It appears that Al Washington and Kerry Coombs are out at OSU
Interesting. A lot of turnover on that staff. Not surprised about Coombs but I thought they all loved Al Washington.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
Linebackers were a big weakness last year for OSU, so not totally surprised. A few "fall on the sword" coaches seemed likely, and their new DC is sure to want to bring his guys.
Seems like just yesterday that Washington skipped town to head to Columbus.....
January 13th, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
Good riddance, honestly.
January 13th, 2022 at 1:11 PM ^
I foresee a new Harbaugh strategy. Hire a middling coach with ties to OSU. Let the Michigan brand amplify the hire and OSU swoop in and steal the coach. Then watch three or four years later as that coach does a middling job and Michigan exploits it.
January 14th, 2022 at 5:53 AM ^
Bring em both in as analysts. With no job other than to watch OSU film and help get us ready to go to Columbus in November.
January 13th, 2022 at 9:01 PM ^
The LB position group was a disaster since his arrival (and a year prior). He didn’t recruit at a high level, and ended the year with a RB and TE being the best in the LB room. Losing to UM has consequences as 40% of the staff can attest. The B1G isn’t the B12, you need a defense. No D position group played at an elite level, but I’ve never seen a LB unit that failed to trigger or missed more assignments than OSU for the last two years. Coach Stud (O-Line) recruited poorly for the last 2 years. They pass blocked well, but when you struggle to run the ball with Henderson, and miss in recruiting you’ve gotta go too.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:05 PM ^
Preach
January 13th, 2022 at 10:34 AM ^
Karma's a bitch, Al.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
Wonder if Al still has Don Brown's #?
January 13th, 2022 at 2:43 PM ^
no but ryan day does
HEYO tip your waiters
January 13th, 2022 at 7:50 PM ^
Well played sir, well played…
January 14th, 2022 at 1:46 AM ^
Glad I can chuckle at this now
January 13th, 2022 at 10:35 AM ^
Al Washington position groups have been terrible.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:52 AM ^
Terrible? That's a huge understatement considering the talent he had to work with. It sounds like they're gutting their defensive staff which was kind of expected after their last 2 to 3 years on defense
January 13th, 2022 at 11:36 AM ^
When you're a Top Three recruiting school, it generally takes coaching malpractice or unmotivated players (which is related to coaching malpractice) to lose to a less talented team.
We benefited at least a little bit from both in November.
Awaiting the board geniuses that will happily tell me that talent and recruiting rankings don't matter in "rivalry" games. I heard from one recently.
January 13th, 2022 at 11:47 AM ^
here's whats waiting for those geniuses...
January 13th, 2022 at 11:53 AM ^
I would agree that they do matter but it’s interesting that Auburn has beaten Alabama 11 times since 2000.
January 13th, 2022 at 12:33 PM ^
Another rivalry game but also keep in mind that Alabama had some really subpar teams in the early 2000s before Saban came
January 13th, 2022 at 5:56 PM ^
I don't understand this as a counterpoint at all. Since Cam Newton left after 2010 (Bama was a full-on Saban team by about what ... 2009? He came in '07), Auburn is 3-8 vs the Tide. And one of those Ws was the "kick-six" miracle.
Meanwhile, Auburn has recruited at an exceptionally high level through that period. Bama-level? No? But not far off.
2011 - #5 nationally, per 247
2012 - #11
2013 - #10
2014 - #6
2015 - #8
2016 - #9
2017 - #9
2018 - #12
2019 - #11
2020 - #7
So Auburn has been recruiting at a very high level ... no "but" to their star count. One of the only teams that consistently stays within shouting distance of Alabama.
January 13th, 2022 at 12:05 PM ^
We then saw what it looks like when you match great recruiting (even better than OSU's) with coaches that know how to use it in the semifinal. Our team was good, Georgia's defense was simply way more talented and knew how to play so none of our shit worked.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:06 PM ^
Is this the Al Washington who is a carpet bagger who got his shit pushed in by UM this year? The one whose position group was the most disgusting on the OSU football team? The one born on 1st base but decided he'd be a bitch who wanted 3rd base instead?
Or another Al?
Thanks for letting me know either way.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:36 AM ^
hm.... mr day a little paranoid?
after he turns over his whole staff and has another 2 or 3 loss season next year, what's he going to do?
January 13th, 2022 at 10:50 AM ^
Look for a new job.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
Take his $7.6 million and smile until he wins and gets an NFL job, a lifetime contract at one of the nations premier football institutions, or doesn't do well and takes his $30 million or so in past earnings plus his guaranteed money on his contact and goes to coach somewhere else falling up or going up are his only two options really. Tough life....
January 13th, 2022 at 10:56 AM ^
Call Urbz to shadow coach and recruit again?
January 13th, 2022 at 11:18 AM ^
Actually, Day's recruiting classes have been better than Urban's - recruiting isn't the problem. It's been the HORRIBLE coaching and scheming - especially on defense - that has been their achilles heel the last couple of years. And if you think about it, Urban got blown out by Iowa and Purdue in back to back years - it happens
January 13th, 2022 at 11:45 AM ^
Given the choice between a great coach and a great recruiter, Meyer always went with the recruiter. I can't say it was the wrong strategy, but any approach is going to have its moments where it looks bad. We'll see if Day is going to go in a different direction or is just making moves because he has to.
The one notion I disagree with is that they were fired because the new DC wants his own guys. They were fired because of their performance. Coordinators rarely, if ever, get to replace good coaches when they join a new staff.
January 13th, 2022 at 11:26 AM ^
Go back to first or second base?
January 13th, 2022 at 12:28 PM ^
A look back at how Ryan Day got on 3rd...
January 13th, 2022 at 1:03 PM ^
I was at this game!
/humblebrag
January 13th, 2022 at 11:31 AM ^
Jesus people are overreacting to one game. I loved Michigan beating osu, it was awesome. Ryan day has 4 total losses as a head coach in three years. He’s a very good coach.
January 13th, 2022 at 11:52 AM ^
How many losses did Coker have in his first 3 seasons with Miami?
January 13th, 2022 at 12:08 PM ^
I don't believe only Jesus people are overreacting; I think everyone is.
January 13th, 2022 at 12:22 PM ^
The great thing is Day has an incredibly good record and OSU is implementing a ton of change. When you almost never lose and you change that is a good thing for the BIG TEN. Im not saying its the wrong move but almost all outcomes are better than 4 losses in 3 seasons.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:37 AM ^
I'd like to thank Al Washington for serving as a Michigan Man Mole and playing the long game. It took years, but by the end of the 2021 season, he gave us the gift of a group of bluechip-recruit linebackers who universally did not know how to play football
January 13th, 2022 at 10:49 AM ^
Don't forget:
January 13th, 2022 at 11:11 AM ^
People forget this wasn't the first time he bolted UM for an immediate rival.
January 13th, 2022 at 11:12 AM ^
I won't :(
January 13th, 2022 at 11:51 AM ^
you know what happens to turncoats...
January 13th, 2022 at 10:37 AM ^
I apologize, I just realized I didn’t check with King Tot before posting a new topic. Was there a form I needed to send you?
January 13th, 2022 at 11:24 AM ^
I actually handle all of the submissions for King Tot, so the completed form should be routed to me. And next time don't forget the $100 submission fee. Thanks.
January 13th, 2022 at 11:30 AM ^
I heard something about you forgetting the new cover sheets on your TPS reports. Did you not get that memo?
January 13th, 2022 at 10:38 AM ^
I really think OSU went after Al Washington for recruiting prowess in Ohio and midwest in general. Wonder if they will now prioritize more coaching acumen and have A&M style NIL make up the recruiting gap.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:41 AM ^
I think you're on to something here. Recruiting as we once knew it is going to become obsolete. It'll just come down to writing a big enough check.
January 13th, 2022 at 10:46 AM ^
Checks will be a wash amongst the big boys, and the edge will end up reverting to most of the old pitches.
Some team pays you 10k more but doesn't have X or Y factor that you think gets you into the league for a bigger paycheck, the money isn't as big a deal. Should Michigan compete on the NIL front soon, these other factors should make the team outstanding.
January 13th, 2022 at 11:10 AM ^
Don't know about your personal circumstances, but that's an easy comment to make-- however, probably not that realistic for a lot of these recruits. Many recruits come from working-class or poorer families and if School X can pay $10k more a year or even $50 - $100k more over the course of their college career, that's very hard to turn down as a 17-18 year old in that situation. Plus a lot of these kids are confident betting on themselves, so if they can get the money now, it doesn't matter whether they go to Ole Miss, A&M, Florida or Michigan - they feel they will find their best path to the league.
January 13th, 2022 at 7:06 PM ^
I think you're making a good point. I'm probably underestimating the value of 10k to these kids, though if the sums are very large to begin with, maybe it doesn't make as big a difference.
But I do think things like depth chart, scheme, position coach, and facilities make a difference to kids, even if they're betting on themselves.
January 13th, 2022 at 12:11 PM ^
Can't stop watching.
January 13th, 2022 at 11:00 AM ^
In addition to all of that, going there he took away a possible pipeline into Ohio for Michigan.