Chris Floyd venting over twitter

Submitted by Leaders And Best on

Tremendous just retweeted this twitter diatribe by former player Chris Floyd. I am going to reserve judgment until the full story comes out, but I just don't get this.  In the last couple years, we've had similar rants demanding a job for Corwin Brown on the new staff (clearly the AD knew what they were doing), scholarships for relatives (i.e. Braylon Edwards), and ex-players injecting themselves into the head coach search process. I appreciate everything these guys did for the program and university, but this just seems a bit much.

Chris Floyd @cmikeflo

Moved back to Ann Arbor from DC 3months ago because I was promised a job in the Athletic Department.....

Chris Floyd @cmikeflo

I am a former student athlete and National Champion

Chris Floyd @cmikeflo

After a promise and 3 months of waiting and interviewing and waiting more, they go and hire someone else....Leaders and Best? SMH

Chris Floyd @cmikeflo

Still, My loyalty is with Michigan. I'll always support one of my favorite people, Coach Hoke any way I can....

Chris Floyd @cmikeflo

There is a serious disconnect between the athletic department and the athletic alumni and they wonder why we don't come back or give back!

 

mackbru

July 14th, 2012 at 12:15 PM ^

I'd say if you've actually been promised a job, by a department you've worked with/for in the past -- especially one with whom you have a strong connection -- it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume they'll make good on the promise. But it's hard to know what happened in Floyd's case. 

 As for the original OP, I think the larger theme we're hearing goes to a lack of racial diversity in the department and/or on the football staff. While certain individual complaints may not amount to much -- Braylon's especially -- you're seeing a larger theme develop. The football team is composed mostly of black kids; the staff, quite the opposite. This is a valid concern, one that exists throughout college football. 

Leaders And Best

July 14th, 2012 at 1:02 PM ^

Funny because I haven't heard a word about it.  What is the average nationally? Because compared to our rivals there seems to be little difference. I don't understand how this claim can be put out there without any evidence.

OSU's staff has 2 black coaches on staff with one a holdover from the previous regime. Michigan's staff has 2 black coaches on staff with one a holdover from the previous regime. Actually Ohio State's situation is worse because both Michigan's graduate assistant coaches are black compared to Ohio State's where both are white.

For further comparison, both Notre Dame and Michigan State have only 3 black coaches on staff each.

Obviously, it has been documented there is a national problem with minority hires in coaching, but to point the finger at only Michigan here seems off base. Was there more minority coaches under Carr's regime? Yes, but it was not a significant difference with it usually being 3 black coaches with 4 at the end. But I am not going to randomly throw this charge out there without hard evidence. Hoke was hired really late in the coaching turnover cycle which probably made it hard to hire quality assistants. Most of the white coaches that Hoke brought on staff were holdover colleagues that had worked with over the years at SDSU and Ball St and that familiarity probably played a role. Hoke kept Fred Jackson and hired Jerry Montgomery and Curt Mallory to complete the staff so most of his final hires were minorities.

Leaders And Best

July 14th, 2012 at 1:31 PM ^

But the point I'm making is I don't hear these complaints at our peer institutions. I don't understand where the claim is coming from or who said it. I was responding to this (which is essentially finger pointing by someone by singling out Michigan) as poster wrote:

"I think the larger theme we're hearing goes to a lack of racial diversity in the department and/or on the football staff."

 

AthensOriginal

July 14th, 2012 at 3:05 PM ^

Most of us don't spend even a fraction of the time conversing with fans at peer institutions - be it online or in person - that we do with Michigan fans. One is going to hear about every issue ad nauseum from our base if they spend enough time discussing and thinking about these topics.

 

mackbru

July 14th, 2012 at 1:27 PM ^

Thanks for pointing that out. Correct: I never said the problem is worse at Michigan (because I don't think it is worse). But it's definitely a chronic issue overall. 

Maybe, if we're hearing more veiled complaints by former M players, it's because M players are schooled to be more socially aware and outspoken. 

VAWolverine

July 14th, 2012 at 12:25 PM ^

jump on twitter to vent. There needs to be a communiction forum called "Venter" that is just sent out to your inner circle.

Hopefully other opportunities will come up for Chris.

icefins26

July 14th, 2012 at 12:38 PM ^

Shit happens. Move on. As a corporate recruiter myself, I never understood backlash with missing out on job opportunities. He now will never have a chance if something new opens in the AD.

aaamichfan

July 14th, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^

I was recently on the job hunt, and went far through the hiring process(4th interview) for a job that didn't really pay what I was looking for, I was extremely "overqualified" for, and I wasn't actually very interested in. For whatever reason, I didn't get the job even after having an "in" from a higher up in another department. After being legitimately pissed off for about two weeks, I went back on the hunt with a vengeance, and ended up landing a job with 3x the salary. I'm absolutely thrilled about that denial now.

icefins26

July 14th, 2012 at 1:02 PM ^

Good for you. I can't tell you how many candidates I have hired for other roles, when they were declined for a different one in the past. A lot can happen: position gets put on hold, hired an internal candidate, etc. Never burn a bridge.

His Dudeness

July 14th, 2012 at 1:16 PM ^

I don't think anyone should be hired without being qualified, but if you are a qualified candidate and you are a UofM alumn like myself I am hiring you. Part of what makes us special is our incredible alumni base. Chris has a point. You help out fellow alumns whenever you can. It's a large part of why people attend the greatest university in the world. It's the reason why you can walk down the streets of Dubai, Tokyo, Bangladesh or Phoenix and hear Go Blue.

RakeFight

July 14th, 2012 at 1:29 PM ^

Chris has a point if the person that hired is not an alumni... which we don't know.

And as much as I think it was a bad decision to burn his bridges via a public rant, I think he has an even bigger point... he contributed to making this university, and specfically the athletic department, oodles and oodles of money as an unpaid student athlete.  I'm not saying that gives him the right to have a guaranteed job as some kind of pay back, but it definitely gives him the right to be mighty pissed off.

Shemmy126

July 14th, 2012 at 2:02 PM ^

Unpaid student athete?  There is no such thing.   You must be ignoring the almost $30,000 in tuition, books, meals, bowl trips and extensive alumni network connections the University of Michigan bestowed upon him.  Not bad, for a fullback that rushed for 600+ yards in his career.   Also, playing for Michigan allowed him to have the ability to work with a world class coaching staff, play on network television and get drafted by the NFL.   Kid performed very well at Michigan, and hopefully he learns that life deals some poor hands at times...

MGlobules

July 14th, 2012 at 1:40 PM ^

Sounds tough. Don't think his Twitter complaint imperils the program. Could even be seen as a healthy way to let off steam, a stage in the move from denial to anger to acceptance.

 

WolvinLA2

July 14th, 2012 at 2:16 PM ^

Obviously we don't know the whole story, but if we assume his tweets are true that he was promised a job and moved to AA based on that promise, I'd be pretty pissed too if I were him.  It's not like he's pissed just because he got passed over, he's pissed because he was told he wasn't being passed over, made lifestyle and financial decisions based on that promise, and was then renegged on.  That would make me pissed off too, especially it it were my alma mater doing it. 

Who knows what the full story is, but to say he's just venting because of sour grapes isn't fair either.

WeisstheHutt

July 14th, 2012 at 2:18 PM ^

I sat next to Chris at a fundraiser a couple months ago and he discussed the job op.

I asked him how firm the agreement was, and he said something to the effect of "we've done everything but sign the contract" (put it in quotes but that's a paraphrise.

Obviously...the contract's the key...

UMgradMSUdad

July 14th, 2012 at 2:48 PM ^

Assuming he was  promised the jog, it's possible this is more about the idiot who did the promising  than it is about Floyd himself. Doesn't promising someone a position during the hiring process violate ethical and legal standards?  We know it happens all the time, but it shouldn't, because when it does occur, it makes the whole hiring process a sham.  

The worst I've ever dealt with was when I was the top candidate for a position and the job opening was canceled, then re-opened with a newly written job description that pretty much excluded me.

bronxblue

July 14th, 2012 at 4:04 PM ^

As I was always chastised for presuming earlier, I'm not going to guess about the circumstances and what promises were conveyed/not.  All I will say is that even a verbal promise, without something in writing, shouldn't be relied upon to the extent that you relocate before officially being offered/signing up for the job.  If it isn't on paper, then I'm always skeptical. 

Don

July 14th, 2012 at 3:10 PM ^

1. Bitch about a former employer during a job interview.

2. Bitch in the media about a prospective employer not hiring you.

3. Move to a different city before you've got a signed contract in hand.

I made the stupid mistake of committing #1 many years ago, and Chris committed #2 and #3.

Ball Hawk

July 14th, 2012 at 9:52 PM ^

Is this really a thread? Do people really spend all day on twitter just to know what people are thinking and saying. Go outside and kick rocks or something, find a new hobby.