Is Rich Rod our Mike Martz?
I love RichRod. After the OSU game in 2007, someone asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I said RR as our coach. He wasn't really a thought in the interview process at that time, so I felt great about the hire. I guess that means I feel responsible for this mess also.
But I still support him and think that if the grey hairs and blue bloods out there would cool down, this team would loosen up some and play a little better. Good God, please don't get rid of him before Devin Gardner gets on campus!
In the end though, will he turn out to be a great offensive mind with an ego that can't adapt to not just the current personnel, but also the current situation in a given game (Running option football again Purdue with a 14 point 2nd half lead and a freshman QB or going away from pounding the rock against Iowa when they couldn't stop us)?
November 20th, 2009 at 8:03 AM ^
but these are legit questions to ask. No coach is beyond criticism for game decisions. Having said that, Mike Martz is a flaming asshole 24/7. RR may be testy during the games, but he's no Martz.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:14 AM ^
This has already been driven into the ground, but the personnel you expect him to "adapt to" is, on an average, two years younger than those across the line from them. Also, how should he "adapt" to the injured Tate Forcier? Or David Molk? Or Brandon Minor? And how about those position switches on defense? I guess those don't count as "adapting."
As for "ego," if you don't have it, there are two positions where you can never be effective in football: QB and head coach. You cannot lead without a healthy self-image. Also, as Muhammad Ali purportedly said, "It ain't braggin' if you back it up."
Most of us have been waiting for the quantum leap that his teams typically show in their second year, but the growth will be more gradual because of personnel. Maybe next year is when we can truly say UM is "back."
Personally, I think they have a chance to make that very statement on Saturday. And it will get a lot of idiots off of RR's back.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:26 AM ^
This is more a question of going forward. I think people are not giving him enough credit for the strides taken on offense. I honestly feel that this is the first year that I've watched Michigan since Moeller was HC that they were unpredictable on offense.
I bring up the Purdue game because we're out there running the option already up a couple scores, when we're good enough to just pound the rock, bleed the clock, and get bowl eligible.
I also think the transition, or "quantum leap" you're talking about can be easier in basketball. You play more games and injuries are typically less. I think the big leap would be either next year or this year in a bowl game if they can make it.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:16 AM ^
adapting to personnel, I think that Michigan must begin to show that there is a light at the end of the tunnel as far as personnel goes. The contributions of the Smiths, and recent semi-competence shown by Fitzgerald and even Campbell to a certain extent are promising. More than anythng, Rodrigues needs the signatures of Christian and Grimes, add them to Smith, Wolfolk, and Marvin Robinson, and now were talking. With no additional signings of significance in the incoming class, I don't believe that Rodriguez can sustain the "help is on the way" position for very long. Certainly not through another brutal season next year if that is what occurs.
It starts this weekend, beat the Buckeyes man. You want to make everything better for a minute, beat the Buckeyes. That would go a long way. Go Blue.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:27 AM ^
For next year, I wouldn't count on Christian and Grimes as much as Turner and Vlad. It does not appear that Rrod likes to play true freshmen on defense. Roh is the only one with a prominent role and this defense has tons of holes. If freshmen Dbs could not get on the field this year, then I doubt they will be able to next year either. I think the defense will improve next year, but I doubt much of the improvement will come from the new recruiting class. I think the best case scenario is Warren returns, Turner or Witty is competent, and Woolfolk slides back to deep safety, allowing a more seasoned group of Kovaks, Williams and Smith to fight it out for the other spot. That would be a huge improvement.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:24 AM ^
ever wants to play a true freshmen, but sometimes they do because of injuries or because they are better then the players that are infront of them.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:36 AM ^
I don't mean landing these Freshman to throw them to the wolves, I just mean that I believe RR would be on much stronger ground if he had some talent in the pipeline, even if wearing redshirts.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:41 AM ^
...have one thing in common: a huge talent gap with which to work. Hopefully our administration won't be as rash or irrational as the Ford family.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:36 AM ^
Remember, Martz had never demonstrated himself to be successful as a head coach. RR has definitely done that at WVU.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:46 AM ^
Rich Rod wouldn't ever come close to Mike Martz even if he's at his worst and Martz at his best. Martz made it to a Super Bowl...with a team he inhereited from Dick Vermeil. Since then he's really done nothing. Rich didn't inherit much from Lloyd Carr. Loved Lloyd, but this is a fact. Rich has a proven record of success and deserves time to build this team back up.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:49 AM ^
Most of the team Rodriguez inherited did not quit or transfer out when he took over. He's had two years with those guys. They are now his guys. It is his responsibility to coach them up. By the start of next year, he'll have had two recruiting classes all his own, plus a pretty dern good class from 2008, which he kept and added to. By then, this team WILL be Rich Rodriguez Guyz. No excuses can be made anymore.
I can understand giving him three-four years if you see marked improvement, even if the final results are not pleasing. I just question how much improvement, even offensively, we can really say there has been. UM will win at least two more games than last year, but it looks like UM will not equal last year's Big Ten record, and will likely end up tied for last place.
If you compare six games from common opponents from last year, only one saw us score more points this year than last. And like last year--this year's offense can be made to look completely inept for long stretches. It is not just defensively that adjustments and talent seems to be lacking--it is also offensively where we are easy to figure out. I know Molk is out--but Rodriguez hasn't developed a competent backup center in two years?
Then we blame the Illinois game on one stretch? Please. An Illinois team that stomped UM on both sides of the ball in the second half--but was just HOOORRRRRRIBLE going into that game? Wow.
I just want to see something out of this guy that makes me think he can do great things; that he can get this team, HIS team, to rise up and help prove it has been worth all the circus that surrounds the hire. And that he deserves $3 Million a year. Thought we had it at Notre Dame, but ah well, the Sparties aolmost did the same thing (IN South Bend), and only three other teams have beaten Notre Dame this year.
Hopefully tomorrow is The Day.