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The "Stalions absence" that…

The "Stalions absence" that included bold, strong and multiple public statements slamming the NCAA and the Big Ten, or the "Stalions Absence" that included working to make sure that one of the top law firms in the country filed a TRO to stop the suspension?  

Dickinson received PLENTY of…

Dickinson received PLENTY of vitriol from this board over the years.  Love and Shannon were proven college players unlike the two draft picks we had.

Most, not all, of the…

Most, not all, of the posters on this board are a truly interesting case study.

They tend to be driven almost solely by emotion and without much analysis.  They lurch from sentiment to sentiment.  There is rarely any consistency, any semblance of a through line of rationality.

They cannot believe that anyone would ever have any greater joy or purpose in life than coaching at Michigan.  Michigan and its prestige is inherent in their own view of self.  Maybe too much so.

So when John Beilein leaves to go to the NBA after a tremendous run of coaching at every level, thus seeking the true pinnacle of the profession, they blame the AD.  Not the currents of change in college sports that have driven other legends away.  They blame the AD because Beilein "left on his watch."

When the AD doesn't fire Jim Harbaugh after 2020 they direct their vitriol at him for not being aggressive.  When Harbaugh later leaves to do the thing he told us four hundred different ways that he was likely to do, they blame the AD.

When the baseball coach catches seven bolts of lightning in one bottle - an act that is literally incapable of being repeated at a school this far north of the equator - the AD is blamed for not magically keeping him from going to a program that reveres the sport and is in a position to make it a crown jewel for them.  This is outrage analogous to anger at a AAA coach leaving to coach the Yankees.  

Then the same group of people is enraged that the basketball coach is not fired quickly enough. Put aside that Michigan doesn't do mid-season cannings since the days of Bo (that one time), this is the same basketball coach that had more tourney success in his tenure than anyone else in the Big Ten and had been a national coach of the year (putting aside, completely, his record as a player here).  

Two of the stars in this NCAA tournament, Love and Shannon, both committed to Michigan and could not come.  Does anyone doubt for a moment that the record literally flips if they wound up here?  The proximate cause of Dusty May's hiring is not the end of the season, it is those two admissions decisions.  "Juwan should know these things and adjust accordingly."  Sure.  You have more knowledge of the admissions ins and outs than the coach that talks to them everyday does.

Now the AD appears to pluck the best coach available away from an actual blueblood for less money.  Some on here are ruefully giving him some credit for that.  He got it all done in 24 hours.  

There is a cohort of people on here that are so disconnected from how leadership is conducted and decisions are actually made in the real world that they continue to attack without any real basis other than emotion and discontent. 

Warde has done an excellent job at Michigan and hopefully the current "regretful praise" flavor of the month amongst those rootless reeds in the tidewaters that post on here continues a bit longer.  He deserves the credit.  He clearly hears these things.  I feel bad for him.  

How easy it is to throw stones when you've never been on the line for anything.

She seems impressive.  I…

She seems impressive.  I will grant you one.

The Daily has been doing…

The Daily has been doling out trash like this for 25 years.  Find me the last actual talent to come out of their editorial page or writer pool.  Total BS publication.

Stephenrjking doing the…

Stephenrjking doing the lords work in this thread and just bodying people. 

The Rivalry will not permit…

The Rivalry will not permit such things.

I think you want Dusty May. …

I think you want Dusty May.  Has midwest ties, etc.

Did he really?  How many…

Did he really?  How many players on the Michigan roster would start elsewhere?  That's, of course, a Juwan problem, to be sure, but it bears analysis.

I will get downvoted to…

I will get downvoted to Bolivian here but we aren't going to wind up with anyone materially better than Juwan barring a miracle.

So funny how if T. Shannon is allowed to transfer and H. Dickinson stays, we are almost assuredly a Sweet 16 team instead of 8-56 or whatever we were.  

People have short memories and short attention spans.  Is anyone really that excited to get an unremarkable coach from Colorado State that Juwan actually beat head to head?

I completely forgot it was…

I completely forgot it was that high.  That answers that one.

Is it taken as a given that…

Is it taken as a given that we can't get the Iowa State guy?

Don't be silly.  Any coach…

Don't be silly.  Any coach worth pursuing is in the tournament and not going to leave or have discussions in advance of that.  See Frieder, Bill, for how that works out.

Am I the only one that looks…

Am I the only one that looks at this list and thinks "meh"?

Sadly, there is more luck in this than I think any of us would care to admit.  Beilein had a good track record before coming to Michigan but he wasn't a slam dunk, electrifying hire by any means.  Shows that there are diamonds out there and program fit is really critical.

The "second banana to football" comment is really spot on.  It is much bigger hindrance here than I think any of us would care to admit.  

I am just sad because of my…

I am just sad because of my totally profound, deep and abiding loyalty to anything Chicago even in the face of wanton statistical evidence to the contrary.

I have spent time with Juwan and know him to be of exceptional character.  I feel sad today.

What most people miss on…

What most people miss on this board is that Warde is a gentleman.  

^^^ bingo

^^^ bingo

Some of the people on this…

You have no idea what you are talking about.

Things took a regrettable…

Things took a regrettable and insurmountable turn for the worst once Juwan stopped wearing suits.

I think that's likely the…

I think that's likely the case. 

Probably not in this case. …

Probably not in this case.  This group appears to be some sort of HR consultancy, not a law firm.  It will be very hard to wield whatever they come up with as actionable enough to constitute "Cause".

Leads me to believe that not much weight is being put into the report.  If they were serious, they would have hired a law firm.  The assessment would be privileged and it would opine on whether the actions constituted a contractual breach or some other breach of Michigan's policies, etc.

So Sanderson's lawyer is the…

So Sanderson's lawyer is the one alleging the "culture of fear", not the consultants.  He is paid to do that.  Sanderson seems like a piece of work, quite frankly.

This is about the most…

This is about the most cogent summation I have seen.

Who do you think should be the next coach?

It has improved by leaps and…

It has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 8 years.

It is actually impossible to…

It is actually impossible to succeed at UIC.  Cannot be done.  I was always surprised he took that job.  

I would argue that it is the worst college coaching job in America because there is this perception that it should be workable because it is located in the middle of the best talent location in the country but it is still impossible. 

The Chicago Public League is deep and the Chicago Catholic League is also very good  The suburban leagues are strong, too.  But the best CPL talent leaves town and UIC is a distant fourth relative to the three other in-city D1 schools (Loyola, DePaul even Chicago State now).

UIC has one player on their roster from the City of Chicago and he is a grad transfer.  Strikes me that Yaklich is an atrocious recruiter.  Nuts to me that he can't go into a single west side or west burbs school and entice someone to stay local and play literally down the street.  You have Ignatius, Fenwick, Manley, Whitney Young, Marshall, Westinghouse, Orr and Farragut literally down the street.

FWIW, stephenrjking is the…

FWIW, stephenrjking is the poster I respect the most on this Blog so I will put all my replies here.

First, I have an admitted bias in favor of Juwan Howard.  This is due to personal interactions and overlap over time.  I have mentioned this previously.  He is an exceptionally high character person.

Second, I have an inherent bias towards Michigan legends/players coaching Michigan teams.  I do believe there is a weird thing in the water in Ann Arbor that militates favorably for those with that background.  

To answer, in one place, the various posts cutting me down:

  • Winning cures all.  The upsetedness about his physical altercations or near-physical altercations would be indicia of "fire" if they were ranked in the Top 10.  Some on here were upset about it when it happened in a way that is disconnected from performance.  Kudos to those.  They are a minority on here.
  • Do I think his heart surgery impacted this season?  Very much so.  I watched a loved one deal with that exact surgery and it was absolutely horrible.  The fact that Juwan is even attempting to coach this year boggles the mind.  He shouldn't have even tried.  Coach K took the "I hurt my back" approach the year Duke was solidly underperforming and nobody remembers that.  I give Juwan credit for trying to lead when others would have embraced the excuse.
  • Do I think things can improve?  I do.  The portal makes it possible and possible quickly.  The bones are clearly there.  I don't buy the "Beilein's players" argument.  Someone still has to implement a system, motivate, etc.  This team could very well be as anomalous the 2020 football team.
  • If not Juwan, than who?  This is always the most important part of the analysis.  If there is a natural candidate that would come here and change things immediately, I have yet to hear the name.  Nobody has proffered a name that has gathered any currency amongst the assembled horde.  Kelvin Sampson?  Porter Moser?  Northwestern was getting serious pressure to fire Chris Collins when they dipped and now they might win the Big Ten.  Basketball is weird.

I would give him another year.  You never know what can engender turnarounds.  Warde won't fire anyone midseason - I give him credit for that.  He is an honorable person.  I don't think they can fire him at seasons end because of a potential altercation with a strength coach.  Perhaps part of the mosaic of issues but not the sole reason.  

 

EDIT: I will add that Beilein had a particularly shitty year three seasons in.  Folks on here will say the cupboard was bare for him relative to Howard, and I agree.  But it goes to show you that things can pivot and pivot quickly in both directions.

The crowd on here was way…

The crowd on here was way off on its most agreed opinion: Fire Harbaugh.

The people on this Blog…

The people on this Blog traffic in groupthink.  They are expert at it.  They are susceptible to whims, they have willful blindness to fact.  They are especially upset by those that don't snap in line to the currents of the day.  Hence your upvotes and my down.  

Not quite the Leaders and Best, I am afraid.  But then I question how many people on here actually darkened the door at Angell Hall and then I feel a bit better.

I don't disagree but I also…

I don't disagree but I also don't believe fire-able.  In hoops, one or two players can be a 12 win swing.  

I will be the first to do so…

I will be the first to do so.  I have always admitted when I was wrong (plenty).

I think you of all people…

I think you of all people can agree that the Blog does its best (read: most profitable) when it is replete with sturm und drang.  So you really should be thanking me.

If you don't agree that a wide swath of Blog posters and, if one reads a bit between the lines, potentially even Brian or others, wanted Yaklich promoted, then I don't think you know your Blog very well.  It was a common take.  People wanted the continuity.  I knew his career was in serious trouble when he took the UIC job - Coach K couldn't even make that work.  Yet he seems to be floundering even by their standards.

"Fire Bakich" remains a Blog meme to this day.  There was a substantial group that wanted him gone.  The receipts speak for themselves.

There are no mistruths in my post.  There are uncomfortable points for those that prefer emotional decisionmaking.  

Michigan hoops is having an epically poor season.  Two disappointing seasons in a row.  Big Ten programs seem disproportionately prone to this.  Indiana, Illinois, OSU and Maryland have all suffered from this.  If you want to start the coaching revolving door, have at it.  Bill Self ain't walking through that door.

 

One truism:

If the main…

One truism:

If the main writers on MGoBlog and a majority of the posters are advocating for something, it is better to do the opposite.

  • The above group advocated for the firing of the coach that won Michigan a national title.  The same group was pacified by, and applauded, a medieval pay cut to said coach and then flipped and weaponized that once celebrated action against an AD they also want fired.
  • The above group advocated for Luke Yaklich to be hired as the hoops coach.  He has a .308 conference winning percentage since that time.
  • The above group was hot on Matt Campbell.  
  • The above group wanted Eric Bakich fired then wanted to burn the world down when the Athletic Department couldn't somehow convince him not to do what every single coach in America would have done. 

This blog is but a herd of wildebeest seeking the first mover to follow.  

Juwan Howard is a Michigan legend that had major surgery not four months ago.  He was clearly relying on two transfers that did not materialize - one was a likely Naismith candidate (obviously not the case now).

Juwan deserves another year and no 10,000 word post changes that. 

The man literally helped…

The man literally helped engineer a lawsuit against his own conference. Strikes me as “advocating for his own school.”

The level of cognitive dissonance on this board is staggering. 

But remember, that muppet…

But remember, that muppet that claims to administer volleyball at Ohio U verbosely indicted Warde as not being respected in the industry in a now stickied post. 

“War time leader”? These…

“War time leader”? These people administer games played with leather and rubber balls. They are not conducting foreign policy. 

So this is what the blog has…

So this is what the blog has come to. I only read half of this illegible screed but essentially some guy administers the volleyball program at Kalamazoo College and uses that esteemed position to pontificate about the job status of someone at the top of the profession. 
 

At this point, how could anyone be dumb enough to try to argue, in a serious fashion, that these Harbaugh coaches would not be loyal to the person that brought them to Michigan blows my mind. “A social media campaign” would have kept them here? These are Harbaugh people, not Michigan people. How anyone can’t understand this by now quite frankly frightens me about the future of this country.
 

The entire post, in my view, is an indictment on how absurdly bloated these athletic departments have become. We should honestly just start all over again.

Thank you for fearlessly…

Thank you for fearlessly representing our esteemed alma mater when attaching excel docs in emails to your bosses. Thank you for that. 
 

This man has done more to represent Michigan than you could ever dream to. Get over yourself. 

So odd to me but it's almost…

So odd to me but it's almost like Herbert felt some loyalty to the coach that created his entire career.  So weird that we couldn't get him to stay.

If Santa Ono is spending…

If Santa Ono is spending more than fourteen seconds giving consideration on how to spend $4m a year for a decade to retain the man that teaches people how to do pushups, then he is a shitty university president.  This is madness.  Enough.  

Warde's greatest failure was not turning Michigan into an NFL team so everyone would've stayed.

RichRod was a bad hire at…

RichRod was a bad hire at all times.  First time I heard him give an interview, I cringed a bit.  First time I heard Coach Moore give an interview (after the PSU game), I jumped up and wanted to run through a wall.  There was zero doubt in my mind he would be successful as our head coach when I saw that.  I was just hoping it might be a few years from now.

Players need, and feed on, sincerity and emotion.  Plus he's 37.  He could do this for 20 years and still be younger than Harbaugh right now.  Dare to dream?

Yes, I am sure James Joseph…

Yes, I am sure James Joseph Harbaugh sat down in a conference room with an HR representative and gave an exit interview.  

There are plenty of things…

There are plenty of things to blast Warde about but he was absolutely not silent this year.  He made public statements about the lawsuit, about the Big Ten, about their objections to how everything was handled, etc.  

Lots of U of M competition…

Lots of U of M competition from New Trier.

I heard that they had 100…

I heard that they had 100,000 applicants this year.  Is that accurate?

Anyone badgering Warde about…

Anyone badgering Warde about not getting Jim back here is ignoring the simple facts of the situation.  Harbaugh was seeking to go to the NFL well in advance of the NCAA/Big Ten nonsense.  If the Vikings offered last year, he would have left.

Santa is an exception - he genuinely enjoys sports.  Schlissel, and any UM president, is running one of the largest and most important institutions in the United States.  If you think they have fourteen seconds to spare for who the baseball coach is, you don't understand how these things work.

Harbaugh is a smart guy.  He got his people putting out there that he just wanted to be "loved".  Reputation preservation as he knew he would one day leave and not want to crush how those at Michigan think of him.  

If it is true that he was seeking some blanket indemnity, I am proud of Warde and the University for sticking to their guns.  Harbaugh was the second best coach in Michigan history.  He is a mega star.  But no man is above the institution.  Ever.

The marginal cost of not…

The marginal cost of not doing it in as fulsome a fashion as others is, I believe, offset by the marginal uptick in chemistry and team unity which I believe to be quite real.  

Caveat - I think this works with Jim Harbaugh as coach.  I am less bullish on the long term viability of this approach under literally anyone else.

It may already be hurting hoops in a very acute manner.

Michigan should relax his…

Michigan should relax his time and attention standard and allow him to coach two teams.  With the right assistants, this could be done.

According to JUB, the…

According to JUB, the Chargers use Teams.  This militates favorably to him returning.

What people always fail to…

What people always fail to grasp when they throw this quote out there as indicia of either him staying or being a turncoat:

I am beginning to think that, in his mind, not acceding to his every demand = not wanting him here, in his view.  

Take this shit back to 11W…

Take this shit back to 11W where it belongs.