"Insider" rumblings Pettiti's near-term future is ominous as B1G AD

Submitted by Hail to the Vi… on November 15th, 2023 at 8:40 PM

I'll start first with the disclaimer: I cannot speak to the level of "credible insider" the reporter is; so until it becomes more substantiated by credible publications, it's best to assume this is just posturing/speculation.

Matt Broder is a former Michigan Baseball player and is now a beat reporter covering the Detroit Lions for Woodward Sports (I know, little to no credibility as a sports journalism outfit; it's Detroit Sports Radio that streams a YouTube channel). He had an interesting/cryptic tweet related to some significant, systemic changes anticipated from some within the Michigan Athletic Department:

While I'm not a huge fan of the way he teases these implications could suggest Harbaugh is in any real trouble of being removed from his HC position (he is about to sign a deal making him the highest paid coach in the B1G), it is the first piece of "credible" speculation I have seen from an actual reporter rather than message board posters and internet sleuths. Given Matt's history as a UM athlete and a credentialed member of the Detroit Sports media - albeit credentialed for the Detroit Lions, not UM - I thought it's at least plausible that some close to the situation have reason to believe Pettiti won't make it in his position through the balance of this year.

Segment below is his commentary on Ermani & Edwards sports talk radio show:

https://youtu.be/GrfzPF0CMaY?t=1740

 

MGoBoard
Football

Hail to the Vi…

November 15th, 2023 at 9:24 PM ^

Well said. This was my interpretation as well. Basically, the league is pissed about the pedantic media circus this has become. And when the courts come to rule the B1G was egregiously out of line for attempting to suspend a coach from his team without any semblance of due process and gets reinstated, Michigan now controls the narrative and the remaining members are furious about the sound of that; so they will fire Pettiti.

To me it implies the 13 other league members definitely wanted to screw Michigan, but they wanted it done with skillful tact and PR. Now they feel like Pettiti shouted "Nibb High Football Rules" ripped a wet fart into his microphone and walked off camera in the national media.

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Needs

November 15th, 2023 at 11:05 PM ^

My guess is that there are actually a number of ADs who, while they were angry at Michigan about the Stallions story, are now upset with Pettiti about a couple different things. 
 

1. Leaking the news to espn before telling Warde

2. opening the Pandora’s box of enabling institutions to try to undermine other institutions through leaks and 3rd parties. 

3. dragging the league into this earlier than necessary 

Remember, there were only 4 people on the commissioners disciplinary committee or whatever. 

One way to read this is that there are concerns about Pettiti’s handling of the situation and his competence to do the job. If info comes out about Harbaugh that’s bad enough to cost him his job, then those concerns will dissipate. But if not, there thinking he’s probably not up to the job.

The other thing is that the ADs have all worked with Warde for a long time and likely see him as a relatively staid guy. To see him lose it like he did in the Friday statement may have led some of the non-OSU, non-MSU ADs to have second thoughts. 

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grumbler

November 15th, 2023 at 8:52 PM ^

I don't understand what this guy is trying to say.  Is he saying that, if Tiny Tipetti doesn't get Harbaugh fired, the B1G presidents will fire him and bring in someone that they think WILL get Harbaugh fired?  That's the only interpretation that makes sense to  me, but it's an interpretation that sounds totally full of crap.

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denardogasm

November 15th, 2023 at 9:27 PM ^

He's saying come check out my terrible youtube streaming channel.

Was listening to those guys a bit for a couple months back in the spring and summer and it was pretty terrible. But now my algorithms have them all over my feed. I don't know how they got Darren McCarty and Braylon to be hosts on there (both of whom are pretty terrible at it outside of the odd McCarty wild 90s story). I'm guessing they both made terrible investments into it on condition that they could be on air. Dan Miller of the Lions makes appearances for some reason as well though. That's about the only segment I actually click on now because I can't get enough of people hyping the Lions.

Anyway, if he does get fired it pretty much proves they just used him to get at Michigan and he got played.

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Perkis-Size Me

November 15th, 2023 at 8:53 PM ^

I’ll wait until Webb or JUB report something like this before I start lending this any credibility.

That said, if any of this is true, I’d think Harbaugh is in more trouble than Pettiti, considering Pettiti now has the buy-in and support from essentially every other football coach in the conference. He caved and gave them all what they wanted. They have no reason to go against him right now.

Only way I see Pettiti being in trouble is if he’s getting a ton of heat from TV execs about Michigan potentially walking out the door over this, if there is any truth to what that regent said last week. I doubt FOX, NBC or CBS gives two shits about who is right or wrong in this whole signgate situation. They only care that their investment is protected. And if Michigan walks away from the Big Ten, someone’s head will roll for it. And if Pettiti is still around when it happens, that’s pretty much the only way I see him being forced out.

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WestQuad

November 16th, 2023 at 8:46 AM ^

I'm thinking monetary damages.  B1G should cover Michigan's legal costs and damage to our brand.  (I hate thinking of Michigan as a brand.)   We'll have to wait until the NCAA investigation is concluded (and hopefully in our favor), but then we need to go full Wyatt Earp (Tombstone version) on the B1G until Pettiti is fired and we're given a formal apology.  When that happens we drop the suit.

That said if it is CS at CMU and WMU then ... ????

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Bo Harbaugh

November 15th, 2023 at 8:56 PM ^

B1G trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

UM about to go nuclear with all the dirt they have. Harbaugh would come out looking very, very clean after "signgate" investigation, but the amount of crap UM could dump to the media would destroy the conference.

I hope UM drops everything they have and wrecks the conference on their way out, but looks like B1G trying to salvage the situation.

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UcheWallyWally

November 16th, 2023 at 10:11 AM ^

Wow you really are getting the whole insider thing down. Covering your bases , leaving both sides open. UM about to go nuclear , but they mite not. They’ve got all the dirt that would clear Harbaugh and shame everyone that had gone after the program and sullied there name. They could release it all to save the day, but they mite just hold onto it  Well done sir 

The damage that’s been done from an image and PR standpoint is insurmountable and will be an asterisk the program will have to hear about and deal with forever.  If they have evidence that would completely 180 this public image and don’t release it….we’ll honestly I don’t even know what to say that would be so baffling, stupid and insulting to Jim Harbaugh, every player on that team, every player that’s ever put on that winged helped , fans and alumni alike. 
 

If they release nothing they either don’t have it and you’ve been telling fibs or they deserve everything they get frankly

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Caesar

November 15th, 2023 at 8:58 PM ^

I don't know how Petitti recovers, honestly.

It's one thing to believe in your principles and stick by them. I think even this new, more assertive Michigan would respect a guy who has a good-faith disagreement and sticks to his guns. Michigan might even accept the steadiness of that belief escalating to actual legal proceedings. 

Petitti, however, deployed some bush league nonsense by filing so late in the game, on a holiday weekend, just prior to a huge game for the program--long after Michigan announced that they wouldn't try to hide in the NCAA bylaws' gray area. 

He acted dishonorably. That is his unforgivable sin. When push comes to shove, the B1G will ditch him to prevent Michigan from ditching them. 

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Red is Blue

November 15th, 2023 at 9:18 PM ^

Replacing the dipshit B1G commissioner is a start, but hardly the only thing that needs to happen.  They needs to be a clear rewrite of the bylaws that eliminates the possibility of the commissioner doing whatever the heck he wants.  Lest a rewrite, the next guy could do the same thing.

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M-Dog

November 15th, 2023 at 9:43 PM ^

Petitti serves at the pleasure of the Big Ten members.  If most of those members want him to do what he has been doing, he'll be fine.

He does not have to be right he just has to be reelected.

He has counted votes and he is doing what the majority want him to do.

Without checks and balances to this kind of mob rule, we will either need to reform it or leave it.  

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Don

November 16th, 2023 at 8:35 AM ^

Ultimately, Pettiti was hired by the Big Ten university presidents and chancellors—it was their vote and approval that sealed the deal for him.

None of those presidents and chancellors rose to their current positions through the athletic side of the equation—they all came from the academic/bureaucratic side of university life. It's highly likely that they rely on and frequently defer to their respective athletic directors on athletic matters.

While the Big Ten was initially established to deal with athletic matters in a cooperative manner, the conference has made its academic credentials and values a primary point of pride over the last 60+ years, and those presidents and chancellors never get tired of boasting about the vast sum of research dollars that flow into their institutions every year.

As of 2021 data, U-M was the leading conference institution in terms of research expenditures, and I'd be surprised if it isn't today as well.

Do the presidents and chancellors really want the primary legacy of the guy they hired as Commissioner to be the departure of the conference's leading research institution?

It's certainly possible that they don't care, and/or that they all hate Michigan and want us to leave.

However, coming from a family that is thick with academics on both sides of my family, I have a pretty good sense of what kind of values academics profess to support, and collegiality is very high on their list, on both a personal and professional basis. They typically are also averse to conflict and confrontation. I'm very skeptical that any of the presidents and chancellors really prefer Michigan to leave—there's no upside from an institutional and academic standpoint. And this is completely aside from the potential losses to the conference's athletic balance sheets if Michigan departs.

I think it's the athletic directors and their coaches who are the primary drivers in this rush to punish Michigan and drive Harbaugh out if they can. So far, the presidents have apparently been tacitly on board. However, I wonder if that's an accurate picture of their views, given the prospect of Michigan leaving. IOW, is the juice worth the squeeze?

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UcheWallyWally

November 15th, 2023 at 8:58 PM ^

Let’s just say this is true. With Pettiti’s back against the wall and likely to lose his job regardless could UM possibly flip him and go after the other schools for collusion of some sort?  You would think at that point it would be the schools strong arming him that he would turn his vendetta against.  Big10 teams shouldn’t be bullying, strong arming and threatening the commissioner to go after there adversaries or else. There has to be some kind of big10, ncaa or legal rules against that.

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UcheWallyWally

November 15th, 2023 at 9:03 PM ^

There could also be a level of self awareness from the other programs at this point.  We bullied this guy and he did what we told him to without much resistance. He served his purpose but also showed his colors.  Now let’s get him the heck out of office before they try this on us

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S.G. Rice

November 15th, 2023 at 9:16 PM ^

Pettiti isn't getting fired, not when he's done the bidding of most of the B1G programs not named Michigan.  

Of course it would be a different story if he pushed Michigan out the door and lost a huge chunk of revenue as a result, but in that event he'd just be a scapegoat for the shortsightedness of our conference "bretheren".

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brad

November 15th, 2023 at 9:25 PM ^

I believe Petitti 's demise as commissioner is a foregone conclusion.  He's being used for one thing, and when that one thing is done, one way or the other, he can only pose downside to pretty much everyone in the conference.  If the Harbaugh hit doesn't work, everyone can just blame him for overreach and oust him before he can be used to attack them.  Same logic if it does work, albeit a bit messier.

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