The David A. Brandon Manifesto: 11 Months Later

Submitted by State Street on

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/brandon/spec-rel/112713aaa.html

This gem was posted to our Athletic Department's official website on November 27, 2013.  It really deserves a second read with all that's gone down since it went up.  

This piece has it all.  Implicit comparsions between Brady Hoke and Nick Saban.  Subtle jabs at a guy that has Arizona competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff.  Lots of exclamations!!

This blog post may be the biggest indictment of Brandon's tenure, and that's saying something.  But I feel like it deserves some newfound attention as this season wears on.

Discuss.

Manbaugh

October 26th, 2014 at 8:05 PM ^

I know that Brady Hoke will finish his career at Michigan as one of the most successful coaches in our program's storied history.

Bo rolled in his grave. 

JT4104

October 26th, 2014 at 8:12 PM ^

LOL....the comedy in that writing sums up Brandon in a nutshell. Hey Dave, it seems RR is doing alright with Mike Stoops recruits in Zona while Brady sucks with his own recruits.

StoneRoses

October 26th, 2014 at 8:16 PM ^

Sadly, the only word I can describe this as is delusional. This alone should be enough for Brandon to realize that he must resign. 

A captain should always go down with his sinking ship.

M-Dog

October 26th, 2014 at 9:32 PM ^

You are dreaming.

Unless forced by the threat of near-violence, he will trot out another one of these open letters later this fall.

He is not a man to voluntarily admit mistakes.  He will double down on Hoke if given even the slightest opportunity.

Which we won't do.

maizenbluenc

October 27th, 2014 at 8:25 AM ^

if David Brandon is arrogant enough to post that bit of homer propaganda laced with disrespect for Coach Rodriguez and disdain for fans, he is not likely to admit failure, nor move on willingly.

I don't think either Brandon or Hoke are gone yet. I understand President Schlissel's delay - but we are at a point where every day of a delay increases the likely hood the we are stuck with both, or another misguided coaching search "process".

I am beginning to think that Brian is right, and #boycottmaryland to put the fear of an empty stadium will have to happen to force action.

StoneRoses

October 26th, 2014 at 8:17 PM ^

Sadly, the only word I can describe this as is delusional. This alone should be enough for Brandon to realize that he must resign. 

A captain should always go down with his sinking ship.

StoneRoses

October 26th, 2014 at 8:20 PM ^

Sadly, the only word I can describe this as is delusional. This alone should be enough for Brandon to realize that he must resign. 

A captain should always go down with his sinking ship.

Bill in Birmingham

October 27th, 2014 at 10:58 AM ^

I did not pick up last year that he noted Saban finished fourth in the SEC West in his fourth year. After winning the fucking national championship in his third year. Brandon, you are a disingenuous tool.

BlueHills

October 26th, 2014 at 8:24 PM ^

Yes, this tool piece was written to keep Peppers on board when his commitment wavered because of the hot seat rumors swirling around Hoke.

The fact that the AD wrote it at all under such circumstances speaks for itself.

michgoblue

October 26th, 2014 at 8:54 PM ^

I get it that so many around here don't like Brandon. And it is definitely largely justified. He did home ticket prices on students, grab money shamelessly from season ticket holders and partially cheapen the game day experience. But, if most of us are being honest, we would admit that most of our angst with DB is because the football team flat out sucks. Aside from the above litany of offenses, many of us blame DB for hiring the wrong guy.



However, I think that the focus of our angst at this point in time should be more directed at Hoke. DB has been publicly shamed and he can fix what he has done wrong. Ticket prices are going down for students, and I would bet anyone here $1 that we will not see any silly public skywriting, noodle type stunts in the coming years. Sure, db may be a bit arrogant, but if he gets the message, he has enough good to justify keeping him. Nobody can dispute that he cares about Michigan. In short, he has some gold and can fix the bad.



Hoke, on the other hand, cannot. He is a terrible coach, and under his watch our team has regressed. We are a national joke. I would be fine with a reformed Brandon staying if he fires hoke and brings in the right coach.

Commie_High96

October 26th, 2014 at 9:15 PM ^

Perhaps some people don't like DB because of the reasons you discuss, BUT, for those of us who have had friends fired by Brandon for no other reason than the fact they refused to lick DB's ass, those of us who watched him gut the Ath Dept., those of us who saw him grossly overspend for coaches who are woefully unprepared to represent UM just because he felt the would be his sycophants, well, we have a lot more reasons than a crappy football season to want him gone.

AMazinBlue

October 26th, 2014 at 10:05 PM ^

the koolaid.  Dave Brandon is the human form of Emperor Palpatine.  He is twisting the weak-minded to believe he is doing what is best for Michigan.  Dave Brandon is an opportunist, pure and simple. 

Brandon only does what is best for Dave Brandon.  He has been using his position and power as the AD for Michigan to further his career and stature.  AS he did at Domino's before, he has failed.  Every business, every endeavor Brandon gets his hands on, he destroys.  He tool Domino's to the depths and it was not until he left to begin tearing down Michigan that Dominos began to recover. 

Dominos is thriving now and trying to recover the market share Brandon gave away with his arrogance and stupidity.

Michigan has suffered mightly at the hands of Brandon.  Yes, he has helpded put much need improvements in for many of the athletic areas of the university and that is commendable.  But at what cost had his tenure here done to the single most profitable and popular part of of the athletic dept?

The football program is the face of the Athletic Dept and in four years, Brandon has destroyed the most important connection the athletic dept has; the connection with the fans.  The students, the alumi, and the regular fans.  The ones that spend their hard-earned money to go to games, buy merchandise, buy concessions and root on this once proud program.

Don't be surprised if there are not large pockets of empty seats at the Indiana game on Saturday.  And don't be surprised that if Brandon is retained that those pockets of empty seats continue to exist for the rest of season and grow even larger next season.

This is the breaking point for this program and the relationship between the dept and the fanbase.  Brandon's removal as AD is the only thing that that can save the program and the fragile relationship with those that support it. 

Realus

October 26th, 2014 at 11:21 PM ^

I hate Brandon as much as anybody, and while Dominos did do better after he left, he was actually a very good CEO.  He led Dominos to their IPO and revenue and income increased steadily for years before he became U of M AD.  I have looked at the Dominos financial statements.

You say:

"He tool Domino's to the depths and it was not until he left to begin tearing down Michigan that Dominos began to recover. 

Dominos is thriving now and trying to recover the market share Brandon gave away with his arrogance and stupidity."

 

Where is your evidence for this?  Do you have any evidence at all??

tricks574

October 27th, 2014 at 12:11 AM ^

Dominos had it's IPO in 2004 at about 14 dollars a share, which was kind of low for what people thought it would go at.



Between then and Brandon leaving for the AD job, it rose to a high of 32 dollars a share in 2007, before completely tanking to hit 4 dollars a share in 2008. 



When he left Dominos in January of 2010 it had recovered slightly to about 11 dollars a share.



In the nearly 5 years since then, it has risen to 87 dollars a share. 



So yeah, it's pretty fucking fair to say he wasn't hitting a home run with Dominos

BlueHills

October 27th, 2014 at 12:58 AM ^

Not all of us feel the way you do. For some, this season is merely a symptom of DB being here that could have been predicted several years ago, but it's not the cause of our discontent.

I wanted Brandon gone before this season started, or last season started, because I find what he has done to the game day experience intolerable, and I have no respect for what he's done to relationships with alumni and students.

This season's football results have had absolutely nothing to do with it. I was a hater before being a hater was fashionable around here. 

Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing paragraphs to the contrary, I will agree that the man has been chastened to a degree. If he were to stay, he has probably been de-fanged and declawed.

But I still can't stand him. And reading the posts over the last few months, I know I'm not alone.

Fire Brandon. Fire Hoke. And if Brandon isn't fired, elect regents who will fire Schlissel for being a pussy. They can all get bent, as far as I'm concerned. Michigan isn't about them. It's about us. Half a million alumni and 50k students. Not a few individuals and their fat cat money men.

Noleverine

October 27th, 2014 at 8:46 AM ^

Brandon lost the trust of the students, alumni, and fans. To me, there is literally nothing he could do to repair my view of him. Not a damn thing.

Dude could give out tickets to inner city orphanages and I would still assume it was to benefit himself. And I would be right.

maizenbluenc

October 27th, 2014 at 8:55 AM ^

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/brandon/spec-rel/112713aaa.html

You should feel insulted having read it. It is clear to me that the problem with this program is arrogance in the face of obvious reality.

You could hear and see David Brandon's arrogance in his snide remarks when he did his little hearts and minds PR tour post concussion scandal. He appears to believe he can do what he wants, and spin any scandal at will, because we should believe what they put out, not what you see - this is Michigan!

saveferris

October 27th, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^

Aside from the above litany of offenses, many of us blame DB for hiring the wrong guy.

Actually, for me, it goes deeper than that. I blame DB for firing the right guy and then going out and hiring the wrong guy. Reading the manifesto linked by the OP just infuriates me more than I already have been at DB because the public show of support given to Hoke last year was NEVER given to Rodriguez, and you know what, if he had been given the kind of moral and financial support that Hoke has enjoyed the past 4 years, Michigan might be better off right now.

I realize that's an unpopular thing to say, because Rich Rodriguez is still a villain to a lot of folks in the Michigan fanbase, but this notion that Rodriguez was a "bad fit" for Ann Arbor is bullshit. He succeeded at WVU. He's got Arizona, ARIZONA, ranked in the Top 15 and competing for the Pac-12 Championship, and he's on the short list of prospective candidates for taking over the Florida job. Florida, one of the pre-eminent programs of the SEC. But he doesn't have what it takes to make it here in the Big 10? Right. So yeah, I'm pissed off at Dave Brandon.

However, I think that the focus of our angst at this point in time should be more directed at Hoke. DB has been publicly shamed and he can fix what he has done wrong.

Hoke certainly deserves the lionshare of fans' ire when it comes to the performance of the football team, but if you think that Brandon has learned some kind of lesson from the fisking he's taken this fall, you are sadly mistaken. If the football team's fortunes were to suddenly pick up and the furor were to die down, he'd be back to his old tricks trying to find new and vulgar ways to squeeze more money out of the golden goose, and I for one am done with that.

On top of that, his mishandling of the numerous PR issues seriously handicaps his ability to attract top flight coaching talent to this institution. Nobody is coming to take over the Michigan job if they think that Brandon will hang them out to dry like he did Hoke during the Morris concussion mess or if they'll get the Rodriguez treatment if their team doesn't win enough right out of the gate. Brandon needs to go.

bighouse22

October 26th, 2014 at 9:17 PM ^

Thanks for the reset.  This is probably why I have the deep seeded mistrust that Hoke will be let go at the end of the year!  After re-reading Brian's post in 2007 along with some of the posts in 2010 before RR was let go, makes it clear that Hoke was DBs guy shortly after becoming the AD.

With that in mind, Brandon hitched his wagon to Hoke in 2010 and that appears to be a terribly misguided decision.  In spite of the reality of Hoke's background he felt sure about Hoke for some reason.  The post in 2007 seems to indicate that the only reason Hoke was considered back then was his friendship with Carr.

I wonder if Carr was somehow involved in convincing Brandon Hoke was the right guy in 2010 after 3 years of RR?  

I have serious doubts that Hoke would be let go if Brandon is still here come December.  If there is no change, it will deeply damage Michigan Athletics.