It vindicated the poison of the "Michigan Man" argument and how that mindset must go before the program can move on to better things. In a non-traditional football market, Rich Rod has built a winner and looks to be on the cusp of great things. With that said....
The RR-Michigan marriage was never going to work. It was toxic from the beginning and it killed me because I was thrilled with the hire. For a brief two seasons, we got a glimpse of an exciting offense and one that could do amazing things. I wonder how Devin Gardner's career would have changed had Rich Rod still been here.
It also cannot be ignored that Rich Rod made glaring errors (DC, vendetta, anger managment, the Bust) and that didn't earn him any friends.
Hopefully, the MIchigan brass are taking copious notes and go the right course.
There are no guarantees. It could absolutely blow up in Michigan's face. But a couple points on that:
- Rich Rod had a gray cloud following him from West Virginia. He never had full support and then died with his defense.
- Brady Hoke is a line coach at best and while having all the support in the world, couldn't field a dominant team after he installed his style of play. Still recruited well but can't develop the talent.
- Harbaugh would unite the fanbase because he boasts an impressive resume, has rebuilt programs, and has shown a willingness to run a hybrid offense (manball with a spread element).
IF there is one thing Harbaugh has excelled at in every stop it's been that development piece. At USD, he was 7-4, 11-1, and 11-1. At Stanford, the trend up was slower but this was a team that hadn't won since Ty Willingham's 9-3 season in 2001. 5 seasons of rock bottom, getting your ass kicked. Harbaugh comes in and posts a winning season in year three.
Michigan reminds me of more of the 49ers and less like Stanford. There is apparent 4 and 5 star talent on this team that is prime to be developed. At best, he was probably working with 3 star talent at Stanford. He took that team to a BCS bowl (and won) while bitch slapping Pete Caroll around in the days of dominant USC football. Michigan has underutilized talent. This team needs a strong, dominant leader who's going to kick ass.
Harbaugh would have to contend with Dantonio and Meyer, but he's beaten his fair share of top coaches. He's not going to win every year, but he's going to snap the maliase that's existed for the better part of the last decade.
To wit: here's a story right before he was hired at Stanford. Not exactly glowing.
This was a picture-esque press conference. From delivery to answering questions, U of M really did well with his hiring. President Schlissel, from the onset, set a tone of respect, goodwill and professionalism--something that has been lacking in regards to Michigan higher ups.
If anything echoed Bo's "the team, the team, the team," motto, it was this press conference. I feel like the Unversity's best interests are in great hands.
This whole thing is like Baghdad Bob...just absolute spin, and denial.
I think they feel that if they keep repeating the same thing over and over, eventually it will get better. It is nearly carbon copy of the Lions with Marinelli and Millen. Pound the rock, have to watch film, blah blah blah.
I've never wished for a football season to end so quickly in my life. This is what it's reduced me, to.
This whole thing is like Baghdad Bob...just absolute spin, and denial.
I think they feel that if they keep repeating the same thing over and over, eventually it will get better. It is nearly carbon copy of the Lions with Marinelli and Millen. Pound the rock, have to watch film, blah blah blah.
I've never wished for a football season to end so quickly in my life. This is what it's reduced me, to.
Best part of this presser was the Mgoblog reaction to giving up the microphone. I wonder if they stood there and snatched that thing away, fearing the follow up question.
That people continue to defend this. The last 24 hours should be enough to show his incompetence. And this is just in the last day:
1. After repeating for the umbillionth time that they had a good week of practice, his team goes out, gets dominated from start to finish, and to add insult to injury, cannot stop another touchdown at the end, which was akin to the Woody Hayes "go for three" incident.
2. He says: "I think I was aware that something happened, but I'm not fully aware," after his team pulls a stupid stunt based on motivational tactics.
3. He grovels through a press release after #2 becomes another embarrassment through the media.
And that's just yesterday through today.
Yet there is still this legion of blind loyalty to a man who has proven he is in way over his head. People aren't dancing on his grave. They're venting. They're tired of losing. They're tired of bullshit excuses. They're exhausted from being owned by Ohio State and Michigan State. The program is in full disarray and it feels (because it's not seen) that nothing is being done to stop it. The only way this fighting ends between the factions is if Schilssel brooms Brandon. It's the most important step in healing becuse inevitably the arrogance begins and ends with DB. DB's sins have been listed already. I truly believe the President is finding a way to buy him out or going through the channels to end it. I'm hoping he's done his due dillegence and researched the dumpster fire that has been 2007 to now. I pray that someone will be in place, the proper moves are made, and Michigan can move forward to once again assert their role as the "leaders and best."
But a lot has to go right. And because of those last seven years, I wait with cautious optimism that those moves will be made.
But he is a poor football coach. From the moment he was hired, it was a "rah-rah" Michigan Man move that set the program back. 11-2 was a horrible mirage, and sadly, I remember telling my brother after the Sugar Bowl victory that it would be the high point of Hoke's career. That dumb luck and Denard saved made them 11-2 instead of a more deserving 8-5.
He's overmatched. Outcoached. Hasn't developed any of the talent he brought in. I could see him as a DL coach or a recruiting coordinator. But not as the head coach of Michigan. Yet here we are.
I watch Devin Gardner and wonder what could have been. I bristle when people make excuses for him and talk about how he should be supported despite the obvious regression of the team. It's sad. I have felt that Hoke is like Rod Marinelli -- players coach and a great line coach. The aw-shucks personality endears him to the masses, but it can't save him. In his words "It's Michigan for Godsakes." I do feel he's been authentic, but winning is what we've come to expect from Michigan football.
As kids I think we all have those terms because of a highlight. My parent's driveway was the Michigan endzone, complete with the block lettering of Michigan in yellow chalk.
After the VIriginia game in '95, my brother and I scrambled outside and practiced dragging our foot in the corner of the driveway, complete with the Dresibach rainbow throw. Everytime we played or had a chance at dragging a foot, it was always a sly laugh and "Mercury".
Great stuff. Needed a read like this with happy memories before the inevitable today.
MANBALL is precision running up the middle with the quarterback on 3rd and 2. Or just in general. You get more aggressive by clapping harder on the sideline.
Both Randy Smith and Matt Millen have been usurped as my most hated Detroit GM/AD. Dave Brandon comes off smarmy. He acts like he's the smartest man in the room. And he just dares people to challenge him. It's repulsive.
At least Smith and Millen thought they were doing the right thing. I mean, as misguided and stupid as their decisions were, they thought that they were doing the right things. And the contempt I held for their work can fill pages.
But Brandon just comes off as Fuck you, I'm in charge. I would contend it stems from his irrelevance as a player. He was a scrub in terms of recruits. Just seems he's running Michigan the way he sees fit, with a chip on his shoulder because he couldn't really contribute like a Harbaugh or Miles.
I can't believe there are people that actually defend him. Mind boggling.
Dave Brandon has been the source of the problem for awhile. He hired Hoke. He micromanages. His efforts were the one that got us here in the first place.
Firing Hoke only takes care of half the problem. Canning Brandon is cutting the head off the beast. Maybe then, this whole Michigan Man myth can finally be buried once and for all.
And the calls for Lloyd must be stopped. Please, no. Let him have the last game of his career be where he stays. Put Mattison in charge until a true long term solution is put into place.
I didn't want him hired, but never did I feel he was arrogant. I always felt, as now it is clear as day, that the job was way too big for him. Aside from two seasons in Muncie, he was an average football coach. I still don't see arrogance, but mentioned above, pure fear. He know his dream job is crashing into a heap of flames, and carnage. He went from 11-2 to a team that cannot figure out how to move the football. This man truly loves Michigan football, and believes what he says. But it's far beyond reproach. He has to go.
Brandon, as I alluded to in another post, is Fredo Corleone. There is a reason Fredo was relegated to managing "Mickey Mouse nightclubs." This is why. He has taken a once powerful program and reduced it to ashes. The first rule of ownership in any form is to know your base. He has repeatedly ignored the growing anger from the core of this group. He has displaced very loyal and good people in the program (Bruce Madej is one name that comes to mind). He chased off anyone that had any remant of success (Rich Rod is another that comes to mind, although he had his own issues that cost him his job). And his bravado is embarassing to a program that has always been bigger than him.
Fredo was angry in the movie because he knew he wasn't what he wanted to be. That his limited intelligence and skill never offered him the chance to run the family as he wanted. Brandon was a scrub on Bo's bench. And this inferiority complex has now manifested itself 40 years later. Brandon believes he is the answer, and clings to his association with Bo as that reason. Yet Bo, despite their relationship after football, never played him. Never relied on him on the field. Never really needed him. And that eats him alive. "Pop" passed him over. So when given the chance, it looks like Brandon took this all out on those that represented Michigan fairly, or at least wanted to be in the fold. This isn't Michigan. It's DB's MIchigan now.
And I guess that's what I'm getting at. Manball 2.0 works for me. But this is Manball DOS edition. Gotta go with the times. I see Harbaugh as uniting everyone -- fanbase, alumni, and players alike. If Brandon sticks around, he could probably even get Walmart to sponsor a khaki sale. Even Sparty can love the irony in that
I've lurked at this site since its genesis, but never felt the need to comment. Now it's to the point of catharsis.
I never wanted Hoke. I was in the hopeful club of Brian that there was a -1000% chance he ever got that job. Then 2011 happened. Angered by the way Rich Rod was treated for finally bringing Michigan into the 21 century, I begrudgingly accepted Hoke but never trusted it.
What has happened is sad. I never saw MIchigan winning with him. Perhaps it was John U. Bacon's narrative. Maybe it was the evil Nero running the Michigan empire. But it always felt like the Hoke hire was a step backward. Despite the 11-2 record, it was RR's players and Denard leading that team. The insistence on MANBALL slowly destroyed the momentum and now we have the final product, as evidenced today.
But the reason for this post is nothing more than wanting peace. The entire fan base wants peace. Look, I'm a card carrying member of the Rebellion. I want a 21st offense and defense. I want MIchigan to act like the Michigan i know they are. And I know that 95% of the fanbase wants that, too. But for the last seven years, there has been this rift within the Michigan family from the top of admin to the players (Lloyd Carr's Michigan) to the fans. We all know Hoke is done...even running the table from here doens't guarantee him anything. We can hope that the root of the problem, Dave Brandon, is gone, too.
The fanbase is at fever pitch. Whever we stood before, we're now united in wanting a Michigan that moves forward instead of back. The question is how do you get there.
And to end this: I always wondered what happened if Fredo ran the Corleone family. I've now seen it.
Recent Comments
It vindicated the poison of the "Michigan Man" argument and how that mindset must go before the program can move on to better things. In a non-traditional football market, Rich Rod has built a winner and looks to be on the cusp of great things. With that said....
The RR-Michigan marriage was never going to work. It was toxic from the beginning and it killed me because I was thrilled with the hire. For a brief two seasons, we got a glimpse of an exciting offense and one that could do amazing things. I wonder how Devin Gardner's career would have changed had Rich Rod still been here.
It also cannot be ignored that Rich Rod made glaring errors (DC, vendetta, anger managment, the Bust) and that didn't earn him any friends.
Hopefully, the MIchigan brass are taking copious notes and go the right course.
If Hoke somehow survives. Today, against a God awful opponent, they barely won. When this is the standard and not the exception, it's just sad.
It started with Brandon. Now finish it with Hoke.
Is more like it. This is almost unwatchable
Martin Mayhew
Calling PI is just piling on
Is what I expcted when Hoke was hired. And yet it's still worse. Pee Wee teams move the ball better.
We don't have the congnitive dissonance of "will this keep Brandon employed?"
Hail to the Victors.
There are no guarantees. It could absolutely blow up in Michigan's face. But a couple points on that:
- Rich Rod had a gray cloud following him from West Virginia. He never had full support and then died with his defense.
- Brady Hoke is a line coach at best and while having all the support in the world, couldn't field a dominant team after he installed his style of play. Still recruited well but can't develop the talent.
- Harbaugh would unite the fanbase because he boasts an impressive resume, has rebuilt programs, and has shown a willingness to run a hybrid offense (manball with a spread element).
IF there is one thing Harbaugh has excelled at in every stop it's been that development piece. At USD, he was 7-4, 11-1, and 11-1. At Stanford, the trend up was slower but this was a team that hadn't won since Ty Willingham's 9-3 season in 2001. 5 seasons of rock bottom, getting your ass kicked. Harbaugh comes in and posts a winning season in year three.
Michigan reminds me of more of the 49ers and less like Stanford. There is apparent 4 and 5 star talent on this team that is prime to be developed. At best, he was probably working with 3 star talent at Stanford. He took that team to a BCS bowl (and won) while bitch slapping Pete Caroll around in the days of dominant USC football. Michigan has underutilized talent. This team needs a strong, dominant leader who's going to kick ass.
Harbaugh would have to contend with Dantonio and Meyer, but he's beaten his fair share of top coaches. He's not going to win every year, but he's going to snap the maliase that's existed for the better part of the last decade.
To wit: here's a story right before he was hired at Stanford. Not exactly glowing.
This was a picture-esque press conference. From delivery to answering questions, U of M really did well with his hiring. President Schlissel, from the onset, set a tone of respect, goodwill and professionalism--something that has been lacking in regards to Michigan higher ups.
If anything echoed Bo's "the team, the team, the team," motto, it was this press conference. I feel like the Unversity's best interests are in great hands.
Bravo President Schlisser, and Mr. Hackett.
This whole thing is like Baghdad Bob...just absolute spin, and denial.
I think they feel that if they keep repeating the same thing over and over, eventually it will get better. It is nearly carbon copy of the Lions with Marinelli and Millen. Pound the rock, have to watch film, blah blah blah.
I've never wished for a football season to end so quickly in my life. This is what it's reduced me, to.
This whole thing is like Baghdad Bob...just absolute spin, and denial.
I think they feel that if they keep repeating the same thing over and over, eventually it will get better. It is nearly carbon copy of the Lions with Marinelli and Millen. Pound the rock, have to watch film, blah blah blah.
I've never wished for a football season to end so quickly in my life. This is what it's reduced me, to.
It's his modern stoneage football team....
Best part of this presser was the Mgoblog reaction to giving up the microphone. I wonder if they stood there and snatched that thing away, fearing the follow up question.
That people continue to defend this. The last 24 hours should be enough to show his incompetence. And this is just in the last day:
1. After repeating for the umbillionth time that they had a good week of practice, his team goes out, gets dominated from start to finish, and to add insult to injury, cannot stop another touchdown at the end, which was akin to the Woody Hayes "go for three" incident.
2. He says: "I think I was aware that something happened, but I'm not fully aware," after his team pulls a stupid stunt based on motivational tactics.
3. He grovels through a press release after #2 becomes another embarrassment through the media.
And that's just yesterday through today.
Yet there is still this legion of blind loyalty to a man who has proven he is in way over his head. People aren't dancing on his grave. They're venting. They're tired of losing. They're tired of bullshit excuses. They're exhausted from being owned by Ohio State and Michigan State. The program is in full disarray and it feels (because it's not seen) that nothing is being done to stop it. The only way this fighting ends between the factions is if Schilssel brooms Brandon. It's the most important step in healing becuse inevitably the arrogance begins and ends with DB. DB's sins have been listed already. I truly believe the President is finding a way to buy him out or going through the channels to end it. I'm hoping he's done his due dillegence and researched the dumpster fire that has been 2007 to now. I pray that someone will be in place, the proper moves are made, and Michigan can move forward to once again assert their role as the "leaders and best."
But a lot has to go right. And because of those last seven years, I wait with cautious optimism that those moves will be made.
I know that Brady Hoke will finish his career at Michigan as one of the most successful coaches in our program's storied history.
Bo rolled in his grave.
But he is a poor football coach. From the moment he was hired, it was a "rah-rah" Michigan Man move that set the program back. 11-2 was a horrible mirage, and sadly, I remember telling my brother after the Sugar Bowl victory that it would be the high point of Hoke's career. That dumb luck and Denard saved made them 11-2 instead of a more deserving 8-5.
He's overmatched. Outcoached. Hasn't developed any of the talent he brought in. I could see him as a DL coach or a recruiting coordinator. But not as the head coach of Michigan. Yet here we are.
I watch Devin Gardner and wonder what could have been. I bristle when people make excuses for him and talk about how he should be supported despite the obvious regression of the team. It's sad. I have felt that Hoke is like Rod Marinelli -- players coach and a great line coach. The aw-shucks personality endears him to the masses, but it can't save him. In his words "It's Michigan for Godsakes." I do feel he's been authentic, but winning is what we've come to expect from Michigan football.
Brian posted this almost seven years ago: http://mgoblog.com/content/profiles-cronyism-brady-hoke
After today and the last two and a half seasons, it's amazing how spot on it was.
As kids I think we all have those terms because of a highlight. My parent's driveway was the Michigan endzone, complete with the block lettering of Michigan in yellow chalk.
After the VIriginia game in '95, my brother and I scrambled outside and practiced dragging our foot in the corner of the driveway, complete with the Dresibach rainbow throw. Everytime we played or had a chance at dragging a foot, it was always a sly laugh and "Mercury".
Great stuff. Needed a read like this with happy memories before the inevitable today.
Wow.
Seriously. FUCKING WIN FOR HIM. Dude is awesome. I mean, how can you not love that kid. Kid bleeds maize and blue and his guts bring tears to my eyes.
I'm serious. He's deserved better in his career. Win this fucking game for him.
Seriously, this shit can't be made up.
What bad luck.
MANBALL is precision running up the middle with the quarterback on 3rd and 2. Or just in general. You get more aggressive by clapping harder on the sideline.
Or maybe Steven Threet?
Yikes
Just like the rest. I'm wearing my M hat so I don't tear my hair out. The incomptence of the play calling is unbelievable.
But here's the thing. 400 yards to an average quarterback. Too little too late in the effort. No turnovers caused. Bad tackling. Inconstent offense.
It's just the state of the program right now. This struck me as a "last gasp" game before the oncoming storm. At this point, 4-8 looks good.
I feel bad for DG and the kids. I don't for Hoke or Brandon. Broom them on Monday and let's turn the page on this year.
IF there's a season to salvage, it's going to be on this drive.
Brady's clap tempo just sped up
You think he would teach them how to all fucking tackle. Jesus Christ. I don't even know why I care anymore.
Is how I look at it.
He's 5-0 and knocked off the #2 team in the nation.
And yet I can't stop watching.
I will continue my self-imposed punishment by watching the dumpster fire of a Tigers bullpen implode again tomorrow in the 8th inning.
I completely expect Rutgers to make all the adjustments and blow M out in the second half. Hoke's only adjustment will be more clapping.
Failing to stop mobile quarterbacks since 1998
That's what DG brings every week. To think of what he could be. Love that kid and his heart.
was the best of the season. Bravo, gentlemen. Keep up the good work.
Both Randy Smith and Matt Millen have been usurped as my most hated Detroit GM/AD. Dave Brandon comes off smarmy. He acts like he's the smartest man in the room. And he just dares people to challenge him. It's repulsive.
At least Smith and Millen thought they were doing the right thing. I mean, as misguided and stupid as their decisions were, they thought that they were doing the right things. And the contempt I held for their work can fill pages.
But Brandon just comes off as Fuck you, I'm in charge. I would contend it stems from his irrelevance as a player. He was a scrub in terms of recruits. Just seems he's running Michigan the way he sees fit, with a chip on his shoulder because he couldn't really contribute like a Harbaugh or Miles.
I can't believe there are people that actually defend him. Mind boggling.
Dave Brandon has been the source of the problem for awhile. He hired Hoke. He micromanages. His efforts were the one that got us here in the first place.
Firing Hoke only takes care of half the problem. Canning Brandon is cutting the head off the beast. Maybe then, this whole Michigan Man myth can finally be buried once and for all.
And the calls for Lloyd must be stopped. Please, no. Let him have the last game of his career be where he stays. Put Mattison in charge until a true long term solution is put into place.
It is eerily quiet. There's also the chance that he's laying low to hide and let it pass.
Anyone willing to bet a Coke on who goes first -- Brandon or Hoke?
that means that John L. Smith has yet to show up. I think this is John L. Smith. Clueless everywhere, and just a joke to begin with.
Fire Brandon.
Fire Hoke.
I didn't want him hired, but never did I feel he was arrogant. I always felt, as now it is clear as day, that the job was way too big for him. Aside from two seasons in Muncie, he was an average football coach. I still don't see arrogance, but mentioned above, pure fear. He know his dream job is crashing into a heap of flames, and carnage. He went from 11-2 to a team that cannot figure out how to move the football. This man truly loves Michigan football, and believes what he says. But it's far beyond reproach. He has to go.
Brandon, as I alluded to in another post, is Fredo Corleone. There is a reason Fredo was relegated to managing "Mickey Mouse nightclubs." This is why. He has taken a once powerful program and reduced it to ashes. The first rule of ownership in any form is to know your base. He has repeatedly ignored the growing anger from the core of this group. He has displaced very loyal and good people in the program (Bruce Madej is one name that comes to mind). He chased off anyone that had any remant of success (Rich Rod is another that comes to mind, although he had his own issues that cost him his job). And his bravado is embarassing to a program that has always been bigger than him.
Fredo was angry in the movie because he knew he wasn't what he wanted to be. That his limited intelligence and skill never offered him the chance to run the family as he wanted. Brandon was a scrub on Bo's bench. And this inferiority complex has now manifested itself 40 years later. Brandon believes he is the answer, and clings to his association with Bo as that reason. Yet Bo, despite their relationship after football, never played him. Never relied on him on the field. Never really needed him. And that eats him alive. "Pop" passed him over. So when given the chance, it looks like Brandon took this all out on those that represented Michigan fairly, or at least wanted to be in the fold. This isn't Michigan. It's DB's MIchigan now.
And I guess that's what I'm getting at. Manball 2.0 works for me. But this is Manball DOS edition. Gotta go with the times. I see Harbaugh as uniting everyone -- fanbase, alumni, and players alike. If Brandon sticks around, he could probably even get Walmart to sponsor a khaki sale. Even Sparty can love the irony in that
One of my few moments of brilliance.
I've lurked at this site since its genesis, but never felt the need to comment. Now it's to the point of catharsis.
I never wanted Hoke. I was in the hopeful club of Brian that there was a -1000% chance he ever got that job. Then 2011 happened. Angered by the way Rich Rod was treated for finally bringing Michigan into the 21 century, I begrudgingly accepted Hoke but never trusted it.
What has happened is sad. I never saw MIchigan winning with him. Perhaps it was John U. Bacon's narrative. Maybe it was the evil Nero running the Michigan empire. But it always felt like the Hoke hire was a step backward. Despite the 11-2 record, it was RR's players and Denard leading that team. The insistence on MANBALL slowly destroyed the momentum and now we have the final product, as evidenced today.
But the reason for this post is nothing more than wanting peace. The entire fan base wants peace. Look, I'm a card carrying member of the Rebellion. I want a 21st offense and defense. I want MIchigan to act like the Michigan i know they are. And I know that 95% of the fanbase wants that, too. But for the last seven years, there has been this rift within the Michigan family from the top of admin to the players (Lloyd Carr's Michigan) to the fans. We all know Hoke is done...even running the table from here doens't guarantee him anything. We can hope that the root of the problem, Dave Brandon, is gone, too.
The fanbase is at fever pitch. Whever we stood before, we're now united in wanting a Michigan that moves forward instead of back. The question is how do you get there.
And to end this: I always wondered what happened if Fredo ran the Corleone family. I've now seen it.