Nervous Apprehension
Transitions are never smooth - some are just better than others. The transition from Lloyd Carr to Rich Rodriguez has been bumpy to say the least, and this is before any meaningful football has been played.
I think most rational Michigan fans knew/know that season is going to be ugly. Personally, I just hope that Michigan keeps its post-season bowl streak intact Though lately, I think 8 or 9 total wins is possible.
In the long term, I think there is potential for great things. I like that Rodriguez is aggressive and hungry. I like that he believes in well conditioned players and wants to make Michigan tough like it was in the past. Still, in the pit of my stomach, I'm don't know what to expect from the Rodriguez era. In fact, I'm still not sure it was the right hire.
Was there a better hire out there? I don't know. If I had to pick, I would have gone with Miles because of his ties to the school (and in hindsight, his National Championship doesn't hurt either). For some reason, I just see the Rodriguez era being either total domination or total disaster - nothing really in between. Why total disaster?
- The hiring process. It's well known that Rodriguez was not the first choice.
- The handling of the buyout. Worst litigation strategy ever.
- Current recruiting, specifically the number of 3 stars being offered so early
- Impression that Rodriguez's teams are more offense oriented. Will he overlook the importance of defense?
- The man himself. Definitely not as polished as Lloyd (sans interactions with media)
I think the above bullets are just more irrational fears. Looking at "soft" factors and projecting them on the bigger picture of wins and losses. Maybe its just getting used to something new and different. I'll be the first to admit I have no solid evidence that Rodriguez will bomb, but as of right now, based on his tenure so far, I'm not sold.
Hopefully, Rodriguez will make Michigan an annual contender for the National Championship. Hopefully, Rodriguez will be our Roy Williams and not our Bill Gutridge or Matt Doherty.
It's well known that Rodriguez was not the first choice.
well that's because, like Darth Vader, no one knew he was available until the very end.
the rest of it? didn't we all cover this in Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar......
adalvi5 needs a refresher
1) The hiring process: of course Rich Rod wasn't our first choice, because nobody knew he was available. Rich Rod was considered one of the untouchables (Stoops, Meyer, Carroll, Richt, Saban). Who cares what choice he was? We landed one of the best coaches in the nation whose offense decimated the Big East, Oklahoma, and Georgia in the last 3 years.
2) Handling of the buyout: this was not on Rich Rod. He was ready to pay the buyout, but Michigan wanted him to contest the buyout in hopes of getting it reduced, as they were able to knock down John Beilein's buyout by quite a bit. The strategy backfired, but whatever, it's over and now we can get on with football.
3) Current recruiting: please see Brian's post http://www.mgoblog.com/content/recruiting-picture
4) Rodriguez's teams being more offense orientated: West Virginia finished top 10 last year in scoring defense and total defense. I'm pretty sure Rich Rod will take note of defense. Listen to his pressers so far in fall practice and he has made alot of good comments on defense and is working hard to get defense to test out and improve his offense.
I find it funny after so many years of people complaining about how boring Michigan's offense is and how things are always the same, we bring in a dynamic, top level coach in Rich Rodriguez, and now people are starting to worry too much about changes. Just sit back and enjoy the season; it should be alot of fun (I hope).
With the exception of schools that hire from within, no one - no one - ever ends up hiring their first choice. USC basically backed into Carroll after a bunch of other guys said no. OSU floundered for weeks before settling on Tressel. Alabama wanted RR before they landed Saban. And on and on.
Whether our first choice was Ferentz, Miles, Shiano or someone else, it really doesn't matter. We landed probably a better coach than any of them. The criticism of the hiring process is seriously overblown. Lloyd retired after the OSU game. Three weeks later we landed one of the most highly-regarded coaches in the country. That's a pretty good result. A truly botched hiring process is what WVU did - panic and offer an unqualified guy.
great point, and nobody seems to realize this. being the '1st choice candidate' doesn't mean anything. if guys like hoke and ferentz were before richrod then thank god we unfairly had to get richrod. i'd shit myself if either of those 2 guys were hired here.
richrod will be succesful. everyone is super apprehensive about being optimistic about him because he brings in a completely new offense (and also defense). but change is good. richrod brings the potential of not only winning big ten titles, but national championships too. and that's the main goal.
my friends within the program and on the team have nothing but great things to say about the transition. To quote one, 'Rodriguez will win a national championship here within the next 3-4 years, no doubt'.
August 9th, 2008 at 11:42 PM ^
August 10th, 2008 at 12:00 PM ^
August 10th, 2008 at 1:37 PM ^
Our offense will, at times, look ugly. I think starting a young QB and OL will do that. What we do have is talent, speed, and an offensive genius running the ship.
This team will probably lose 4 games, but the real question in my mind is how will this team respond after losses? Lloyd's teams always managed to come back and put together winning seasons after a tough early loss.
The expectations are low, but with an innovative new coaching philosophy, a (much needed) new S&C philosophy, renevations to the stadium, Schembechler Hall, and a new indoor football-only practice facility this team is poised to be the elite team in DIV I for years to come.
My advice, enjoy the beginning of a new era in Michigan Football.
August 10th, 2008 at 2:42 PM ^
August 10th, 2008 at 2:52 PM ^
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