Leaders And Best

January 3rd, 2011 at 8:33 AM ^

i'm not going to get worked up yet, but the Big Lead has broken some stories correctly in the past.  I also have more faith in Adam Schefter's reporting, and he is still reporting Harbaugh to Michigan

JewofM

January 3rd, 2011 at 10:49 AM ^

Sportscenter than you. I just watched Schefter say pretty much what he has said all along. He said that Harbaugh is unlikely to stay at Stanford and that a decision will probably be made by Wednesday of this week. He said that all along he felt that if an NFL team can make a compelling enough argument for Harbaugh to leave college football than he will move to the NFL. The question is can San Francisco or Denver give Harbaugh what he wants. Only Harbaugh knows that, because who knows what he wants. You would have to think if money is king for Harbaugh than he will likely go to the NFL. If he wants power, Michigan might be the place for him, unless an NFL team will give him some autonomy, such as personnel decisions both for staff and players, etc. I personally feel that he will end up in the NFL.

Slippery Rock …

January 3rd, 2011 at 12:19 PM ^

Not to fuel the speculative fire, but I just saw Schefter on sportscenter (11am) say what JewofM said.  He hinted that JH has been an M lean, and that it would be up to an NFL team to convince him otherwise.  He even went so far as to say that it is obviously in JH's best interest to keep all options publicly open to play the sides against each other for a contract.

 

I don't want to hang on every word from Adam Schefter, but what did he say that was any different from what he has always said?

ldoublee

January 3rd, 2011 at 8:33 AM ^

Any article that speculates that a possible reason for not wanting to come to Michigan is that he would be paid a lot of money in a depressed state is automatically dismissed.

Feat of Clay

January 3rd, 2011 at 10:21 AM ^

Agreed, that was absolute dumbassery.

It's true that U-M takes heat for being a wealthy institution with highly-paid administrators, but that's been true for years  and it doesn't matter how healthy the rest of the state is financially. 

Does the author honestly think that Harbaugh isn't already in that position, being in Palo Alto while CA's budget is in shambles?  And if he's losing sleep over that, how ever would he live with himself getting NFL-level money in CA, or anywhere else? 

Boggles the mind, sounds like a pet theory he came up with and threw it out there without passing it by the logic center of his brain.

michgoblue

January 3rd, 2011 at 10:28 AM ^

Serious question.  What has RR done in his three years here to merit another year?  Certainly his on the field record has been horrific.  His B10 record is worse.  His record against our 2 main rivals - 0-6.  He got blown out by a good but not great team in the Gator Bowl.  Our defense is a laughing stock.  Our special teams may be worse than our defense.  Our offense - #6 in the history of the world - was pretty stoppable against every good defense that we faced.  We had NCAA violations for the first time EVER.  Recruiting has not been great, at all.  There has been a ton of attirtion.  Why, exectly, do you want RR back?  What has he shown you that I am not seeing?

If no JH, bring on Hoke.  I don't want the Hat.

Soulfire21

January 3rd, 2011 at 1:42 PM ^

Hoke's resume is short.  He does not have enough HC experience for Michigan.

Also, are you one of those RR detractors who said "Well, he sucks against our rivals" and then when he goes up 2-1 against Notre Dame, change your statement to "Well, he sucks against our main rivals."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't MSU a lesser rivalry (to Michigan) than Notre Dame is?  Of course not, because it weakens your argument... so, moving along.

I'm not saying RR should stay, I'm saying I would rather have RR than Hoke.

goblue20111

January 3rd, 2011 at 10:56 AM ^

FWIW, gun to my head I'd take Miles.  He always has good defenses, can recruit the South, and I believe he could better utilize Denard and Devin better.  He recruited Russell Shepard in the past.  He was supposed to be a really good QB but I'm not sure what happened to him.  He's shown he can adapt.  Then again, he's also certifiably nuts. 

Firstbase

January 3rd, 2011 at 8:35 AM ^

...I humbly suggest Brandon announce he's keeping RR, and FAST. We'll end up scrambling to find a coach, which -- I dunno -- sounds vaguely familiar.

michgoblue

January 3rd, 2011 at 9:42 AM ^

When, exactly, during his Michigan tenure has RR shown that he can be extremely good?  Yes, the offense piles up yards - against crap competition, but even his extremely good, exciting, wacko-ninja, #6 in the world offense crumbles against every decent defense.  When has RR shown that he can be extremely good at M?

justingoblue

January 3rd, 2011 at 10:36 AM ^

Nobody's arguing that RR has been extremely good at Michigan. The argument is that he has been good everywhere else and should be given upperclassmen here to replicate that.

Maybe the argument holds water and maybe not, but there's not a single Michigan fan claiming his tenure has been extremely good here.

jmblue

January 3rd, 2011 at 11:55 AM ^

Some clarification is in order here: RR has been a head coach at exactly two I-A programs, West Virginia and Michigan.  At one he was successful; at the other he hasn't been.  And at WVU, he didn't actually win big until after Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College left the conference, leaving it in its current weakened state.  The idea that this track record clearly presages great success at Michigan is a stretch. 

readyourguard

January 3rd, 2011 at 12:48 PM ^

To further your point.....bowl games are a good litmus test for how your program stacks up against teams from around the country.

RR's track record in bowl games:

01-no bowl

02-lost 48 - 22 to Virginia in Continental Tire Bowl

03-lost 41-7 to Maryland in Gator Bowl

04-lost 30-18 to Florida State in Gator Bowl

05-won 38-35 over Georgia in Sugar Bowl

06-won 38-35 over Georgia Tech in Gator Bowl

07-technically not his bowl victory but, 48-28 win over Oklahoma in Fiesta Bowl

08-no bowl

09-no bowl

10-lost 52-14 to Mississippi St. in Gator Bowl.

 

Note: Up until I did this research just now, I didn't realize how shitty his bowl record was. 

theyellowdart

January 3rd, 2011 at 12:53 PM ^

 

The #1 offense in the Big 10 and #6 in the country, even if we did struggle mightly against some teams, is extremely good in my ever so humble opinion.

 

If you feel it isn't, well that's your choice.  I personally think that view is slanted and not really looking at things logically or fairly... but it's still your choice.

jmblue

January 3rd, 2011 at 1:58 PM ^

1.  You're cherry-picking the data.  We're only ranked that highly in terms of yards gained, not points scored.  Yards do not win games.  In terms of points we're ranked #26, which I'd call merely good, not exceptional.  And our ppg steadily dropped as the year went on, and we faced better teams. 

2.  Rich Rodriguez is not the offensive coordinator. He's responsible for all three phases of the game, plus recruiting.  It isn't looking good on most of those fronts.

theyellowdart

January 3rd, 2011 at 3:05 PM ^

 

1.) True, and you do make a good point.   But looking at any one stat you can say "well they are really good here, but just above average over here."  And I would also agree the PPG is a big deal and a major stat.   And I also haven't, nor will I, disagree that our offense had issues wihen facing good defenses either.

 

BUT, going from where we were a few years ago to now is an obvious dramatic improvement.  He has some talent on that side of the ball and experience as well and very good things have happened already.   I don't think it's a stretch at all to make the statement I did.

 

2.)  And that has anything what so ever to do with the point I made how?  I'm not saying anything about if RR should still be the coach, or that he's done good things on the defensive side of the ball, or that he is ripping things up in recurting.     So... not really following why you'd point this one out.