I feel the same way. I can withstand catastrophic losses if there is some sort of dignity saving exit strategy.
Go Blue
Hey...remember this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v...h?v=v4AJA-
CBBQo
Panelling ND: Good for what ails ye.
My biggest concern is that Miles has been rumored to have, umm.... how you say, "questionable ethics." If there is one thing that would be worse to me than the 6-6 season Carr is leading this team on, it would be an NCAA probation. It also doesn't fill me with confidence when every LSU fan I talk to says they'd be glad to get rid of him. If this is their response to a man that has given them back to back top 5 finishes, something has got to be wrong.
Ask yourselves this question. Is there a coach not already employed by a national power that wouldn't consider the Michigan job? I contend that regardless of the last two weeks the U of M job is one of the most desirable positions in the country. With that said, here's a new name to put in the coaching mix, Bill Cower. I realize it's a longshot but I think it should be considered. Odds are he will be in coaching again next season (probably in New York or Washington), but Michigan could offer him a different challenge. He could join Jimmy Johnson as a coach who won the championship at both levels. He knows defense, he knows pro-style offense, his pedigree is unmatched. Brian I think you should include NFL coaches in any analysis you plan to write about future coaches. We've all assumed someone would move up from the lower level, but why couldn't someone move down from the upper level? It worked for USC.
@Jon:
6-6? How's that? 6-6 would be an outstanding performance from here.
I certainly don't want Les Miles. This offseason's problems were almost too much for me to tolerate.
(drumming fingers together) Exxxxcellent.
As a Buckeye fan, I would love to see Les Miles brought in. His reputation is far from spotless off the field and his on-field decision making is atrocious at times. I'll be really interested to see what he can do when he's not handed a loaded program.
If it can't be DeBord (or English-- can you make sure the new coach keeps English?), Miles would be fantastic.
Is there a coach not already employed by a national power that wouldn't consider the Michigan job?
We really have to get over ourselves and this sort of mentality. Michigan is still an incredibly desirable head coaching position, but let's have a little perspective and not assume that every coach would wet themselves for the opportunity. Off the top of my head, Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Mack Brown, and Charlie Weis (thank God), would not consider our head coaching position. If Les Miles wasn't a former Michigan player and coach, I'm at a loss to understand why he would want to come here either considering his success in Baton Rouge thus far.
That being said, Les Miles is a coach with strogn Michigan ties and it's apparent that he would consider the Michigan job if offered. I think we're being a little too quick to write him off based upon ethical considerations. I'll admit I don't know much about his coaching background or what, if anything, happened during his tenure at Oklahoma State, but LSU doesn't appear to be mired in any sort of scandal. Moreover, I think he would be on notice if offered the job that the athletic department wouldn't tolerate any sort of questionable activities or recruiting practices, especially in light of the ongoing fiasco that is our basketball program. After Steve Fisher, I don't think any coach is allowed to run his ship with no oversight whatsoever (with regards to impropriety - Brian Ellerbe is proof that incompetence may still be overlooked).
As for LSU fans not liking him, I've randomly met a ton of them in DC over the last year or so, and many of them don't like him. They think he's an idiot. That being said, he's been pretty successful in his two years there, and while much of that success is with Saban's recruits, he's done a fine job of bringing in his own players as well. I would be thrilled to have his record for Michigan over the last couple of years.
Is he the right man for the job? I have no idea, and I'd hope that the search committee Bill Martin assembles does its due diligence and makes a sensible determination. Should Les Miles be considered for the job if he's interested in it? Abso-fucking-lutely.
I'd simply love hearing Miles tell Tressel to go F&^% himself in a press conference. I've been listening to Lloyd's boring PCs for too long. Let's get somebody to spice it up a little. It also doesn't hurt that he has won his last 2 bowl games by a combined score of 81-17.
Miles would be a crappy choice. I still remember him jumping up and down to call a timeout after LSU had an interception....apparently it had escaped ol' Les that the clock stops on a change of possession.
I've read a lot of the whispers about his ethical issues, but none of them are ever substantiated..just rumors.
I don't want him because I don't think he's a good coach. He certainly won't have the same level of talent here as he has at LSU.
Besides, after four decades of coaching inbreeding, do you really want to hire one of the few remaining Bo disciples still coaching? That would not feel like a new start...hell, he's probably boys with Gittleson so the clueless wonder that is Michigan's S&C coach would probably then have lifetime employment.
Les is Less. He's doing this with Saban's recruits.
According to Rivals, Les has been recruiting better than Saban was. As for the theory that Miles has more talent at LSU than he will ever have at Michigan, are you serious? Has lack of talent ever been the problem at Michigan?
What if the Michigan job isn't as desirable as what we think? Are there bigger problems within the program than what's known? Bama and ND didn't get their first choices.
It is now, apparently. Notwithstanding all your planet-destroying first-round talent with "unfinished business," of course.
As a Bucks fan, I would recommend Ron English. Or maybe DeBord. Failing that, Les Miles. Keep it in the family, please.
First, my goal for this year: 7-6. That should definitely be plausible (I mean, right???): wins over ND, NW, EMU, ILL, and MN are all at least POSSIBLE, plus one "toss up" win against any of PSU, Purdue, MSU, WI or OSU.
So far, no team in the Big Ten looks unbeatable on any given Saturday, even against a team as shitty as Michigan.
So Mike Hart your new goal is this: For the love of God, just keep our 40-year streak of non-losing seasons intact and consecutive bowl game streak intact.
Is that too much to ask??? If you can deliver on that I'll be tickled pink. And oh yeah, hang in there little buddy. Give Barry Sanders a call. Maybe he can console you?
Also, my short list of coaches:
John Gruden
Jeff Tedford
Greg Schiano
Mike Trgovac
Brian Kelly
Les Miles
I'm not so sure Pete Carroll would be out of the question. Michigan has better facilities, would be just as easy to recruit to, and i would have to imagine that he would view the Big Ten very winnable every year much like the Pac-10. I only want Les Miles if Bo Pelini is coming with him to run the defense.
Miles has had 2 actual recruiting classes (his first was a mess, since Saban's departure caused a bunch of recruits to de-commit). In the last two years, LSU recruiting classes have been #7 and #4 in the country, according to Rivals. In those same years, Michigan was #13 and #12. So the assertment that Miles can't recruit is...silly.
Looks like we just lost at least possible three recruits, but I have no idea if they were high up on our list or not.
From an Oregonian sports columnist at the game:
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports...8580.xml&
coll=7
Anthony, Pete Carroll is TOTALLY out of the question. He's built a dynasty out there, and Ann Arbor is not as easy to recruit to as Southern California.
Yeah, but the Bayou is about 20 times more fertile to recruit than Michigan. Can he recruit nationally? Remember that Saban left because he was sucking hind-tit in-state and wanted a state to call his own.
anybody else see us losing to Minn, NW, Illinois, but beating ohio state and wisconsin? They all have the spread. Hopefully those aren't nearly as ugly.
"I'm not so sure Pete Carroll would be out of the question. Michigan has better facilities, would be just as easy to recruit to, ..."
what a fucking idiot
Whoever they hire, I hope he will keep recruiting 7-foot quarterbacks with bolts in the sides of their necks.
"FIRE BAAAAAAD!!"
If you think Michigan is just as desirable as USC, look at the cheerleaders. USC's cheerleaders are models/porn stars in training.
There's no way Bill Cowher comes to Michigan, and neither will John Gruden. They're both NFL guys through and through.
If there are enough microphones and Burger Kings in A2 maybe you can get Charlie Weiss.
I'm giving Anthony the benefit of the doubt and assuming he was kidding about Pete Carroll being a possible candidate.
Pete Carroll is out of the question. He is loved out there, has built a dynasty, and rarely needs to worry about seeing another top-ten team in conference play. The only way it goes sour is if, for example, big sanctions come down for the Reggie Bush deal... and then Michigan wouldn't want him anyway.
There are only a handful of college jobs as attractive as Michigan, but there ARE some, and those are pretty much lateral moves, which are unlikely to happen. Southern Cal (Carroll) and Oklahoma (Stoops) are two of them.
Maybe the thing to do is to find an up-and-coming coach. You're not going to get Urban Meyer, but maybe you can get the "next Urban Meyer." Find someone among the non-BCS conferences who is young, is innovative, has run a clean program, and gotten more out of his players than talent alone can explain. There are probably a half-dozen choices.
The "safe" choice is to cherry-pick a coach who seems to be doing a good job at a mid-range BCS-conference school (like Ferentz, though I doubt he moves within the conference, and some of the shine was lost from his rep last year).
I don't see a need to take a flyer on a I-AA coach (a la OSU with Tressel), but reaching down the ranks a little can get a guy with more potential and more years left on his career.
Maybe Schiano would be a good pick, as Rutgers had been a Northwestern-like team for a long time before his arrival. Though all the Penn State fans seem to think he's the Heir Apparent to JoePa.
Jeff Tedford or bust.
Michigan recruits now looking at Oregon:
http://www.oregonlive.com/sports...8580.xml&
coll=7
Sorry, didn't see that someone already posted the link. My bad.
Might I suggest Charlie Strong, DC at Florida? We'd hate to lose him, but he deserves a shot as a head honcho somewhere, and better for a team UF never plays. And clearly he knows how to defend the spread run by a mobile QB - 4/14, 35yds, 1 INT; 10/-29.
To tell you how bad it's gotten:
Mort took a shot at Lloyd Carr doing the ESPN Sunday NFL show. In a piece about coaches on the "hot seat", Mort ends his comments with (paraphrase):
"But these coaches have at least one thing going for them. They could be Lloyd Carr."
ouch.
As a ND fan I know our guys are young, inconsistent, and severly lacking experience. ND is also ripping it up on the ground with -1 yd for 2 games.
What happens if you lose next week? Will the fire department be sent to protect Lloyds house from the mob?
So is Mallett gonna start against ND or is Henne gonna pull a willis reed and lead us to a victory?
Lloyd should announce now that he is retiring at the season, maybe the players will rally around him and lead us to the motor city bowl.
The UM/ND game could be brutal to watch this year. ND hasn't scored a TD and we can't stop anyone, luckily their D sucks too, so maybe if we run hart enough we can grind out a 10 - 7 victory.
On my fledgling blog (it went online two days ago), I have posted a lengthy discussion of the Michigan coaching situation. This was written last week, but is obviously all the more relevant today.
http://pac10brewhouse.blogspot.c...-
relatives.html
A summary: Michigan needs to avoid being Nebraska (getting a pro coach for a pro coach's sake, who isn't holding up the tradition) or Alabama (hiring Bryant disciples by the truckload who can't measure up, like that fool Mike Shula). Also need to avoid getting an arrogant ass.
I doubt Michigan will pay top dollar to force a lateral move by a Miles/Ridriguez/Ferentz (Ferentz is the third highest paid coach in college football). Jim Harbaugh is obviously out of the question. Bill Cubit is somewhat successful at Western Michigan, but not enough.
Cower ($$, looks like a jerk on the sideline) and Miles (poor gameday coach, LSU recruits itself) would be disappointments to me, and expensive ones at that.
This program needs a new Bo, a guy to _become_ the next Michigan man.
Brian Kelly and a battle-hardened assistant such as Jon Tenuta would be great choices in my estimation. There's always going to be risk, but these guys don't have any character issues that I know of and they can coach.
Is there a coach not already employed by a national power that wouldn't consider the Michigan job?
Gnarls: When Hero phrased this question he was specifically excluding "Pete Carroll, Urban Meyer, Mack Brown, and Charlie Weis." I think USC, UF, Texas and ND all count as national powers. I also think we wouldn't get a coach from Oklahoma, Georgia, Nebraska and possibly a couple others. Besides that, I think any coach would be interested in the job (although might not leave because their school will pay them enough to stay).
Bama had to get Mike Shula because they were still in the midst of probation, then after he barely kept them at .500 WVU was able to pay Rodriguez to stay. ND had been in the midst of about 10+ years of losing performances.
Before this season (who knows what the record will end up being) a 7-5 record was our worst season in like 20 years. I think that's a sign of a still competitive school that coaches would want to take to the next level (i.e. consistently in the national title hunt).
I'm not saying we could get any coach we want, but I think *almost* any coach would at least strongly consider the job.
Jeff - you're right. I misread Hero's question. Sorry about that Hero!
mort probably knows the best skeme to use vs the spread. and it's not the even-man/1-technique front M used the last 2 games.
what people don't know (including, apparently, the M coaches) is that stopping the run is the way to beat the spread. most spread teams (all?) use the spread to primarily run the ball, not throw. and to stop the spread-option, you need pressure on the Center via a 0-technique or odd man line. that, and crowd the line with the LBs. Oregon, ASU killed us by running right up the gut. and it's b/c the M coaches don't know/forgot/ignore this approach.
as flawed as the secondary & LBs have been over the last 2 games, it's the skeme employed along the M Dline that has failed them the most. not the secondary, LBs, a lack of team speed, or the 'predicable offense.'
if ND were smart, they'd get their running QB into the spread option vs M. their offense can't get much worse. if they do that, ND wins. if not M wins.
Why not Jon Gruden?? He's done with Tampa and has always stated that he wouldnt mind coaching college again. Who knows he could come in and be the next Pete Carroll. He's young,knows defnese and a high energy guy.
I'm giving Anthony the benefit of the doubt and assuming he was kidding about Pete Carroll being a possible candidate.
Gnarls Woodson | 09.09.07 - 11:22 am | #
Thanks and it was in fact said in jest, however, i was serious about the Bo Pelini comment.
You're not going to get Urban Meyer, but maybe you can get the "next Urban Meyer."
Last year I thought Chris Peterson (Boise St) would replace Joe Tiller, but now maybe we could get him instead. That would certainly shake up our offensive playbook.
Brian Kelly is the answer.
He turned GVSU in to the Div.II power that they are today (albeit with some bumps along the way) and he cleaned up DeBord's mess at CMU in three seasons. He's exactly what the program needs. A (kind of) young, up and coming coach with ties to the state and region, but not the program. He runs the spread, which means he probably knows how to defend it as well.
P.S. The Bearcats have given up 6 points this season, and beat Oregon State 34-3 yesterday.
I would like to thank lloyd carr for another ill fated season where i got my hopes up for a national championship, this decade that wasnt shared, and had them squashed again. At this point id like to hand him a bottle of whiskey and a shot gun. All i can say now, like a veteran chicago cubs fan is, "well at least we got next year"
P.S. The Bearcats have given up 6 points this season, and beat Oregon State 34-3 yesterday.
----------------------------
And by yesterday, I meant Thursday night. That's what I get for looking at scores and forgetting not every team plays on Saturday
I'm wondering if Demetrius is going to show up under center for the Domers instead of Jimmah this week.
please don't even consider Bill Cower. his steeler offenses ran the same boring/predictable/conservative hand-the-ball to Bettis offense that UM has done. we need to get as far away from that as possible. that being said, this year nearly every play should go to hart (cuz i sure as hell don't trust henne)
In a sign of solidarity and support for our favorite puddy tats, could we have a Pink Out next week? All wear our pink t-shirts... "M GO PINK"? "GO KITTENS"? Let us know if you're in...
Hiring Homer Simpson would probably be an improvement at this point. I can only hope that Lloyd can get the team back on track and end up retiring on a good note.
These games are getting so bad that people are putting up websites just to vote if they can win the Big 10 title, or even win at all!
Some fans still say yes ..
http://www.michigan-loses.com
Come on guys this is getting ridiculous!!! Then Hart has to open his mouth to say they are for sure winning next week. Like that won't make it on a locker room boad somewhere.
Let's go Blue!
I want Peterson.
I want to see McGuffie run the Statue of Liberty with Mallett.
Hey Brian,
Wow, do these change with a few losses... I was the one way back when, who asked Jim Carty about our chances to get to Les Miles because I said I thought he would be the best option (and still do) but most U-M fans (including yourself) wouldn't even entertain the thought and I still don't know why. Considering that LSU just flat out destroyed VT this weekend in the biggest game of the year so far, I'd say that's what we need at this time-- a coach that can get his players ready to play in big games, with a stifling defense, a creative offensive scheme, and a blow out win of a top ten team. Unless you can give me some very concrete reasons why he shouldn't be the next Michigan coach, I'm going to continue to pray and plead-- heck, even DEMAND-- that he is.
you guys should consider Tyrone Willingham--Weis ran out of Willingham's recruits (Brady Quinn) and now ND sucks...He has a fab QB in Jake Locker and Washington looks good....and he probably wants to get out of PAC-10 and pound ND on a regular basis.
there's another tshirt I saw out there somewhere that reads
FFIRE
LLOYD
CCAR
Why would Willingham want to get into another rebuilding project when he is just getting his current one under control?
Ideas:
Bring in Frank Solich from Ohio, despite 97.
Somehow get Chris Peterson
How do we get Jeff Tedford? Isn't he comfortable at Cal?
Not Les Miles
I know MU is taking a beating right now with criticism from within and without. I have mixed feelings about that. But ...
if MU sticks their foot up ND's ass, I will personally wear maize and blue on Sunday.
" I would like to thank lloyd carr for another ill fated season where i got my hopes up for a national championship, this decade that wasnt shared, and had them squashed again"
Dude, Lloyd's the only Michigan coach to have won a national title in the last 59 years. He's now past his prime and clearly needs to go, but let's not completely lose our heads.
As for Miles, I think it's silly that people bring up individual games (or even individual plays) to back up their case against him. All coaches have off days. The great Urban almost lost to Vanderbilt and South Carolina last year, in addition to the game he DID lose - and he had a national-title team!
If ethics are a concern with Miles, then put in a "good behavior" clause in his contract that penalizes him for crossing the line. In football terms he seems perfectly fine to me. He started at Oklahoma State, which had been to one bowl in the previous decade, and took them to three in a row. At LSU, he's gone 24-4 (.857), won both bowl games in routs, and just destroyed the #9 team in the country. Oh, and he has a rep for seeking out top-notch coordinators. I'll be happy with him if he comes.
The top notch OC Miles had just left for the same job at Florida State.
Erik,
I live in the barren wasteland (compared to BIg 10 or SEC) that is the Pacific NW--in Vancouver, WA-- and every Sunday, I struggle to find any good coverage on nat'l games much less their own pac 10 games...there's really no exposure...I think he would want to be back in nat'l spotlight...
The top notch coordinator left and LSU still put up 48 points against the #9 team. Your point being? Sounds pretty good to me right about now. But yeah, hard to tell how Miles will do once he's on all his own recruits. Right now LSU's class for next fall is pretty much filled with mostly three-star players according to both Rivals and Scout. Still, after watching the way his team dismantled Virginia Tech last night, he can inherit (and hopefully recruit) the top talent at Michigan and do the same.
Otherwise, Tedford would probably get my vote. Or Mike Hart, seeing as he's the only guy who seems to care anymore these days...provided he wants to forgo an NFL career :)
There's a young energetic coach at Penn State you guys should look at. His name is Jay something-or-other.
Brian Kelly - end of search.
Miles has the whiff of misconduct about him and how did LSU lose 2 games last year?????
I have no interest in some assistant who has never been the head coach. ND is in the midst of that kind of experiment and the results are very mixed at this point.
By the way, and this is off the subject, did anyone else catch the toungue bath that the ESPN announcers did on Jimmah during the PSU-ND game? If not, you will certainly hear a lot of the same this Saturday. Prepare for spontaneous wretching.
I think you should consider me.
-J. Tedford
p.s. seriously, i would kick Tressel's ass.
Here is the combination that saves Michigan Football!
Les Miles as head coach...
BRIAN KELLY as the OC
Brian would take our recruits to the next level and Les could do his thing!!!
If Michigan is serious about being a top 5 program again, pay the big dollars and get these two Midwest guys to team up!!!
THAT WOULD BE FREAKING INCREDIBLE!!!
Les Miles as Head Coach
Brian Kelly as OC
Send this idea to Martin!!!
Les Miles as Head Coach
Brian Kelly as OC
Les Miles as Head Coach
Brian Kelly as OC
Les Miles as Head Coach
Brian Kelly as OC
U of Wash is a nice job, but certainly not one of the big boys. An OSU fan, I think we are in trouble next Saturday. ND was stupid to fire Willingham. You guys would be lucky to get him. The problem with picking a guy from a lower NCAA level is that they don't usually "get it" on the pressure/status/system of the BIG BOY programs. OSU was lucky, Tressel understood all that. So, Getting Chris Peterson (I live in Idaho) would result in a massive culture shock for the Peterson's and wouldn't serve your program well either. Willingham is your best choice. Miles isn't the answer. Neither is Cower, but maybe a better choice than Miles. U of Wash facilities, recruiting, etc are far substandard to your program and you might have a shot at a guy who is a really good coach. Good luck on every game but Nov 17th.
i have a serious question about Les Miles for you M fans: why would Les Miles drop what he has down in Baton Rouge in exchange for a rebuilding process in AA? seriously. he's driving a Porsche right now. why would he want to exchange it for a used Camaro?
As for the theory that Miles has more talent at LSU than he will ever have at Michigan, are you serious? Has lack of talent ever been the problem at Michigan?
FYI, Louisiana produces more NFL talent per capita than any other state. Steve Spurrior built his Florida Gators program by cherry picking every Louisiana kid he could...
Pecos,
Ty Willingham is AWFUL. And here is one reason why I am against him, as well as Miles. Sporting News ranked the BCS coaches. Miles and Ty W were both ranked low. Miles and Lloyd Carr were considered overrated coaches ("full of hot air"), even though Carr was listed as 16th best in country, and Ty W is supposed to be very uninspiring and too laid back.
I think you could be right about Peterson. As for OC, Cam Cameron! Head coach, I wish we had Jeff Tedford!!! JT to the rescue, please!
Other guys I would like in addition to my old list:
Paul Johnson, even with his triple option offense
Greg Schiano would be awesome, but he said that he doesn't want to leave Rutgers, at least for Miami.
Jerry Moore from App State. I-AA worked for Ohio State. Spread offense is a cheap gimmick though.
Here is my problem with Les Miles. He is a Bo disciple. Period. We need to completely cut off any ties to the Schembechler era of football thinking. Great as it was, it's tired and dated now. Ask ANY LSU fan what they think of Miles. They don't like him. Perhaps their expectations are ridiculously high, I don't know, but that's certainly cause to stop and think for a moment.
I agree that we need someone with absolutely no ties to the program at all, who is yonug, does more with less, and is a smart, innovative coach. My choices would be Tedford or Kelly.
How does this affect our current recruiting status?
Will people leave in the wake of this mess!!??
For now, FIRE LLOYD CARR. Put in Ron English in at head coach. At least the players fear him, even though he has sucked lately.
I think that the problem is that the players see LC as more of a grandfather than as a coach. There is that picture of Crable, I think, giving him bunny ears. I was worried that maybe they just don't fear him enough. And I think he has grown senile. He's just not the right man.
Fire Bill Martin also. He will fuck up the next hire. He will be stupid and just go after Les Miles, when he should really be going after Tedford.
" have a serious question about Les Miles for you M fans: why would Les Miles drop what he has down in Baton Rouge in exchange for a rebuilding process in AA? seriously. he's driving a Porsche right now. why would he want to exchange it for a used Camaro?"
He'd do it because UM is his school. LSU is just a job. And I don't believe the rebuilding project to be all that big. We've gone to BCS bowls three of the last four years.
"Here is my problem with Les Miles. He is a Bo disciple. Period."
I don't understand this. Bill McCartney was a Bo disciple, and he became Colorado's greatest coach ever. Don Nehlen was a Bo disciple, and he had a great record at WVa. People forget it now, but Bo was far more innovative and flexible than Carr. He ran all kinds of different offenses. He adapted to the personnel he had. If Carr were as flexible as Bo, we might be in this mess. Miles seems to me to be more like Bo than Carr has ever been.
Barry: The last 2 losses are already affecting recruiting. The Oregonian is reporting that 3 recruits on a visit to AA stated "I want to go to Oregon." at some point during Saturday's mess. It was also reported that a Detroit HS coach passed his phone # to an Oregon representative.
How much more damage will Carr do this season?
Barry: This debacle has already affected recruiting. The Oregonian is reporting that 3 recruits on a visit to AA stated "I want to go to Oregon." at some point during the game.
A Detroit-area HS coach was also claimed to pass his phone number to an Oregon rep, stating "I've got players!" at some point.
The second anecdote really, really makes me wonder if Michigan and MSU are really doing everything they can to recruit in-state talent. Those are the kind of guys that will really get up for the rivalry games, not some dude from CA or FL.
Why in the world would Miles leave LSU for UM. With all due respect, he is playing in the best conference, I am very sad (as a Buckeye) to say. At least the expectations at UM will be very low after this year, something I am a little less sad to say. But I am a Big Ten homer more than anything else and want all teams to be strong. So, if he comes, good.
Why would Tedford leave Cal for Michigan? He's built a top 10 program and has guaranteed job security for as long as he wants to coach. Not to mention that quality of life is way better in the Bay Area than in Michigan.
If he does leave, it would be for an NFL team, not another college program.
Spread offense is a cheap gimmick though.
the sooner you get that out of your head, the better. the Colts run the spread. the Patriots run the spread. the Chargers run the spread. the Titans run the spread. even the Steelers are running the spread...
Texas runs the spread. LSU runs the spread. Ohio State runs the spread. Florida runs the spread. West Virginia runs the spread...
I guess I'm an old fart (Class of '81)relative to the rest of you. But a guy who lets out f-bombs at rivals in a booster meeting with kids present is not what I'm looking for in a coach. And if a guy is such as ass that, even with his record, the LSU fans (who are every bit as rabid about their team as we are about ours) can't stand him.....I just don't think Miles is who we want.
I agree with the general assessment that he will come if offerred. And if he does, I'll support him with my fingers crossed hoping it's not a disaster.
I just watched a bunch of replays of the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, and I have to say I wouldn't mind seeing what Chris Peterson could do with our kind of talent.
Also, and I know this is a ridiculous question, but I'm still going to pose it: what about Spurrier? Or is he going to be content carrying out his little experiment in South Carolina for the rest of his life?
Spurrier is getting a little older and he loves his golf....but I would love to have him. Saying that,no way it would happen. (I think.)
\Considering that LSU just flat out destroyed VT this weekend in the biggest game of the year so far,//
\LSU still put up 48 points against the #9 team.//
>
Yeah, about that...did you watch Vagina Tech against East Carolina on Sept. 1? Emotional game, the kind that the home team should be primed to go out and just thrash the team they line up against to give the home fans something to take their minds off everything that college football is supposed to take their minds off of...and frankly Va. Tech played WAY down to the level of their competition (East Carolina) and were very fortunate to get the result.
Virginia Tech was badly overrated in the preseason rankings....probably not as much so as...well, nevermind, but giving LSU extra credit for blowing out Va Tech at home (where they pretty much blow out anyone) is probably unwarranted in this case.
My questions for Brian and The Masses:
(1) Is our talent, especially on the defense side of the ball, really that inferior to LSU and the like? After going on Scout and looking at the recruiting profiles for each position of the depth chart, I don't see that much of a difference (with the exception of DT's).
(2) How is this implosion affecting our recruiting this year? The anecdote from the Oregonian might be telling, but, if you read it, is not exactly super reliable.
(3) Can you get a sense of what people in the know (i.e., alums in the NFL, opposing coaches, NFL scouts) think of our schemes? Are we really as predictable on offense and inept on defense as lay-fans make us out to be?
(4) Why the hate on Bill Martin? He turned the athletic program into a cash cow, pwned Notre Dame re: Adidas, locked in Rich Maloney, hired Beilein, is about to pimp the Big House, etc. It's not his fault we can't beat [insert nameless D1-AA opponent).
(5) Does our pursuit of Beilein show that M is willing to conduct a national search (Tedford!) for Carr's successor?
\Bo was far more innovative and flexible than Carr. He ran all kinds of different offenses. He adapted to the personnel he had. If Carr were as flexible as Bo, we might (not) be in this mess.//
This is actually true...Bo has a reputation as being a cro magnon from the Woody Hayes "three yards and a cloud of dust" school, but he was very good at building offenses around the talents of the players he recruited. Anthony Carter would never have been an All-American if Michigan was such an exclusive ground-oriented program that no one ever threw him the ball. Desmond Howard was a Bo recruit, and before Tom Brady the best quarterbacks Michigan ever sent to the NFL were Bo recruits Elvis Grbac and Jim Harbaugh.
Yet he also had a number of successful quarterbacks during his time that ran the option...one of them (Michael Taylor) successfully enough to lead Michigan to a Rose Bowl win (over USC, IIRC...see, it CAN be done).
For those wanting Chris Petersen: Sorry, but BSU ponied up more cash to try to keep him there and rumor has it that the state legislature assisted them in doing so. I don't know how easily he could get out of that one. Besides, let's see how he does the year after "the season" with all those expectations.
Tedford is only half way through his contract. His goes until the end of the 2009 season. They are trying to build him a new stadium but Berkely is fighting it. If it fails, he might be mad enough to leave.
Spurrier is locked in until 2012 and he is just starting to show results. Not too likely he'll leave. His favorite hobby aside from golf is beating and taunting Tennessee. After all, you can't spell citrus without UT...
Who should we get? Heck, I don't know. I'll leave that up to the great minds on this blog to hash that out. If I see more "woo hoo's!" the "Oh shit what was Martin thinking?'s" then I'll be happy.
Take care everyone!
Are we predictable on offense? He's a challenge. Guess the play, every play, for the game. If you can't guess our plays 65% before the huddle break or 90% before the snap, just stop watching football.
We telegraph everything. By formation, by personnel, by pre-snap movement. FB in the game? Moves left pre-snap? 99% chance of zone left. etc. etc. etc.
Or read reports from teams we play against: "we knew every play they were going to run before they ran it".
The base problem with the UM offense is everyone knows what play they are going to run before the snap. Its a testament to Hart and the O-Line that Hart can get more than 2 yards per play.
"Its a testament to Hart and the O-Line that Hart can get more than 2 yards per play."
Which is what makes this coaching staff even more frustrating - the wasted potential.
How about that USF and Matt Grothe going up against Auburn? Very impressive. I called that. I call for USF or Rutgers to take the Big East.
Lloyd Carr and the coaching staff need to put more trust in their QBs. If they continue to have talented QBs such as Ryan Mallett throw only screen passes, then there will be a lot of talent wasted. He struggled, but it was his first game. I see a lot of potential with him. His arm is beautiful. But he has to grow up. He's a jerk.
1) I don't believe that making a run in the Big 10 is out of the question for UM. Too much talent not to do something in the conference and really
the B10 is down this year when PSU or Wisconsin are the best teams.
2) After watching OSU/Akron at the Shoe yesterday, OSU is at most the 4th best team in the league (still behind UM in my opinion). Their offense, especially the line, is absolutely horrid and the defense while solid, is overrated thus far. The Huskies will roll next week.
3) You took WVU's b-ball coach, why not try for their football coach, too and make it a clean sweep?(But then again, why would Rodriguez leave a school where he should easily get 9-10 wins every year for the B10?)
4) Please beat the Irish.
5) Man, I thought OSU fans are fickle,but you Wolves fans are merciless on poor Lloyd. At least he has not gone 2-10-1 against OSU like Cooper did against UM in 13 tries.
Hell I'd be happy with Wayne "freakin'" Fontes wright now.
All I have to say about the coaching search is this...
Bill Martin is about to put a quarter of a billion dollars into the Big House. They're going to have to start selling suites at outrageous prices in the next few years. The football program makes WAY too much money for this University for them to let it go to hell. Bill Martin has been socking away cash for exactly this situation, and given the way he's handled the Maloney situation and the basketball situation, I say we're in very good hands. There's way too much at stake here to not get the right guy for the job, and Martin is going to do what it takes to get it done. There's no reason not to trust him on this.
I don't what all this talk about Les Miles' character is about. He's never been on probation, or responsible for same at any school he's coached at. His mouth does occasionally get ahead of his brain, and some of the darndest things come out...but, he's a tough little son of a gun, and he likes to win. His offensive philosophy fits with the talent on hand..he loves Michigan, and I don't think he takes no for answer very well. He had Okie State winning and beating Oklahoma, which no one before or since has done very well. He's done very well at LSU, with or without Saban's recruits. Its ridiculous to even mention all that.
My wish list of new coaches:
1. Jeff Tedford
2. Brian Kelly
3. Norm Chow
4. Jon Gruden
5. Mike Singletary
Steve H: "the B10 is down this year when PSU or Wisconsin are the best teams."
Could you try to sound more arrogant, please? Could you please continue to judge a team's strength based on the name and the tradition behind it, when that's *exactly* the problem with Michigan's football program at this moment?
God. And Michigan fans wonder why there's so much anger and venom towards the fanbase.
As much as this sucks....
I am happy it is happening now. Because another 9-3 season and Rose Bowl appearance would have meant more of the same. The new coach,when lloyd would have retired, would have been another clone not able to win on the national level. It's worth one year of hell to change the program. The non-Lloyd enablers/apologists over the years have been saying that 9-3 is not good enough. Unfortunately it takes a season like this to get everyone on the bandwagon.
Brian- I was there today as well, sectoin 235. Where the hell was the foul that led to the freebie by Ronaldinho? By the way... I get to tell my kids I saw Ronaldinho bury one at Soldier Field... nice.
Beasley has a heavy foot, but nice speed. Midfield actually dominated for 60 minutes (!!). Convey was too cheeky for being down 1 with 10 to go.
Was there a football game yesterday?
A for coaching wish list. Cowher is my #1, #1a, 2 and 3... Magnus--disagree that he's a NFL guy through and through (left the safest, best job ever), but doubtful he comes north. Think he's waiting on an ACC job.
Erik, try reading that post again. Carefully. It was from an OSU fan.
Now way do I want Cowher. He is an uncreative, boring, run the ball coach. He was the NFL version of LLoyd. How many times did the steelers blow homefield and not make it to the playoffs. Cowher was a huge choke. Got lucky once in the playoffs, just like lloyd in 97. Sorry, but we need a creative guy, not more of the same.
^ Jonathan. Disagree. Thought he was an old-school coach who could coach in the modern era... hate to say it, but reminded me of a certain coach down south in that he would use the specific talent on the roster rather than force his talent into a system (taking his chances on using Stewart as Slash, using mobile QBs, the various ways he used Randle-El, and the number of "gadget*" plays he employed). Yeah, I think he preferred to run between the tackles, but didn't appear afraid to play 21st century football either.
* when the F did they start being called gadget plays? I mean, recently, yeah? I swear, those were always trick plays when I was a kid. Alas.
Maybe, but he blew a lot of shots to get to the superbowl. Remember, before he won that 1, he was best known for not being able to win the big ones. I just want to see something completely new. Hell, maybe it doenst work and we get a new coach in five years. But something new please. The last 7 years really have been sooooo repetitive.
Honestly, I dont give a shit how they fix this, but I want more than respectability back. I want championships. I want it to be fun to watch UM football. Like the pleasure USC, LSU, OSU, and Oklahoma fans have had over the last 5 years. You cant win them all, but at least it's always a possibility for those guys.
I'm not a Michigan fan, but I'm certainly not a hater either. Always root for UM against Ohio State. Have good friends who went to UM, and hate Ohio in general, etc. So after App State, I felt bad for you guys. But then, after seeing the hubris of the Oregon preview, I have to admit that yesterday's beatdown seemed like it was kind of deserved. Self-delude me once, shame on me; self-delude me twice . . . .
There's two Anthonys on this board. I would never suggest that Carroll would come here. Thats absurd.
BTW change your name dude. I post here every day and I would never say something so idiotic. I mean, people might disagree with the fact that I think Henne's dumb, but at least you can make an argument for that.
As Jonathan says, there's good news in Michigan Football.
I eat my own poo.
Love Anthony.
The big difference between Miles and Lloyd is that Les will go out and get top coordinators to do the work. Lloyd hires his boys.
Consider what the last 10 years would be like if Lloyd was always hiring the Bo Pelinis of the world (a few would obviously leave in that timeframe to take head coaching gigs). Things would be much different if there were competent coordinators.
Also, I highly doubt Brian Kelly would leave a head coaching job in the big east to be an O Coordinator here. Thats really stupid.
A few moments of "take a deep breath here Michigan blogosphere", let's have some perspective.
Alan makes a few good points regarding the Les Miles thing. Face it, the guy can coach, he has an interesting way with words, has had long term success everywhere he has been and is a "Michigan Man". Personally, I don't see where the venom is coming from and could give a rat's ass about what LSU fans think of the guy (he wins, period). Now, a certain Bo Schembechler had some of these qualities, also one to sometimes have an interesting way with words, a bit emotional, won a lot...etc.
The analysis that you don't want someone from "within the family" I have read frequently in the posts is ridiculous if the fit is right. If Miles decides to make the lateral move (and hopefully brings Pelini with him) to Ann Arbor then give the guy a chance. Yes, I am sure it would suck to have a passionate advocate for the maize and blue coaching, a guy who bleeds blue and pisses maize. Who would want a guy who would tell Tressel to stick it in his ass to coach the team?...
And for Erik immediately above, apparently he is a PSU or Wisconsin alum and is angry about the "arrogance" at UM among the devoted. Friends, it's time to turn our anger outward. Erik, UM has two bad games but look at the history:
860-282-36 (.745 winning percentage)
11 National Championships
42 Conference Championships
Don't hate greatness Erik; the Big Ten is down this year with PSU (8-3 alltime) and Wisconsin (47-11-1 alltime) at the top end. It's not arrogance if you can back it up.
Friends, see you all at the golf course (hopefully) for the ND game.
Is there any New Math that I should be aware of?
I've learned to no longer trust players with a department store sharing their last names (Sears).
If we get a CB named SaksFifthAvenue I quit.
HIRE AMAKER!
I'm with the guy who proposed Jon Gruden. He is young (44), dynamic, and he has a nice shiny Super Bowl ring to show to recruits. For those of you who say he is just an NFL guy: 1) He cut his teeth on college football working at Tennessee, Pacific, SW Mizzou St, and Pitt prior to joining the NFL; 2) if USC had that "just an NFL guy" attitude they never would have landed Pete Carroll.
The other thing I like about Gruden: coming from Ohio he would understand and respect the tradition of Michigan football along with understanding the importance of beating Ohio State.
Don't forget when tOSU was looking for Cooper's replacement, Gruden's name was mentioned and he spurned them as he was falling out of favor in Oakland. Maybe things have changed for him, but it seems doubtful he'd leave the nfl for college.
Miles is a horrible big game coach, hence why LSU has tons of talent and always 2 losses. He had OU's number when at Oklahoma State, but against tOSU in the 2004 Alamo Bowl (8-4 tOSU team w/ a gimpy Zwick) they got blown out.
The best bet is Brian Kelly - anyone that can make CMU respectable and now to see the change in attitude at UC - he's a guy that "gets it".
Miles is a horrible big game coach, hence why LSU has tons of talent and always 2 losses
-------------------------------------
Uh, didn't he just beat a top 10 team by 41 points?
where's gary moeller? just kidding. KIDDING. please don't throw things.
probably everyone has already noticed and im a latecomer but this from mlive.com
[Its crown jewels - Henne, tailback Mike Hart and left tackle Jake Long - are all injured now. Henne left the locker room on crutches, with his left leg in an immobilizer.]endquote
it is a foregone conclusion that mallett will start against ND. mallett is great physically, and henne wasn't good against ore. but in the short term this is bad. i know ND has troubles of its own but i think we're in big trouble. it's not just the spread- we ARE missing assignments but a lot of it is speed, and ND is going to short pass and run on us like crazy.
have to load the box, play a really aggressive bump and run and make claussen throw downfield.
Re Miles: I spent the weekend in Baton Rouge and talked to hundreds of LSU fans. I asked many of them, "What do you think of Miles?" Despite the fact that we often hear, "LSU fans don't like him and want him out," I can assuredly state that this is untrue. Every single fan I spoke to at least said they liked him, and the most concrete complaint I heard was that he's not good in front of a podium. Some fans have a "we like him, but this year will make or break him here" mindset, but in general, he's doing well. And that was before the game. The only LSU fans who want him to leave for Michigan have the pipe dream that they can then snag Spurrier.
reading a lot about the spread. i agree that the spread is a major part of us being hammered, but its NOT the whole deal this year-- i think any team that has a short passing game with fast receivers could burn us. we're not out of the woods by any means.
" Why would Tedford leave Cal for Michigan? He's built a top 10 program and has guaranteed job security for as long as he wants to coach. Not to mention that quality of life is way better in the Bay Area than in Michigan."
Berkeley is not a college football town. The stadium is decrepit and they can't rebuild because of tree-huggers. I could walk around Berkeley tomorrow and ask 10 people who Jeff Tedford is and I bet maybe 3 would know.
Plus the Pac-10 is looking pretty tough lately.
I would think that Tedford would listen to any offer from Ann Arbor.
Joke about Hoke and Parrish all you want, but at least they have a gameplan that can beat Eastern. I'm hoping they'll do an old boss a favor and send it on over.
I'll tell you why people are still giving you crap about losing when long ago mockery was replaced by pity:
Mike Hart.
The guy just can't shut his arrogant mouth. As a Buckeyes fan, I have always pulled for you guys outside of the Game.
Until Mike Hart started shooting his mouth off, that is.
You can't claim he's "just trying to motivate the team" or "it's all part of the game" or any of that crap. Hart is a loudmouth, who doesn't back up his bullshit with wins. Sure he gains yards and looks good, but you can't guarantee wins and then lose.
I have honestly hated Notre Dame since before I was born, with every fiber of my being. As an aggressively atheist intellectual, they piss me off on more levels than football. I can't think of a time I even considered rooting for them in any kind of sport, competition, or measurement.
Until Mike Hart shot his stupid mouth off.
For the first time in my life, Mike, you have forced me to utter words that burn my very soul...
Go Irish.
For the first time in my life, Mike, you have forced me to utter words that burn my very soul...
**********************************
Whoa, Whoa what are you doing. I think he's a miniaturized dickhead as well but unless he's done something evil like declare war on foreign Islamic country or fake a baby kidnapping in Portugal, you never I mean never root for those dam Irish. Fuck ND and beat those bastards to a pulp.
Pete Carrol would come to Michigan because they have better facilities? How do we know that for sure? It costs like $60,000 a year to go to USC. Ron Howard and George Lucas probably donate some of their gazillions back to USC and that has to filter to their football program.
That being said you might be right, UM might have better facilities. USC's basketball team used to play in the ghetto arena in South Central LA where the Clippers used to play and, LOL, where they filmed American Gladiators. Also, in the 90's a stray bullet hit one of the USC players on their practice field.
Correction, jury still out on the better facilities. Not on Carrol coming here, he's not. Who knows who has better facilities? None of us get to see inside any of them really. I have been inside Schembechler hall, but only on their inside practice field. Been inside the Detroit Lions practice facility.
Been insde EMU and U.Akron's places nothing special, but they weren't dumps. U.Akron and EMU had no security really, I think they wanted regular joe's to see them. Both those teams practice out in the open for anyone to see.
Every major college team has indoor practice facility and a huge weight room. The college recruits are looking at NFL possibilities and quanity of hot chicks on campus. Some even academics.
Son of Jorel,
Doesn't beating someone to the pulp get slightly ahead of just trying to beat someone period?
Jeff, Cool. Go to NDNation and blow the emu.
I didn't see the Oregon game (wedding). However, when watching a re-broadcast of the Penn State-ND game, one of the announcers said it looked to him like the Michigan players gave up at the end of the game.
Anything to this? Sad if true.
Schedule of UM's offseason team activities:
Mandatory activities:
Tuesday nights: Lloyd's book club. Special topics include: Dealing with Defeat; Responding to Adversity; The Definition of Insanity; All Things "Tremendous, Wonderful, and Outstanding"; and Evasive Media Relations.
Friday nights: Pizza party at Gittleson's. Coach Carr will bring his collection of Russell Crowe flicks.
Optional Activities:
Weekday mornings: run the university golf course - Gittleson will give a full pizza to anyone who finishes, and two pizzas to anyone called "Massey".
As your schedule allows, and only after you have read the book-of-the-week: weight-lifting; speed training; film study.
Public Relations: Stadium tours with Adrian Arrington and LaTerryl Savoy.
"Have a great summer and let's come back in the fall to find out how good we are. I promise to put you in a position to fail - remember, losing today will make you a winner tomorrow" - Coach Carr.
Pete Carrol? You've got to be high.
Get Tedford! If he wants to win a NC, he needs to move out of USC's shadow. He'll probably take Michigan's job (after some hesitation) since Michigan has a more recognizable name and more money for football.
Is Tedford all he is cracked up to be? I honestly don't know much about him. What type of offensive does he like to run? Defense?
Ok - internet rumormongering alert:
My roommate has a college buddy who now works at SI - he says they are working up a story (just in case) because there are rumors Lllloyd will be let go today.
I dont buy it, but has anyone else heard this?
Will
Will -
Totally impossible. Cosmically impossible. As mad as I am at Carr, I would object. Bad for recruiting, bad for the university. Nope, nope, nope.
Will, sounds like a failsafe MSM move, like how CNN has a stock obituary on hand for every celebrity "just in case." The formula is right for a coach's firing, but we all know there's absolutely no way it will happen here.
Also, other Jeremy, I have to distinguish myself from you now. We're normally on the same page, but not since you suggested Brian Kelly as OC.
To respond to a comment above, as much as I love Mike Hart, he probably does need to shut up for a while. With each "guarantee" or fired-up comment after a loss, he comes out looking like a bit of an ass. And while I certainly appreciate his attempt to fire up his team for this weekend's game, guaranteeing a win against ND probably fires them up just as much as it does us. I'd prefer he make his guarantees to the team only, behind closed doors.
All that being said, dear Lloyd, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE figure out a way to beat ND this week. Aside from the fact that I can't imagine us starting 0-3, a Notre Dame win, regardless of how bad we are, will allow the domers to once again hype up Weis' genius, and I don't think any of us can handle that. Plus, Clausen is just so frickin' ugly.
To the poster who considers himself an "aggressively athiest intellectual": What kind of douche calls *himself" an intellectual? Tool.
Go Blue
Other Andrew,
That is very interesting. Could it be that the Media in Birmingham, Alabama is biased against the LSU coach? I stand corrected. I've been listening to idiots.
Gnarls, I agree on the Hart thing. Tremendous desire and great back, but shut up already.
\after seeing the hubris of the Oregon preview, I have to admit that yesterday's beatdown seemed like it was kind of deserved. Self-delude me once, shame on me; self-delude me twice . . . .//
I understand that...but in fairness to the UM fans that read this blog and comment on it I don't think anyone here truly understood just how bad Michigan actually has turned out to be (or maybe how good Oregon may actually be, their performance against Houston notwithstanding).
Even otherwise neutral observers could perhaps forgive the loss to App State as being a case of overlooking a lightly regarded opponent in order to concentrate on the team they were playing the following week.
Unfortunately, the result of overlooking a lightly regarded team is supposed to be that you beat the team you were concentrating on...which of course UM failed to do to the tune of -33 points. I wasn't optimistic about the Oregon game, but I didn't think we'd have our heads handed to us that badly (and that soon).
Now we're looking at preparing for ND with a true freshman quarterback. Aside from last year and the 38-0 beatdown in 2003, Michigan has a history of being perfectly capable of losing to Notre Dame (anywhere they play) even when UM goes in to the game as a prohibitive favorite. We should win that game based on the way ND let Georgia Tech run the ball...but I'm not taking it for granted. Mike Hart says he and the seniors are going to make sure the team is ready, and ND is arguably worse than we are, but I'm by no means taking that game for granted. A loss to the Irish would not exactly seem out of place the way this year is going; it would be, at this point, a perfectly cosmic kick in the balls.
Brian, in light of recent events, do you really still want 'He is Manpundit's' testimonial up on the site stating that you are "the Lloyd Carr of Blogosphere"?
Inside sources in South Bend say that Charlie Weis was seen at the local Barnes & Noble buying a copy of "The Spread Offense for Dummies."
\As a Buckeyes fan, I have always pulled for you guys outside of the Game.//
>
That's just wrong.
\Until Mike Hart started shooting his mouth off, that is.//
>
I don't care for it, either.
\You can't claim he's "just trying to motivate the team" or "it's all part of the game" or any of that crap.//
>
Of course you can. Why else would he do it?
\Hart is a loudmouth, who doesn't back up his bullshit with wins. Sure he gains yards and looks good, but you can't guarantee wins and then lose.//
>
The results make him look like an ass, but you'd have to be a fool to say that Hart doesn't put everything he has into every game he plays; if we could put his guts and his heart into the other guys on the team we'd never lose.
\I have honestly hated Notre Dame since before I was born, with every fiber of my being.//
>
That makes sense...the arrogance that Michigan fans are routinely accused of having has actually been copyrighted by Notre Dame. You can actually write to the Vatican and request a copy of the Documentation of Entitlement, if you're so inclined.
\As an aggressively atheist intellectual, they piss me off on more levels than football.//
>
Ohio State fans self-describing as "intellectual"...perhaps the world truly has come to an end after all.
To everyone on here clamoring for Tedford - didn't he "groom" Joey Harrington and Akili Smith? That itself makes me weary of the guy.
I agree Dan -
Figured if there was any truth to it, someone else here would have heard something.
When was the last time a UM coach was fired mid season?
In all fairness to Harrington, he was a very good to great QB in college. I still don't understand how he imploded in the NFL so completely.
I realize that this post was outlining the future discussion on coaches, but are all the comments section from here on out going to be us arguing about coaches? I sure hope not.
Not the stupid retarded OSU Jeff, but I was here first so I'm not changing my name.
I don't know jack about Pelini. My first impression wasn't so hot. Did you see him doing the stoopid player introductions during the VT game?
"ah, at defensive line we've got, ah, ah, some big guys. Backing them up are, ah, um, some, um, linebackers..."
How's about a second take when you can remember someone's name?
What hubris? I predicted a loss.
Before the season kicked off, there were an abundance of signals that this was Carr's last year and that he would retire afterwards: (1) renegotiated contract regarding his deferred compensation if he is employed "in any capacity" as of 7/1/08 (used to read if he is "employed as head football coach); (2) the fact that he negotiated two-year contracts for all of his assistants (so that if the successor doesn't retain some or all of the staff, everyone has a financial cusion); (3) non-statements and non-responsive answers about retirement; and (4) his new grandchild.
Obviously, the two losses seem to make retirement even more desirable and/or imminent, but in my judgment, he had lined up everything to leave after this year.
So now to consider his legacy. To be sure, this is a disappointing year, but let's make an analogy. Muhammad Ali is regarded by some as the greatest heavyweight fighter of all time (especially by himself). Yet, at the end of his career, he lost to journeyman fighter Trevor Burbick. We tend to be a little more understanding about athletes declining later in their careers, but the same holds true for many coaches as well (Woody Hayes, for example). It seems, then, that Lloyd Carr is out of steam and that his peak years are behind him. But his peak years were spent at the top. During his tenure, Michigan won its first National Championship in about 50 years, added a fistfull of Big Ten titles to our mantle, got to a bunch of Rose Bowls, presided over a couple of huge wins over Notre Dame and Ohio State, has never missed a bowl game, has never had a losing season, and has never had a significant scandal of any kind. When he leaves, he can leave with his head held high and he will not have to apologize to anyone. He has a reputation created by the press as being a bit of a grouch, which is fueled mostly by the "Fort Schembechler" protections that the program has built, but I'm all for that. The press is not his friend. They will turn on him in a heartbeat if it will generate newspaper sales. If you read the comments of his former players, most all of them love the guy to death. Is he the best x's and o's guy in college football? Clearly not, but he is probably one of the best people involved in college sports.
For my part, I will neve "boo" a Lloyd Carr-coached Michigan team and I will never withhold my support.
I hurt for him and I hurt for those kids on the team that are tying their hardest to win games.
As far as the next head coach, please don't kid yourselves, Michigan haters. It is still the #1 school in total wins and winning percentage. You can win a national title at Michigan, and you can recruit nationally. There are plenty of talented players on the roster. The stadium is about to undergo a miltimillion dollar renovation and they are getting improved practive facilities. There is a large and loyal fan base. Michigan is one of the top five academic public universities in the
I didn't know there was already a Jeff here when I posted. Sorry Jeff.
In response to the above comments about my further above comment, I call myself intellectual because "An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, or speculate on a variety of different ideas." (from Wikipedia)
The key there is "uses his or her intellect", it doesn't say how great it is. I didn't want to come off as a prick.
As for the guy who told me to go to NDNation, there's no way I'm going to dirty my browser with that horrible electronic football prayer meeting.
Finally, I don't care how much guts and determination Mike Hart has, he has absolutely no tact. And Chad Henne looks like an Easter Island statue with a helmet.
To everyone on here clamoring for Tedford - didn't he "groom" Joey Harrington and Akili Smith? That itself makes me weary of the guy.
I think the fact that Tedford was able to get those two guys to play at a level that convinced NFL scouts they were worthy of high first-round draft picks speaks very favorably about his coaching ability. Who cares how they panned out once they left college?
Did anybody else watch UC this weekend? Their defense look pretty fast. I like what Kelly is doing.
Ditch the NFL-centric thinking. Harrington was awesome for his last 18 games or so in college. Akili Smith was a stud too. I didn't see Rick Leach tearing it up in the NFL, but he was one of the best modern college QBs to take the field.
As to JH "imploding" in the NFL - are you really going to give a guy that much grief when he plays for the Lions, Dolphins and now the ridderless Falcons?
Anon - Todd Blackledge suggested that Michigan players had "packed it in."
Having watched most of this debacle, I would totally agree. It spread like a spore through the locker room at halftime, and all of a sudden guys who had previous played well started dogging it, missing assignments, generally playing like crap. No one was blocking for Hart. Mario was pulling up on routes. I can't imagine losing Henne's 'leadership' in the huddle was the only reason.
Now that their backs are against the wall and they've got a freshman starting, every veteran on the team had better be fired up for this. If not, we're in for our own Stalingrad - and we're the Wehrmacht.
Maybe we need a hysterical Tshirt for the game that says "ENEMY AT THE GATES" and has a shadowy picture of ND players at Stadium and Main. (I realized I just flipped the analogy, but what the hell.)
Watching our soccer team play Brazil *and* Michigan-Oregon on the same weekend?
I'm beginning to wonder if you're in to S&M...
Oh, on LSU's game against VT:
Let's stop the fawning credit to Miles about it. Anyone who watched Tech's lackluster effort against East Carolina saw this one coming. A night game, tons of hype, a home game for LSU in the early part of the schedule against a team with a weak offense - sounds like the ingredients of a blowout to me.
Now, you still gotta win it so I don't want to take too much away from Miles, but let's not lie to ourselves about VT being a top-ten team like they were Oklahoma or something.
That's hardly the kind of "hire this guy!" victory that, say, got Dantonio the Michigan State job, or, hell, got Miles the LSU job (wins over Oklahoma).
(Until they get a really good QB or a gamebreaking PR/WR, Tech's power days appear to be on hiatus.)
I'm not sure how much I want him at UM, but it really seems like Les Miles is really just doing his job at LSU and wants to be at Michigan. It's his school, so who could blame him? I don't understand why he voted us #3 last year, but I think that his cynicism might be explained by the fact that he would just rather be in Ann Arbor than in the SEC. If he were in A2 and happy, then maybe he would put 110% into his coaching and behavior.
Retarded OSU Jeff, that means a lot to me. Thanks. From now on, you can just call yourself OSU Jeff. Now I need to work something out with the other Michigan fan named Jeff that I've seen posting recently.
Oh, and I agree about NDNation. I enjoy a couple of the Notre Dame blogs, and even occasionally read the comments on BGS (mostly if I want a laugh), but NDNation is really just sickening. I just had to put in a new harddrive on my laptop and I don't want NDNation to ruin another one.
"Miles would be a crappy choice. I still remember him jumping up and down to call a timeout after LSU had an interception....apparently it had escaped ol' Les that the clock stops on a change of possession."
As far as I can tell, that's the only thing anyone ever mentions when they criticize Miles' coaching. Is that it? In all his years coaching is it all based on that? What sort of consistently bad decision making can someone tell us about? His reputation seems to derive from that one incident and that he isn't good on T.V.
"But yeah, hard to tell how Miles will do once he's on all his own recruits. "
Did you watch the game against VT? Keiland Williams, Trindon Holliday, Terrance Toliver, Charles Scott, Brandon Lafell, Cirron Black, Ryan Perilloux, Richard Murphy, Al Woods. These guys looked pretty good to me. All Miles recruits.
"The top notch OC Miles had just left for the same job at Florida State."
Seems like they really miss him.
"Virginia Tech was badly overrated in the preseason rankings....probably not as much so as...well, nevermind, but giving LSU extra credit for blowing out Va Tech at home (where they pretty much blow out anyone) is probably unwarranted in this case."
So is this the worst Virginia Tech team in 23 years? That's how long it's been since they lost that badly. You're telling us that they are THAT bad? Did their defense look especially bad against ECU? VT has a suspect offense. They've NEVER had a suspect defense. They finished 1st two years in a row and returned eight starters.
They didn't merely lost to LSU. LSU then blew them off the field.
"Let's stop the fawning credit to Miles about it. Anyone who watched Tech's lackluster effort against East Carolina saw this one coming."
Describe to me the lackluster defensive effort against ECU. They gave up seven points and abou 250 yards. Their lackluster performance came on offense. No one walked away form that game wondering if the consistently great VT defense might be down after returning eight starters. People were predicting a defensive struggle against LSU if you recall. Is that what happened?
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