Info from fireside chat w/Schlissel: AD change not ruled out
RT'd by Brian. Proppe is the former student president at Michigan who took the AD to task when the student seating fiasco went down.
Hearing from several students who attended Schlissel's fire chat that he signaled AD needs a culture change. Read into that what you will.
— Michael Proppe (@mikeproppe) October 8, 2014
By AD I mean athletic department. Was a question about whether that meant a change in leadership, and Schlissel did not rule it out.
— Michael Proppe (@mikeproppe) October 8, 2014
I wasn't there, but several students did all relay the same thing to me. So, as I said, read into it what you will.
— Michael Proppe (@mikeproppe) October 8, 2014
October 8th, 2014 at 7:16 PM ^
Brandon is everything that is currently douchey about Michigan athletics in general and football in particular. As the old saying goes, a douche stinks from the head down. Or something.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:18 PM ^
There are many excited responses here that this "culture change" means Schlissel may get rid of Brandon. Isnt it just as likely he would institute this "culture change" by managing Brandon a bit tighter and directing Brandon to change certain policies and work to a different set of goals. Schlissel can make changes by bringing in someone new or by directing the current AD to change its direction and policies without making a personnel change. There is no way to know if Schlissel's method of changing the culture also involves changing the personnel.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:20 PM ^
When your boss is asked whether or not your job is safe and they respond with they can't rule anything out, it's generally not a good sign.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:31 PM ^
Schlissel might be looking to see whether Brandon (and by extension, his department) can be trained to doo doo on the paper (I was somehow inspired by your avatar). My guess: likely not.
October 8th, 2014 at 9:15 PM ^
"Can't rule anything out" isn't a 100% accurate paraphrasing of what he really said I don't think. It was more like "Sometimes the culture change comes with personel changes, but not always." Some might call that a distinction without a difference, I really have no clue. That's just closer to what he actually said.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:22 PM ^
stay, go, or float down the Danube for all I care. So long as his decision making ability is seriously truncated or--preferably--eliminated Michigan wins.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:30 PM ^
I don't hate Brandon just to hate him. If he stops being a DB and starts being an AD, then he can stay.
I just don't think he can.
October 8th, 2014 at 10:24 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 10:41 PM ^
Agreed. Brandon wants to be a mover and a shaker Big Impact guy. It's likely that he finds the actual AD part of the job quite boring.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:40 PM ^
Schlissel's way of making changes. I think we can agree that he chooses his words carefully. Cultural change is a strong term, probably the strongest he could have used. It's hard to see it effected by the main architect of the current culture. Not only do I see this boding ill for Brandon, but for some of his staff. It sounds like the next AD is going to have the green light to clean house.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:31 PM ^
Even though the end result may not come at the speed we want, I do believe we will eventually get the end result, that is Brandon removed and subsequently Hoke removed.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:32 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 7:41 PM ^
2) the students are your future season ticket holders and big time donors. Don't alienate them. Plus, students are the entire raison d'être for the universities existence. Don't treat them like crap.
3) Who knows?
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October 8th, 2014 at 8:23 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 9:50 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 9:23 AM ^
I remember Hoke doing that to reward the early arrivals back in 2012 or 2013, but not Beilein.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:34 PM ^
I can't imagine this getting done in time to salvage a decent recruiting class, but at least it does look like it is going to get done. Brandon is very clever at self-preservation. He knows the end is near. I guess the "silver lining" on the time frame is that he is going to squirm for a couple of months like he made RR do.
October 8th, 2014 at 8:02 PM ^
"Twisting in the wind" if you will.
October 8th, 2014 at 8:36 PM ^
given brandon's personality, i can't see him waiting to get fired. i'm hopeful that the buyout is being negotiated or soon will be. then brandon resigns. fingers crossed.
October 8th, 2014 at 9:09 PM ^
He'd be like... "I'm stayin. I'm drinkin' my coffee."
October 8th, 2014 at 9:21 PM ^
sorry guys. I drank a bomber of something from Clown Shoes called Ride The Lion. It's 11% bourbon aged ale and it's delicious. And powerful. And delicious.
October 8th, 2014 at 8:54 PM ^
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October 8th, 2014 at 9:20 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 9:43 PM ^
October 9th, 2014 at 9:10 AM ^
Just as a hypthetical and not a prediction, if we hire one of the JH's by, say, mid-December, that 6 weeks of recruiting and you'd think we pull in a pretty decent class. Now they might be different kids than whom we have now, but they'll get who they want. If we hire Cam Cameron, say, then we'll be calling Illinois and CMU recruits. So it all depends on the hire.
October 8th, 2014 at 7:45 PM ^
When was the last time DB got shitcanned from anything? Oh to be a fly on the wall when Schlissel drops the bomb...
October 8th, 2014 at 7:52 PM ^
I don't know why he wouldn't make the change right now. If Brandon had an ounce of class he'd resign and save everyone the headache, Getting him out could have a huge positive effect on the rest of the season, restoring some positive vibe even if we're losing. Come to think of it why not make the coaching change at the same time. What's the downside at this point?
October 8th, 2014 at 8:34 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 9:18 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 8:00 PM ^
that and the sure drubbing at MSU in a couple of weeks could be the last straw and send that egomaniac packing. I for one am rooting hard for him to GTFO!
October 8th, 2014 at 8:03 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 8:13 PM ^
The Super Bowl is in February. Two out of 32 teams will make it that far. Even assuming both Harbaughs will make it to January is a stretch, considering how SF has looked this year.
October 8th, 2014 at 8:27 PM ^
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October 8th, 2014 at 8:25 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 9:02 PM ^
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October 8th, 2014 at 9:18 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 9:48 PM ^
Lochdawg as Interim AD? Shudder.
They are working to replace DB behind the scenes. Only issue is how quick they can get it done.
October 8th, 2014 at 10:15 PM ^
Oh, I have no doubt this is being negotiated, taking into consideration everything from logistics to timing to how it will affect the team. Seems to me, though, if they're going to do it and get the mechanism in place to get a new coach in place, the bye week is logical. DB's situation is untenable right now, and it seems things are happening to minimize the damage.
Though given how badly they've handled just about everything the last month or so, who knows.
October 8th, 2014 at 11:35 PM ^
I think it's far more likely that Schlissel encouraged Brandon to tone it down, nothing more. The last thing Schlissel wants it more controversy right now, given his emphasis on integrity, etc.
The last thing I see happening is UM's president buckling to public opinion, especially when he says that he's not the kind of guy that does that. If there's a change, it's going to take place much more slowly and only after lots of planning. Don't forget, Schlissel's a numbers guy.
October 8th, 2014 at 10:56 PM ^
October 8th, 2014 at 11:30 PM ^
Who can define what "culture change" means? In an interview with the Daily last month, Schlissel said, “I want to make sure the student-athletes get benefits from their program,” Schlissel said. “I want to make sure our athletics program operates with unquestioned integrity, with a focus on the athletes and the experience the student-athletes are having.”
I'm going to interpret "culture change" to mean that what upsets Schlissel now isn't Cokes and Skywriting, but the diminution of the University's reputation for integrity as it affects student athletes resulting from the Shane concussion. I might also speculate that he wasn't pleased with the way the information was slowly leaked over a several day period.
I'm also going to take him at his word that he thinks the students should be the focus of attention regarding football seating, etc., and that he's concerned that the students are pissed off about various things.
But this doesn't mean that he can't look a guy like Ross in the eye and also say, "Look, we need your support, and if Brandon plays ball with our views, I don't mind keeping him if that would keep you supporting our university."
One thing that isn't being said is that winning at a big time football program at all costs is relevant or necessary to this culture change he's talking about.
The point I'm trying to make is that there's an awful lot of room for interpretation in these kinds of words that are being bandied about, and they may not be interpreted by Schlissel himself the way we would interpret them.
October 9th, 2014 at 9:30 AM ^
about Schlissel's management style, specifically what/how/when he will do with DB. Apologies if this is ground that has already been plowed, but is there any kind of a "breifing book" about this president when at Brown - other than the typical backgrounder bio? Just trying to get a little better sense of where this may be heading beyond pure speculation and wishful thinking.
October 9th, 2014 at 11:27 AM ^
If President Schlissel said the athletic department needs a culture change that is huge. That's about as close as one can get to saying Brandon is going to be let go as you can get without actually saying it.