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I think Tuttle as Cade but…

I think Tuttle as Cade but mobile is a bit of an optimistic take. If I recall correctly, Seth was reviewing some of Tuttle's tape and was coming out as "meh." Which is fine for a second string, but not ideal for a starter. I assume they'll be more analysis of his coming out, so I will hold off any strong opinions for more of that data.

I agree with everything else you said, though I wouldn't be so sure to write of Millroe - based on nothing but wishcasting and the fact that I think DeBoer's offense isn't well-suited to Millroe's strengths. 

I am firmly in the camp that Michigan is a Qb away from competing for another national championship. The window closes pretty hard next year, though, so let's go out and get one. 

Agree with the confusion…

Agree with the confusion over this statement. You never want to go into a year with QB being your biggest question mark / arguably weakest position.  We're returning what -- like a total of 5 complete passes in garbage time? I think too many people are falling into the Brian Cook trap of "just run wishbone with Orji all day and profit." 

The defense is going to be elite. Our O line has multiple players that have been cooking for years. We're going to be solid at RB and slot. Needs still are a proven Qb and an outside WR1. 

I said Juwan’s tenure is a…

I said Juwan’s tenure is a lot of “what ifs” this is the biggest one. You don’t even need a coach with that trio, just roll the ball out and go. 
Even apart from Juwan, this program still needs help.

I would call Sherrone an…

I wouldnt call Sherrone an interim coach that got elevated.

Fischer won a national championship, so hard not to justify that one.

This is a reason why you don…

This is a reason why you don’t fire a coach mid season. The interim may do just well enough to warrant sticking around and now you got a wrench in the coaching search plan. It happens quite often (Clay Helton anyone?) but it seems to rarely work out.

Don’t forget though we don’t…

Don’t forget though we don’t have high speed WIFI at the football games and I can’t tweet my thoughts out live. So obviously  this means Warde has to go.

Would he be paid in Bear…

Would he be paid in Bear Hugs though? 

Juwan's second year team was…

Juwan's second year team was his best, and the only Beilien starters on that team were Livers and Eli Brooks (who was a no one under Belien). Contributors also included Brandon Johns and Austin Davis (who, see the same for Eli Brooks).

That second year team was all Juwan. It's revisionist to say otherwise. 

Howard's tenure will always…

Howard's tenure will always be a what if for me.  What if Livers doesnt get hurt for the tournament run? What if one of these transfers made it through admissions? What if one of their early NBA departures (or HD) stuck around? Obviously all those things did (or didn't) happen and we're here -- but it's not hard to squint and see a different ending.

It's a sad day, even if it's the right choice. I hope people remember that before they go stomping on graves.

Between the months of hand…

Between the months of hand wringing and angst over this decision, and all the fear about a mass exodus of football players in the portal that never came to be - I think this is a case study learning how to not worry about events out of your control. Geez. 

Yeah, people who say Quinn…

Yeah, people who say Quinn is a "spartoon" don't understand the difference between a national writer and Sam Webb. 

Also, people upset about Quinn reporting that MSU wanted to cancel the football game for safety reasons -- we know that was said, because the AD came out later and said it. Is he...not supposed to report that? It was news -- and, it made MSU look dumb too. 

Quinn is probably the…

Quinn is probably the closest Atheltic writer to the M program as a whole. It's not surprising he would be the lead writer.

(I know Austin Meek covers the football program, but I gather he's a step or two below on the org chart than Quinn)

Juwan deserves the blame for…

Juwan deserves the blame for all of this -- but, I don't get the whole "son" complaint. I don't think Juwan was giving Jett preferential treatment - Juwan didn't bench anyone. Not that it's any better, but this notion that they were allowed to do anything while others were held accountable for their play isn't exactly true.

Going to the Seahawks - an M…

Going to the Seahawks - an M qb handing the ball off to a spartan and throwing it to a buckeye. May be the exact recipe for unity this country needs during an election year…

Ray J Dennis - former Toledo…

Ray J Dennis - former Toledo Rocket currently averaging 13 pts 7 assists and shooting 37% from three with Baylor.

At this point, I've resigned…

At this point, I've resigned myself to Juwann coming back, for better or worse. The thing to keep in mind with coaching searches is that no one knows anything - so I guess the devil you know?

Remember:

  • The last bball search MGo blog wanted Steve Prohm who has since bombed out of ISU. Warde wanted Ed Cooley, who is currently bombing out of Georgetown
  • (Speaking of ISU, remember Matt Campbell anyone?)

I'm agnostic about it because regardless who is the coach, M HAS to fix it's basketball recruiting approach. Sam Webb mentioned this week that RayJ Dennis was a silent commit, before going to Toledo. So if you're keeping track at home - this team had committed, or ON THE TEAM, Hunter Dickinson, Terrance Shannon, Caleb Love, and RayJ Dennis. I don't care who your coach is, you can win a national championship with that core.

We lost HD and RJ to NIL, and Terrance and Caleb to admissions. We're effectively trying to play modern day college basketball recruiting with literally both hands tied behind our back.

And until that's fixed, it won't matter whose on the sidelines next year.

Feels off that Kendrick Bell…

Feels off that Kendrick Bell has a natty ring but not Ronnie Bell…. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Does this mean all the…

Does this mean all the negative Nancy’s will come out and acknowledge they were wrong? All we heard the past 30 days is how much of a disaster this transition was, and how every defensive player was going to leave…

Don Brown was an elite coach…

Don Brown was an elite coach and consistently had one of the best defenses in the country - and yet we saw him exposed in 2018 against OSU and beyond.

Knowles is a great defensive coach AND michigan has had his number the past two years. Both can be true, like it was for Don Brown. 

I like the Milroe rumors to…

I like the Milroe rumors to M better. What happened to those?

Belien underwent season…

Belien underwent season ending injuries to his entire starting backcourt.

Harbaugh had 1) a lengthy history of success and 2) bombed during a Covid year that M probably was the only school to take seriously. 

let's not forget Harbaugh…

let's not forget Harbaugh coming back from the Covid year is very rare. Most coaches bottom out then keep falling. Can you think of another situation where someone bombed one year in the middle of their tenure and then climbed back out? Brian Kelly at ND is the only one that stands out to me. And when they do, it's usually explanable by some unforseen circumstance (Beilien with the injury bug, even harbaugh himself with Covid). 

Anyways, just because it happened once doesn't mean it's likely to happen again. Comparing the two is more or less meaningless. 

Any rational assesment of…

Any rational assesment of the "problem" at hand - with transfers, NIL, definition of employees, etc - should recognize that the idea of the student athlete as it relates to NCAA football (and to a lesser extent, basketball) is no longer tenable. Maybe it never was, but today especially we've created a farm system for the NFL and NBA and shoehorned it into this sham structure.

I am here - I am a fan of college football - but we should recognize that the mission of the university and the mission of the football program are now two diametrically opposed things. 

Another good point. In…

Another good point. In Belien's "down" years, there was generally a clear mitigating factor - ie, the year his starting PGs went down - and you could point to clear expected improvement the following year. This team, however, has nothing in the pipeline. If you run Juwann back right now, what gets you excited about next year?  

This is where I am at. I…

This is where I am at. I think if the team was merely "bad" you could make the case he deserves another year - but we just completely fell off a cliff this year. You would be finishing the year as one of the worst power 5 teams, if not the worst. I don't think any coach could come back from this. 

I would say this is the…

I would say this is the equivalent of Charbonnay leaving to UCLA. People upset about Sabb should recognize in today's world, you were only going to keep at most two of Sabb, Moore, or Paige. The fact that Moore and Paige are coming back is great - but also puts Sabb in the position he's in. It's college football 2024, folks.

I hope our administration is…

I hope our administration is politically savvy enough not to roll over like this. I’m fine if they want to be cordial…until they stick the metaphorical knife in Pettit. As a not very wise man said, it’s not over it’ll never be over. And as another wiser man said, a harbaugh never forgets.  Let’s hope we haven’t had the last word yet…

These are surprinsgly and…

These are surprinsgly and refreshingly rationale takes given the general tenor of the Board the past month has been one of chaos and anxiety. 

I think Howard is a good Xs…

I think Howard is a good Xs and Os coach who has been sunk by terrible roster management - some of it his own doing, some of it bad luck, some of it inherent to Michigan. 

In a pre-transfer portal era, I think someone like Howard would have been rather successful at Michigan because he could have brought a level of recruiting that we had not really seen in the Basketball program. Unfortantely, we're not in that era anymore and - for better or worse - Michigan has to compete in a different way than most other schools. And it appears Howard's strengths, and weaknesses, as a coach are not conducive to the environment we're in.

I also agree with many posters that, at this point, it's time to part ways. People pointing to Harbaugh 2020 don't realize it was incredibly rare what he did - Coaches generally don't bottom out and then climb back up. Coaches bottom out and then keep falling. Inertia and momentum is a real thing in college sports. I don't see any way this gets better - it's not like we're a young team that you can make the case is gaining experience. As noted, half or more of this roster will be gone next year.

BUT, if we do let go of Howard, Warde or the AD needs to address the systemic issues in the men's basketball program. There's really no reason we shouldn't be a top half of the BIG team year in and year out, with the occasional deep run. There's too many resources to let mediocrity be OK.

Fire the Udub Warde

Fire the Udub Warde

My first assumption was he…

My first assumption was he didn’t realize the rule changes…

Fire Ward?

Fire Ward?

People forget that Clink…

People forget that Clink only came because  Mo Linguist left. Think about it, the person people are now screaming for to be DC was the programs second choice for the role he had - it shows that none of us know anything. 

Somehow, this place is more…

Somehow, this place is more miserable a month after winning a national championship. You all are acting like if sherrone   promoted clink we wouldnt be complaining that all we’re doing is promoting internal hires.

sherrone wanted an experienced DC, and some guys who thought they should get it left. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe not - but no one knows how is going to play out, so screaming about it seems a bit premature.

you all must constantly live in a ball of stress and and anxiety over what you can’t control. Geeze. Take a breath we’re the defending national champs!

 

🤔

Didnt realize Chip can…

🤔

Didnt realize Chip can take credit for Mariota when he was coaching the Eagles at the time?

I'm really trying to fathom…

I'm really trying to fathom where this insanity is coming from.

 

You and me both.

 

It seems like the national championship actual broke the fanbase's brain. I've been on this blog many years, including some lean times, and I haven't seen this level of outrage and hot takes ever.

 Surprised this porn made it…

 Surprised this porn made it through my work's malware blockers.   

In 2021, coming off the…

In 2021, coming off the worst football year in many of our lifetimes, Michigan fired their longtime OLine coach - who had been successful every stop of the way - and promoted a brand new guy with little OL experience. Many, including the propieter of this here blog, deemed the decision foolish - to put it nicely

Also, that same winter Mo Linguist was hired - then left abruptly. Many screamed that the program was in disarray and our upcoming season was doomed before it even started.  A new coach was evantually hired and M moved on.

Of course, if we listened to bloggers and fans - those coaches would never have been given a chance in 2021. Now one is the HC of the team and the other is the fans appointed choice for DC - but at the time this was a MAJOR crises and indicative of dying program.

In other words, can we give it a rest and see how it plays out? We just won the National Championship for crissakes, I think the folks who got us there - and still remain - deserve the benefit of the doubt.

Lol the “smooth” Alabama…

Lol the “smooth” Alabama transition- you mean the one where a quarter of their team transferred out? Bama fans were apoplectic. People on this board just say things to say things…

Are we still firing Warde?

Are we still firing Warde?

Seems like it's free money…

Seems like it's free money to take Wisc and the points.

Or better yet, wait until M leads at halftime and THEN take Wisc and the points. I think you can make a killing fading M in the second half. 

This is wrong - he targeted…

This is wrong - he targeted Newsome.

Word on the street is that…

Word on the street is that Elston wanted more playcalling duties and Sherrone didn't want to give it to him - because he wants a proven playcaller. So, how is that a Warde or resource issue?

This is by far the dumbest…

This is by far the dumbest take.

As noted in a different thread, Harbaugh took 4 coaches when he left Stanford. Pete Carroll took 6. Taking people who you've had success with in the past is totally normal. Also, on top of all of this, we know from Sam Webb that MINTER wanted Elston (and Clink, too). So, what's Harbaugh supposed to say? "Listen, Minter, I said we would do everything we needed to do to win a Super Bowl -- but I can't take Elston. You'll have to work with a coach you don't know because of...reasons."

This Board has totally lost its mind.

How dare you bring up facts…

How dare you bring up facts and rationale thought to our angry mob mentality. 

Ha, the shit on this blog…

Ha, the shit on this blog that people say….you must’ve not heard the weeks worth of rent that Sam Webb did after Kirby spent his entire post game  press conference after the SEC championship game attacking a freshman linebacker who blew one of the plays.

You all noticed coming out…

You all noticed coming out of that last TO? Howard just left the huddle, players milled around until a walk on (?) yelled to do chant to break the huddle - like normal teams. Half the players did it and the other half including Howard was no where to be seen. I guess this is what Sanderson is referring to when he says the culture sucks.

Can we have a conversation…

Can we have a conversation about what exactly NIL actually is? Is that a stupid question?

It seems to me it's used as a catchall for everything - but what, specifically, about M's NIL approach is worse than say, Notre Dames? 

What should NIL be? What is it actually? I don't even think the NCAA knows.

Here's my totally uninformed stab at the dark:

  • Some schools, ie Tenn, are actually funneling AD money/donations into collectives that are then going to players. So, they can say, for example, we have a budget of $12mil - Coach, go do what you want with it.  This is pay for play and is currently illegal.
  • Other schools, ie Michigan, seperate their own AD money from collective money.  Collectives have to raise their own money third hand. So, theoretically, Sherrone Moore can't tell recruit X we have a set amount of money promised to him, because he isn't working with the collective. Sherrone can point the recruit to the collective, who can then dole out the cash. But, without the AD support, these collectives don't have the financial resources to compete with the former.

What I can't figure out is how player's individual agents come into play here and/or how national brand contracts play a role. I cannot believe your local truck dealership is putting in hundreds of thousands of dollars into the piggy bank - I imagine the big money is coming from national brands. In JJ's case, this was Alo Yoga. Others, like Caleb Williams, have inked deals with Wendys, Dr Pepper, etc. Kyle McCord had some major sweatpant apparel company.

It's clear that M's established players did well with NIL, but it sounds to me the collectives can't afford to also funnel that money to the recruits / non-established entities.  But M also has a major brand that could attract companies, that these other schools can't offer.

What would M need to do right now to improve it's NIL? Put the backing of the AD behind these collectives - thereby breaking NCAA rules? 

Before you move on from…

Before you move on from Juwan I think there needs to be a serious discussion as to why he failed here, some of which (most of which?) is structural. I don't think Juwan failed because he's a bad coach, per se, I think he failed because he couldn't adequately adapt to the changing college landscape vis a vis Michigan.

In my opinion, Juwan is a successful coach if he is at any other school - he proved in 2020 that with adequate talent he could be one of the best coaches in the country. (And before you say DUH, just look at what Izzo is doing with this roster this year - a talented team doesn't always win). I know the roster management has been beaten into the ground - but it IS important when looking at who could be successful at Michigan. 

M basketball will not be NIL dependent nor made up of transfers, and the environment will always be second to football (ie, your Tuesday night Crisler game is not going to provide any home court advantage). That means a theoretical successful coach needs to have a proven system that is team based, rather than player based. It should be plug and play since you're not going to out-talent anyone and you're not going to get many high-end recruits, especially without a prominent NIL game. 

A Belien 2.0 - is there such a thing? 

But how many bear hugs does…

But how many bear hugs does this include?