Adam Rittenberg on the Robinson hire
Here's a link to a positive story about the Robinson hire. Personally I think it's a great choice. I guess we'll see.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/bigten/0-2-1137/Robinson-an-excellent-choice…
January 20th, 2009 at 6:36 PM ^
It is a good hire. FWIW, great things have been said about him by Mack Brown and Derrick Johnson. One good thing about him is that he makes good halftime adjustments, as stated in this article: "During the 2004 regular season, Texas outscored its opponents 105-3 in the third quarter, reflective of good halftime adjustments." http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/football/index.ssf/2009/01/former_syrac…
The one thing I am skeptical about is recruiting. According to Rivals, "Robinson didn't do much recruiting at Texas by design, Suchomel said – Brown had the position coaches do most of the work on the trail – but he added a much-needed element to the defense." http://michigan.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=902660
January 20th, 2009 at 6:48 PM ^
The consensus seems that he isn't a great recruiter.
That's not really a problem, as he has other skills he is bringing to the table that are needed. Not everyone has to do everything.
Rich Rod, as a great coach, knows how to put together a team of people whose talents complement each other. That's leadership! In Rod we trust!
January 20th, 2009 at 6:55 PM ^
Argh.
Coordinators don't recruit very much! They take a couple guys they have connections with or their hometown area or something. That's about it.
POSITION COACHES DO THE VAST MAJORITY OF RECRUITING.
Calvin Magee doesn't do a ton of recruiting, either. That didn't stop him from being a successful offensive coordinator (2008 notwithstanding).
January 20th, 2009 at 7:31 PM ^
Thanks for the clarification, I wasn't sure how important coordinators were in terms of recruiting.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:05 PM ^
Yeah, the thing is, they have a lot more responsibility as far as scheming, film study, developing practice schedules, meeting with the head coach and disseminating that information to the position coaches, etc.
Position coaches coach their positions and recruit. They do other things, too, but they're the ones who have the time and inclination to develop strong bonds with the players. Even though Bruce Tall (D-line coach) might be recruiting a running back, he's responsible for knowing everything about that kid, his high school coaches, his performance, his family, etc.
I'm sure there are varying levels of involvement at different universities, but for the most part, coordinators have little involvement in recruiting. And if you read the articles on all these recruits, you see that they mention people like Hopson, Frey, Smith, etc. a lot. If I recall correctly, the only commit who was close to Shaffer was Thomas Gordon, but someone else (Rod Smith?) started contacting Gordon even before Shaffer was gone; I think the coaching staff knew that Shaffer was on his way out and wanted to make the transition easier. You never want to pull the rug out from under a kid and make him connect with all new people.
January 20th, 2009 at 7:59 PM ^
it is also up to us as fans to do our part as recruiters also. even during in this difficult economy, we must find any loose change and blank checks that we have and give them to our recruits. let's remember, the more we pay, the better recruits that we get. go blue.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:20 PM ^
While it's nice he said something good, it's not like there's any justification for it there. Or, like, research. It's just "this guy will be good!" with no reason behind it whatsoever.
January 20th, 2009 at 8:23 PM ^
......am actually excited about this hire. At first I had that WTF?! are they thinking attitude, until I learned more about his career as a coach. It seems that he really is a very good D coordinator, and even the "fail" he had at KC could be contributed more to the players than him. At UM, he will have talent on the D side of the ball. Maybe not as much as USC or tOFU, but his schemes should make up for it. He turned Texas' D around in under a year, and I think he could do the same here. I am wondering though, if Hopson leaves, will GRob have any and how much input on a LB coach.
January 20th, 2009 at 9:36 PM ^
Having Rittenberg give you a vote of confidence is kind of like the kiss of death...isn't it?
January 20th, 2009 at 9:46 PM ^
Adam Rittenberg is an idiot, so that probably means this is a horrible hire.
January 20th, 2009 at 10:21 PM ^
Most of the staff is relatively young, and perhaps there's a benefit in having an older, seen-it-all kind of guy as coordinator. There's no doubt he's got a crapload of experience, irrespective of the results in individual seasons.
One other aspect in his hiring could involve longevity, in the sense of getting somebody who'll stick around for a while. One downside of getting some young hotshot as DC is that he immediately becomes head coaching bait for other schools looking for that bright young face if he has a couple of good seasons. With GR's recent stint at Syracuse on his resume, it's pretty unlikely that any school looking for a head coach is going to come calling on Robinson very soon.
I'm still skeptical, but it's a done deal and the guy deserves a chance to coach some games before the post mortems are written on his hiring. For better or for worse, RR has hitched his own star to Robinson.
January 20th, 2009 at 10:50 PM ^
At least he's not Bill Stewart.
January 20th, 2009 at 10:17 PM ^
Robinson was praised by the Syracuse community for his public speaking abilities and likable personality. He attributed this success to his "hard work and dedication" at Harvey Mudd College where he obtained a M.A. in Oratory Arts.