Honestly I'd rather Warde take the time to make the best possible hire than worry about getting someone ASAP in just to salvage one single recruiting class.
Make the best possible hire you can make, give him plenty of runway to build his program, because he's going to need a lot of it with the shape the roster will be in for at least another season or two, and then let him get to work.
I think whoever gets hired will need at least four years to get his roster in proper shape to where maybe it can contend for the Big Ten again. And Michigan can get there if it makes the right hire. But next year, and possibly the year after, will be pretty lean for Michigan Basketball.
Writing has essentially been on the wall with Dug since this whole suspension went down. Now that his coach is gone, what reason does he have to stick around?
I don't really blame him for wanting a fresh start. Maybe he's not a good student, but this has been a rough year for him and the basketball team at large. He's also got talent, and there will be plenty of programs that could use him. He'll have no shortage of offers, and likely at schools with much more lax academic requirements.
I think if Michigan wants to four-peat, they need above average QB play at minimum, and with the guys that are currently on the roster right now, I can't say with any degree of certainty that we'll get that. The schedule does Michigan absolutely no favors next year, and unlike last year, there is no "ramp up" period for the team. You have Texas in Week 2, USC in week 4 or 5, and Oregon not long after.
Consider the fact that OSU, by comparison, has a stupid easy schedule next year. At Oregon will be tough, but if they get past Oregon, they'll almost certainly come to the Michigan game undefeated. They have to go to Penn State, but at this point in Franklin's tenure, the venue is scarier than the opponent itself. Short of Drew Allar having a career renaissance, I think its going to be same ol' same ol' for Penn State.
The defensive talent is there for Michigan to win the Big Ten again, but short of landing a difference-maker QB in the spring transfer portal (not impossible, don't know who will be entering but you can't put all your eggs in that basket), who gets up to speed QUICKLY, next year feels like a year where missing on Dante Moore or some other difference maker in his recruiting cycle will hold the team back from bigger goals.
And that's okay. Coming off a freaking national title, Sherrone Moore has a lot of built in runway as long as the team doesn't implode.
Sainristil is a loss for sure. That said, the difference between the holes that Sainristil leaves behind and the one JJ leaves behind is that at least with Sainristil's spot, there are viable options, and options with experience. It may require moving some pieces around in the secondary, but there are plenty of guys back there with experience. Quinten Johnson coming back allows you to be flexible in that regard.
QB is a big question mark in every sense of the word. None of the guys on the roster have viable experience in meaningful playing time. At least not as a passer. I know Orji has built in packages for specific moments in a game so he's seen the field. But certainly not as a passer, and I don't think we can just "wishbone" our way through the season, despite what Brian might have to say on the subject.
Its entirely possible that next year's starting QB isn't even on the roster right now. I have to believe Sherrone will be monitoring the portal very closely after the end of spring practice. Who knows who will hit the portal at that time, and you might have a lot of guys out there who would jump at the opportunity to be a starting QB for the defending national champions. There's probably guys out there who are even thinking about it right now, telling themselves "Let's see how my spring practice shakes out, but if it doesn't go the way I want, I'm entering the portal and giving Michigan a call."
All you need is a one year (two tops) bridge guy to get you to Jadyn being ready.
Really wish it worked out while he was here. That 2020-21 season was a thing of beauty, and it wasn’t all Beilein’s guys. There were plenty of “his guys” on the roster who were very meaningful contributors. On some level, Juwan can coach. But maybe he just needs the right circumstances in place.
I take no joy in his firing. I’ve been fired before, and it’s one of the most deflating, humiliating feelings you can ever experience. I just hope he uses this time to reflect, find out where he can improve, and get back on his feet. I imagine we’ll see him in the NBA ranks again before too long. Maybe that’s where he’s best.
I hate to put it this way, but they’ve brought it up multiple times in the MGoPodcast in recent months.
There is likely going to be a lot of attrition on this roster this offseason, especially now that Juwan is leaving. But with that said, is there anyone on this roster that we even want back? This roster is so devoid of any meaningful talent that even if everyone came back next year, who can you reliably build a team around?
Not a single all conference mention. Not even honorable mention.
As someone who lived in Columbus for two years, if you separate OSU from the city itself (I know, impossible to do but you can try), it’s not a bad place to live.
I lived there because I had to. Wasn’t my preferred choice, but I can’t say I hated the place.
The call is Sherrone’s to make, but this is Scrugg’s third run in with this issue. And those are only the times he’s been caught. Who knows when else this has happened? My guess is he’s done this plenty of times and just didn’t get pulled over.
If this was a first time, maybe you put him on some kind of PIP, institute a zero tolerance plan going forward, but he’s not a first time offender. At face value, this feels like a situation where you need to cut ties. Your program is already under intense scrutiny from Sign-Gate. You don’t need anyone continuing to question your integrity as a program. As JUB says, do not turn a one day story into a two day story.
Let him go, help him find counseling, help him focus on what he needs to focus on, and go back to your Rolodex. Who was your runner up for the DL position? Call them up and ask if they’re still interested. SOMEONE will be happy to leave their current job right now to coach some of the best DL talent in America.
Does he have a problem? If he does, he can go home and cry and bitch about it to Ciara.
What has he shown in the last two years that warrants him having a starting job in the NFL? Much less be considered a GOOD NFL QB? Not an elite QB. Not a great QB. Just a good QB. What has he shown that says he can even be Kirk Cousins in this league anymore?
NFL is dog eat dog. Show me why you should start and if you can’t, the next guy will. Show me why you should even have a roster spot and if you can’t, there’s three guys on my practice squad who will slit your throat for the opportunity.
Honestly if I’m the Steelers, I start Fields if the season starts today. Fields may not be a great NFL QB, but he’s an elite athlete and seems to be a good teammate.
When Marshawn Lynch questions you as a teammate, that says something about something.
So should we assume Kenny Pickett is out of a job?
They just drafted him two years ago but the Steelers just picked up two QBs who were starters in the league this past year. Pickett HAS to be the odd man out.
Not that he’s shown much to justify him getting to keep his job, but still, it feels a smidge early to give up on him.
There’s literally no excuse to drive drunk in this day and age, especially for high end earners like these folks. You’ve probably got enough money to hire your own damn professional driver.
I just don’t understand the point of getting behind the wheel anymore. There’s no excuse when a low-cost solution is literally a few clicks on your phone.
As much as I want him back, my worry is him coming back for a second tenure would tarnish the first.
The college athletics landscape has changed 5x over since he left. I don’t want him coming back to a frontier he doesn’t recognize and moreover, doesn’t agree with.
But if he understands the landscape, accepts it, and wants back after all of it, and can bring someone on staff that he can trust as a successor after 3-5 years, write him a blank check. And write him a blank check for whatever assistants he thinks he needs.
Hate that it had to end this way, but at this point you don't really have a choice. Just too much went against Juwan on this, and unfortunately too much of it was self-inflicted.
Thanks for your efforts, Juwan. Thank you for a really fun 2020 - 2021 season. In the right circumstances, with the right players who have the right attitude, I think this shit does work. But this had to happen.
Not going to dance on his grave. This has got to be hard enough for him to swallow. Just wish him the best, and now we just need to focus on getting the best possible candidate in here.
I know I don't know all the ins and outs of what goes on in the program, but to me, this still fits right in with Warde's history of inaction.
There's more than enough public results out there to justify showing Juwan the door. The three years of trending downward with the program, bad roster management, the Sanderson incident, off-court issues. Plenty of coaches have been fired for less. Chris Holtmann has just been fired, for much less, and 4x the buyout that Juwan has.
I don't really know why you need to go hire a firm to assess the team culture. To me, it feels like:
1) Kicking the can down the road because you just don't want to have to make the decision.
2) You're hoping for this firm to come back with the result you're wanting/looking for so its justification for you to keep "your guy." Or you want someone to come back and tell you how bad it is so you are forced into making the decision, but you don't want to have to decide for yourself.
3) This is the one that most resonates with me, because I used to be this way early in my career, and truthfully its something I still wrestle with. You want to "have all the facts before you make your decision." While that makes sense on its face, I remember a mentor of mine early in my career telling me "Perkis, sometimes you don't need all of the information. Sometimes you already have everything you need, and the answer is staring you right in the face. How much more of your time, my time and the team's time are you willing to waste to ultimately come to the conclusion that you can arrive at right here, right now?"
I mean at this point, we deserve whatever we get until Juwan is let go. Assuming he’s let go at all. The fact that he hasn’t been let go already is pretty damning in and of itself.
Now you have Sanderson running off to Illinois? Tell me how Michigan doesn’t deserve that right now.
The results on the court, and the ways in which this team was losing, don't show a lot of pride. Maybe that's not fair of me to say, but sorry fellas, you're freaking 8-24. You got blown out on a regular basis and looked horrendous in the process. You don't have much space to justifiably defend your level of play.
Brady Hoke had some bad teams at the end of his tenure, but you could tell they at least played and fought for their pride, particularly against OSU. Devin Gardner getting sacked over and over and beaten to hell like a moldy rag doll, but kept getting up over and over and going right back to the huddle. Got benched, and then was asked to come back a week later when his replacement wasn't any better. As far as we can tell, never complained. Gave arguably the most heroic performance I've ever seen from any Michigan QB, EVER, against OSU in 2013. Had that final play gone the other way, I'd say he goes down as having the greatest individual performance by any Michigan player of any era. Especially considering the circumstances.
Those 2013-2014 teams weren't very good, but they had pride and they showed up despite being grossly outmatched. They'll always have my respect for that.
In which games? I sure saw a lot of double digit blowouts being handed to Michigan from a very down Big Ten, against a lot of teams that are otherwise not great shooting teams.
Its one thing to just soften the blow and not outright insult the players publicly. But this statement sure seems like a direct contradiction to what the rest of us saw.
I'm sure these are good kids at heart, but when you go 8-24, at some point effort just has to be questioned. This is not a situation of Southwest Montana State moving up to the Big Ten where they are just so vastly outclassed from a talent perspective every night that talent and physical abilities are the sole reason why you are where you are, despite giving your best effort.
There is talent on this team. Not a lot of it, but enough to be better than 8-24. Enough to contend for a tournament spot if it were coached well enough. But at some point, either you are being coached that poorly, or you just don't give enough of a s**t. Or, possibly both.
Elon is a, shall we say, complicated figure, but I appreciate his push to get mankind beyond this planet.
Whether its by climate change, a stray asteroid or (more likely) us all nuking each other into oblivion that started with someone getting their feelings hurt on Twitter / X / whatever the f**k its called these days, this planet is doomed. Absolutely doomed.
I don't know how anyone could be convinced that Howard is on the verge of turning things around.
1) There has been a very noticeable downward trend for this program for the last three years. Once the last of Beilein's guys left, you could tell something within the program just began to fall apart. They've gotten worse and worse ever since the COVID season. Its not like they started at the bottom but things have trended in the right direction. They went from a one seed to a national laughingstock in three years.
2) Your best players are gone after this season, whether they're out of eligibility or (in Dug's case) they are almost certainly transferring out. What do you have coming back next year that you can reliably build a winning team around? At this point, your only hope is to strike gold multiple times in the transfer portal (assuming the Admissions Dept doesn't cut your legs out from beneath you again) and hope to get strong production from freshman. Good luck.
3) You're fighting for transfer players with one hand tied behind your back, given how difficult the Admissions Dept makes it. Some of this isn't Juwan's fault, and it does make life more difficult for whoever the coach is, but him not adapting to the situation? That is his fault. Even if they got past Admissions, they'll be dealing with a heavily embattled coach who would almost certainly be on a one year prove it deal. Who's going to want any part in that? I'd certainly be advising my son against it if he had options.
4) Howard just ran out of town a long-time institution of Michigan Basketball with Jon Sanderson. The man responsible for so many of Beilein's players who experienced that ginormous year-to-year leap in strength and production. Couple that with all of his other off-court incidents.
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Chris Holtmann was fired for less. And his buyout is 4x what Juwan's is. Say what you will about OSU basketball, but at least they've shown they're serious about trying to build a winning product. The longer Howard keeps his job from this point on, the more damning this is for Warde Manuel, and the more it says about him as a leader.
These last few paragraphs sum up exactly how I'd feel if Juwan is retained:
1) It says Warde is tolerant of abhorrent results, both on the court and off. That in and of itself should be a fireable offense FOR HIM. I don't care that he heads the CFP committee. His primary job is to this university, and if he retains Howard after this, that is a direct dereliction of that duty.
2) If Howard is retained, the idea of "Leaders and Best" is a sham. At least to Warde, it would be. No one who considers themselves The Leaders and Best would be tolerant of this kind of result to anyone who isn't a first year coach.
3) It would say that Warde takes the fanbase for granted and, moreover, thinks they're a pack of idiots. In a way, Warde keeping him would be an insult to any and every Michigan fan who spent any kind of money to watch this basketball team this year.
If Warde keeps him, I hope he enjoys watching the donation well dry up. No one is going to write him a check for this program right now. Not after what they've seen the last few months. Not without a complete overhaul of the coaching staff, starting at the top.
If Warde keeps him, I hope he enjoys hearing "IU", "Boiler Up," "Go Bucks, and "Go Green, Go White" chants blasted throughout Crisler all of next season. Because no fan in their right mind and with anything better to do will watch a Juwan Howard coached team next year. But opposing fans will certainly be flooding Crisler just to rub salt in our gashing open wound.
As they should. We'd deserve it.
If Warde can't make the call on this, then Michigan deserves to look like clowns, and be treated as such.
I really appreciate you trying to look at this as objectively as possible, and you make a lot of great points, but I still don’t even remotely understand anyone who tries to make the comparisons to the 2020 season with Harbaugh.
1) That was such a weird season that should have a full asterisk next to it for everyone. Played in the middle of a pandemic with rules changing and updating all the damn time. Different conferences get to do different things.
2) How many of Michigan’s players said they planned on coming back and impact players at that, and then the pandemic hits and they all decide to bounce? Harbaugh had guys who he was planning on making a difference for that team and had to scramble to readjust. His game plans without them.
3) Perhaps most importantly, Harbaugh had a proven track record leading up to that season. Not just with Michigan, but at multiple stops. His teams at Michigan, up to that point, were always somewhere between pretty good and “literal inches away from the CFP.” Inches away from winning a Super Bowl, and had brought Stanford back from the dead. There was a lot of argument to say he earned the benefit of the doubt to get another shot.
Howard has no such track record whatsoever.
I know what you’re trying to say, but this is apples and oranges.
Remember how promising the season was looking when Michigan went and beat the snot out of St. John’s at MSG in the second or third game of the season. Who knew we’d only see this team win 5-6 more times in the whole season.
Honestly if Juwan isn’t let go by the end of the day then I don’t even know what we’re doing here.
I'm not really sure we need anyone from their RB room right now.
I'd probably feel differently if Edwards had moved on, but he's back. Mullings is your Haskins-esque bruiser who's going to get your tough yards, everyone is talking up Hall big time, Cabana will probably find his way on the field just based on his speed alone, and then Jordan Marshall is hopefully your next Blake Corum. That's not even taking into Kaapana into account, who probably would've been ranked much higher if he didn't play for such a pass-heavy team, but the guy shredded top competition when given the opportunity to do so.
The TL;DR version of what I have to say? I don't think Michigan will be in the market for any of their guys. Not because they're not any good, but because Michigan has more than enough to work with on the roster it currently has.
You listened to Zach Smith's podcast? Did you lose a really bad bet? Place last in your fantasy league and this is the punishment? Or are you just a sadistic masochist?
I get wanting to hear what "the other side" is thinking, but it feels like just about any OSU outlet would be better than.....that one.
If OSU feels hurt or betrayed by Alford, I'd ask how they felt when Greg Mattison joined their staff. Or when Justin Boren ran down to Columbus looking for "family values."
If you want to call Alford a traitor, fine. I probably called Greg Mattison that after the 2018 season more than once. But you're more than willing to take in Michigan defectors to suit your own needs. You can't have it both ways, because you're clearly not above poaching from Michigan when its in your best interest to do so.
I have no idea what Alford's motivations are. Maybe it was all business and there was a mutual parting, a firm handshake, and a few "best of lucks" exchanged. But if this is decision was personal for him in any way, then GOOD. Whatever twists the knife in OSU's back is all well and good by me, and you know that means he'll be motivated as all get out come next November.
One year or two tops. I have to believe he's made it very clear to OSU that this is a stop-gap for him. He wanted out of UCLA just to get an OC gig in the NFL, and when he didn't get that, he decided to jump ship for being an OC at OSU. Not a bad gig by any stretch, but goes to show he wants out of college that badly.
As for Alford, maybe he doesn't want to hitch his wagon to a staff who's ultimate fate is tied to one game this season. If OSU loses again this year, at home, for the fourth year in a row, with their bought and paid for super team, against their most hated rival that just won a national title after they were all so sure the walls would come crumbling down in the midst of Sign-Gate.....if they lose again in November, Day will be fired. No ifs, ands or buts. And by extension, that likely means his entire staff will be out of a job, too.
That said, in a year that is literally do or die for Ryan Day, I don't believe OSU lets him leave, much less leave for the team that OSU NEEDS TO BEAT, without spending whatever it needs to spend to keep him. I do not believe that this was a mutual parting. If OSU wanted him gone after last season, they would've let him go "encouraged him to explore his options" by now.
Either that, or there might be some philisophical differences between how a Chip Kelly team wants to run the ball vs. how Alford envisions it, and Alford decided to go elsewhere.
Either, let's commence the "We didn't want him anyway, he was the weak link on Day's staff, addition by subtraction, we'll upgrade anyway, Michigan can take our unwanted leftovers" chatter from 11W.
He had a good thing going at Villanova when he left. Villanova was a program that was more or less at the top of its game. They certainly didn't force him out. Not sure why he'd want to jump back in and have to completely rebuild a program from the ground up. This is not a 2019 situation where he could step into a program loaded with all of Beilein's guys, one that has a winning culture, strong leadership and is ready to compete immediately. This is a program in complete disarray, all the way down to the foundation stones. Whoever steps in here has to rebuild everything. Talent level, fundamentals, attitude. Everything. Jay Wright is absolutely a guy who would be up to snuff. I just doubt he wants any part of it.
I wonder if he's in the Beilein mold as well, where he saw the writing on the wall with what NIL was going to turn the college landscape into, and he decided he wanted absolutely no part of it. If that's the case, he's not coming back to coach college hoops, period.
If you want to give him a call and at least force him to tell you no, then that's fine. Worst thing that happens is he tells you no. I'd just tell you don't even remotely get your hopes up.
That may very well be true, but where a lot of people are upset over this is that it seems like the AD dragged its feet for months on getting Harbaugh's extension in front of him. Even before you take Sign-Gate into account. It just seems like they didn't really try their absolute hardest to keep him.
If the AD were proactive and moving quickly about getting the contract in front of Harbaugh that he deserved, and he still said "thanks but no thanks, I want a Lombardi Trophy," I don't think anyone could've had any legitimate gripe with Warde over any of this. If you put your best foot forward and Harbaugh still turns you down, what're you gonna do? No one could've reasonably faulted Warde in that situation.
But that's not what happened.
People are upset because it doesn't seem like Warde tried very hard to keep him. He dragged his feet for months, when truthfully this all could've been handled before the season, and then when it looked like Harbaugh might actually take the job with the Chargers, that's when he finally rushed to put a worthy contract in front of him. Not impossible that Warde already knew at that point that Harbaugh was gone, but Warde may still have done it just to save face and so he tell the public "Hey, we tried!"
Maybe Harbaugh would've turned it down no matter when it was put in front of him. But we'll never know. Harbaugh is the best asset this program has had in maybe a century, and from the outside looking in, it sure looks like Warde did not do everything he could've, at least as quickly as he could've, in order to keep him.
Whoever steps into that QB situation in NY next season, whether its Daniel Jones, JJ McCarthy, or anyone else is stepping into a situation where they're more or less being set up to fail. They have no reliable weapons of any kind, no offensive line, and a very unstable coaching situation.
I really hope, for JJ's sake, that the Giants do not take him, or someone else is able to take him before the Giants can pick.
Is this the part where the NCAA steps in and pulls another Lee Aaliya situation and just denies his request to come back to Michigan, just because it can?
I hope JJ stays as far away from the Giants as possible. No OL, no weapons except a Saquon Barkley that seems to be injured half the time, and a head coach that seems to be on his last life. Either NY franchise would ruin JJ's career before it even had a chance to start.
Minnesota is probably the best spot for him to go as far as the team that is currently there. Arguably the top WR in the league, solid OL from what I gather, good TE. He'd be set up for success from Day 1. Denver is intriguing, though, as a long term option. I'd be curious to see if Sean Payton could ultimately mold McCarthy into something similar with what he had with Drew Brees.
Don't get me wrong, Denver is going to have rough sledding these next few years as it gets out from under that disastrous cap situation with Russell Wilson, but as long as Payton sticks around long enough to get out from under that, I'm curious to see what he could mold that franchise into.
I'm sure Seattle would love to have him, but I'm not sure they'll be willing to trade the amount of necessary draft capital it'll take to move up and get him.
Zeke is going to get A LOT more snaps this year, now that Sabb has transferred out. I imagine he'll be eating into a lot of the snaps Sabb was otherwise going to get
And then with Moore, Paige and Johnson all graduating next year, Zeke is virtually guaranteed a starting spot in 2025.
Didn't you hear? OSU sources who are deep in the know are saying the NCAA is going to come down like the hammer of Thor on Michigan football, basketball and hockey any day now, and it will be the end of Michigan Athletics as we know it.
The thunder of their vengeance will echo through Ann Arbor's corridors like the gust of a thousand winds!!
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/s if not already obvious. I just got too much of a kick out of the previous thread.
Sounds like OSU folks who are still trying to come to terms with the reality that Michigan won a national title despite the fact that they were so sure everything was going to fall apart and the minute the true mastermind that was Conner Stallions got removed from the staff. Now that Michigan won anyway, and just won a national title that isn't going anywhere, they have to fabricate something else that will allow them to tell the world "Don't worry, we will be returning to the 2000 - 2019" good ol' glory days VERY SOON!"
MGrowOld put it best when he said these folks are like scam artist doomsday preppers. Every time they're going to tell you that the end of the world is coming very soon, there's nothing you can do to stop it, and then just like that, nothing happens. Instead of saying "well maybe we were wrong," they ignore it all together and just say "Now its coming on this date, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."
Steelers drafted Pickett two years ago. As long as he doesn’t get traded away at some point before the draft, JJ won’t sniff being drafted by the Steelers.
I doubt he lasts long enough for Seattle or the Rams to be able to get him, unless either of them are willing to trade up.
Unless something comes up in his Pro Day that scares some teams away, its becoming increasingly likely that he's going to be gone within the first fifteen picks. Possibly within the top-10, especially on if a team gets desperate enough to trade up and get him.
For his sake I hope he doesn't end up with the Giants. Either one of the NY teams would ruin his career before it even started. Even Aaron Rodgers couldn't make it five plays into the season before his his season with the Jets ended.
Vikings would be a really good landing spot for him because he'll have weapons around him. I don't know the state of their OL but he'd have the best WR in the league to throw to. Would just feel bad for all the Lions fans here who'd now have to root against him.
Him ending up in Denver would be a really interesting landing spot, as I think Sean Payton could work wonders with him over time. But Denver is probably going to be in really bad shape for a while as it continues to eat away at all the Russell Wilson dead money.
I'd say Denver might be the best spot for his career in the long run, as long as Sean Payton sticks around. But in the short term? Eeeesh, its gonna be a lean few years in Denver.
The MGoBlog Roundtable made some really good points about this last week. Its not like this is asking for donations for a new building on campus, where the ROI is obvious, the building will more or less be there forever, its not a well you have to keep going back to. When the building is built, its built.
While I do think he generally has a lot of respect for Michigan, I think he also remembers who signs his checks and how much money that company has invested in the Big Ten (and, by extension, Michigan). There's a reason that quite a few Fox analysts were calling for slowing down, letting the facts come out and making a determination then. Even Urban Meyer was slow to rush to judgment on the situation.
Meanwhile, ESPN isn't making a cent off Michigan or the Big Ten for the foreseeable future. What incentive did they have to not lay into Michigan whatever chance they got?
Northwestern is pushing out 20 win seasons right now.
Northwestern
A school with far more built-in disadvantages than what Michigan has, and I’d find it hard to believe that their NIL program is that much better than Michigan’s.
If Northwestern can find a coach that wins in this NIL age, there is no reason to think Michigan can’t.
If Warde just wants to let Howard finish out the season then so be it. Maybe he’s earned the right to finish. That’s not for me to say.
But if he’s not let go within 24 hours of the season ending, then I don’t even know what we’re doing here. I don’t know how you can possibly defend the product that’s on the court right now, and couple that with the fact that it’s almost a certainty you’re losing your best players after this season anyway, whether that’s to graduation or in Dug’s case, almost certainly transferring out.
If Howard is retained, then we deserve whatever we get. If Crisler is flooded with opposing Sparty fans, Purdue fans, IU fans and makes every home game a virtual road environment for the team, then to me, at that point it’s no longer Juwan’s fault. The blame should be laid at Warde’s feet for allowing an inferior product to continue playing on the court.
If the Fab Five are tolerant of the results on the court that we currently have, then honestly I don’t care what alienating them from the program (again?) would do. I’d rather look out for the program’s best interests than worry about hurting the Fab Five’s feelings. If we don’t fire Howard because we’re worried what the rest of the Fab Five think, then we deserve whatever we get.
Keeping Howard for another year will only make things worse. There’s no realistic scenario where next year is better for this program. Any transfer with options will not come to a program that’s not only at rock bottom, but also clearly has a very embattled coach who may be on a one year “prove it or else” deal with the university.
If Warde allows Juwan to come back, that in and of itself should be a fireable offense.
I don’t give a fuck that he heads the CFP committee. This wouldn’t be tolerating mediocrity. That would be an insult to the word mediocrity. This would be tolerating utter incompetence and negligence. This would be tolerance of being a literal bottom feeder. This isn’t a program where you can sit there and say “Welp, this sucks, but this is kind of who we’ve always been so we’re just going to ride with it.” You were one of the most respected, consistent programs in the country not more than five years ago.
This isn’t Howard’s first year where there is still the promise of better days to come. I don’t know how you can sell me that the program will be any better next year. Your best player is probably on his way out the door.
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Honestly I'd rather Warde take the time to make the best possible hire than worry about getting someone ASAP in just to salvage one single recruiting class.
Make the best possible hire you can make, give him plenty of runway to build his program, because he's going to need a lot of it with the shape the roster will be in for at least another season or two, and then let him get to work.
I think whoever gets hired will need at least four years to get his roster in proper shape to where maybe it can contend for the Big Ten again. And Michigan can get there if it makes the right hire. But next year, and possibly the year after, will be pretty lean for Michigan Basketball.
Writing has essentially been on the wall with Dug since this whole suspension went down. Now that his coach is gone, what reason does he have to stick around?
I don't really blame him for wanting a fresh start. Maybe he's not a good student, but this has been a rough year for him and the basketball team at large. He's also got talent, and there will be plenty of programs that could use him. He'll have no shortage of offers, and likely at schools with much more lax academic requirements.
Best of luck to him.
I think if Michigan wants to four-peat, they need above average QB play at minimum, and with the guys that are currently on the roster right now, I can't say with any degree of certainty that we'll get that. The schedule does Michigan absolutely no favors next year, and unlike last year, there is no "ramp up" period for the team. You have Texas in Week 2, USC in week 4 or 5, and Oregon not long after.
Consider the fact that OSU, by comparison, has a stupid easy schedule next year. At Oregon will be tough, but if they get past Oregon, they'll almost certainly come to the Michigan game undefeated. They have to go to Penn State, but at this point in Franklin's tenure, the venue is scarier than the opponent itself. Short of Drew Allar having a career renaissance, I think its going to be same ol' same ol' for Penn State.
The defensive talent is there for Michigan to win the Big Ten again, but short of landing a difference-maker QB in the spring transfer portal (not impossible, don't know who will be entering but you can't put all your eggs in that basket), who gets up to speed QUICKLY, next year feels like a year where missing on Dante Moore or some other difference maker in his recruiting cycle will hold the team back from bigger goals.
And that's okay. Coming off a freaking national title, Sherrone Moore has a lot of built in runway as long as the team doesn't implode.
Sainristil is a loss for sure. That said, the difference between the holes that Sainristil leaves behind and the one JJ leaves behind is that at least with Sainristil's spot, there are viable options, and options with experience. It may require moving some pieces around in the secondary, but there are plenty of guys back there with experience. Quinten Johnson coming back allows you to be flexible in that regard.
QB is a big question mark in every sense of the word. None of the guys on the roster have viable experience in meaningful playing time. At least not as a passer. I know Orji has built in packages for specific moments in a game so he's seen the field. But certainly not as a passer, and I don't think we can just "wishbone" our way through the season, despite what Brian might have to say on the subject.
Its entirely possible that next year's starting QB isn't even on the roster right now. I have to believe Sherrone will be monitoring the portal very closely after the end of spring practice. Who knows who will hit the portal at that time, and you might have a lot of guys out there who would jump at the opportunity to be a starting QB for the defending national champions. There's probably guys out there who are even thinking about it right now, telling themselves "Let's see how my spring practice shakes out, but if it doesn't go the way I want, I'm entering the portal and giving Michigan a call."
All you need is a one year (two tops) bridge guy to get you to Jadyn being ready.
Really wish it worked out while he was here. That 2020-21 season was a thing of beauty, and it wasn’t all Beilein’s guys. There were plenty of “his guys” on the roster who were very meaningful contributors. On some level, Juwan can coach. But maybe he just needs the right circumstances in place.
I take no joy in his firing. I’ve been fired before, and it’s one of the most deflating, humiliating feelings you can ever experience. I just hope he uses this time to reflect, find out where he can improve, and get back on his feet. I imagine we’ll see him in the NBA ranks again before too long. Maybe that’s where he’s best.
I hate to put it this way, but they’ve brought it up multiple times in the MGoPodcast in recent months.
There is likely going to be a lot of attrition on this roster this offseason, especially now that Juwan is leaving. But with that said, is there anyone on this roster that we even want back? This roster is so devoid of any meaningful talent that even if everyone came back next year, who can you reliably build a team around?
Not a single all conference mention. Not even honorable mention.
Sigh….how far we’ve fallen…..
Neg away,…
Ah. Duly noted.
Neg away, folks!
As someone who lived in Columbus for two years, if you separate OSU from the city itself (I know, impossible to do but you can try), it’s not a bad place to live.
I lived there because I had to. Wasn’t my preferred choice, but I can’t say I hated the place.
The call is Sherrone’s to make, but this is Scrugg’s third run in with this issue. And those are only the times he’s been caught. Who knows when else this has happened? My guess is he’s done this plenty of times and just didn’t get pulled over.
If this was a first time, maybe you put him on some kind of PIP, institute a zero tolerance plan going forward, but he’s not a first time offender. At face value, this feels like a situation where you need to cut ties. Your program is already under intense scrutiny from Sign-Gate. You don’t need anyone continuing to question your integrity as a program. As JUB says, do not turn a one day story into a two day story.
Let him go, help him find counseling, help him focus on what he needs to focus on, and go back to your Rolodex. Who was your runner up for the DL position? Call them up and ask if they’re still interested. SOMEONE will be happy to leave their current job right now to coach some of the best DL talent in America.
Does he have a problem? If he does, he can go home and cry and bitch about it to Ciara.
What has he shown in the last two years that warrants him having a starting job in the NFL? Much less be considered a GOOD NFL QB? Not an elite QB. Not a great QB. Just a good QB. What has he shown that says he can even be Kirk Cousins in this league anymore?
NFL is dog eat dog. Show me why you should start and if you can’t, the next guy will. Show me why you should even have a roster spot and if you can’t, there’s three guys on my practice squad who will slit your throat for the opportunity.
Honestly if I’m the Steelers, I start Fields if the season starts today. Fields may not be a great NFL QB, but he’s an elite athlete and seems to be a good teammate.
When Marshawn Lynch questions you as a teammate, that says something about something.
So should we assume Kenny Pickett is out of a job?
They just drafted him two years ago but the Steelers just picked up two QBs who were starters in the league this past year. Pickett HAS to be the odd man out.
Not that he’s shown much to justify him getting to keep his job, but still, it feels a smidge early to give up on him.
…
Call. A. Fucking. Uber.
There’s literally no excuse to drive drunk in this day and age, especially for high end earners like these folks. You’ve probably got enough money to hire your own damn professional driver.
I just don’t understand the point of getting behind the wheel anymore. There’s no excuse when a low-cost solution is literally a few clicks on your phone.
As much as I want him…
As much as I want him back, my worry is him coming back for a second tenure would tarnish the first.
The college athletics landscape has changed 5x over since he left. I don’t want him coming back to a frontier he doesn’t recognize and moreover, doesn’t agree with.
But if he understands the landscape, accepts it, and wants back after all of it, and can bring someone on staff that he can trust as a successor after 3-5 years, write him a blank check. And write him a blank check for whatever assistants he thinks he needs.
Hate that it had to end this way, but at this point you don't really have a choice. Just too much went against Juwan on this, and unfortunately too much of it was self-inflicted.
Thanks for your efforts, Juwan. Thank you for a really fun 2020 - 2021 season. In the right circumstances, with the right players who have the right attitude, I think this shit does work. But this had to happen.
Not going to dance on his grave. This has got to be hard enough for him to swallow. Just wish him the best, and now we just need to focus on getting the best possible candidate in here.
I know I don't know all the ins and outs of what goes on in the program, but to me, this still fits right in with Warde's history of inaction.
There's more than enough public results out there to justify showing Juwan the door. The three years of trending downward with the program, bad roster management, the Sanderson incident, off-court issues. Plenty of coaches have been fired for less. Chris Holtmann has just been fired, for much less, and 4x the buyout that Juwan has.
I don't really know why you need to go hire a firm to assess the team culture. To me, it feels like:
1) Kicking the can down the road because you just don't want to have to make the decision.
2) You're hoping for this firm to come back with the result you're wanting/looking for so its justification for you to keep "your guy." Or you want someone to come back and tell you how bad it is so you are forced into making the decision, but you don't want to have to decide for yourself.
3) This is the one that most resonates with me, because I used to be this way early in my career, and truthfully its something I still wrestle with. You want to "have all the facts before you make your decision." While that makes sense on its face, I remember a mentor of mine early in my career telling me "Perkis, sometimes you don't need all of the information. Sometimes you already have everything you need, and the answer is staring you right in the face. How much more of your time, my time and the team's time are you willing to waste to ultimately come to the conclusion that you can arrive at right here, right now?"
I mean at this point, we deserve whatever we get until Juwan is let go. Assuming he’s let go at all. The fact that he hasn’t been let go already is pretty damning in and of itself.
Now you have Sanderson running off to Illinois? Tell me how Michigan doesn’t deserve that right now.
It says something about something when Vanderbilt……freaking Vanderbilt…..has more of a sense of urgency with its basketball team than you.
The results on the court, and the ways in which this team was losing, don't show a lot of pride. Maybe that's not fair of me to say, but sorry fellas, you're freaking 8-24. You got blown out on a regular basis and looked horrendous in the process. You don't have much space to justifiably defend your level of play.
Brady Hoke had some bad teams at the end of his tenure, but you could tell they at least played and fought for their pride, particularly against OSU. Devin Gardner getting sacked over and over and beaten to hell like a moldy rag doll, but kept getting up over and over and going right back to the huddle. Got benched, and then was asked to come back a week later when his replacement wasn't any better. As far as we can tell, never complained. Gave arguably the most heroic performance I've ever seen from any Michigan QB, EVER, against OSU in 2013. Had that final play gone the other way, I'd say he goes down as having the greatest individual performance by any Michigan player of any era. Especially considering the circumstances.
Those 2013-2014 teams weren't very good, but they had pride and they showed up despite being grossly outmatched. They'll always have my respect for that.
The effort never backed off?
In which games? I sure saw a lot of double digit blowouts being handed to Michigan from a very down Big Ten, against a lot of teams that are otherwise not great shooting teams.
Its one thing to just soften the blow and not outright insult the players publicly. But this statement sure seems like a direct contradiction to what the rest of us saw.
I'm sure these are good kids at heart, but when you go 8-24, at some point effort just has to be questioned. This is not a situation of Southwest Montana State moving up to the Big Ten where they are just so vastly outclassed from a talent perspective every night that talent and physical abilities are the sole reason why you are where you are, despite giving your best effort.
There is talent on this team. Not a lot of it, but enough to be better than 8-24. Enough to contend for a tournament spot if it were coached well enough. But at some point, either you are being coached that poorly, or you just don't give enough of a s**t. Or, possibly both.
Elon is a, shall we say, complicated figure, but I appreciate his push to get mankind beyond this planet.
Whether its by climate change, a stray asteroid or (more likely) us all nuking each other into oblivion that started with someone getting their feelings hurt on Twitter / X / whatever the f**k its called these days, this planet is doomed. Absolutely doomed.
I don't know how anyone could be convinced that Howard is on the verge of turning things around.
1) There has been a very noticeable downward trend for this program for the last three years. Once the last of Beilein's guys left, you could tell something within the program just began to fall apart. They've gotten worse and worse ever since the COVID season. Its not like they started at the bottom but things have trended in the right direction. They went from a one seed to a national laughingstock in three years.
2) Your best players are gone after this season, whether they're out of eligibility or (in Dug's case) they are almost certainly transferring out. What do you have coming back next year that you can reliably build a winning team around? At this point, your only hope is to strike gold multiple times in the transfer portal (assuming the Admissions Dept doesn't cut your legs out from beneath you again) and hope to get strong production from freshman. Good luck.
3) You're fighting for transfer players with one hand tied behind your back, given how difficult the Admissions Dept makes it. Some of this isn't Juwan's fault, and it does make life more difficult for whoever the coach is, but him not adapting to the situation? That is his fault. Even if they got past Admissions, they'll be dealing with a heavily embattled coach who would almost certainly be on a one year prove it deal. Who's going to want any part in that? I'd certainly be advising my son against it if he had options.
4) Howard just ran out of town a long-time institution of Michigan Basketball with Jon Sanderson. The man responsible for so many of Beilein's players who experienced that ginormous year-to-year leap in strength and production. Couple that with all of his other off-court incidents.
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Chris Holtmann was fired for less. And his buyout is 4x what Juwan's is. Say what you will about OSU basketball, but at least they've shown they're serious about trying to build a winning product. The longer Howard keeps his job from this point on, the more damning this is for Warde Manuel, and the more it says about him as a leader.
These last few paragraphs sum up exactly how I'd feel if Juwan is retained:
1) It says Warde is tolerant of abhorrent results, both on the court and off. That in and of itself should be a fireable offense FOR HIM. I don't care that he heads the CFP committee. His primary job is to this university, and if he retains Howard after this, that is a direct dereliction of that duty.
2) If Howard is retained, the idea of "Leaders and Best" is a sham. At least to Warde, it would be. No one who considers themselves The Leaders and Best would be tolerant of this kind of result to anyone who isn't a first year coach.
3) It would say that Warde takes the fanbase for granted and, moreover, thinks they're a pack of idiots. In a way, Warde keeping him would be an insult to any and every Michigan fan who spent any kind of money to watch this basketball team this year.
If Warde keeps him, I hope he enjoys watching the donation well dry up. No one is going to write him a check for this program right now. Not after what they've seen the last few months. Not without a complete overhaul of the coaching staff, starting at the top.
If Warde keeps him, I hope he enjoys hearing "IU", "Boiler Up," "Go Bucks, and "Go Green, Go White" chants blasted throughout Crisler all of next season. Because no fan in their right mind and with anything better to do will watch a Juwan Howard coached team next year. But opposing fans will certainly be flooding Crisler just to rub salt in our gashing open wound.
As they should. We'd deserve it.
If Warde can't make the call on this, then Michigan deserves to look like clowns, and be treated as such.
I really appreciate you trying to look at this as objectively as possible, and you make a lot of great points, but I still don’t even remotely understand anyone who tries to make the comparisons to the 2020 season with Harbaugh.
1) That was such a weird season that should have a full asterisk next to it for everyone. Played in the middle of a pandemic with rules changing and updating all the damn time. Different conferences get to do different things.
2) How many of Michigan’s players said they planned on coming back and impact players at that, and then the pandemic hits and they all decide to bounce? Harbaugh had guys who he was planning on making a difference for that team and had to scramble to readjust. His game plans without them.
3) Perhaps most importantly, Harbaugh had a proven track record leading up to that season. Not just with Michigan, but at multiple stops. His teams at Michigan, up to that point, were always somewhere between pretty good and “literal inches away from the CFP.” Inches away from winning a Super Bowl, and had brought Stanford back from the dead. There was a lot of argument to say he earned the benefit of the doubt to get another shot.
Howard has no such track record whatsoever.
I know what you’re trying to say, but this is apples and oranges.
Remember how promising the season was looking when Michigan went and beat the snot out of St. John’s at MSG in the second or third game of the season. Who knew we’d only see this team win 5-6 more times in the whole season.
Honestly if Juwan isn’t let go by the end of the day then I don’t even know what we’re doing here.
I'm not really sure we need anyone from their RB room right now.
I'd probably feel differently if Edwards had moved on, but he's back. Mullings is your Haskins-esque bruiser who's going to get your tough yards, everyone is talking up Hall big time, Cabana will probably find his way on the field just based on his speed alone, and then Jordan Marshall is hopefully your next Blake Corum. That's not even taking into Kaapana into account, who probably would've been ranked much higher if he didn't play for such a pass-heavy team, but the guy shredded top competition when given the opportunity to do so.
The TL;DR version of what I have to say? I don't think Michigan will be in the market for any of their guys. Not because they're not any good, but because Michigan has more than enough to work with on the roster it currently has.
You listened to Zach Smith's podcast? Did you lose a really bad bet? Place last in your fantasy league and this is the punishment? Or are you just a sadistic masochist?
I get wanting to hear what "the other side" is thinking, but it feels like just about any OSU outlet would be better than.....that one.
If OSU feels hurt or betrayed by Alford, I'd ask how they felt when Greg Mattison joined their staff. Or when Justin Boren ran down to Columbus looking for "family values."
If you want to call Alford a traitor, fine. I probably called Greg Mattison that after the 2018 season more than once. But you're more than willing to take in Michigan defectors to suit your own needs. You can't have it both ways, because you're clearly not above poaching from Michigan when its in your best interest to do so.
I have no idea what Alford's motivations are. Maybe it was all business and there was a mutual parting, a firm handshake, and a few "best of lucks" exchanged. But if this is decision was personal for him in any way, then GOOD. Whatever twists the knife in OSU's back is all well and good by me, and you know that means he'll be motivated as all get out come next November.
One year or two tops. I have to believe he's made it very clear to OSU that this is a stop-gap for him. He wanted out of UCLA just to get an OC gig in the NFL, and when he didn't get that, he decided to jump ship for being an OC at OSU. Not a bad gig by any stretch, but goes to show he wants out of college that badly.
As for Alford, maybe he doesn't want to hitch his wagon to a staff who's ultimate fate is tied to one game this season. If OSU loses again this year, at home, for the fourth year in a row, with their bought and paid for super team, against their most hated rival that just won a national title after they were all so sure the walls would come crumbling down in the midst of Sign-Gate.....if they lose again in November, Day will be fired. No ifs, ands or buts. And by extension, that likely means his entire staff will be out of a job, too.
If he can coach and recruit, then welcome aboard.
That said, in a year that is literally do or die for Ryan Day, I don't believe OSU lets him leave, much less leave for the team that OSU NEEDS TO BEAT, without spending whatever it needs to spend to keep him. I do not believe that this was a mutual parting. If OSU wanted him gone after last season, they would've let him go "encouraged him to explore his options" by now.
Either that, or there might be some philisophical differences between how a Chip Kelly team wants to run the ball vs. how Alford envisions it, and Alford decided to go elsewhere.
Either, let's commence the "We didn't want him anyway, he was the weak link on Day's staff, addition by subtraction, we'll upgrade anyway, Michigan can take our unwanted leftovers" chatter from 11W.
Good luck luring him out of retirement.
He had a good thing going at Villanova when he left. Villanova was a program that was more or less at the top of its game. They certainly didn't force him out. Not sure why he'd want to jump back in and have to completely rebuild a program from the ground up. This is not a 2019 situation where he could step into a program loaded with all of Beilein's guys, one that has a winning culture, strong leadership and is ready to compete immediately. This is a program in complete disarray, all the way down to the foundation stones. Whoever steps in here has to rebuild everything. Talent level, fundamentals, attitude. Everything. Jay Wright is absolutely a guy who would be up to snuff. I just doubt he wants any part of it.
I wonder if he's in the Beilein mold as well, where he saw the writing on the wall with what NIL was going to turn the college landscape into, and he decided he wanted absolutely no part of it. If that's the case, he's not coming back to coach college hoops, period.
If you want to give him a call and at least force him to tell you no, then that's fine. Worst thing that happens is he tells you no. I'd just tell you don't even remotely get your hopes up.
That may very well be true, but where a lot of people are upset over this is that it seems like the AD dragged its feet for months on getting Harbaugh's extension in front of him. Even before you take Sign-Gate into account. It just seems like they didn't really try their absolute hardest to keep him.
If the AD were proactive and moving quickly about getting the contract in front of Harbaugh that he deserved, and he still said "thanks but no thanks, I want a Lombardi Trophy," I don't think anyone could've had any legitimate gripe with Warde over any of this. If you put your best foot forward and Harbaugh still turns you down, what're you gonna do? No one could've reasonably faulted Warde in that situation.
But that's not what happened.
People are upset because it doesn't seem like Warde tried very hard to keep him. He dragged his feet for months, when truthfully this all could've been handled before the season, and then when it looked like Harbaugh might actually take the job with the Chargers, that's when he finally rushed to put a worthy contract in front of him. Not impossible that Warde already knew at that point that Harbaugh was gone, but Warde may still have done it just to save face and so he tell the public "Hey, we tried!"
Maybe Harbaugh would've turned it down no matter when it was put in front of him. But we'll never know. Harbaugh is the best asset this program has had in maybe a century, and from the outside looking in, it sure looks like Warde did not do everything he could've, at least as quickly as he could've, in order to keep him.
Hearing Saban complain about this is like listening to OJ Simpson complain about the loopholes in the justice system.
Proves my point even more, SQ.
Whoever steps into that QB situation in NY next season, whether its Daniel Jones, JJ McCarthy, or anyone else is stepping into a situation where they're more or less being set up to fail. They have no reliable weapons of any kind, no offensive line, and a very unstable coaching situation.
I really hope, for JJ's sake, that the Giants do not take him, or someone else is able to take him before the Giants can pick.
Is this the part where the NCAA steps in and pulls another Lee Aaliya situation and just denies his request to come back to Michigan, just because it can?
I hope JJ stays as far away from the Giants as possible. No OL, no weapons except a Saquon Barkley that seems to be injured half the time, and a head coach that seems to be on his last life. Either NY franchise would ruin JJ's career before it even had a chance to start.
Minnesota is probably the best spot for him to go as far as the team that is currently there. Arguably the top WR in the league, solid OL from what I gather, good TE. He'd be set up for success from Day 1. Denver is intriguing, though, as a long term option. I'd be curious to see if Sean Payton could ultimately mold McCarthy into something similar with what he had with Drew Brees.
Don't get me wrong, Denver is going to have rough sledding these next few years as it gets out from under that disastrous cap situation with Russell Wilson, but as long as Payton sticks around long enough to get out from under that, I'm curious to see what he could mold that franchise into.
I'm sure Seattle would love to have him, but I'm not sure they'll be willing to trade the amount of necessary draft capital it'll take to move up and get him.
Zeke is going to get A LOT more snaps this year, now that Sabb has transferred out. I imagine he'll be eating into a lot of the snaps Sabb was otherwise going to get
And then with Moore, Paige and Johnson all graduating next year, Zeke is virtually guaranteed a starting spot in 2025.
We won't be getting any more recruits. Ever.
Didn't you hear? OSU sources who are deep in the know are saying the NCAA is going to come down like the hammer of Thor on Michigan football, basketball and hockey any day now, and it will be the end of Michigan Athletics as we know it.
The thunder of their vengeance will echo through Ann Arbor's corridors like the gust of a thousand winds!!
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/s if not already obvious. I just got too much of a kick out of the previous thread.
Sounds like OSU folks who are still trying to come to terms with the reality that Michigan won a national title despite the fact that they were so sure everything was going to fall apart and the minute the true mastermind that was Conner Stallions got removed from the staff. Now that Michigan won anyway, and just won a national title that isn't going anywhere, they have to fabricate something else that will allow them to tell the world "Don't worry, we will be returning to the 2000 - 2019" good ol' glory days VERY SOON!"
MGrowOld put it best when he said these folks are like scam artist doomsday preppers. Every time they're going to tell you that the end of the world is coming very soon, there's nothing you can do to stop it, and then just like that, nothing happens. Instead of saying "well maybe we were wrong," they ignore it all together and just say "Now its coming on this date, and there's nothing you can do to stop it."
Steelers drafted Pickett two years ago. As long as he doesn’t get traded away at some point before the draft, JJ won’t sniff being drafted by the Steelers.
I doubt he lasts long enough for Seattle or the Rams to be able to get him, unless either of them are willing to trade up.
Unless something comes up in his Pro Day that scares some teams away, its becoming increasingly likely that he's going to be gone within the first fifteen picks. Possibly within the top-10, especially on if a team gets desperate enough to trade up and get him.
For his sake I hope he doesn't end up with the Giants. Either one of the NY teams would ruin his career before it even started. Even Aaron Rodgers couldn't make it five plays into the season before his his season with the Jets ended.
Vikings would be a really good landing spot for him because he'll have weapons around him. I don't know the state of their OL but he'd have the best WR in the league to throw to. Would just feel bad for all the Lions fans here who'd now have to root against him.
Him ending up in Denver would be a really interesting landing spot, as I think Sean Payton could work wonders with him over time. But Denver is probably going to be in really bad shape for a while as it continues to eat away at all the Russell Wilson dead money.
I'd say Denver might be the best spot for his career in the long run, as long as Sean Payton sticks around. But in the short term? Eeeesh, its gonna be a lean few years in Denver.
Well Klatt did go to school at Colorado. So there is that....
The MGoBlog Roundtable made some really good points about this last week. Its not like this is asking for donations for a new building on campus, where the ROI is obvious, the building will more or less be there forever, its not a well you have to keep going back to. When the building is built, its built.
While I do think he generally has a lot of respect for Michigan, I think he also remembers who signs his checks and how much money that company has invested in the Big Ten (and, by extension, Michigan). There's a reason that quite a few Fox analysts were calling for slowing down, letting the facts come out and making a determination then. Even Urban Meyer was slow to rush to judgment on the situation.
Meanwhile, ESPN isn't making a cent off Michigan or the Big Ten for the foreseeable future. What incentive did they have to not lay into Michigan whatever chance they got?
Northwestern is pushing out 20 win seasons right now.
Northwestern
A school with far more built-in disadvantages than what Michigan has, and I’d find it hard to believe that their NIL program is that much better than Michigan’s.
If Northwestern can find a coach that wins in this NIL age, there is no reason to think Michigan can’t.
If Warde just wants to let Howard finish out the season then so be it. Maybe he’s earned the right to finish. That’s not for me to say.
But if he’s not let go within 24 hours of the season ending, then I don’t even know what we’re doing here. I don’t know how you can possibly defend the product that’s on the court right now, and couple that with the fact that it’s almost a certainty you’re losing your best players after this season anyway, whether that’s to graduation or in Dug’s case, almost certainly transferring out.
If Howard is retained, then we deserve whatever we get. If Crisler is flooded with opposing Sparty fans, Purdue fans, IU fans and makes every home game a virtual road environment for the team, then to me, at that point it’s no longer Juwan’s fault. The blame should be laid at Warde’s feet for allowing an inferior product to continue playing on the court.
If the Fab Five are tolerant of the results on the court that we currently have, then honestly I don’t care what alienating them from the program (again?) would do. I’d rather look out for the program’s best interests than worry about hurting the Fab Five’s feelings. If we don’t fire Howard because we’re worried what the rest of the Fab Five think, then we deserve whatever we get.
Keeping Howard for another year will only make things worse. There’s no realistic scenario where next year is better for this program. Any transfer with options will not come to a program that’s not only at rock bottom, but also clearly has a very embattled coach who may be on a one year “prove it or else” deal with the university.
If Warde allows Juwan to come back, that in and of itself should be a fireable offense.
I don’t give a fuck that he heads the CFP committee. This wouldn’t be tolerating mediocrity. That would be an insult to the word mediocrity. This would be tolerating utter incompetence and negligence. This would be tolerance of being a literal bottom feeder. This isn’t a program where you can sit there and say “Welp, this sucks, but this is kind of who we’ve always been so we’re just going to ride with it.” You were one of the most respected, consistent programs in the country not more than five years ago.
This isn’t Howard’s first year where there is still the promise of better days to come. I don’t know how you can sell me that the program will be any better next year. Your best player is probably on his way out the door.
Even if he wants to come back, I fully expect the NCAA to do what it can to fuck Michigan over and deny him the opportunity. Just because.
They already did with Lee Aliya. Might as well go for gusto.