Warde Manuel.   

And before anyone ever moves a keystroke to type 'Jim has a right to....'  blah, blah, blah.  This is not about what anyone has a right to do,  It is about doing the right thing.  And JH is not doing the right thing.  He could very easily find guys as good as Herbert and Elston (rumored to be the next domino to fall) for the Chargers.  It will be comparatively MUCH harder for 37 year old Sherrone Moore to replace them.  This is even true for MInter.  JH could have found another coordinator just as good.  But Sherrone Moore is not in a position to do that.

Then why did Saban stay at…

Then why did Saban stay at Albama for so long?

Anyone who is honest about…

Anyone who is honest about it will know that the mostly likely outcomes are (1) the JH's departure will materially set back Michigan football, and (2) he probably will not win, or even get close, to a Super Bowl with the Chargers.  So, it harms Michigan, and is very unlikely to get the big prize JH says he wants in the NFL.  A net negative for all (except OSU, I suppose)

For Michigan, simply losing JH itself is a huge setback.  Instead of keeping a program on top rolling, things have stalled, we are looking for a new staff (JH is taking key guys with him), we are behind on the portal and recruiting overall, etc., etc.  And, no, Sherrone Moore will not be as good as JH was these last three years.  To expect otherwise is wish casting.  So, this really does hurt Michigan at a moment when it had finally gotten things rolling and in a spot where it could have used this to perpetuate elite success.

And the Chargers?  The have cap problems, issues on D, and...just the way the NFL works simply makes getting to, much less winning, as Super Bowl a very long shot.  JH getting fired at the end of year three is more likely than winning a Super Bowl.  Simply making the Chargers a 'good' team is the most likely outcome.  But if that is the way it turns out, it really will not have been worth it for JH to leave Michigan.   

But here is the thing. …

But here is the thing.  Michigan has long been its own worst enemy in terms of maximizing football success.  Internal factors that are silly and really irrelevant have been allowed to hold Michigan back.  And Warde Manuel has perpetuated that problem.  The list of self-inflicted dysfunctions is very long.  The list of dysfunctions only under Ward Manuel is itself quite long. 

So, while we are all very happy to for the success of the last three years, and for winning it all this year, if Michigan could just stop getting in its own way all of the time...we would not have had such a long Big Ten Championship drought, lost so many to OSU over the last two decades, or had to wait from '97 until '23 for a national title.  

So you can be at peace.  But one can also want Michigan to finally stop being its own worst enemy.   The last three years have been amazing.  But they happened despite, and not because, of certain long standing dysfunctions in the Michigan AD.  And with those dysfunctions still there, we may again return the way it was before these last three years.   

You have missed the main…

You have missed the main point.  Manuel's error was cutting JH's pay back in 2020.  Another error was not fully having his back with Petitti and hamburger gate.  But the big errors was cutting his pay. JH never had flirted with the NFL before that.  And he did so three times after that.   

JH himself said that is was a difficult decision and that he was torn.  This is not so black and white as "Harbaugh just wanted to go back to the NFL."  It was a hard decision with lots of grey areas.  But, by cutting his pay back in 2020 Manuel , sowed resentment and made it more likely that JH would leave for the NFL.  

Back in 2020 Manuel had two valid options.  Either fire JH, or keep him but with 100% full support.  Manuel chose the only irrational option--keep him but do so in a way that sowed resentment by publicly and drastically cutting his pay.  JH won big thereafter, and that resentment made it more likely that he would return to the NFL.  Manuel played his hand in the only bad way possible back in 2020.  Three options.  He chose the only totally irrational one.   

He faces a similar choice with Juwan Howard.  He can fire him.  Or he can keep him with full support.  The only irrational choice would be to keep him but with an embarrassing pay cut.  If he does that, and Howard turns it around, he will have sowed resentment and will make it more likely that Howard will jump to the NBA if he starts to win at Michigan.  

 

Since this is the way Warde…

Since this is the way Warde thinks, Ono should cut his pay to zero and then offer him a promise of future NIL deals when and if Michigan teams win Big Ten championships.  Transformational, not transactional, right Warde?  If you only want to be at Michigan for guaranteed payday, then Michigan is not the right place for you, right Warde?

Well, you already are way…

Well, you already are way ahead of Ward Manuel in this, so...good for you, but...bad for Michigan to have and AD that thinks the 1990s are coming back.

Warde Manuel's approach to…

Warde Manuel's approach to getting and retaining the absolute best talent available:  I'll make you wait.  If you don't like it, go somewhere else.

Keeping one of the two best coaches in college football (Saban retired, leaving Smart and JH as the two best)?  I'll cut your salary when it goes poorly, and then when it goes great, I'll make you wait until you are negotiating final details with the Chargers until I meet your contract asks.   

Getting those few five stars that will keep Michigan football in the top 5?  Sorry, you can wait.  One of the collectives (that I was hostile to when they started and still not a fan of) will get you some NIL deals after you get into the starting lineup.

 

Manuel does not fire Moore…

Manuel does not fire Moore for 9-3 and 8-4 seasons.   Would take a bigger disaster.  

The fact is that Warde…

The fact is that Warde Manual thinks 9-3 meets the goal and is just fine.  A few posters here are of the same mindset.  Michigan has always been its own worst enemy.  The mindset of 'well, we just could never really be super elite' is pervasive and is the main reasons that Michigan in fact fails to stay among the super elite programs.   

What?  Warde Manual says the…

What?  Warde Manual says the same exact thing he has been saying for a long time...and we are supposed to believe that it is hidden code for 'we are upping our NIL game'?   I don't think so.

That is right.  Michigan did…

That is right.  Michigan did it (1) just and NIL era dawned, (2) with a bit of luck on certain players working out, (3) an elite coaching staff.   One and three are changing and in flux.  Two is not a method for consistency.  

I hope Ono sees that Warde Manual is the problem.  He is not adapting well to the shifting landscape, but instead trying hard to make the level of changes that most clings to his idealized version of an era that has ended and will not return.   

Fire Ward Manuel.  He is the…

Fire Ward Manuel.  He is the problem.  His approach will kneecap Moore's chances.

Michigan has been very good…

Michigan has been very good at (1) talent evaluation and (2) development of players.  Michigan has underperformed in reeling in the higher end players. 

And it is not just that Michigan really preferred guys that were underrated by the 247/Scout/etc.  That was sometimes the case.  But many other times there where high 4 stars and 5 stars that Michigan wanted but did not get. 

So there is room for improvement in reeling in high 4 and 5 star guys that are at the top of their recruiting board.   

NCAA hated Michigan back…

NCAA hated Michigan back then too...   Another reason to disband the NCAA...

Now that Harbaugh has left,…

Now that Harbaugh has left, I hope we can go back to the 'correct' wing tip shape on the helmets.  

Crisler was better.  He was…

Crisler was better.  He was Michigan's best head coach.  

At that moment there were…

At that moment there were two options:  Fire him, or keep him at the same salary.  Keep him but with a giant pay cut was the worst possible choice.  

Wrong.  JH had nowhere to go…

Wrong.  JH had nowhere to go after the 2000 season.  That season, and the two before, were disappointing.  JH had not options.  So it was easy for Warde Manuel to keep him.  But he did so in a way (huge public pay cut) that fostered justifiable resentment.  So...Manuel did an easy thing (keep JH) that any below average AD could have done, but he did it is the worst possible way (embarrassing public pay cut that motivated JH to want out once he could get an NFL offer).

No, it comes from him…

No, it comes from him failing at the core and central aspects of his job.   He is successful at peripheral things (but so too would any average AD succeed at those things).  But at the most important things, he is an undeniable failure.

Name three things that Warde…

Where to even begin.... 

 

Do I have to spell it out…

Do I have to spell it out for you?  O.k., I will. 

The '22 contract is IRREVELANT to the point. 

Manuel created predictable and valid resentment in Dec. 2000 with the massive pay cut.  And different contract from '22 did not make that disappear.  So, what are you even talking about?

JH turned it around after a…

JH turned it around after a three year funk (which was very obvious) BC he resolved some marital issues and BC he got progress on both physical and mental health issues that were affecting him.  All the pay cut did was leave him with resentment and a sense that they did not have his back.

Nope.  My timeline is…

Nope.  My timeline is correct. 

Pay cut was negotiated in late 2020 with the contract signed in January 2021.  JH never tried for an NFL job before that date, and in fact did fish around for an NFL job every year since that date.  

Link: https://www.si.com/college/2021/01/08/jim-harbaugh-michigan-wolverines-contract-extension