Potential DC Orr interviewing with Packers
January 30th, 2024 at 6:28 PM ^
"Brutally slow" in comparison with the pace of Saban retiring, his job being filled by DeBoer, his job being filled by Jedd, and multiple players defecting from bama to our primary rival for B10 supremacy!
I think that's what people are feeling here...
Circumstances at Michigan are moving at a glacial pace in comparison with events unfolding in the general college football landscape.
January 30th, 2024 at 7:23 PM ^
Are they though? DeBoer took the Alabama job on the 12th, was his staff filled out by the 16th? Fisch took the Washington job on the 14th, was his staff filled out by the 18th?
You’re looking at the head coaching job being filled quickly and extrapolating that to the pace of coordinators, position coaches, and support staff roles being filled. Our head coach position was also quickly filled, only taking as long as it did because we were waiting on a waiver.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:10 PM ^
We have basically zero information on how fast or slow these things are moving and Moore has had the job less than a week.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:59 PM ^
we do have info. we have no OC and no DC. we have no clarity on what position coaches might leave.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:14 PM ^
this succession plan has been in place for 1.5 years
I don't think there was much more to the plan than "If Harbaugh leaves, Moore gets the head job."
But Moore's also only had the job four days.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:26 PM ^
Sherrone Moore had his introductory press conference on Saturday.
It's Tuesday.
The San Diego Chargers fired Brandon Staley 14 games into their 17-game season, and they just hired a new head coach a week ago.
Michigan isn't moving slowly. It just feels that way because Michigan fans are anxious.
January 30th, 2024 at 1:02 PM ^
I agree with the anxiety sentiment. I disagree with your rationalization. NFL and college are diff for a variety of reasons. Players are under contracts. That was mid-season. Our coach was named 2-3 weeks after the season.
It FEELS like we don't have a clear plan. Part of that sentiment is because Jimbo took his time to figure things out on his timeline - which he can do, of course - but kills us while OSU and others are snatching up players and coaches.
No OC or DC. No QB. Beyond HC, those are arguably the 3 most important positions on the team. Retaining our nutritionist seems good, but is also small potatoes
January 30th, 2024 at 2:29 PM ^
Football is currently out of season so the only thing the players can really do is voluntarily work with the S&C coaches and dietitian....which happen to the the first two roles filled by Sherrone Moore.
January 30th, 2024 at 1:11 PM ^
It is only Tuesday so give it another day or two. I know, you snooze, you lose. Hopefully, the DC news will come very soon.
January 30th, 2024 at 10:58 AM ^
Potential DC? I don't recall anyone other than this board ever connecting Orr to Michigan.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:00 AM ^
I’ve seen it on other buzzfeed style internet sites… they’re probably referencing this blog, though
January 30th, 2024 at 11:02 AM ^
Yeah, it was always fan wishcasting. It'd be cool if it happens, but if he can get an NFL DC job without having to go through college, more power to him. I'd rather we make Clink and Elston co-DCs anyway. Promoting them seems to make it more likely we'd keep them.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:04 AM ^
Based on our last two DC hires, it's more than possible. We twice took a ravens position coach, and he's primed to be promoted.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:13 AM ^
We didn’t. JJH did. He gone.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:05 AM ^
Seth has mentioned this guy multiple times in different pods / radio segments as the other guy who came up with Minter and McDonald through the Ravens system.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:27 PM ^
There's been talk about Orr on more than this message board...
January 30th, 2024 at 10:59 AM ^
You know, it just might be that people like McDonald/Minter came here because Harbaugh was here and they knew the path was going to lead right back to the NFL.
In our new situation, there is no NFL connection anymore, at least, not nearly as direct of one. As such, it may become harder for us to get guys like this.
Of course, I have no idea if any of this is true, like most posts on this site :)
January 30th, 2024 at 11:01 AM ^
We have an NFL connection via JJH, but the talent is now flowing to the NFL
January 30th, 2024 at 11:02 AM ^
Jay Harbaugh, if he stays, seems like a pretty direct connection to me.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:07 AM ^
If we had an AD that was willing to pay NFL money for NFL talent, the situation would surely be better for attracting that talent.
We can't have Harbaugh without Harbaugh, but we might have been able to build upon what he established.
We may already be at the point where we will never know if that could have been done.
If this is considered crapping on Warde, let the MGoPious crucify me for it.
But this is one more reason to lean into enjoying what we have right this moment, because the opportunity to enjoy something dynastic has probably slipped away already. Frui Diem!
January 30th, 2024 at 11:10 AM ^
Exactly. Working for Harbaugh, not necessarily Michigan, was the draw for a lot of the coaches brought in during the recent past.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:28 PM ^
Do we not think that Jim Harbaugh is a connection to the NFL? He hand-picked Sherrone Moore as his successor.
If anything, Michigan now has more connections to the NFL, because there's Jim Harbaugh on the left coast and John Harbaugh on the right coast.
January 30th, 2024 at 1:26 PM ^
But the connection is also now from Moore to McDonald and Minter at this point as well. He coached with both of them and they are both source of potential defensive coordinator candidates. And Minter probably has thoughts in terms of Elston or Clinkscale being ready for a promotion.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:03 AM ^
As a Lions fan and a Michigan fan, this would suck twice as much.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:04 AM ^
How I know he's not a potential DC for michigan is he hasn't been linked to the chargers. You think Jim is just gonna let Michigan hire him?
January 30th, 2024 at 11:15 AM ^
could it be a bidding war between Wolverines and Chargers for guys like Clink & Campbell?
January 30th, 2024 at 12:30 PM ^
I think Clinkscale could go.
I think Campbell is a college guy, especially at this point. He was working at ODU a few years ago and at DII Alderson Broaddus before that. Maybe sometime down the road he might dip his toes into the NFL, but I don't think that time is now.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:20 AM ^
Let’s be real: what coach would want to put up with all the shit in CFB if they could get a lateral NFL gig?
January 30th, 2024 at 11:24 AM ^
NOOOOOO
January 30th, 2024 at 11:25 AM ^
Clink as DC. We have been doing this system for 3 years for no one else to know it.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:37 AM ^
Agree. Given the excellent performance of our system, we should leverage internal resources as much as possible to fill these roles. Especially when they’ve been so instrumental to the team’s success. Bringing in a flashy name is nice, but given the amount of transition already taking place, there’s real value inherent in stabilization.
This is the real test for Moore. We know he’s a solid coach from a scheme and player development perspective, but how much experience does he have regarding hiring, promotions, building out a roster of coaches? It’s a critical function -arguably the most important function of being in a head position- but one that is often deemphasized in public discourse. And let me tell you, if Warde’s apparent lack of tangible, meaningful support for Harbaugh re: the contract negotiation process and NCAA/B1G absurdities is indicative of his general supportiveness, then Moore’s job is going to be much, much more difficult.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:51 AM ^
Think someone mentioned the other day that Clinkscale is rumored not to be interested in calling the defensive plays?
Obviously not sure if that is true, but we should keep in mind that not all coaches are interested in climbing the ladder or taking on certain roles. Moore needs to navigate both the capability and and personal ambition of those on staff. It does no good for the program to promote someone to a position they are not excited about and may not be comfortable performing in.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:32 PM ^
I'm not saying Clinkscale isn't qualified, but there's more to being a defensive coordinator than "knowing the system." You have to be able to teach it to the coaches and the players, organize things for the entire defensive staff, have a vision for what types of players to recruit and how they fit, etc. Good position coaches aren't always good coordinators.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:38 PM ^
I'm leaning towards this too. Minter was a db coach also and did an outstanding job matching up coverages with pressure packages. Hard to believe Clink didn't learn quite a bit during his time here. Everyone is in love with the scheme, but I think as long as you have the strength M has with 4 man fronts, you have a lot of flexibility on the back end. Graham, Grant and company can make you look very good as a coordinator.
January 30th, 2024 at 1:08 PM ^
Elston and Minter worked together extensively on matching the coverage with pressures. That is part of the reason Harbaugh wants him with the Chargers.
January 30th, 2024 at 1:18 PM ^
Yeah that makes sense. I don't believe Elston has ever been on an NFL staff before, so I would be somewhat surprised if he was looking to make that jump. Everyone knew Minter was headed there at some point.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:33 AM ^
Fire Warde and we can finally have hope to hire a visionary. Someone who wants the athletic department to thrive.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:42 AM ^
We just won a national title in football and most sports are doing just fine.
not a huge fan of warde but the athletic department is doing quite well
based on some 30 sec google searches the AD was profitable and even setting money aside for future projects
January 30th, 2024 at 11:51 AM ^
Basketball in the toilet, football can’t seem to retain its head coach. Only to be given his full demands when it’s too late. Baseball is regressing, hockey is too. Warde has fumbled the football with its own football team. He’s made numerous poor decisions in the athletic department as a whole. Michigan is not even top ten in directors cup standings when they usually are but go ahead buy ocean front property in Kansas.
Being profitable is the floor of my expectations. Michigan should be challenging for a national title in every single major sport. It has the resources to do so. It is consistently held back by its own doing. The football teams elite run has helped fuel that cash flow. It will be severely decreased as Warde sucks out every chance to capitalize on its momentum.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:01 PM ^
As a non-profit entity, profitability is much less important than financial solvency. They AD needs to operate at a surplus, but they don’t need to maximize margins for their own sake.
January 30th, 2024 at 1:11 PM ^
Being profitable is the floor of my expectations.
being profitable allows for renovations which keep things updated, which is good for recruiting and attracting quality coaches, funding non-revenue athletics, and hiring good coaches since, you know, we can then actually pay them.
if you expect Michigan to challenge for national titles in every single sport, you might as well hang it up being a Michigan fan. No schools really do that
but good luck being grumpy forever I guess
January 30th, 2024 at 2:30 PM ^
Michigan has never struggled to be “profitable” this is a load of crap you’ve been fed. I expect them to challenge I didn’t say win. Basketball used to challenge, baseball, hockey. Warde got involved and they’re all worse off. You play to win. You play to win championships.
January 30th, 2024 at 1:16 PM ^
Harbaugh doesn’t need money, and Michigan couldn’t beat out NFL offer anyways. his dream is to win a Super Bowl. he is 60 and has limited time to do that
how, pray tell, do you keep a man who says “they don’t have a Lombardi trophy in college” to want to stay in college rather than pursue his biggest dream when this is likely his last, and best, chance to do so?
January 30th, 2024 at 11:54 AM ^
We won a national title and our AD did nothing at any point along the build up to said national title to try to retain the greatest coach we've had in the modern era. Not talking September 2023, talking throughout his career, and ESPECIALLY in 2021.
The Athletic Department is doing "quite well" despite Warde, not because of him.
But hey, the bottom line looks fine!
January 30th, 2024 at 12:00 PM ^
Exactly the athletic department is extremely profitable due to the success of its football program because of the coaching staff that was in place as of January 1st. it has nothing to do with the AD. In fact the AD has at times tried to destroy its own football team.
January 30th, 2024 at 1:18 PM ^
you have no idea how hard they tried to keep Harbaugh. just mad about internet rumors.
And apparently don’t realize his dream is to win a Super Bowl, nor do you realize he’s 60 and he’s running out of time to do so.
January 30th, 2024 at 2:33 PM ^
I have a full understanding and appreciation of the process. They failed. Failure with the greatest coach in Michigan history is not an option. Warde let it be an option.
January 30th, 2024 at 12:42 PM ^
This is the promise and curse of Warde Manuel. Dude runs the business side of the AD quite well, and he's (apparently) an excellent fundraiser. He's made generally good coach hires that were initially praised. And he lets his coaches do their thing with a minimum of interference. But he's also slow to move and somewhat stingy with resources when things don't go 'like we've always done it'.
The three most interesting (and money making) sports at UM are football, basketball, and hockey. Football won a National Championship (IMHO) despite a genuine and noticeable lack of AD support. Basketball is falling on hard times and might need a new coach, but Warde will wait until next year before moving. It took a long time to remove Mel, and Naurato's OJT might have been a little long, but he deserves time to see it through.
As much as we don't like Warde's 'support' for these three programs, the overall body of work is pretty damn good. Santa has a hard call, if he's even considering one...
January 30th, 2024 at 12:54 PM ^
His body of work is crap. His hires suck, not one of them is trending in the right direction. I hope Moore stops this trend. The football team has succeeded despite the AD’s support all because of Harbaugh. Donations usually increase when football is doing well. He’s going to liquidate the department but the lack of vision and desire to continually push for championships. That requires spending on personnel. He fails to see that through. You get what you pay for.
January 30th, 2024 at 11:43 AM ^
Goodness, we can't even have a discussion about a potential DC interviewing with an NFL team without someone dragging out the "fire Warde" line unprompted. It's getting beyond tiresome.