Michigan football mysteries
What are some of the biggest lingering football mysteries surrounding the football program? Not who the starters/transfers will be, but unexpected events that have remained unexplained.
Here's a few that I think about occasionally:
- What "cyber crime" did OC Matt Weiss commit that prompted FBI involvement?
- Why did Mike Hart depart the team?
- Why exactly was Sherrone Moore suspended for the East Carolina game in 2023?
April 12th, 2024 at 11:40 AM ^
Which two schools voted Michigan 3rd in the final coaches' poll following the 1997 season or which school voted us fourth?
Related, which schools voted to send OSU back to the Rose Bowl after the tie in which Dennis Franklin was injured?
April 12th, 2024 at 11:41 AM ^
John U. Bacon out here aliasing the board to get the subject of his next book...
April 12th, 2024 at 12:03 PM ^
OP is 2+ month old account.
Doubt it's JUB, but it could very well be someone else trying to dig up dirt for a story.
It’s not…I’ve been reading mgoblog since 2006 but didn’t post for a long time and lost my old id. To the extent I write professionally, it has nothing to do with sports or Michigan. Come to think of it, that would be more fun!
April 12th, 2024 at 11:55 AM ^
What happens with RichRod if he wasn't completely undermined by the previous regime and jealous actors?
He was handicapped from day 1, and it's embarrassing that so many so-called Michigan men put their personal politics ahead of the success of the program.
Maybe he flames out regardless. But he should have at least had the support of the program that hired him.
April 12th, 2024 at 12:00 PM ^
Given the way his career trajectory has gone since he got the UM job, it's not difficult to say that he would have failed regardless of how much buy-in he got. Obviously it would have been more successful with support, but that defense..... ooooofffff. And "You Raise Me Up?"
April 12th, 2024 at 12:06 PM ^
Agree. In nine seasons after leaving West Virginia RichRod managed to finish .500 or better in conference play just two times. Zero at Michigan and twice out of six at Arizona. That's not a small sample size.
April 12th, 2024 at 12:01 PM ^
I think he does better, but still flames out. Maybe more like Hoke's tenure. At the end of the day, he was the vanguard of an innovative system, but while he could add some wrinkles here and there (think some of the great first halves we had--a PSU game with Minor comes to mind--where we fizzled once they figured it out), he couldn't continue innovating once his read-option system was figured out.
April 12th, 2024 at 12:03 PM ^
Related: why did Carr go from supporting RichRod to hating him? I assumed it was because of things RichRod did, like make ill-advised comments like "the country club days are over" which served to disparage Carr and his staff and to piss off the players on the team who loved Carr. RichRod swiftly lost the locker room in 2008 which made that year worse than it needed to be.
April 12th, 2024 at 11:59 AM ^
Was Dave Brandon the reason Harbaugh chose the 49ers over Michigan in 2011? There is a rumor that someone close to Harbaugh told him he would not want to come back with Brandon as his boss. Seems credible, but it also seems equally credible that Harbaugh just wanted to try the NFL.
I thought Brandon believed Harbaugh to be too expensive
April 12th, 2024 at 12:01 PM ^
When will we get another commit.. Of any kind
April 12th, 2024 at 12:15 PM ^
Does tthe Gandy Dancer still serve Grand Marnier?
April 12th, 2024 at 12:25 PM ^
In re: to CS: I am pretty convinced based on the people I have spoken too who aren't directly "in the know" but are close to people who are is that no one of importance knew what he was doing. The thing is, all of these young graduate assistants are a dime a dozen and they all have to do something to get a leg up on their competition. Stallions was the GA/Analyst who was good at reading signals. A lot of people can do that, but that was what he seemed gung-ho about. Did he go and present his vast network theory to a position coach, or Minter, or even Harbaugh? Highly doubtful. He may have said "yeah I'm really good at this and I have a way to be the best at it." And whoever he said that to probably was like "okay." And then forgot the name of the person who even said that.
Same thing goes for probably the PI firm. Did Day go out on his own and hire a PI firm? Doubtful. Did some eager guy maybe mention to someone lower-level that "hey I have a scoop on Michigan and why they beat us and it wasn't because they ran the ball nearly every play in the second half of 2021." The staffer he told this to probably said "oh yeah, look into that." Perhaps it works it's way up the chain to Day and he goes "well if there is any teeth to that let me know."
As far as the Weiss situation, I won't confirm but I am definitely not denying the well-regarded theory about what he was doing on the computer and what he was looking for. There was not a good relationship prior with him and the individual he was allegedly trying to catch tampering.
I have no idea what happened with Mike Hart, but I can imagine whatever it is, it probably is hurting him more than anyone else. I hope whatever his future looks like it is fruitful and filled with joy; whether it is on the field or not. I hope it was not anything that will keep him from coming back and being honored like he deserves.
April 12th, 2024 at 12:34 PM ^
What was the deal with Bob Shoop? Seriously. What did he do that was so bad that he couldn't be on campus, at practice, in the facility, and/or recruiting. But, it wasn't so bad that he couldn't be fired outright? Like, maybe I'm the only M fan who hasn't heard. But, what was the deal with that?!
April 12th, 2024 at 12:37 PM ^
Is Craig James number just 5 dead hookers?
There is a Cstalionsuofm posting in that 2012 thread and he's in a military uniform in his profile pic - he has always been here....
He wrote the diary. The user base rallied against his poor writing to drive down his points so he'd stop posting.
April 12th, 2024 at 12:46 PM ^
It’s going to be an awesome 30 for 30 someday
April 12th, 2024 at 12:55 PM ^
Is there any truth to the rumor of Michigan players smoking weed before the App state game?
What if Antonio Bass never got injured?
How good would Devin Gardner have been if he played for Harbaugh?
How long into the phone call did Mel Tucker "finish his conversation" and how much longer that call lasted before he fell asleep
Why did Bill the Cat die of acne?
I've witnessed too many examples where someone is being (or suspects being) cheated on and the steps they go through to find out more. This is what The Weiss situation seems like. Perhaps he suspected someone on the staff or in the Ath Dept of cheating on him. The FBI gets involved a lot more these days anytime there is hacking or illegal access to a public school network.
Mike Hart? Just hoping it was some physical and/or mental health issues that can lead his to good treatment and some time off.
As for Moore, others have already explained the (likely) situation. Whether he really needed to sit was questionable, but this was part of a compromise that was supposed to "free Jim Harbaugh" that the NCAA infractions committee, blinded by hater-tots toward JH, decided to renege on the 4-game deal.
I was at The Horror with a college friend and fellow UM ChE grad (who passed away 5 years ago from ALS). We scored first rather easily and then they hit the slant to the track star to tie. After that, Henne was pretty shaky. My friend told me in the 2nd quarter that it looked like Chad was hungover. It was a noon start - I doubted that since usually the team is under tight control but who knows? (Chad did have a great ending to his career with KC). After the game, Lloyd admitted that he pulled Mike a few times because he had stiffed up (back?) and wanted to give him a few breathers too.
The players may have farted around that week, but this 100% on Lloyd's assistants. Lloyd rightfully accepted the blame after the game, but we were totally unprepared in all three phases for this game - w/o Hart we would not have even been in a chance to win. Other than Fred Jackson, the entire staff got canned after the season and not a coach ever made it to a high level again (same happened to Hoke's staff except for the back-stabbing (twice!) Greg M)
Good point regarding the coaching staffs under Carr and Hoke. True of RichRod too, right? Butch Jones had enough success at CMU to get the Tennessee job and fail there, but did anyone else under him ever do anything?
Some of RichRod's guys:
- Greg Frey bounced back to Michigan under Harbaugh for a short time.
- Scott Shafer was the head coach at Syracuse.
- Jay Hopson was the head coach at Southern Miss for a few years. (Not sure if that counts as high-level.)
- Tony Gibson is the DC at NC State.
- Rod Smith had similar jobs at other D1 schools.
- Fred Jackson needs no introduction.
As far as RichRod and Michigan are concerned, I think this information is mostly beside the point. I don't think he ever would have been successful at Michigan.
As the Stallions situation got really weird (the sidelines photos at CMU), I talked to a rational (yes there are some of them) MSU fan as well as a few other fans who felt it was a bunch of smoke and mirrors until the CMU photos. Paying two someones on your own dime to sit across the field during the IU-Ohio game and tape the signs on their phones - don't tell me that hasn't been done by our rivals, at least for upcoming big games. Little Tony P wimped out under pressure. My question is: what would Jim Devany have done?
What would Jim Delaney have done?
I'm picturing Bill Murray tied to the mast...
Someone dig up Robert Stack and let him cook.
How much exactly did Clemson offer Rashan Gary?
How did Tim Drevno go from being a very successful offensive line coach to a complete idiot so quickly, and why did it have to happen here?
If DJ Durkin had not been fired when he did, would he have surpassed Brian Kelly for "most deaths responsible for" by an acting Division 1 head coach?
What was the root cause of the awful start in 2019? One theory said the locker room was divided. Shea Patterson didn't show the kind of leadership and work ethic he should have during the off season (golf, golf, more golf), and the team felt he was handed the job over the harder-working McCaffrey in a way that violated Hargaugh's stated emphasis on meritocracy. Harbaugh pulled the season out of the fire, but it was still a disappointment with a huge gap between the highs and the lows. We did abuse Notre Dame though, so that was fun.
What was up with Michigan's constant postseason blunders?
Up until this past season of course, it seemed like Michigan had some kind of systemic issue when it came to preparing for the postseason. It seemed to transcend coaches. Harbaugh won the national title of course, but when factoring that in still went 3-6 in the postseason. Hoke was 1-2, Rich-Rod 0-1, Carr was 6-7, Moeller was the only outlier and went 4-1, Bo was 5-12.
So what was the issue? Was the team just that emotionally drained following OSU? Poor game-planning for out of conference opponents? Overlooking opponents? Apathy towards the postseason since OSU, in almost every situation, IS THE SEASON? I don't think it was always "well the other team was just better."
The Orange Bowl semi-final, the Citrus Bowl with Bama, and probably the Gator Bowl with RichRod are the only bowl games in recent memory that I look at and say "From the moment that game was scheduled, there probably wasn't much Michigan could've done to win that game."
Bo speculated that the 10 year war was so intense that even a bowl game afterwards was a letdown emotionally, and he pointed out that Woody's bowl record sucked during that stretch also (2-6). And after Woody retired, Bo's bowl record got a lot better. (I believe 6-7 after Woody retired, which obviously isn't great, but is much better than prior to that).
Moeller's record was better in large part because he had teams that underachieved and therefore played inferior opponents. The bowl games were a way to partially redeem disappointing seasons.
Carr's record was close to .500, as you noted, and anything close to .500 is what should reasonably be expected assuming your team is playing an opponent that's about as good as you are.
RichRod and Hoke sort of don't count, IMO.
That leaves Harbaugh, and his record is a serious mystery. We had some bad luck against FSU (no Peppers,, lost Butt early, etc.), Georgia was much better than we were, and we were overconfident and had very bad luck against TCU. So some of that was maybe flukey, but I can't explain the overall poor record.
Wiess accessed Cades old email account to see if he had been talking to Iowa. And he got caught.
But that warrants in FBI investigation?
I have no idea how much truth there may be to the rumor that that's what he was doing, but from my understanding, the FBI involvement had more to do with the fact that AAPD doesn't have terribly abundant or sophisticated resources with which to investigate computer crimes...but the FBI does, and they have a field office 3 blocks away from AAPD HQ.
so the AAPD asking the FBI for help on this case had more to do with who was better equipped to investigate them than it did anything else.
is this what people in the know think happened, or is this just what we want to have happened?
Lost in all of the CS stuff is this:
What the hell was the Wyoming LLC with Blake Corum that Blake knew nothing about?!?
Yes - good one....seems like the tip of an iceberg. Who is encouraging players to invest NIL money into private equity (which could be really solid or really risky investments!)?
And, indeed, did CS know about it, or was it a false flag?
why does this board exist?
What is Iris Macadangdang up to nowadays?