Are we still an elite program? And...
Most positive comments about BH were in are in the area of:
"he's a fine coach"
"he'll do just fine"
"he get's it"
"he could be good"
As you can see, not bad, but definitely not the most confident endorsement.
What's more, the expectations thread below suggest that people think BH will do as good as an average LC year. Rarely did I see someone say that we would be a NC contender, much less beat OSU in the next three years. And all this seems OK to people.
All this makes me think that maybe we are not an elite school anymore. And let's be honest, BH us not an elite hire, which could be indicative of the fact that we simply could not attract one.
What's worse is that I think many of us have accepted this demotion. Because it seems our support of BH is more in the realm of "he's my coach, I have nothing to do but support him" as oppose to really thinking he is not just going to win, but beat OSU and win multiple NCs.
Thoughts?
January 13th, 2011 at 9:20 AM ^
RR was a nice guy and an offensive master, but this turned out to be a square peg in a round hole.
We need to admit that and move on.
January 13th, 2011 at 8:57 AM ^
except, of course, for those former players who said he was the best coach they ever had...
January 13th, 2011 at 9:12 AM ^
January 13th, 2011 at 9:02 AM ^
Hear, Hear
January 13th, 2011 at 10:44 AM ^
I think that it depends on your definition of the word.
Michigan will always be elite off-the-field. That status is assured based on history, fan base, conference, facilities, etc. There aren't too many other schools that can claim elite status based on those factors. It's hard to earn-- but once you have that status, it keeps you relevent for a long time regardless of your on-the-field performance. We make fun of ND and their 20 year drought of success, but people still care about ND.
It also can help you get back on your feet quickly if you get the right coach in place. Look at Texas, they were basically irrelevent between 1985-98, but once Mack Brown got there, the infrastructure (fans, facilities, history, etc.) was there to jumpstart recruiting and the program. As others have pointed out, others like Oklahoma and Alabama have been the same way-- long stretches of failure, but the foundation for success once they got the right guy. On the other hand, if Patterson left TCU and they hired the wrong guy, how long do think people would care about them? Schools like TCU can't afford to screw up because they don't have that base to hold them up.
Elite on-the-field is another story. This is results based. It's about competing for conference and national championships. It's about getting coverage and notice for what you're doing as opposed to what you've done.
For my money, Michigan is and always will be elite off-the-field. People and the media will always care about Michigan because we've done too much and have too much for them to ignore us. Elite on-the-field? No way. Not right now, but hopefully, Hoke can be our Stoops, Brown, Saban--- taking advantage of what's there to bring us back fast.