Baumgardner Profile on Durkin's Intensity
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2015/01/dj_durkin.html
This is going to be one INTENSE coaching staff. I especially love the story at the beginning. Jimmy and Durkin just beating the crap out of eachother on the basketball court for a good hour-and-a-half.
Couple that with Durkin's recruiting prowess (2012 Rivals Recruiter of the year), and this could be the start of a truly special era in Michigan football.
It's also why I am not too worried about missing out on guys like Marrow and Turley. Sure, it would be great if every top coach in the country followed Harbaugh to AA, but Harbaugh is going to find guys who bring the same intensity, competence, and passion that he does. He didn't "luck" into these guys. Instead, it seems like he quickly creates a tree of competent coaches everywhere he goes. We should see enormous dividends during his time at Michigan and for many years after it.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:07 AM ^
I wonder how much of the current roster will rise to the occasion and how many will quit/transfer?
I also like how every article mentions 36 as being young.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:11 AM ^
but given the type of players that Hoke and Co. recruited, the character they've seemed to target, I hope that there's less attrition than one would normally expect with a coaching change. I hope that the will to win overrides the comfort level they've become accustomed to.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:37 AM ^
I tend to think that we'll see a good amount of attrition over the next year. Hoke was good at recruiting a bunch of guys that seem to have good character (obvious guys problems aside), but I don't know how many guys that want to fight and compete we have on our roster. Dudes like Mike Martin or Molk or Hart. I feel like we have a lot of guys that are just content to be there -- especially on offense.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
like half of the 68/69 team quit when Bo took over. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if something similar happened. Obviously not to the same degree, but I think that a lot of the team has gotten soft under the previous regime.
Working under JH is going to be one helluva shock to the system. I don't imagine Hoke running guys until they puke.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:00 AM ^
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January 7th, 2015 at 2:01 PM ^
January 7th, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
between Bo's first year and JH's first year is that with Jim, they know exactly what they're going to get. There is no unknown with him as there was with Bo. They know that they will work their asses off, but will also believe that they're going to get results. The risk (in staying), I'm hoping, is worth the reward.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:37 AM ^
I agree with this. I can't be certain but I would think a lot on this current roster are excited to have Jim Harbaugh taking over as HC based on his proven winning college and NFL experience. I wasn't around at the time but a lot on the late sixties team probably didn't know who Bo Schembechler was.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
When he hired Brady Hoke, David Brandon told us he was going to bring "toughness" back into the program. I guess we'll know soon if he got at least one thing right during his wretched tenure.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^
I tend to think that you are full of shit and conflate lack of performance and progression with lack of will. Our previous coaching staff failed these athletes but I gaurantee they worked their asses off. Talent, especially young talent has to be coached up at the college level. Anyone who doesn't think our guys wanted it bad and worked hard for it just because they didn't play well pisses me off.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
Did you happen to catch a glimpse of Devin Funchess this year?
January 7th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
On what do you base your guarantee? Because if you weren't in attendance at the practices, you could be as full of shit as the next guy. IMHO, there were obvious motivational problems on the playing field last year. I think also there will be some attrition. I don't know the story, but I suspect we've already seen one guy go as a result of the coaching change.
January 7th, 2015 at 12:03 PM ^
Did so long ago, it took Jim Harbaugh to point it out to him.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:22 PM ^
guess that we lose a few more guys before fall camp begins. I hope that all the current guys "hang tough" and stick it out. Isnt this what being "coached up" is all about?
January 7th, 2015 at 3:48 PM ^
Yes Brady Hoke made sure that all of the guys he offered/signed were intrinsicly physical wallflowers and predisposed to shying away from contact. Not a single player because the staff and team was not winning is really that tough.
Tell that to the lineman from Utah I believe that James Ross jacked into his childhood.....
January 7th, 2015 at 11:04 AM ^
Although they may be different things in definition, I think that the level of they attained in high school and the work they put in, coupled with their character, will translate into a will to stay, work hard, fight and attain the success they envisioned when the committed to coming to Michigan. The know now that the coach UM's hired has the ability to get them to where they want to be as a team and their character will keep them in Ann Arbor. That's my hope, anyway.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
watched pretty much any Michigan game in 2014 saw that team give up on numerous occasions.
Most of the blame goes to the coaches, but the players get their share too. QB gets drilled, nothing done in response.
"wins and losses, that's just a statistic" - from an NFL bound star player no less.
Also, I agree with your previous post about JH being a known quantity as opposed to Bo.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:21 AM ^
The players do deserve much of the criticism, but I have to imagine that the difference between 2014 and...say 2011...is not only in the W/L record, but also the brand new staff at the time they guys were playing for. By year 4, the downward spiral, the losses, yeah...guys were giving up. I hope the difference now is that hard work will build the culture that Harbaugh is famous for and in 4 yrs, Michigan will be in the NC coversation.
January 7th, 2015 at 12:10 PM ^
When you have players declaring wins and losses are just statistics, when you have upperclassmen losing their starting positions to true freshmen, and when you have coaches unable to explain why there aren't enough players on the field, you can be sure that the top leadership is a problem.
Players want to excel, they want to work hard, they want to be the best, and they will positively respond to those that demand the very best on every effort. Okay, so maybe some don't want to be part of the effort, I'm sure Brady Hoke will welcome them at his next stop.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
January 7th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
Lots of articles also mention that at 51, he has lots of years left to coach, etc. This 50 year old guy likes that.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
I sense that Hoke recruited heavily on the "This is Michigan" / "Michigan Man" / "Leaders and Best" stuff that if spun the wrong way, then coupled with the awe shucks clapping uncle seal mentality, can breed some really soft self-entitled players. I think Notre Dame has fought this for the last 20 years, especially before Kelly got there.
It'll be interesting to see how the types of kids drawn to Hoke will deal with this new regime.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:07 PM ^
at 6 (scholarship players only).
January 7th, 2015 at 2:16 PM ^
And maybe double that in walk-ons leaving.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:07 AM ^
The intensity is obviously why Harbaugh likes him. It will be a decidedly different tone than the previous staff, but I think it's why it will be successful.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:15 AM ^
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January 7th, 2015 at 10:18 AM ^
Yes....totally on purpose.....totally.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
Did he luck into Luck?
January 7th, 2015 at 10:35 AM ^
""It took like an hour and a half, and it ended 4-3 or whatever," recalls former Stanford offensive tackle Ben Muth."
Jesus - these guys must shoot like Derrick Walton Jr.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:39 AM ^
he went 13 for 13 last night in his NBA game against San Antonio.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
January 7th, 2015 at 8:01 PM ^
They drew blood and there was still no foul. I sense that some actual defense was being played. Probably a lot of blitzing on the in-bounds.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:47 AM ^
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January 7th, 2015 at 3:06 PM ^
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January 7th, 2015 at 10:48 AM ^
I feel sky high about how good our defense will become in the next few years. There are some very good players on the roster, but we'll need to add some elite guys to get the D to the next level. Peppers will certainly help. But some elite edge rushers, a dominating DT, and a few more top CB's would help.
I think there will be some guys leaving who won't want to deal with the new level of expectations and accountability. But, that's fine. Going forward, the coaches will set the expectations from the beginning, starting in the recruiting phase.
January 7th, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
January 7th, 2015 at 12:22 PM ^
If he has good defenses here, you can bet his name will be coming up a lot in Big 5 coaching searches in the next few years. If he continues to be successful it's only a matter of time
January 7th, 2015 at 11:00 AM ^
Intensity top to bottom is what this program needs.
January 7th, 2015 at 3:33 PM ^
For old time sakes, I sure hope they hire at least one assistant coach who is good at clapping....
January 7th, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^
It's that kind of intensity that is going to bring Michigan back.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:02 AM ^
Not worried about Marrow but Turley is a different situation - he is not a position coach, he is an innovator in S&C and finding a "like" to him is very different than finding a "like" to Marrow.
I am surprised there are not acolytes to Turley out there - he has been around 8 years and getting a lot of press the past 3-4. You'd think we could find someone who has studied under him and hire him as an assistant S&C guy to get a touch of him now that he is not coming.
But to your broader point it is funny to look back at that San Diego staff and see how many guys are now in key spots. Like Meyer Harbaugh can find good position coaches and coordinators and we'll need that talent because if UM is successful, based on the age of some of these guys we will be seeing some attrition as they move on to HC positions of their own. But we'll finally have a coaching tree...
January 7th, 2015 at 11:10 AM ^
In a few years Manning will be a Marrow, he just needs to develop his contacts and coach on a few winning teams. The guy can recruit.
Turley, damn, that one hurts. Like Harbaugh, there was no opposition to that hire. Would love to see them up the pay and still get him in the fold.
January 7th, 2015 at 12:01 PM ^
I agree this miss hurts bad. That staff position is right behind the HC and DC in terms of importance (I would argue not so much OC in our case).
January 7th, 2015 at 2:13 PM ^
we can't miss what we never had.
January 7th, 2015 at 12:41 PM ^
THE OTHER OBVIOUS S&C GUY. People have been talking about Kevin Tolbert, an assistant S&C coach with the 49ers who was with Harbaugh at Stanford and worked under Mike Gittleson at Michigan from 2001 to '07 before that, since Harbaugh started happening, and he's supposed to be in town today as well. Tolbert's a Navy alum who started at fullback for three years and has evidently impressed Harbaugh enough for him to have him around wherever he goes. Missing on Shannon Turley is a disappointment but he'll probably be fine—Harbaugh don't play around with guys who aren't hypercompetitive. Hopefully he's no longer a High Intensity Training advocate, if only to save us from people on message boards muttering darkly about the stone-age training Michigan is using. I don't think it'll be much of an issue with Tolbert's last eight years in the cutting edge Stanford and 49ers programs.
I think we'll be fine with Tolbert. He worked under Gittleson, but he's been at Stanford and the 49ers, so he probably learned some new things through the years.
January 7th, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
It seems like Ben Muth is quoted in every one of these stories. I hope the guy never has a job where keeping important secrets is required. If he was around in WWII, we'd all be speaking German...
January 7th, 2015 at 11:32 AM ^
"It was like that James Caan 'Rollerball' movie, basically a fight to the death."
They need a rematch then, but they need someone to be the PA announcer from "Rollerball" - "Rule changes for tonight's game - no substitutions, no penalties, no time limit!"
January 7th, 2015 at 11:51 AM ^
for Hoke, but I think the "HarBar" will be set much higher and working your butt off will mean...Puking...what else.
January 7th, 2015 at 2:28 PM ^
I spoke to a friend who played special teams under him for a year at Stanford.
He spoke glowingly of Durkin, and unsolicited said that Durkin chewed him out harder than any coach ever has after he roughed the kicker once.