I've read this board for a long time, and I have immensely enjoyed the intelligent commentary, until all the incessant CC posts starting coming.  There is a lot I could say about this topic, but I will leave it at this:

If Rodriguez is fired after three years, with his recruits finally getting experience and returning in large numbers, we will have become Notre Dame: a whiny, entitled fanbase that has no patience.  It kills me to think that we might not give a coach even four years to get his players in place.  The next two years look very promising.  I want to see this offense back.  With even an average defense, the Wolverines are on the way.

I want another post that gets me excited for the GAME we have in two days, and also gives me hope that the short-sighted, soothsaying fans and media will not ruin what I've been waiting for since Rich came here. After working a midnight shift and catching a cold yesterday, this is not what I needed to read today.

don't want the Jihad Jackoffs celebrating with a "mission accomlished" attitude when this is all said and done

The "conventional wisdom" around here seems to be that the bowl outcomes will make little difference and DB has already made an irrevocable decision. I find that hard to completely accept. Consider the following two scenarios:

Scenario A: Michigan wins impressively in the Gator Bowl and Stanford gets thumped by Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

Scenario B: Michigan is embarassed by MSU in the Gator Bowl and Stanford wins convincingly in the Orange Bowl.

I would estimate a 20% chance for each of these scenarios, with a better than even chance that something less decisive plays out. Scenario A would make it very difficult to justify a coaching change and Scenario B would make one very difficult to avoid. At the very least, the popularity of the ultimate decision would be greatly affected by these outcomes. Whether that would ultimately matter to Brandon, I can not say, but it is at least possible that his mind is not fully made up and part of the reason for his extended timetable is to see how the bowls play out (thus keeping potential pitchfork mobs at bay).

Personally, I would like to see RR back, but if Scenario B were to transpire, even I might be inclined to hop the fence.

If Harbaugh comes, Rich Rod will be an ESPN analyst for a year and then will take the HC job at Clemson.

When he got hired by Michigan, Tommy Bowden (a mutual friend of the family) told me that we made a great hire and that the fans in Clemson love Rich Rod.

He'll do just fine there and that's the type of program that he needs to be running.  

Apparently, there's a third candidate: does anyone know what system the goat runs? 

I am a RichRod supporter, and I hope DB keeps him.

However, I have come to accept the idea that he is probably history.

If we get Harbaugh, he is a great coach.

Michigan and its fans win with either coach.

If Harbaugh doesn't come to Michigan, will the FreeP use the FOIA to report on whether DB hired a search firm to conduct a coaching search during this time?

I'd rather let RR finish the job here, though now I'm wishing he had got on rebuilding the defense a bit earlier and letting  the DC run the defense.

I hope Brian is right. If I cannot have my first choice RR, then JH is my second choice.  The 49ers job will be very tempting for JH and if he decides to head in that direction, I would be happy to keep RR.  But I am fearful that RR is gone no matter what happens to JH. I think DB has his short list and we will see a new HC. I will not be very happy if someone other than RR and JH are not our coach.  But I will support our new coach and wish him well!

Cool as ever, Brian. One point that jumped out:

"Media people I talk to generally say the best thing is probably to give him one more year but that they don't expect he'll get it."

Really glad you said this, Brian. Too many people are hellbent in their (false, cave-dweller) belief that every reporter who ever stepped foot in Michigan has been "against" Richrod since day one. 

I don't care what happens as far as the head coach goes but I hope that we do not lose Denard to a transfer somewhere.  If he shows the same amount of improvement over the summer that he did for this season...man.  If he has to sit for a year and just has a chance to work on his passing for somewhere else.....double man.  And personally, I don't think Harbaugh coming here means that Denard is out.  I think Harbaugh should be able to work with him and maybe he wont using him as the running back as much.  Especially if he improves his long floating passes....

And that man is ... Bill Martin. Putting aside for the moment my opinion on whether RR: a) should have been hired in the first place, b) should be fired now, c) should be replaced by JH, d) should be fondled by DB, this entire mess began because our former AD couldn't put together a decent search committee to save his life, and wouldn't know a good search process if it bit him on the ass.

At the very least, the apparently herky-jerky nature of the search, interview, vetting, etc., led to the inevitable distress in the program over the past three years. I've seen, or been a part of, many working level and executive hirings in my career, and from the outside looking in, this was appalling. From news stories published in 2007, it seems RR was hired after a phone screen and an in-person interview with Bill and Mary Sue, on the strength of RR's resume and reputation. In other words, even if there had been a good process to screen and hire a candidate, it was likely shit-canned in the effort to hire RR (which smelled to everyone like a "Just-hire-someone-you-guys!" move made in desperation).

RR has said on several occasions that he didn't know what kind of personnel he'd find on the football team before he got here. In other words, he didn't do his due diligence, either. If he had, he might well have said, "Thanks, but no."

Which is really, really too bad for everyone. Because, just when the offense is on the cusp of being truly frightening to opponents, (as opposed to the fans who witnessed the 2008 product through barely-spread fingers covering their eyes) we'll probably never know what this team could have been.

This "But Denard will transfer!" crap is paranoia at its worst from a neurotic fanbase recently trained to expect Murphy's Law.

It would be UNPRECEDENTED for a decorated, established player such as Denard to transfer. Name ONE other case in the history of college football (or college basketball) where a player has willingly transferred after an All-America caliber season.