Henning: The decision should be made sooner rather than later

Submitted by michgoblue on

The latest from Henning.  He argues that it would be in everyone's best interest if DB made the decision sooner rather than later.  While he makes a fair point that it would be fairer to RR, the asst coaches and staff and the players / recruits to make the decision asap, I think that all of his arguments make sense only if you assume that RR is going to be fired.  (Which Henning does).

He even goes so far as to say that it is unfair to Stanford to keep make them start their new coaching search in January, as opposed to December.  Again, this 100% assumes that (1) DB has decided to fire RR, and (2) that Harbaugh would take the job and quit on his team on the even of a BCS Bowl or even Nat'l Championship game.

The article:

http://detnews.com/article/20101130/OPINION03/11300409/1131/sports0201/Waiting-to-decide-Rich-Rodriguez’s-fate-could-backfire-for-Michigan

Before anyone says "not another should we shouldn't we fire or keep RR and when post" that is not the purpose of my post.  I am simply passing along the latest article from a member of the Michigan MSM.  I am not trying to reiterate to death what has been repeated on this board a bazillion times today.  Even Henning in this article does not get into the "should we shouldn't we" issue.  And I am fairly certain that this has not yet been posted. 

busoflove

November 30th, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^

I think this not only affects RR and JH directly, but the DC position. I wish DB would at least say that GERG will or will not be retained. If GERG is let go and RR stays, than we can prepare to get the best DC possible. If GERG is let go and RR goes, then we're in the same position.

Don

November 30th, 2010 at 5:29 PM ^

What's gonna happen is that Brandon is going to fire RR and elevate GERG to head coach, since Robinson is the perfect spokesman for the new line of Willy Wolverine® plush toys that DB will be introducing next fall.

jmblue

November 30th, 2010 at 5:37 PM ^

I wish DB would at least say that GERG will or will not be retained.

That's not the AD's call.  It literally isn't, from a legal standpoint (RR's contract grants him the sole authority to hire/fire assistants) , and from a more general standpoint, you really don't want your AD overstepping his bounds like that.  If RR and GERG are going to part ways, one of them has to announce it (and it's not likely to be RR, given his own unclear job status).   

jmblue

November 30th, 2010 at 6:12 PM ^

It's SOP to give your head coach full authority to assemble his staff.  I'd be stunned if that weren't the case here.  RR left WVU in the first place mostly because he had issues with the AD.  He wouldn't have left only to box himself into a corner at a new school.

Brandon certainly could issue a "Clean house or you're fired" ultimatum, but that's not something you'd reveal publicly.   

michgoblue

November 30th, 2010 at 5:31 PM ^

I never said that this was groundbreaking. 

I posted it because many members of the MGoCommunity like to get ALL of their Michigan media on this site.  I, for one, like when people post M-related articles, so that I don't have to go searching the internet to see if anything relevant to Michigan is out there. 

By the way, while it is not groundbreaking, Hennings perspective is one that I have not yet seen articulated - that we should fire RR now to be respectful of Stanford.  I think that it is a stupid point, but at least it is not the same old.

Section 1

November 30th, 2010 at 5:51 PM ^

It really would have been more appropriate if Lynn Henning had had the wit to have said, "Rich Rodriguez should have been fired, like, yesterday."

Because, uh, that's what he really did say last week, that it was his "opinion" that a Monday press conference would announce the Rodriguez departure.

I actually think that Lynn Henning is personally pissed off at this point.  He's an old sportswriter who has enjoyed a lot of respect in a cozy sports columnist job over the years.  He's used to golf writing.  And talking to the same old insiders for years and years.  (He interviewed one old AD, Goins, for this column?)  And now he's getting savaged, a la Rosenberg and Sharp.  Welcome to the blogosphere.  Remember that Drew Sharp remarked about the aftermath of the Freep's Stretchgate allegations, that this was "the most toxic story [he's] ever seen" in his years at the Free Press.  For Drew Sharp, the Mayor of Toxicville, that's sayin' somethin'.

Lynn Henning has lost it.

Lutha

November 30th, 2010 at 5:29 PM ^

As of yesterday, I was firmly in the "any decision will be better sooner rather than later" camp, but I hate agreeing with Lynn Henning so much that I am beginning to rethink my position

wolverine1987

November 30th, 2010 at 5:41 PM ^

made basically the same argument the other day, which I was forced to agree with. I think it's better for the program, its current players, its potential recruits for this year, and RR himself, that this be handled sooner than later. All of them will benefit from knowing the decision, whatever it is.

umchicago

November 30th, 2010 at 6:39 PM ^

what about the players on the team now.  is losing their coach better now than before the bowl game.  especially for the seniors?

i've never really understood why the ncaa doesn't move back the signing date a month for football, so coaches (and programs) aren't put in the situation of having to leave before their teams' bowl games.  but maybe there's a good reason out there that i don't know about.

jmblue

November 30th, 2010 at 5:31 PM ^

While he makes a fair point that it would be fairer to RR, the asst coaches and staff and the players / recruits to make the decision asap, I think that all of his arguments make sense only if you assume that RR is going to be fired. 

Really?  I think it's the exact opposite.  If he's going to be fired, I don't think it will make a huge difference to RR if it's now or in January.  But if he's going to be retained, then DB is doing him a huge disservice by leaving him hanging during the height of the recruiting season.  (His "recruiting is a 12-month thing" line was pretty disingenuous.)

michgoblue

November 30th, 2010 at 5:36 PM ^

I agree with you that if DB is going to keep RR, he is doing him a major disservice by leaving him twisting in the wind for a month.  Talk about hanging someone out to try.

But, equally, if he is going to fire RR, then why not let him know now while there are some pretty desirable jobs on the market?  By January, it is possible that Miami, Colorado and some of the other decent vacancies will be filled.  How is that fair to RR?  And let's put aside RR - he is probably financially sound (although that whole WVU thing probably took a chunck out of his savings), and he has a buyout to live on.  What about some of the lower level staff?  While these guys make a decent living, many of them could not afford to simply take a year off and wait until next year to find a new job. 

I guess that either way, DB is not doing RR any favors.

Oh, by the way, I couldn't agree more on the stupidity of the "recruiting is a 12 month thing" comment.

jmblue

November 30th, 2010 at 6:02 PM ^

If anything, his coaching stock is higher when he's employed than it would be after a dismissal.  Schools generally are leery of hiring a guy that just got fired.  It looks bad from a PR standpoint, like they took another school's leftovers.   If one of those schools is interested in him, I think they'd rather contact and hire him now, so they can tell their fans "He left Michigan for us!" 

stillMichigan

December 1st, 2010 at 3:20 PM ^

DB is gonna (rightfully so) put the interests of Michigan ahead of RR. I think by waiting he is avoiding all the fallout that Martin created by "poaching" RR from WVU. Whatever he does, it will be in the best interest of Michigan. RR's future is not a factor.

Having said that, he may already have some behind the scenes agreements ready to go and RR may already know his future and it may include a non-disclosure. WHO KNOWS?? 

And is he hurting recruiting by waiting? I don't think so. The closer to signing date it is, the less time a recruit has to mull over decommitting without a new HC (JH?) able to try to talk to him.  And maybe he'd bring some of "his" guys over.  WHO KNOWS? 

 But I do know this- To fire RR now without a HC in place would really be a disaster.

aaamichfan

November 30th, 2010 at 8:26 PM ^

Dave Brandon has already assured the recruits that RR will be retained, and he is currently waiting until the "Torch and Pitchfork" mob becomes tired of blathering about a 7/8 win season, and is going to allow the local MSM to ruin their own credibility by speculating wildly for months about a story with no basis in fact?

NathanFromMCounty

November 30th, 2010 at 8:29 PM ^

...wouldn't it just be better to give him a vote of confidence now so that the pitchfork mob goes away at least until the start of next season and there's less public uncertanty?  Just a legitimate question from a guy with a TR level Mpoints after one horrible post gone arye.

jmblue

November 30th, 2010 at 8:43 PM ^

Absolutely no AD would leave his coach stewing in the wind if he could avoid it.  Besides, how can he assure recruits when he won't assure the general public?  Athletic directors don't recruit. 

aaamichfan

November 30th, 2010 at 9:00 PM ^

If there is no new info, the media will be forced to find something else to talk about. At this point, the're already getting to the "beating a dead horse" point. "Stewing in the wind" is a temporary circumstance.

Also, athletic directors don't recruit? So why did Dave Brandon have a meeting with Dee Hart and his mother about the program? Don't you remember DB saying something along the lines of, "I'm willing to do whatever it takes for the betterment of Michigan football, and this extends into recruiting"?

jmblue, you're losing your touch a little bit.

profitgoblue

December 1st, 2010 at 10:02 AM ^

Please be advised that you have violated the Prohibition on Coaching Change Opinions Act of 2010 (the "Act," formerly known as the Neg All Coaching Change Discussions Policy of 2010), profligated by Profitgoblue on November 30, 2010.  In particular, you have violated Article 2(a) of the Act which provides:  "Thou shalt not, under any circumstances, discuss Jim Harbaugh in connection with the Michigan head coaching job until Rich Rodriguez has officially been relieved of his current contractual obligations."

Please be further advised that, pursuant to Article 3(a), the minimum fine for this violation is the loss of one (1) MGoPoint, with the maximum to be determined by the MGoCommunity.



Please be further advised that, pursuant to Article 5 of the Act, if you dispute the application of the Act to your thread/post, you have twenty-four (24) hours to "file" a formal written appeal by replying to this post.  All appeals will be considered on their merits as soon as practical, unless deemed to be frivolous by Profitgoblue in his sole discretion.





 

Seth

November 30th, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^

Henning is this close to joining Valenti, Caputo and Sharp on the Official MGoBlog Doesn't Care What Detroit Media Hater has to say, ever list.

Yes, I have a list.

He has some nice things to say about baseball, but his college football coverage 1.) is wholly Sparty-biased, and 2.) doesn't pull from any other sources than reading other Detroit columnists. He's probably the best among Detroit columnists at writing you back if you e-mail him (if you sound reasonable), but he's also the most hypocritical. What he writes about Michigan is 0% about informing readers about Michigan and 100% about trying to pass off candy-coated Spartan talking points.

The reason he's writing that article is so he can sound like the non-Internet reasonable person while continuing to stoke every bit of "RR is going to be fired" flame he can until there's actually something reportable. This is because it hurts Michigan recruiting to have a coach's job in the air.

Ignore Henning on Michigan like you'd ignore your addled State fan uncle. Try to talk Tigers. Or sweaters. I'm sure he likes sweaters.