Jim McElwain Appreciation Thread
There has been a huge amount of love here for Ed Warinner. All of it deserved. But I think McElwain (along with Roy Roundtree) deserve some props, too.
We start the season losing Tarik Black, probably our #1 receiver. But the receivers, who were a disaster last year, have been more than fine.
DPJ was a deer in the headlights last year, now he is living up to the hype. By next year he is going to be a monster. Nico, who barely played last year, has been more than serviceable.
Ronnie Bell is showing flashes of being a future star.
We are NOT leaning on Grant Perry this year, and that could be a good thing.
If by some chance Pep gets a head coaching job for next season and leaves, I would not hesitate to slide McElwain into his role (if he doesn't get another job) and make Roundtree the full time WR coach.
November 9th, 2018 at 3:53 PM ^
Yup, Yup, Yup!! Nailed it!
November 9th, 2018 at 3:55 PM ^
The Sharks in Florida appreciate Jim McElwain moving to Michigan.
November 9th, 2018 at 5:41 PM ^
But think of our sturgeon
November 9th, 2018 at 5:51 PM ^
The lamprey have taken care of the sturgeon.
November 9th, 2018 at 10:01 PM ^
Then think of the lamprey.
November 9th, 2018 at 8:44 PM ^
Underrated(!) comment.
November 9th, 2018 at 9:50 PM ^
Baby Sharks!
November 10th, 2018 at 2:00 AM ^
You sonofabitch!
November 9th, 2018 at 3:54 PM ^
(Insert shark joke here)
November 9th, 2018 at 3:56 PM ^
Who negged this man?!?! Did we become Shark humping tolerant all the sudden?!?!
November 9th, 2018 at 4:21 PM ^
He may be a shark humper, but now he's our shark humper.
November 9th, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^
Since seeing the original shark pic, I kept an open mind and when we hired him..well, I just knew shark humping is the new thing! Harbaugh is thee unrelenting trend setting king! GoBlue!!
November 9th, 2018 at 4:20 PM ^
Don't use the word "insert" in the same sentence as "shark", please
November 10th, 2018 at 3:20 PM ^
I've been giving this a lot of thought and it seems it takes a special kind of courage to hump a shark.
November 11th, 2018 at 10:12 AM ^
Now I want a Jimmy Johns with extra meat....a LOT of extra meat.
November 9th, 2018 at 3:55 PM ^
Yes, seems additive to the offense this year. Maybe not as dramatic as Coach Ed, but definitely positive development from him for the young WRs. DPJ in particular has made great strides.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:24 PM ^
So first, I really really appreciate that with a former head coach on staff, there has been zero whiff of impatience, ego, or controversy. Serious props to everyone involved.
Second, WRs last year get an incomplete, not a fail. IIRC, DPJ spent most of last year screamingly open while our QBs got sacked or missed the throw by miles...
November 9th, 2018 at 5:53 PM ^
Can’t have much of an ego trip when you’re working for a coach that crushed you twice in three years.
November 9th, 2018 at 5:15 PM ^
November 9th, 2018 at 6:18 PM ^
It does help, of course, that DPJ and Collins are now sophomores. Occasionally a true freshman WR can make an impact but more often they make a big jump their sophomore year. Many of our best WRs (Tai Streets, David Terrell, Braylon Edwards, Jeremy Gallon...) were like that.
November 9th, 2018 at 3:56 PM ^
Huzzah!
November 9th, 2018 at 3:58 PM ^
'
I give Warinner more credit for a better run offense and pass protection that lead to receivers looking better.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
Yes.
and while I do think McElwain & staff deserve SOME credit . . Sophomore receivers almost always MUCH better than Freshman receivers.
Also SHAE!
November 9th, 2018 at 4:22 PM ^
Shea?
November 9th, 2018 at 4:24 PM ^
Lord Tyrion is kind for letting us use his wench. Go Shae!
November 9th, 2018 at 7:47 PM ^
Tyrion is very kind to share. Well, he used to share with me.
November 9th, 2018 at 8:16 PM ^
yes, all 3 of them.
November 9th, 2018 at 10:04 PM ^
If Michigan had a bad WR coach, I don't think you would feel that way.
November 9th, 2018 at 3:58 PM ^
Shark.
November 9th, 2018 at 3:58 PM ^
The pass catchers on the squad next year.... *eyeballz emoji*
..... with a senior QB
November 9th, 2018 at 3:59 PM ^
I would add..... Pep took a beating last year, in the comments here. Drevno might have been more deserving of that lashing.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:01 PM ^
Not a fan of the sharkhumper; he's a shitty, petty guy. I choose to believe the WR success is all Roy Roundtree. Or maybe just having a position coach in the first place helps as opposed to nobody coaching them last year. But I won't be sad if he leaves. Just look at how the coaching acumen led him to force Will Grier out of Florida, which didn't really work out for him:
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2804706-west-virginias-will-grier-and-the-decision-that-transformed-his-career
"It had everything to do with Mac wanting to win with his own guy," one former Florida assistant told Bleacher Report. "Grier was [former Gators coach Will] Muschamp's recruit. We were floored by it. You've got a guy that can win big in this league at that position? Those dudes are rare. Who cares if [Grier] liked hanging around his girl more than his teammates? That was the big knock on him; he wasn't a team guy. Come on, man—because he liked spending time with his girl? We scored 38 on that Ole Miss defense with all of those NFL players!
"We knew right then it wasn't just a big gamble—it was a decision that was going to bite us all in the ass."
EDIT: really sorry this offended people! i thought we were permitted to disagree and that downvoting was for trolling and other unreasonable behavior.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:04 PM ^
Didn't Grier pump himself full of steroids, which led to his dismissal?
November 9th, 2018 at 4:08 PM ^
Didn't McElwain also sell his house in Florida at a massive loss so that a family with handicapped children could afford it and afford the handicap-accessible renovations on it?
One of my Florida fan buddies told me when we hired him "he's probably going to be a great WR coach, his players love him, he's a great guy."
November 9th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
Yep. Grier was hopped up on pretty much everything and got busted. He was suspended for a year, which caused him to leave. The quote above completely disregards that. Instead of wanting to be around his teammates, working out and proving himself contrite and willing to improve, he chose to hang out with his girlfriend. I don't blame McElwein for letting him transfer out.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:05 PM ^
Well there’s also the fact Grier got popped for PEDs.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:17 PM ^
Although, let's be honest, there are a lot of awkward, eccentric people in the upper echelons of Division I football, and McElwain, for all his quirks, has done a decent enough job in the whole of his career, or at least enough so that Harbaugh wanted him on this staff. I will trust Jim's judgment here.
November 9th, 2018 at 5:54 PM ^
Some of those awkward eccentric coaches have shark like eyes.
I have faith in Harbaugh's judgement, too.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:57 PM ^
Just for the sake of argument, let's suppose he did play politics with the QB position as the Head Coach. What the fuck does that have to do with how he coaches wide outs as an assistant in someone else's program? Zero.
November 9th, 2018 at 5:37 PM ^
Kind of shocked at the reaction here -- did anyone read the article or what it said? Grier took a store bought supplement, that doesn't make him some roided up maniac. Similarly, I didn't say he was a bad coach but a bad guy that I don't want around the program, so I'm choosing to believe it's the work of UM alumnus Roy Roundtree.
Did we also forget how he used to shit-talk Harbaugh, or how he did everything in his power to create a controversy about having sex with a shark? I guess he's not the worst man in the world but just cuz they're playing well doesn't make him a good guy.
https://thespun.com/college-football/the-jim-harbaugh-jim-mcelwain-feud…
November 9th, 2018 at 10:08 PM ^
You are certainly allowed to disagree, but when you call people names and lead with character assassination, you are going to get negged.
By the way, I didn't neg you.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:02 PM ^
He's been able to concentrate better without the raging libido, since the Huron River only has freshwater bass
November 9th, 2018 at 4:07 PM ^
Not po poing on your post, but they were freshman last year and they had shitty QB play. A year helps with the same QB, and next year will be better.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:16 PM ^
Of course, which is why he does not deserve anything in the same universe of credit that Warinner does. But still, this unit was god awful last year, and lost the predicted #1 received just before the season started.
I don't think he is a getting any prime P5 head coaching jobs as a result of what he has done here. But I do think he deserves some credit.
I will take is a step further. Harbaugh deserves a MASSIVE amount of credit here. Coaches tend to stay within their comfort zone when hiring assistants (cough****Urban****cough). Harbaugh has shown a great willingness to step outside the box and hire people he does not have a history with. Of course Don Brown, who is the King of Defensive Coordinators, is the best hire he made. But credit JH for hiring Warinner and McElwain, 2 more guys he does not have history with. All of these guys have a pedigree and a long coaching history that could make a some coaches feel threatened. Instead, Harbaugh brings them in and uses their skills to benefit the team.
November 9th, 2018 at 4:42 PM ^
There was also literally no WR coach last year, just a GA working with them. That said, Ronnie Bell looks pretty good as a freshman, which he deserves some credit for.
November 9th, 2018 at 5:39 PM ^
this was more my point about the job he's doing; the results are inarguable, but who's to say that isn't just having someone doing the job of coaching them?
November 9th, 2018 at 5:26 PM ^
I gave you a thumbs up for including "po poing" in your post. I am not "po poing" your post or being snarky, but I have never read "po poing" in a post before. Wasn't even sure how to spell "po poing".
Back to our regular scheduled programming....
November 9th, 2018 at 4:11 PM ^
Proof that the Peter Principle does exist. And that it does not have to be completely career ending for someone who got in over their heads....
Good work this year, Coach McElwain!
November 9th, 2018 at 4:13 PM ^
McElwain, Hamilton, Wariner
The three musketeers.
Minus the French accents.