Rivals forum post on MGoBlog/Brian

Submitted by bluebloggin on

Behind a paywall (http://michigan.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=338&mid=144092124&sid=883&tid=144092124&style=2&Override=1), but forum posting  about how good (or not good) Brian and MgoBlog is.  I try and stay away from "The Fort" as the majority of posters there aren't that educated in their writing, but whatever.  Just interesting as most of the people are vehement in their judgment of Brian in his problem with the Hoke hire.

Belisarius

April 23rd, 2011 at 7:11 PM ^

This really isn't the point. You may well find a game winning coach reaching down, most people have choice but to try. There isn't a lot of lateral movemant amongst coaches these days, unless it's a dirty coach trying to stay one step ahead of the hammer (cough*Saban*cough).

I'm speaking specifically to the belief that a winning resume below is an incontestable harbinger of future success: to whit, the belief that Rich Rod's resume was that of a gridiron Ghengis Khan, and Hopke's resume makes it acceptable to deride him.

justingoblue

April 23rd, 2011 at 7:44 PM ^

Then I guess the disagreement was never there in the first place and I misunderstood you. I will add that while I don't think RR had a perfect resume, there are some concerns with Hoke's as well. If he had stayed long enough to move SDSU to the top of the MWC (like RR did with WVU) I think they would be more comperable. It's more Hoke's shorter term as a HC to me than what he's done with his resume.

Belisarius

April 23rd, 2011 at 9:23 PM ^

Accurate. I think what you want when you reach down is someone who has shown an ability to win consistently, and the hope that will translate (think Bo). Hoke's resume is very questionable. I think he has sort of proven he can take lesser programs and do something with them, but who knows what that will mean in the long run, as every time he's had a winning season he's moved up.

These are legitimate questions. But people had legitimate questions about Rich Rod. I had them about Rich Rod, and I have them about Hokje. I suppose I would just encourage people to grapple with them personally and not in public. I think the only metric we, as fans, have is the success they have, on the field, for us. So I guess, here's hoping...

trussll12

April 23rd, 2011 at 8:29 PM ^

What turnaround?  He inherited a .500 team; his first four years he was sub-.500.  His fifth year he was half a game above .500.  In his sixth year, he had an abmorally good year, but couldn't finish it, losing as a ranked team to an unranked Buffalo, with Hoke then leaving before a beating a bowl game.  And the foundation he built?  Did they remain near the top of the MAC after he left?  If I roll a pair of dice 6 times and get an 11 once, I'm going to quit and start telling people that I turned the dice around.

He may succeed greatly at Michigan, and we might all love him in the end, but his resume is his resume.  I remember a month or two before we hired him, I was told the same thing by my fanatical sports lover brother -- there's no way Michigan would hire Hoke.  He went to a MAC school; I went to Michigan.  He didn't understand that we would put bloodlines above all else.

Belisarius

April 23rd, 2011 at 9:31 PM ^

Yes. you're analogy comparing coaching a team to a winning season and rolling dice is perfect. I cannot improve upon it. It is nothing more than an exercise in probability. The fact that he was a running a program in a bottom feeder school of a bottom feeder conference with no funding, no support and no access to meaningful recruiting could, in no way, affect that probability.

Also, his record there is in no way comprable to that of Harbaugh's, who also led his team, a much better supported, financed and positioned team, to a similar level of success for exactly one year before being hailed a caesar and moving on.

And there is no way a reputable coach could ever lose to an unranked team. So it goes without saying that a reputable coach, with  a history of success, and a national championship to his name, at the winningest program in history, could lose to an unranked school. Especially an FCS school. That could never happen.

Belisarius

April 23rd, 2011 at 6:35 PM ^

No, the Big East is a springboard for coaches moving up. That's why the Big East can't keep an even modestly talented coach. Rich Rod was a WV alum and bolted, Edsall gave birth to UConn football and slinked off laterally to Maryland after leading his team to the most ubdeserved BCS slot in the history of man.

The point is...getting a coach from the Big East may or may not mean anything. I wasn't against Rich Rod. I wanted him to succeed, right up until the Gator Bowl. The point I'm trying to make is that, just because you are successful in the Big East doesn't mean you will be the next Petrino, Bowden or Kelly. I admit the odds were against him, but based on his performance, I'm not sure he was the brilliant coach people thought he was. He did well in a weaker conference, and excelled in a brief window when he had Pat White and the other pieces he needed (including Miamai and Virginia Tech am-scrayed), and a DC who could put up with him. That's not the dominant resume some people claim it is.

I think Rich Rod has a high powered mind. I think he would be a fantastic OC anywhere. I think he would be a great head coach somewhere. But I don't think he would be a dominant head coach everywhere. As much as some things were against him, I think he proved that himself.

ATLWolverine

April 23rd, 2011 at 6:20 PM ^

one hired the Baltimore Ravens DC and the other one ultimately hung his hat on GERG.

I think RR definitely has the better coaching resume, but once it emerged that our coaching staff was helmed by Hoke + Mattison most of the grumbling about the Hoke hire ceased instantaneously, Brian included.

The Barwis Effect

April 23rd, 2011 at 6:30 PM ^

Hoke's criticism is well deserved RR's was not. One coach came in with many wins, BCS games and all that. The other comes in with a .485 winning percentage. 

Seems far too simplistic to me. As previous U-M coaches -- Moeller and Rodriguez -- have proven, prior head coaching records are not always the best harbinger of future successes or failures.

nicknick

April 23rd, 2011 at 6:08 PM ^

Hang on a minute. I believe this is the post that you're referring to:

http://mgoblog.com/content/brady-hoke-and-nature-information

How is that post an unfair criticism of Hoke? It's not a personal attack; it's discussing his record and career. Sure, it is Brian's opinion, but it's not like he's attacking Hoke's character or personal life.

This is a classic example of the dichotomy in the Michigan fan base. Brian's supporters think that it's fair to make criticisms of Brandon's process and Hoke's record; others think that criticizing the career of Michigan's eventual coach is unfair.

M-Wolverine

April 23rd, 2011 at 10:00 PM ^

So I don't want to go over it all again. But at the time, to say all his attacks were just on the process was false. I'll just mention the "donuts" repeated references. And yeah, fat jokes about your coach are about on the level of hillbilly jokes. Brian made being wrong personal. If he had just stuck to ripping the process (which we don't really know who Brandon tried talking to anyway), he wouldn't have gotten nearly as much grief, because even those who thought Hoke was a great hire can see the viewpoint that the process could be perceived as shakey, at best.

Belisarius

April 23rd, 2011 at 11:22 PM ^

I'm not certain it's all in the past, either, is my problem. Based on the commentary of the spring game, it seems to me a lot of the bitterness is just being repressed. I refer to the continued ascertations that only the "Old Guard" could ever approve of this tranisition, or the shift back to pro-style.

Not that he doesn't have the right. This is his forum, after all. But when we air our dirty laundry in public, it's on display for all.

Magnus

April 24th, 2011 at 9:37 AM ^

Yeah, well Rivals (specifically Chris Balas) said that Harbaugh would be the coach, then said Hoke, then said Miles, and then said Hoke again...

...and afterward, Chris Balas basked in the glory of predicting the Hoke hire correctly.

I disagree with some of the stuff Brian says, but at least he sticks to his guns.

Michigan Arrogance

April 23rd, 2011 at 5:40 PM ^

They are, without a doubt, the biggest homers out there. what's the point of reading their stuff? I read the Wolverine mag for years, and at some point all the articles were exactly the same thing. When Doug Karsh stopped writting the back page, I was out.

Wolverine319

April 23rd, 2011 at 5:44 PM ^

Rivals poster worship their mods to dangerous levels. If anyone thinks the groupthink on here is here bad, try reading the fort for a day. The anti-rr tone of that site during Rr era was unbearable. There is so much ignorance spread on that site that just gets encouraged by the mods, especially with the poster bluemonster.

justingoblue

April 23rd, 2011 at 9:25 PM ^

I remember when that ratio was worse. Wait until points are back in play; we'll see what happens then.

Right now you're coasting off of six weeks of no posting from me and posbanging from you.

(The girlfriend just said she was going to "neg me to Bolivian" once points are back up and she signs up...keeper?)

BlueDragon

April 23rd, 2011 at 10:50 PM ^

Right now you're coasting off of six weeks of no posting from me and posbanging from you.

Right now I could drop the "Haterz gonna hate" bomb on you, but I'm more creative than that. As long as I maintain an average rate of about 2000 points/month, my growth is sustainable. I might drop a few thousand in November-December 2011, but I can offset the losses as long as I maintain my current rate of posting.
For the moment, I have 10,000 points and you don't, so I get to "initiate" you until at least November 14, 2011. Now get down and give me 20.
As for the GF...she'll have a tough time getting above 100 points because I'm going to down-vote everything she posts. Mwahahaha.

BlueDragon

April 24th, 2011 at 2:16 AM ^

I love it when drunk justingoblue makes an appearance on the board.  I have a feeling we've all been making a quick pit-stop at the bar before showing up to post a few times in the past few days.  I too have gone to my intoxicated "happy place" and, as they say, let the good times roll.

I got a chem midterm on Wednesday and I'm dreading tomorrow because I have to start studying for it.  I've already taken advantage of office hours and I'm still not sure about how to solve some of these problems.  But I hope it'll be OK with three days to prep.

I will admit that I'm the bigger shit-talker between the two of us, but you gotta admit you sure do hate on me every once in a while :-)  Anyways, c'mere you.

cute-cat-cuddling-kitten

BlueDragon

April 23rd, 2011 at 8:54 PM ^

What are your feelings on being forced to enter captchas in order to post, even though you have been released and are in good standing with positive points?  The enhanced security is active until you get 100 points, and it almost discourages further posting after someone has to start over from Bolivian exile.

cp4three2

April 23rd, 2011 at 5:48 PM ^

When I moved to Texas it was a nice way to keep up with people back home who liked the same teams, mostly.  However, I came to realize that MgoBlog basically does the same thing they do for free, and being poor, it wasn't worth it anymore.  I'm sure Rivals is great for teams that don't have a Brian.

nicknick

April 23rd, 2011 at 6:11 PM ^

If there's a group of people that, months later, still need to be complaining about how Brian covered Hoke's hiring, then at least they're doing it in the Fort where I won't see it.

Considering that the primary criticism of Brian was that he didn't get off the Rodriguez bandwagon fast enough, they seem to be pretty slow themselves to move on with their lives.

Go Blue Eyes

April 23rd, 2011 at 6:42 PM ^

 "I try and stay away from "The Fort" as the majority of posters there aren't that educated in their writing, but whatever."  

Do they have a sixth grade education like this guy?

wmu313

April 23rd, 2011 at 6:50 PM ^

The fort blows, for cereal. Dropped my sub from there months ago and the quality of my interwebs life has significantly improved. You can only read so many long winded, bogus posts from BlueMonster that say the same thing over and over again. The entire atmosphere on that board was incredibly negative and posters would spew a lot of venom. The info/content is way better here and on GBW.

 

tl;dr: The Fort sucks. Who cares what those jabronis think?