SIAP: John U. Bacon's excellent WSJ article
(SIAP; I searched both John Bacon and WSJ and didn't see anything about this.)
Most of it we already know. He does confirm what I've always thought was the case regarding Miles -- Martin never spoke to him in 2007 and would not return his calls. Anybody who thinks Martin "blew it" in not getting Miles doesn't know what they're talking about. Martin never wanted him; LC never wanted him, neither did I and neither should any of us since he's turned out to be an asshole.
Bacon has a book coming out in the fall, "Third and Long: Three Seasons with Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines". I can't wait to read it.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:51 PM ^
Schiano?
Really?
January 6th, 2011 at 3:04 PM ^
Schiano was Martin's guy. He was here, he had the offer, and he was on the cusp of accepting the job. All he wanted to do was go home and discuss it with his wife.
PANIC.......
All those who were helping advise Martin during the negotiation warned him to "get (Schiano) to sign on the line which is dotted."
No coffee for Martin.
Schiano went home and Rutgers rolled out the giant red carpet with a sweet new house, a new contract, and promises of upgraded facilities. It turned out to be more than Schiano could pass up.
Steak Knives.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:40 PM ^
But then changed his mind. Miles was not looked at and for that matter never will be and it has nothing to do with his coaching or recruiting records or style.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:48 PM ^
Well, slight correction: Schiano was the consensus advice given to Martin. He wasn't exactly "Martin's guy." In the end, Rich Rodriguez was Martin's guy. But Schiano was the selection produced by the committee-approach. And that includes a small group in which Desmond Howard was an invited participant. Strictly informal of course. No FOIA messiness, ya know.
And yes, the Les Miles phenomenon was entirely driven by people and forces totally outside of Martin and the Athletic Department.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:15 PM ^
Unbelievable that Schiano was the guy, right?
Oy vey.... If people think RR was rough... If we had gotten Schiano.... damnnn.
January 6th, 2011 at 8:39 PM ^
Sorry if already posted, but has anyone seen this? I tried to post a new forum but can't.
http://gregghenson.typepad.com/gregg_hensoncom/
I have to say, I'm not surprised and it fits in my mind given the amazing insight the media has had and the agenda. I'm not trying to state a specific opinion, but am interested in the debate. And it sort of fits with Brian's point in today's post about Lloyd's players speaking out much more than Bo's.
Just looking for other input.
January 7th, 2011 at 9:23 AM ^
January 6th, 2011 at 2:52 PM ^
But at this late afternoon hour, and with MGo locked down for most of the workday, we've all read this article about three times.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:03 PM ^
I've even sunk to the depths of Twitter for any morsel of new information. I'm in a bad way . . .
January 6th, 2011 at 3:06 PM ^
I joined twitter to get some info and I hate twitter. Then I joined another board and was immediately banned because my head exploded after the press conference. These are trying times.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:11 PM ^
twitter joiner myself. What has this world come too. I have been following anyone tracking the coaching search. Mgoblog going down had me nearly at a nervous breakdown.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:44 PM ^
...the twitter-hate. It serves as an incredible news feed device. Also you can follow Brian, Tim, TomVH, FormerlyAnonymous, DGDestroys, Jamiemac, and tons of other MGoBlog regulars, including yours truly.
Just don't follow the people who tell you that they're on the way to take a dump. Unless you're into that sort of thing, I guess.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^
No hate here. On the contrary, you receive news soo fast from all sorts of sources and its easy to follow. I am actually kind of addicted especially with mortreport and schefter tweeting new Harbaugh nuggets all day.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:33 PM ^
I already had Twitter, but in the last three days I've spent more time on Twitter than I had in the past year as a result of spending hours at a time looking for updates from Daily reporters, TomVH, and the football players
January 6th, 2011 at 3:34 PM ^
Why are so many people who spend their mornings F5-ing mgoboard always such assholes to people who don't? Congratulations! You read this article three times already! Some people have jobs and meetings and responsibilities that mean they can't endlessly refresh all day.
Here's a simple rule to follow: if you've seen something already, ignore it. Corollary: while ignoring, resist the urge to be a d-bag and tell everyone you're ignoring it.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:44 PM ^
It's just now lunchtime on the west coast - right when I do my mgoblogging/news reading. So, no - not everyone has seen this article and thanks to the OP for posting...
January 6th, 2011 at 2:55 PM ^
Good summary of what went on behind the scenes. Can't wait for the book.
Also, I'm glad that there's more than three threads for us to comment on.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:57 PM ^
I can't wait to read how this all turns out.
January 6th, 2011 at 2:57 PM ^
Yeah, it would have been awful to get a successful head coach who loves Michigan and wins big in the SEC. So glad we dodged that bullet!
If anything, this just confirms that Bill Martin, while a great dollars and cents guy, was awful at personnel management aspect of the AD role.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:17 PM ^
Are you kidding me?
Why would you want Miles? His clock management and strategic decision making is awful, the NC season was with Saban's players, and he's otherwie had good, but not great, seasons at LSU. And by all acounts he's a jerk.
No thanks, I'll pass.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^
Does being a successful CFB coach require being a nice guy? Les has been there for 6 years now, I think Saban's players are gone now. 10 win seasons, great defenses and BCS bowls. You're right who would want that.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:52 PM ^
I don't think anyone would care if he is a hard-ass and wins games. Hell, I can't think of a lot of people that would refer to Bo or Woody or Bear Bryant or any Hall of Fame Coach as "nice." However, when you hear players speak of the Lombardi's and Walsh's and top coaches of the world, you get a sense that while they may have been hard asses, they had character, dignity, and honor.
From everything I have read about Miles, he is one of the most unethical coaches in the country. There have been dozens of post already about his activities at LSU, so I won't go into all of that. But, from my perspective, I don't want to sell out the program with someone that will effectively mock the fabric of UM as an institution in order to win some football games.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:20 PM ^
Feel free to read "Junction Boys" and come back with a full report. Bryant lapped Les Miles and everybody else in contemporary college football when it came to just being an asshole and being an out and out cheater.
January 7th, 2011 at 12:52 AM ^
Didn't say I want a nice guy.
I said I don't want a jerk.
Huge difference.
And duh... No shit Saban's players are gone now. But they were still there when Miles won a MNC....which is what I said.
Learn to read.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^
I have some reservations about Miles's personality, but the guy can coach. 61 wins in six years in the SEC is a heck of an accomplishment.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:18 PM ^
But he also eats grass. And thats kind of weird?
January 6th, 2011 at 3:01 PM ^
Can't wait to read the tell-all. I just went out an bought his history of Michigan hockey after reading his article.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:13 PM ^
i think the title should have been:
"4th and long at the 32: life without a kicker."
January 6th, 2011 at 3:16 PM ^
Was it common knowlege? Is this why there is a massive chip on Rosenberg's shoulder?
Not that it matters anymore.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:56 PM ^
I think it was common knowledge. Hell, John was on the sidelines, inside the Michigan team, for every game this year.
John is acutally in the iconic Denard-Heisman pose photo from South Bend. He's kneeling next to Gallon on the sidelines.
I hope John rips Rosenberg to shreds when the book is finalized. I think he will, because the case is so powerful, although I think John's emphasis will be on how puny the allegations actually were, and not on the malevolence of Rosenberg personally. But we shall see.
The fact that John used a part of his invaluable commentary space in the Journal to point out the folly and falsity of the newspaper reporting makes me think John regards it as a pretty substantial point.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:02 PM ^
I hope John rips Rosenberg to shreds when the book is finalized.
I'm shocked - shocked! - that you would hope this.
January 6th, 2011 at 6:07 PM ^
there's gambling in the Casino, Captain Renault.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:18 PM ^
mmmmmmmmmmmm bacon
January 6th, 2011 at 3:20 PM ^
Man. In light of the Freep stuff, I can't believe he got such unfettered access to our football program - for 3 years, no less! - to write a tell-all book.
That's really hard to believe. I mean, it just seems there's no way for it to possibly benefit the football program, since he's probably gonna air any dirty laundry.
I wonder who made the decision to allow this.
Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to read it... I just can't believe he was given that sort of access to write it.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:48 PM ^
Bacon is an employee of the university. He's not going to air much, if any, dirty laundry. It's pretty much guaranteed to be a sympathetic portrayal of the past three years.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:48 PM ^
I think he's completely freelance at this point -- although he's taught courses at Michigan in the past, I don't think he's employed by the university.
January 6th, 2011 at 5:04 PM ^
And he's a contributor to Michigan Radio.
But he's not a paid member of the Athletic Department, which is a separate corporate entity and which makes ALL the difference.
I think that ethically, John operates as a full-fledged, free-standing, free-agent journalist.
The reason that he would not be denied access to the program, even in the face of the Free Press malevolence, is that everybody knew how personal it all was, with Rosenberg and Snyder. It wasn't a general media war, although it became, this year, a general media feeding frenzy. And that's important to understand. There's a reason that I've been so persistent and focused on Rosenberg and the Free Press. And it is becuase it has all been extraordinary, and personal. Rosenberg has been working for two years to dislodge Rodriguez and to promote Harbaugh. He quit being a reporter a long time ago.
January 7th, 2011 at 7:32 AM ^
Actually, he's in the Ed School now, not LSA. And, whatever the case, they don't pay him enough for him to sacrifice his integrity. Actually, I don't think that man's integrity has a price at all. And there's not a lot of people I could say that about.
January 7th, 2011 at 8:52 AM ^
...John, by all accounts is a Real Journalist, with all that entails. The folks at the Freep, well, perhaps not so much.
Plus, he's a pretty darn good writer.
As to his provenance, Directory says that he is both a Lecturer in LSA, and a PhD student in the School of Ed. He's also won the Golden Apple award. As a halfway decent teacher here at the ol' U, with a couple of awards to show for it, I can tell you that that is a pretty darn big deal. I'd give my eyeteeth for that kind of recognition from my students, and it says a lot about him and his abilities.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:21 PM ^
Not sure I can agree that Miles is an "asshole." Whatever personal issues LC and/or Brandon (MLive reported that Brandon teamed up with LC to block Miles in December 2007, which Brandon denied in print) had with Miles are secondary to finding a coach who can lead a program like Michigan. As for Miles' alleged rumor-mongering on the recruiting trail, that all smacks of innuendo and counter-rumor-mongering to me.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:27 PM ^
Any guy who oversigns, kicks kids out of scholorships and moves his incoming freshman from his dorm room to the curb without even the curteousy of a face to face meeting is an asshole.
Now I didn't know that in 2007, and wouldn't have called him one then. But now? Definitely.
January 6th, 2011 at 3:51 PM ^
Lloyd had intimate personal experience with what LM was capable of. He knew in 2007 and he knew it in the early '80s.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:09 PM ^
he is a scumbag for that alone and the other stuff is fairly substantiated rumor, not just typical internet stuff.
No way Miles comes to Ann Arbor.
January 6th, 2011 at 4:20 PM ^
Any guy who oversigns, kicks kids out of scholorships and lies about it both to the players themselves and to the press on media day and moves his incoming freshman from his dorm room to the curb without even the curteousy of a face to face meeting is an asshole.
January 7th, 2011 at 6:14 AM ^
I want to read about Coach Rod's relationship with Brandon and University poobahs. I think it was odd for Brandon to review game films with the coaching staff. I hope Bacon describes those sessions and how the coach, Brandon and coaching staff felt about them.