Long article on Cade McNamara

A year ago - this is what my perspective was.   Cade led the team through a very tough season and the result was a great accomplishment - defeating OSU, B1G title, and reaching the CFP.

Cade was good at reading defenses and adjusting.  He was more experienced than JJ in game situations and leading the offense.

JJ offered a more dynamic option - with his athleticism - deep ball - and dual threat potential.  JJ was a bit quicker and mobile.

My perspective hasn't changed.   JJ is certainly getting better at leading the offense, and reading / adjusting to the defense.  Both players performed well against the Buckeyes - and, they'll forever have my appreciation for their contributions to Michigan football.

The above being said - the goal is - to be better today than you were yesterday, and be better tomorrow than you are today.   I don't attend practices - and, in the game situations at the beginning of the '22 season - JJ was more effective.

Again - wishing Cade well - and, I'll always appreciate what he did during the '21 season.

Go Blue!

Yes. You have to make tough choices that hurt feelings as a head football coach. The fact that we beat OSU, won the BigTen championship, and made the playoffs bith years makes it hard to say Harbaugh messed up in QB choices.

We likely couldn't keep both long term and we currently have the younger more dynamic one with a higher ceiling. Nothing but love for Cade though.

Ooh I have relevant input here! 

Despite the article’s source badmouthing Cade’s delivery, he was MONEY on short throws last season, especially to running backs and tight ends.

The amount of RB Receiving Yards (my new favorite Moneyball stat) skyrocketed as soon as Cade took over. And it wasn’t just Donovan Edwards: Haskins and Corum got receiving yards too. And with Erick All also being at Iowa, they have a star TE.

I’m betting that Iowa’s offense gets a LOT better under Cade, especially if he starts ignoring Brian Ferentz and starts goes Full-Late-Career-Tom-Brady where the “running game” is basically a million 7-yard passes to RBs and TEs in a row.

JJ is clearly the better player and deserved to win the job.  I continue to believe that the 2021 team most often won in spite of Cade rather than because of him.

It is never easy but Jalen Hurts handled it way better than McNamara.

I think that Cade's Dad is emblematic of a lot of sports parents (and really parents in general) whose children might not be seeing as much success as they would like. There is always the ability to give vague critiques of the process or those involved with making the decision. And it's a natural parental instinct in a way. Parents can be willfully blind to a lot of stuff out of love, and it is natural to want your kid to thrive so badly that when you look at a comparison of your kid with someone else you sometimes don't really process what is before your eyes if it doesn't lead to the conclusion you want. I don't fault him for it. I might do the same were it my kid. It's something I think parents should be careful of because it can lead to disappointment and unreachable expectations for their children, but it doesn't mean it's not natural or even well-intentioned.

I guess my critique of the article is that it sort of gives the perspective of Cade's parents without offering this nuance. I would have liked some acknowledgement that Cade's parents are not at all objective viewers, and that there is a consensus among anyone not named McNamara that going with JJ was the right call. 

Politics. Dealing with the same crap in youth football. My kid's not going to start at qb on his current team because the local HS coach's kid is on the team and gets the spot by default. Didn't have a competition or anything and I've thrown with both of them.

HS crap like that bugs me. My son changed district for his junior year. Despite being the hardest thrower in the program the varsity coach sat him on JV. Said he had a policy of always keeping seniors on varsity that played there as juniors.

Covid took his senior season.

I dont think the Cade camp has ever been able to accept that he just got beat by a better guy. Lots of attempts to fill the void with excuses about why Cade was given a raw deal.

If the on-the-field results the last 2 years aren't enough, it's gonna be pretty clear the right decision was made when JJ goes in the 1st next year and Cade is a 3rd day / UDFA. It is what it is and it's annoying Cade can't just go to Iowa and be happy

Why would you encourage him to stay? All season long, the writing was on the wall that JJ was going to be given every opportunity to start. Toss in the rumors that IF Cade did beat out JJ, that JJ would probably hit the portal and go somewhere else. 

Cade was near the end of his eligibility and JJ had a lot more. With all of that lining up, why should Cade stick around? 

It was in his best interest to leave. If Cade had left after the Georgia loss and took the high road on the way out of town, I think things would have gone better for him. Sticking around only proved that JJ was the better option and the podcast (or radio show) he did after transferring to Iowa probably felt good for his soul, sticking to coach speak would have probably gone over better. 

He made his choice and sounds happy with the decision he made. 

The article even framed it as though JJ was awarded the job without being completely transparent that Cade kinda shit the bed and then got hurt. 

Yeah the referee "extended the game..."  It's not a soccer game, it's an ongoing evaluation of who's the best, Cade had plateaued and JJ was improving.  Pretty entitled on Cade's part.  Take the high road and stop talking about it my man.

McNamara