What’s the deal with JUB and Naurato?
Listening to Sam Webb interview John U Bacon today and while not exactly doubling down on his earlier “concerns” about Brandon Naurato vis a vis getting the interim tag removed he continued to damn with very faint praise what (to my eyes at least) is demonstrable progress and success under difficult circumstances for the hockey team. I normally don’t think of JUB as particularly agenda driven or “somebody’s guy” but it sure sounded that way to me. Does anyone have any idea what gives?
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/michigan-insider/id1045184175?i=1…
I think he lays it out in this segment...he thinks that Muckalt would've been the better, safer choice. If you play that out, he has concerns about what happens when Muckalt gets a different gig and Naurato has to prove himself as a recruiter and program builder.
My take is that JUB is friends with Muckalt and is bitter that Naurato jumped him for the position when Mucklat has tenure over Naurato. I think Naurato jumped Muckalt due to Muckalt’s ties to Pearson - Naurato just came aboard last year when the things alleged against Pearson were already ongoing.
I am a big Muckalt fan because I was a student when he played here and have great memories of those 2 titles, so I wondered why he got passed up as well but heard the above reasoning may have had something to do with it.
I think JUB’a off base here but as he said, we’ll find out in a few years.
^^ This ^^
JUB is very close with Bill Muckalt and both of them are still upset Naurato was elevated over Muckalt.
Lame sour grapes?
Jesus guys. Grow TF up.
For what it's worth, I had three different friends who root for different Michigan schools in college hockey who told me last spring on separate occasions that they were concerned when Mel didn't get extended that Michigan was going to promote Naurato instead and that Michigan was going to be so much better for that choice.
I think Naurato's approach is very new school, and that may yield some different results in recruiting, but in the end, if you keep Michigan the school for high end players who want the NCAA route, you're going to be successful.
No one knows what the future holds. JUB might be right, he might be wrong, but only time will tell.
Great point - and I agree wholeheartedly that Naurato has a higher ceiling as a coach with his history of player development. But UM is incredibly in the fortunate position of having both Naurato & Muckalt as assistants waiting in the wings. You can't go wrong with either of them - in my opinion.
JUB comes across as a Muckalt homer, which is fine. But I don't think we have to put down the other guy though, especially since they're both making it work on the bench this season.
I firmly believe Muckalt is ready to be a D1 coach & will be hugely successful when he gets the opportunity. And hopefully we get that chance to see the 2 coaches square off in a Frozen Four down the road.
I don't know if "bitter" is a good word to throw around here or not. Surprised? Partial to one over the other?
I could see that. I don't know if it's true, but...
Well, *I* was surprised that Muckalt was passed over for Naurato. Muckalt has more time with Michigan and some legit HC experience in Junior A. I was, frankly, taken aback that Naurato was tabbed as the guy.
We may never know the reasons. Maybe it's because Muckalt was too embedded in the team, and with "culture" being a major issue with Mel's departure, perhaps higher-ups whether Warde or someone else felt it was better to get a guy less connected with longer-running issues. Perhaps, and this is a hypothesis I still think holds water, the suddenness of the decision (thanks to Warde making a mess of this) prompted the department to elevate a guy in Naurato that they could easily move on from. An interim in fact as well as name, someone that nobody would fault if there was a rough year and that the school could hire over without looking bad. It's actually not a bad plan, except the guy you were expecting to hire over won the conference tournament and made the Frozen Four and persuaded a lot of people (like me) who were initially skeptical.
Regardless, Muckalt was left in a really tough spot. This is not big-time college football; there weren't exactly a lot of great job openings waiting for Muckalt to jump to in August when Naurato was tagged as the interim guy. Muckalt isn't making seven figures or anything, this is a job, and he wound up in a situation where he got passed over and basically had to swallow his pride and make it work.
And he has, and as long as he doesn't burn bridges on the way out of town, I think Bill Muckalt deserves a ton of praise for sticking it out and doing his job this year in a situation that is public and not great-looking for him. A true Michigan Man effort that the team appears to have benefitted from. I fully expect Muckalt to look for work somewhere else after this year and I don't blame him one bit for that; I'm glad he had the character to work through for this season.
And if JUB is kind of miffed by how things went (I tend to think he was a bit more reluctant about axing Mel than others, too, but that's mostly just guessing) and feels like Muckalt was ill-treated, well, I can understand that. But Naurato has done enough to earn the permanent job.
How do you think Muckalt would have done as the coach? And who do you think would have been the better choice?
“I tend to think he was a bit more reluctant about axing Mel than others, too, but that's mostly just guessing”
You need to go back and revisit the reporting of the Mel stuff and how it all came out.
Oh, I remember Bacon breaking big parts of that story. I followed his reporting pretty closely.
This is closest to what is “source” of the reason. Note: It’s not out of ordinary that many close to program felt Muckalt should have gotten look.
Not first hand knowledge but close enough that there is faction wishing this true that also is connected to Bacon et al
if/when they win the National Championship.... he can have egg on his face, which goes quite well with bacon.
Mmmm. Bacon and eggs! Nice.
The impression I got when listening to the interview was that Bacon doesn't value Naurato's experience and thinks a national search could have turned up someone he thinks is great - he mentioned Mike Babcock. He also seems a little salty the other guy already on staff didn't get picked as interim
We can probably discount anyone who thinks that Mike Babcock would be a good choice to coach a college hockey program.
JUB’s takes on this are so off the mark and tone deaf. That Naurato isn’t “intense” enough and offering Mike Babcock as a candidate? Like does he not remember why Pearson got fired in the first place?
I think it's plausible that some level of intensity may be necessary. It is, to me, an unanswered question for Naurato, is he able to command the room and hold the line with players when it is necessary to do so? Naurato has earned the chance to prove that, in my opinion.
If JUB is actually mentioning Babcock, well...
Babcock was rumored to be a possibility when he was still coaching the Wings and Red was still here. It was enough of a rumor that it wasn't just swatted away as absurd by people who could have done so. So maybe he would be gettable...
But he would 100% not be a guy to pick, given what brought about Mel's departure.
In fact, that issue is a big plank of the reasoning I settled on to opine that Naurato should be retained: if he does, in fact, run a behind-the-scenes culture that is not problematic, that's a known quantity that's a positive, and a lot of the quality candidates for the job from an on-ice perspective may have serious shortcomings in that area that would not fly well.
You don't fire Woody Hayes to hire Bob Knight.
Maybe JUB lost in some sort of kung fu fight.
Probably Naurato wouldn't give him the time of day. Not a bad thing if you ask me. JUB is not your friend, Brandon.
old man upset that young man won't provide inside info
I think Bacon is worried that Naurato inherited a great roster and that Naurato could be "born on 3rd base" so would rather do some more due diligence? Not sure, but that's what I've gathered from his comments on WTKA
I am sure that's Bacon's stated reasoning but that also feels a bit reductive by him - the classic "we can't know about this guy because he doesn't have enough experience so let's not give him a chance to earn more experience". The available evidence we do have is that Naurato weathered a tough situation with Pearson being fired well, handled in-season injuries/illnesses/lost player time, and got a young-but-talented team to the Frozen Four. Recruiting seems fine and should ramp up as Naurato has offseasons as the head guy.
If this is the high point and Narato struggles then by all means move on from him in a couple of years, but this is Michigan hockey - they are a blue blood of the sport and they're not going to crater even with a bad hire.
"I normally don’t think of JUB as particularly agenda driven or “somebody’s guy” but it sure sounded that way to me."
It's almost always the simplest explanation, and this is it. Both of these things.
I am a John U Bacon fan. I have met him in person a couple times and have seen him speak publicly. He is also super nice to interact with on Twitter. I see a lot of posts about him not being an insider. Say what you want about him, he absolutely IS an insider.If anything I would fault him for or say is fair criticism, it is his unwillingness to be overly critical. But I prefer his style to the Drew Sharps and Mike Valentis of the world.
JUB is pissy that Naurato doesn’t give him any inside scoop.
Yesterday I listened to the replay of Naurato’s presser prior to departing for Tampa. Very impressed. Of particular note was his discussion of changing the sticks of two players in-season resulting in better performance. My take away - he’s the real deal. Should also mention his commitment to the emotional health of each player.
Don’t know how much Emanuel knew about these attributes, but deciding to have a relatively clean break from the recent past, while maintaining an understanding of UM’s differences from other universities, makes sense to me.
Also listened to the interview with Bacon today. My take - Bacon sounded 20 years older than Naurato, does not know him, and would have preferred someone his age. Brought up Babcock as someone who would have been interested.
Last takeaway. Naurato and Bacon are not going to be buddies.
JUB has connections but I remember him being, frankly, either unintelligibly vague to wrong a lot during the two Harbaugh NFL discussions and so I tend to take his proclamations with a grain of salt. He probably wants access to the hockey team and maybe Naurato isn't as forthcoming as guys before. I'm sure that will change if Naurato sticks around a bit.
For someone involved in the media and connection to Michigan athletics JUB is about as transparent as it gets. I think his only agenda is what is best for the program. I did not listen to today's broadcast but I usually listen to him on Friday. From what I heard before he suggested that he had some concerns about Naurato and that the university should explore available alternatives rather than settle on Naurato. I don't agree with him on this but I think it is a reasonable position. I also understand his thoughts about Muckalt - he is an outstanding coach and we don't know how much of this season's success is attributable to him and how it the program will fare if he moves on from here.
I agree with JUB on many things but I think Warde made the right decision here. I think Naurato has the potential to be great and to become a fixture in Michigan Hockey for many years to come. I also think Muckalt's ties to Pearson disqualify him for a head coach job at Michigan but I expect he will achieve greatness for someone else (hopefully not a rival of ours). On the off chance Warde is wrong then this decision does not need to permanent.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Go Blue!!
Bacon, butt-hurt?
No!
I don't wanna actually listen to this, but did he actually use the word "concerns" because if he did, I kinda hate it. It's such a weaselly way of phrasing that you don't like a hire. "I have some concerns". It's what you say about other people's opinions if you can't/don't want to say what they actually think, it both implies gravity and avoids specifics. It's what you expect to see in a political report or corporate memo, not someone talking about a hockey team.
It's an unfair thing to put out because if you have a specific complaint, speak up, if not then shut the eff up.