OT: OSU looking at Wazzu DC as 10th assistant

Submitted by jimmyshi03 on

Per FootballScoop

May be an interesting story going forward, with the way programs will treat the new position. Alex Grinch has been very successful at improving what had been a tire fire of a defense. Had Leach gone to Tennessee or anywhere else, the indications seemed to be Grinch would get the head job. He's been mentioned as a potential DC candidate for open jobs in the SEC.

This has the air of the late-90s, early aughts Yankees about it if it happens, getting guys who seem way over-qualified for the job they're going to have. 

Also, we haven't heard much about where Michigan might go with the 10th job. When Smith left, the specualtion was about Zordich taking over the entire secondary and perhaps hiring a true WR coach. Maybe JH does go with Bush Sr. and a WR coach. Maybe Chuch Pagano joins his nephew? We'll see. 

Fezzik

December 15th, 2017 at 1:29 PM ^

When Harbaugh became coach did they play this over and over again? “Michigan is a good school and I got a good education there,” Harbaugh said, “but the athletic department has ways to get borderline guys in and, when they’re in, they steer them to courses in sports communications. They’re adulated when they’re playing, but when they get out, the people who adulated them won’t hire them.”
I remember people shunning Jim pretty hard about this.

BlueWon

December 15th, 2017 at 9:02 PM ^

it was common knowledge in South Quad in 1982, where I lived, that he was dyslexic and struggled to read. His meme that he was mistakenly steered away from majoring in history is complete BS as, even if that had been the case, he would have been done a humungous favor (as anyone who has ever taken a history class or two would attest given the huge volume of reading involved).

Not to say he is not smart but he wouldn't have cut it.

Many a football alumn at UM is still pissed at him for his immature and reckless comments as they have denigrated the value of their degrees. I had beers with a number of '97 NC team members this fall and they are still pissed and not fans of JH.

So, there's that...let's not get caught up in a cult of personality here. We aren't Penn State.

GoBlueBill

December 16th, 2017 at 10:23 AM ^

I always remember , long ago, during a Michigan game broadcast, it may have even been " The Game" . I forget the year but I recall the broadcasters speaking about how Tshimanga Biakabutuka and many other football players were taking Kinesiology . The study of movement .
They were acting like this was a great thing and were acting like it would be very helpful for the players . Now I'm not college educated and I'm no dr. But it sounded like a blowoff class to me .
I always harken back to that when people bring up Harbaughs comments . It reinforces them in my mind .

RedRum

December 16th, 2017 at 6:19 PM ^

Is their a Bo/Mueller versus Carr/Hoke divide? Carr paid lip service to the University but all his actions benefited him over the program, which is well documented. Was JH, a clear Bo guy, taking a shot at Carr for underhanded actions in 1994? I am bias against Carr - always seemed condescending to students when I was there.

evenyoubrutus

December 16th, 2017 at 6:47 PM ^

I remember during the Rodriguez years when a lot of former players were being vocal about their disdain, Brian pointed out that the majority of the ones trashing the program and our coach were Lloyd players, and the Bo players were much more respectful and wise about what they said publicly. That always stuck with me.

Double-D

December 16th, 2017 at 12:08 PM ^

Other than the fact it appeared to be a guy telling it like it is and not being loyal to his school.

His statement is true about any big time football program and not some earth shattering claim. It does not mean it’s true for each individual.

Clarence Boddicker

December 15th, 2017 at 3:29 PM ^

I'm not sure if I'm getting the cartoon right since it's been a while, but I'll say here that Michigan'sffense will get together like all the little Whos in Whoville and kick that Grinch's ass too. The Whos do beat the Grinch down in the end right? They take out generations of anger over his constant raids by beating him to death then continuing to beat his lifeless form?

BlueinOK

December 15th, 2017 at 12:45 PM ^

Zordich isn't taking over the whole secondary. They will bring in someone to just do the safeties. It sounds like recruiting abilitiy is going to be a big priority with the two new coaches. 

Stay.Classy.An…

December 15th, 2017 at 12:54 PM ^

Stated for the board several times that Scott Turner was likely the pick for 10th coaching spot. Also, Football Scoop is terrible, don't post stuff from Football Scoop. 

 

EDIT: As an offensive analyst, although he has experience coaching QB's with the Vikings (Teddy Bridgewater), wide receivers for the Browns and also quality control for the Browns. He's most likely going to end up higher on the food chain, IMO. 

Mr Miggle

December 15th, 2017 at 1:48 PM ^

of making him an assistant coach. If you remember Michael Johnson Sr, he was going to come in and be an analyst until the NCAA allowed a 10th assistant. Two days after he went to Oregon instead, we hired Turner who has fairly similar credentials. He's way overqualified to stick around as an analyst.

sheepdog

December 15th, 2017 at 1:00 PM ^

I don’t know how popular this will be but I’d like to see what Jay Harbaugh could do as the WR coach during the coaching shuffle.



The TE and RB units have been more than solid by the time he got done with them at the end of the last two seasons.

Fezzik

December 15th, 2017 at 9:12 PM ^

It is a coach thing. The fact that all 3 of Isaac, Higdon, and Evans were not good at it reflects directly on the coach. Sometimes they would whiff, sometimes they'd be late, sometimes they'd get blown up...etc. 

Also, why would a coach choose to put in a player who has "no desire" to pass block? That is a terrible coaching decision if true. 

Mr Miggle

December 16th, 2017 at 1:38 PM ^

were terrible. They were all more versatile backs otherwise. It's OK to have a 3rd down back that you rely on for his his pass blocking. But you don't just throw on obvious passing downs. You need other viable options. That's why Smith played so much.

We've had the same issue before, where Vincent Smith was our only decent blocking RB. What I am saying is that it's very lazy to blame Jay. The problems preceded him and I would say that those backs did improve some, even though it was still an issue. I don't think there's any debate that they improved as ball carriers.

I guess the other thing I am saying is that we do a lot of scapegoating of certain coaches here and are reluctant to give them credit. Drevno gets the lion's share of the blame for the offense, but no one really knows how the responsibilities are divided up. His position group did very well. The switch in running scheme backfired when we got away from his preferred power. Once we got back to that it was much better. I'll guess that we never would have changed if it had been Drevno's call.

Fezzik

December 16th, 2017 at 3:28 PM ^

Smith was also our 1st and 2nd down back. Saying he was the main guy because the other options were terrible is not giving Smith enough credit and lazy. Last year Smith could pass block, it was not an issue. When Vincent Smith was here, he could pass block. It again was not an issue. This year all 3 backs struggled and it WAS an issue. So I don't see how you can say these are all similar instances when they are not.

Drevno's position group still struggles at basic stunts and twists. I wouldn't say his group did "very well" because of this. His group is improving and Drevno has a good track record though. Replacing Ulizio with JBB, returning to power run football, playing 3 crappy teams in a row, and Drevno finally leaving the press box to coach on the field were major reasons why the run game picked up. The run blocking improved and the running back vision improved as well. A big part of running the ball is instinctual although coaching is valuable here. Blocking as a RB is not instinctual and very heavily dependent on coaching. 

I think you are giving Jay too much credit for us running over bottom feeders Rutgers, Minn, and Maryland. Tru Wilson would have looked good with the holes we had in these games.

You are giving impression anything the RBs do good is thanks to Jay but anything they do bad are problems that "preceeded him" and not his fault. The original switch to run zone over power and lots of passing spread were massive coaching errors by our currrent staff. That is not scapegoating. That is calling a spade a spade. No idea who's at fault but I can tell you its not Brady Hoke, not Tyrone Wheatley, not Fisch.

Jay may be in a bit over his head at RB coach, he might not. But I'm not overly encouraged by his year 1 at the position.

 

Leaders And Best

December 15th, 2017 at 1:12 PM ^

This is an unbelievable hire if they pull it off. I am not sure why Grinch would take a demotion to go to OSU especially considering he is a candidate at several SEC and other high profile DC jobs. Maybe there is a promise the DC position will be his in a year with an anticipation of Greg Schiano getting a HC job next year or being forced out.

Coldwater

December 15th, 2017 at 1:25 PM ^

Does anyone think Jay Harbaugh will coach anywhere other than Michigan under his dad? For example, would he take an offensive coordinator job at a lower level school?