Dave Brandon on Attack Each Day podcast
currently listening to the recent Harbaugh's podcast with Dave Brandon as an invited guest.
I though JH didn't like Brandon? or maybe just as an AD.
haven't finished listening and haven't got to the portion talking about Brandon's time as AD.
but surprised to see Brandon to be invited to the podcast.
August 20th, 2019 at 11:45 AM ^
EverAfter
August 20th, 2019 at 11:45 AM ^
I can confirm that I don't like him
August 20th, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
I’m surprised to see this as well. Why give DB a forum?
August 20th, 2019 at 12:04 PM ^
Why not? It's not like he's a white supremecist or some other vile person. He was a crappy, self-absorbed AD but he is a former Michigan player and was present for some good and bad parts of Michigan athletic history.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:40 PM ^
He helped destroy toys r us. Sad to watch all those stores get shuttered on his watch. Hard to think of anything human that he's done which would be the measure of a person's worth. I'm talking altruism that doesn't result in a tax deduction.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:45 PM ^
Toys r us was circling the drain regardless of who ran that company. Was it intentionally run into the ground faster to turn a profit? Probably, but Dave Brandon wasn't the reason Toys R Us was doomed. He was the crony who got sent it to do the dirty work
August 20th, 2019 at 12:50 PM ^
I'm not disagreeing with you.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:48 PM ^
Toys R Us was destroyed long before he got there, he just oversaw the funeral.
Their pricing was ridiculous for one thing. It was like Kmart. Both places you could go to WalMart or even Target and buy the same exact thing for 10-20% less, almost without exception.
August 20th, 2019 at 4:01 PM ^
The downward spiral began in earnest about 15 years ago or so when they began to get ensnared in the world of private equity firms, in my opinion. Up until the early 2000s, Toys R Us was not in awful shape, although they were beginning to experience the effects of disintermediation and the purchasing power (and thus the means to offer products at substantial discounts) of the larger retailers.
August 20th, 2019 at 1:21 PM ^
Maybe you should take a look below and see he was a benefactor of Mott Children's Hospital. Sure you can roar about tax deductions, but then also list the things you've done in your life that have helped as many children. Like it or not the most valuable commodity any of us have is time, and he sacrificed a large amount of his for the kids at Mott. That's pretty fucking human.
He can be a selfish asshole and still have done many wonderful things. You don't get to call someone a subhuman because he put a noodle in the stadium.
August 20th, 2019 at 1:46 PM ^
You can like him all you want and I can feel the opposite. I think Michigan would have been better off without him.
August 20th, 2019 at 3:23 PM ^
That's fine, but it's at least intellectually dishonest (or very misinformed) to say that he sent Toys R Us down the drain. He was brought in for that specific purpose, and honestly, he did pretty well in that regard. But this is the internet, where we just make loud noises for upvotes.
August 20th, 2019 at 4:35 PM ^
Your strawman claims something I did not. And then you go on to state the obvious.
My post calls you out for making a clown statement that attempts to quite literally dehumanize someone because they were in many cases a selfish asshole and in most cases bad at their job. If in your eyes this is worth labeling someone subhuman you have many things to reevaluate in your life. Words have power and meaning - if you overshot your critique, just say so and move on.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:12 PM ^
No, you are telling me I shouldn't think someone is a piece of shit just because they are rich and have given money to a non profit (unless I've given more apparently). You choose to assign value to that while I dismiss it.
I consider people with no empathy as subhuman. Throwing money at a charity when there are public relations and tax incentives attached doesn't show me he has any either.
And it's ok to tolerate opinions different from yours.
August 20th, 2019 at 2:56 PM ^
"You don't get to call someone a subhuman because he put a noodle in the stadium."
Was with ya till here. That noodle stuff was straight up dark side.
Cheers.
August 20th, 2019 at 2:13 PM ^
well tribal republicans like him look the other way while white supremacists openly massacre women and children...
August 20th, 2019 at 4:49 PM ^
And a favorite of bo iirc
August 20th, 2019 at 12:05 PM ^
Was WD invited as Counterpunt?
August 20th, 2019 at 12:08 PM ^
A podcast wouldn't do that justice - we'd need video of that!!!
August 20th, 2019 at 12:10 PM ^
Harbaugh probably just ran into him at like kids’ soccer or something and the podcast came up.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:17 PM ^
Probably found him at a lemonade stand selling a ticket for two lemonade.
August 20th, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
Merely a coincidence. With the purchase of two 20 oz Coke products, anyone could have won an opportunity to be a special guest on Harbaugh's podcast.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:16 PM ^
Post of the week so far. Plus who is that in your avatar pic.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:56 PM ^
Thanks for the compliment. Regarding the avatar, I have no idea. I love black and white photography; portraits in particular.
August 20th, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
shrunk down, it reminds me of this
August 20th, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
Had to revert, don't have time to edit it atm.
August 20th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
Might as well invite Urbie Meyer too.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:04 PM ^
That... would actually be an interesting listen?
August 20th, 2019 at 12:04 PM ^
Honestly, that'd be a more interesting conversation.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:48 PM ^
Urban would fake a heart attack if asked hard questions just to weasel his way out of it.
August 20th, 2019 at 3:09 PM ^
yo i would listen the shit out of that
August 20th, 2019 at 3:30 PM ^
Urbie?
Don't do that.
August 20th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
He was pretty good on the show. Credit where credit is due, the AD overhauled a ton of facilities under his tenure and they spent the vast majority of the time talking about that.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
Most of those overhauls were already planned before DB.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:34 PM ^
And there are plenty of overhauls still being implemented that were planned while he was there.
August 20th, 2019 at 4:03 PM ^
Don't you understand that there's no room for nuance here? One is either our guy and great or a horrible degenerate whose mother and children should even hate him.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:56 PM ^
The football and basketball stuff, yes. He did a lot of stuff for non-revenue sports.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:09 PM ^
The remaining portion discussing their favorite Smiths album?
August 20th, 2019 at 1:26 PM ^
Yes, and he failed there too. He was talking about how great "Hatful of Hollow" was blah blah blah possibly one of the greatest records ever. Jack Harbaugh had to break the news to him that it wasn't a true studio album but merely a collection of songs, mostly from the BBC Radio sessions... The guy can't win.
August 20th, 2019 at 12:46 PM ^
Listened to the entire segment. Learned a lot. Yes, he made many mistakes as AD, but also significant accomplishments, of which I was not aware. Has also been a key benefactor for Mott Children's Hospital- which I also did not know.
August 20th, 2019 at 1:06 PM ^
Being a benefactor at Mott is the primary reason I get annoyed when people are too hard on Brandon, because it's clear that he's not a bad person. Even coming back and taking the AD job at Michigan was done because he thought it would help the school.
I've always thought his primary flaw is a belief that he knows better than anyone else what to do (the whole "if it's not broke, break it" ethos), which is far from uncommon. Heck, maybe his dramatically public failures will lead to self reflection and even change in that regard. I mean, I don't expect it this late in life, but it could happen.
August 20th, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
I'll take the counter point that being a super rich dude and giving money to charity does not make you a good person either. I think a much better judge is how he treats others in situations that does not effect his personal 'brand'. I didn't punch the person I passed in the hall in the face. Does that mean I'm a good person? No. That should be a baseline standard. But if I spend the rest of the day reaming out my residents and treating them like crap, I think that his much better indicator that I'm not a great person. I'm not arguing that Brandon is an evil person or anything. He's just a human being with a mixed of good and bad. But most evidence we know from his non-curated public image seems to say he's an egocentric guy obsessed with his own image and superlatives and doesn't really care all that much about those around him. That does speak to his character.
August 20th, 2019 at 1:55 PM ^
But he's not just giving money to a random charity to make himself look good. His twin sons were hospitalized at Mott with some rare blood disorder, which was successfully treated there. The money was to help build a new NICU, and rather than naming it after himself, he named it after his sons. Granted he was in a position to do this because of his wealth, but I have a hard time seeing that gift as anything other than genuine gratitude and a desire to help out other families who may be going through a similar situation.
Similarly, everything I've read about athletes in non-revenue sports is that they loved Brandon as AD. He gave them resources (the aforementioned improvements to non-revenue facilities), was always willing to meet with them, listened to their concerns, and didn't treat them as second class to the revenue sports athletes. That doesn't sound like someone who doesn't care much about those around him.
As I said, I suspect his problem is an overinflated sense of his own abilities and a belief that he knows better than anyone what path to pursue, a common trait in CEOs and successful entrepreneurs. It probably makes him a terrible person to work for if you don't happen to agree with him on everything, but being a bad boss is different from being a bad person.
August 20th, 2019 at 3:17 PM ^
He gave them resources (the aforementioned improvements to non-revenue facilities), was always willing to meet with them, listened to their concerns
My take on that is he did that to undermine the staff.
Sure, is the optics of Brandon being so accessable to the rank and file student athlete, a good thing? Absolutely!!!!
But look at what Brandon did with that info. He ran a lot of good people out of town and destroyed a number of careers.
Fuck him I say. Even if he does have a money cannon for Mott.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:14 PM ^
My take on that is he did that to undermine the staff.
That's a very cynical take on his motives, and to me it just seems more likely that he, having been a student athlete, wanted to make sure they were taken care of. I'm not saying it's impossible that he was being that Machiavellian, just that it seems like the less likely option.
However I'm unaware of any case where Brandon destroyed someone's career. He certainly made people who didn't agree with his position miserable, effectively pushing them out, but there's a massive difference between getting a new job and having your career destroyed.
Of course if it turned out Brandon bad mouthed people to prospective employers or took other steps to prevent them from working in their chosen field that would absolutely change my opinion on him as a person, but I am unaware of any such accusations.
August 21st, 2019 at 1:45 AM ^
That's a very cynical take on his motives
Not really. Happens all the time in the big boy business world. Seen it with my own eyes. Like I said, the optics are great, I'm not arguing that with anyone.
However I'm unaware of any case where Brandon destroyed someone's career.
I don't know what to say as there's a shit ton of material out there about this.
August 21st, 2019 at 2:12 PM ^
I don't know what to say as there's a shit ton of material out there about this.
Can you point me to this? I'm not trying to be a dick, I genuinely would like to see evidence of this, because it would absolutely change my position on Brandon. To be clear, I'm not talking about him pushing people he didn't want working for him out of their jobs (that he did that is not in dispute), I'm talking about taking steps to ensure someone could not work in their chosen profession. If he was going to be held responsible for how the Athletic Department operated (and he clearly was), he had the right to staff it as he saw fit.
And my saying that your take is cynical shouldn't be in dispute, it is a cynical take. Calling something cynical is different from saying it's inaccurate. I'm saying it's possible, but operating on the principle that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one, it's the less likely choice.
August 20th, 2019 at 3:36 PM ^
Counterpoint, most employees in the AD did NOT like him, which is why there was so much turnover.
August 20th, 2019 at 5:04 PM ^
That's not exactly a counterpoint when I explicitly state he would be a terrible person to work for unless you agreed with his vision. If I was in a work situation where someone was brought in and proceeded to impose a change in vision with which I disagreed I would quit, no question. The point is that makes him a terrible boss, but not a bad person.
August 20th, 2019 at 6:25 PM ^
It's truly unfortunate for that to happen to anyone's kids, but that's just an example of someone responding to something that directly affects them. Philanthropy is also often used to justify the massive wealth imbalance and how certain jobs are valued disproportionately. I can think of few people who wouldn't do similarly when faced with a similar situation.
I don't say this to judge Dave's character, however I do find it interesting how the simple act of coach Harbaugh interviewing Mr. Brandon causes people to do 180s on prior judgments. It seems hard to transcend tribal affiliation in the same instances as we judge others harshly for there own tribal attachments.