U of M thread (in the Lions Forum) :)

[jaadam4]

While that ahole drops the ball a lot and I'd still rather have drafted a few others, he played well last year

[chemiclord]

Ya know, honestly, at least in that particular segment from CBS, both Hoke and Rodriguez handled what could have been a very awkward interview with a lot of class.

As for Rodriguez's take on his tenure; he's both right and wrong.

He's right that he was put in a rough situation from Day 1. Half the Administration and Athletic Department was working on getting him fired about five seconds after he was hired. The other half merely saw him as a fall back option, and weren't exactly going to go to bat for him.

But he really stepped in it as well; even if he didn't think Ohio State was a particularly bigger game than the rest (and frankly, I can understand why he'd say every game is important with the way the BCS is set up). There's an element that can certainly remember the days under Carr where the national title hopes were dashed by Week 4 because the team really didn't get their feet under them until the conference schedule started.

He had to know that the university does think OSU is a bigger game than the others. What supporters he did have immediately backed away at that moment. Fuck, it's not that hard to lie and pretend you agree with them.

But even through all that; the U-M would have embraced him (and even given him a pass on the OSU thing) had he actually won all his games like he claimed he wanted to. Wolverine faithful wouldn't have given a shit if RichRod thought the entire rivalry was silly if he had gone 3-0 against the Buckeyes in that period and was 10-2 and 11-1 in the process. In fact, they might have taken a bit of perverse glee out of it, "Hey Suckeyes! Our coach doesn't even care about you shits, and we still are kicking your asses!"

He had his chance, and he blew it.

[froot loops]

He horribly mismanaged the Mallett and Boren mess. Some of the factions were against him when they started the whisper campaign against Boren.

[Cody_Russell]

Michigan lost to osu (AGAIN!) in basketball ...

I'm wondering, How good would osu be if Evan Turner returned this year for his senior season ...

[jaadam4]

F OSU... Hoke is gonna turn everything around!!!

[Desert Lion]

Ya know, honestly, at least in that particular segment from CBS, both Hoke and Rodriguez handled what could have been a very awkward interview with a lot of class.

As for Rodriguez's take on his tenure; he's both right and wrong.

He's right that he was put in a rough situation from Day 1. Half the Administration and Athletic Department was working on getting him fired about five seconds after he was hired. The other half merely saw him as a fall back option, and weren't exactly going to go to bat for him.

But he really stepped in it as well; even if he didn't think Ohio State was a particularly bigger game than the rest (and frankly, I can understand why he'd say every game is important with the way the BCS is set up). There's an element that can certainly remember the days under Carr where the national title hopes were dashed by Week 4 because the team really didn't get their feet under them until the conference schedule started.

He had to know that the university does think OSU is a bigger game than the others. What supporters he did have immediately backed away at that moment. Fuck, it's not that hard to lie and pretend you agree with them.

But even through all that; the U-M would have embraced him (and even given him a pass on the OSU thing) had he actually won all his games like he claimed he wanted to. Wolverine faithful wouldn't have given a shit if RichRod thought the entire rivalry was silly if he had gone 3-0 against the Buckeyes in that period and was 10-2 and 11-1 in the process. In fact, they might have taken a bit of perverse glee out of it, "Hey Suckeyes! Our coach doesn't even care about you shits, and we still are kicking your asses!"

He had his chance, and he blew it.

Spot on Chemi.

[Fraquar]

R-Rod's problem was inflexibilty from day 0. The best coaches make due with both personel and scheme - and R-Rod was inflexible with the latter.

In today's game you can't build a Maginot Line and expect everybody to conveniently run straight into it to their ultimate demise. As the Germans did, they will just go around it and expose you.

[SeattleLionsFan]

Rich rod had many troubles early on. His inflexibilty was a big one in the on field performance side.

[gjdodger]

If he had been successful, his inflexibility would have been seen as a virtue. He acted like football coaches are supposed to act. I've got a formula; we're doing it my way.

[froot loops]

I don't know about that, a lot of football coaches adapt to what they have available at the time.

[Fraquar]

If he had been successful, his inflexibility would have been seen as a virtue. He acted like football coaches are supposed to act. I've got a formula; we're doing it my way.

That said, his real demise wasn't the offense - it was the lack of defense. People would be willing to wait on the offense to gel if he could have stopped somebody, anybody. You simply have no job security when you are giving up the farm against practically any decent opposition you face.

This guy will forever be associated with many of the worst records on the storied Michigan Wolverine record books.

He was basically setup for failure when he said "yes, I'll take he job". He couldn't have found another school that was built differently that what he wanted it to be built if he tried.

[froot loops]

I think Alabama would have been even worse for him.

[gjdodger]

He was basically setup for failure when he said "yes, I'll take he job". He couldn't have found another school that was built differently that what he wanted it to be built if he tried.

Both on and off the field. He wanted a school that would nod and wink as long as he won. He went 7-5 and went to a bowl game, and there was never any doubt he was going to be shitcanned.

[Fraquar]

Yep, you can't make a living on even a 7-5 season when you have your 3rd straight losing season in the conference. That pasting by MSU in the bowl game was just icing on the cake.

As for Alabama, they would have ran his ass out on a rail in the 1st season if they would have gotten embarrassed like Michigan did in season 1.

[LionsWolverines]

Yep, you can't make a living on even a 7-5 season when you have your 3rd straight losing season in the conference. That pasting by MSU in the bowl game was just icing on the cake.

As for Alabama, they would have ran his ass out on a rail in the 1st season if they would have gotten embarrassed like Michigan did in season 1.

The personnell he would have had coming in to alabama are so far ahead of what he had at michigan, it's laughable, and almost pointless to compare.

Look at this season. Carr recruits who should be the Jr/Sr leadership of this team were just not here. Woofolk is pretty much the only guy, and he was out all year. So you're left trying to field kids who are just not ready to play, and Greg Robinson is your DC.