Chris Partridge remarks on improvements in the program's culture

Submitted by FrankMurphy on February 22nd, 2023 at 4:23 PM

In recent comments on Jon Jansen's show, Chris Partridge said he noticed that the culture of the program has improved significantly since he left in 2019. Though he didn't say anything to disparage the previous culture, he did say that he could feel the difference:

"This thing seems to be humming," Partridge said. "You guys have gotten it rolling since I've been gone. The culture is just awesome. I think it's got to be one of the best cultures in college football. I think the players, how willing, how hungry they are — it's a really good place. Walking in and feeling it, you can feel it as soon as you enter the building."

More evidence that after 2020, Harbaugh found some kind of switch and flipped it.

Wolverinefan84

February 25th, 2023 at 10:01 AM ^

His exit was certainly disappointing, but he was a huge part of finally getting us over the OSU hump and winning the Big Ten. We've a lot of great players & teams since our last title that couldn't do it. Obviously Cade wasn't without help, he had a lot of great teammates! But he played with great confidence and wasn't "faking" it, and I think that mentality (especially from your QB) went a long way with the whole team.

Joined: 04/05/2011

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Blue Vet

February 22nd, 2023 at 4:28 PM ^

I'm choosing to read this not as a new (re)hire making nice but a relatively objective observation.

After all, we do have the evidence of winning and apparently pleased players.

Joined: 05/08/2012

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Amazinblu

February 22nd, 2023 at 5:10 PM ^

I think part of this was Harbaugh opening up to the players with Biff’s encouragement.

Partridge can offer a “before & after” perspective, which very few others - if any - can.

Joined: 01/22/2010

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Amazinblu

February 23rd, 2023 at 10:22 AM ^

Clarence - I think you share a great perspective.

I cannot imagine Bo ever endorsing the points you raised - a) the Buffs, b) music at practice, or c) proactively embracing our opponents "psyche" activities - like Jumparound in Madison.

Times have changed - and, though I'm "old school" - it's a new generation, and - if it builds morale and togetherness on the team - I'm all for it.

Go Blue!

Joined: 01/22/2010

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Blake Forum

February 22nd, 2023 at 5:49 PM ^

I always defended Don Brown, and will continue to defend his long career track prior to at least the end of the 2018 season. But it was obvious by the end of his Michigan tenure that the players simply weren't responding to him and didn't trust him and his staff for whatever set of reasons. It's been clear since then that there's been a focus on finding coaches that the players believe in and will go to war for. Not every hire has been a home run, but quite a few have

Joined: 07/20/2020

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wesq

February 22nd, 2023 at 7:19 PM ^

Gattis isn’t a popular guy here but he was part of the turn around. They haven’t missed a beat since he left and it was always a question of how responsible he was for the offense but that 2021 team was the one that turned it around and he was definitely a large part of it. Blaming him for the culture doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. 

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1VaBlue1

February 23rd, 2023 at 8:34 AM ^

Will agree...  I think Gattis brought some concepts to the offense that Harbaugh wouldn't have otherwise glommed onto.  Have they been used consistently, and appropriately?  Not always, but they are a huge part of the modernization of the Harbaughffense into a juggernaut.  

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Australopithecus

February 22nd, 2023 at 6:56 PM ^

Don Brown's scheme worked beautifully for what it was supposed to do: stop a QB run / QB option offense (i.e., Ohio State, 2016). Leaving cornerbacks to fend for themselves all day wasn't a bad idea; JT wasn't a great passer and we had excellent talent at the position.

Of course, Ohio State moved on to something like their current pass-happy system with Haskins. Brown half-heartedly tried to evolve, but all the talent he inherited was gone and his recruiting apathy caught up.

My sense was that the players really loved Brown for at least the first few years.

 

 

 

Joined: 04/10/2019

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Eng1980

February 22nd, 2023 at 7:18 PM ^

Especially since it happened two games in a row.  My biggest disappointment is that Don Brown didn't grasp the significance of what Indiana did to Michigan the week before OSU.  Michigan didn't stop the crossing routes the week before so why not try it again.  I thought Brown was famous for setting trap plays (before coming to Michigan) and I waited and waited and waited for the defense to crush it.

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FrankMurphy

February 22nd, 2023 at 8:37 PM ^

I don't know if it was so much that the players weren't responding to him as it was that he couldn't adjust when teams figured out his man-heavy scheme. His defenses did well in 2016 and 2017, even against OSU (defense wasn't the reason we lost The Game in either year). But when OSU realized that Brown doesn't know how to play anything other than man, it was all over.

Joined: 08/19/2008

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Wallaby Court

February 22nd, 2023 at 9:11 PM ^

After the Athletic article, Biff Poggi's departure has become a low key source of anxiety. I worry that we may not truly appreciate how much Poggi contributed to Michigan's recent results.

On the other hand, that Athletic article could have been the college football equivalent of the Architectural Digest celebrity feature. One the more reliable predictors of a celebrity divorce is a couple's appearance in Architectural Digest. A celebrity couple gets their property featured to increase its visibility and generate buyer interest in advance of the inevitable divorce-fueled sale.

As applied to Poggi, the Athletic feature may have been Harbaugh's way of marketing Poggi for a college head coaching job. Bruce Feldman wrote the piece and he has a long history of getting inside scoops and carrying water for Michigan.

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