Michigan Football, Team 139, 2018 Season

[Jeff Buchanan]

http://mgoblog.com/diaries/best-and-...south-carolina

[THE STEE]

Peters was locked on receivers the entire game. so sad to see this team on the field

[froot loops]

Enos was a good coach at State, he hasn't done much since. He was the main recruiting guy at the beginning of Dantonio's tenure. He was credited for getting State into schools in Michigan that were not known to be good to MSU. In my opinion he would be a good get, a lot of Spartan fans have pined for Enos in the last few years. That was more of a statement on the current coordinators than anything else.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Thanks for that input, Froot ...... opinions run about 2-1 that its a bad hire because, "M can get better." I'm not among that crowd.

There's also about a 2-1 split between, "needs a new offensive philosophy" (identity, scheme) and "hybrid the current scheme." I think there are decent arguments on both side. The first option, IMO, is hard to do and it's unlike Harbaugh to bring in a spready guy as his OC.

I also fully agree with your last comment. They (that would be Drevno, Hamilton and Jay Harbaugh) may not be bad coaches but, it seems to me and by what I've read about it, the way Harbaugh has them organized and how plays get developed pre-game, practiced and delivered to the QB in-game isn't working.

I'm not in favor of some big offensive philosophy change like M doing what Frost is probably going to do with Neb or what Brohm does at Purdue, but I do favor adaptation of the power run game to the current game of CFB or hybriding the power run game to incorporate more RPO; break tendencies and all that.

IMO, M isn't going to "out execute" anyone. They are not going to get the West coast guys like Darnell or Rosen to come to Michigan and run what I think is the kind of NFL type offense Harbauffense is. As well, M does not appear to be able to recruit the kind of grinding, 25 play backs Harbaughffense, in its current mode, needs. The most talented OLmen aren't lining up to sign with M either. All those things shout, think a little differently, Jim about where you want to take your O. Your current approach isn't working (and, given the above, it's not likely to either).

M can get decent, athletic, pro-style QBs. They got Patterson interested and he's a pistol guy. Tom Brady is more a pistol guy with the Patriots and has been for a while as Belichick adapted his pro-style offensive schemes to the kind of reads and throws that Brady can make.

So, as an M target, I see an innovative OC who can work with JH and offer some new ideas, maybe coming from a 2nd or third tier conference team that plays an offense that basis out of a power run game but has some new bells and whistles.

Maybe Enos is that guy.

[UMStan White]

fuck any analysis of 2107. It doesn't matter anymore. Harbaugh is just one more coach in a long line who was successful elsewhere before coming to UM and having his pants pulled down at midfield. Analysize that phenomenum

[iam416]

Jeez, this is depressing, even for me. I feel like the father in Breaking Away -- to paraphrase, "I didn't want you that tired and miserable, a little is all I ask."

[Cody_Russell]

Patterson or McCaffrey. Can’t wait for 2018. Sorry Peters, someone is going to take “your job.”
This @ ND game is a must for Harbaugh.

[paul daugherity]

The feeling amongst the fans reminds me of Year 3 under Hoke. Some hope deep in your heart that he can turn it around, but expecting that he won't, and just waiting for it to be played out.

[Hannibal]

I remember Enos being a very good recruiter at MSU. He was the guy kicking RichRod's ass in Detroit before he left for CMU. I don't have an opinion about him as an OC, but the stats at Arkansas are not very impressive. I wouldn't mind seeing him as a dedicated QB coach, but as an OC -- bleh.

We need a dedicated QB coach, OL coach, WR coach, RB coach, and a dedicated OC. Our coaching arranagement is a clusterufck and Harbaugh clearly can't be the head coach and coach the QBs. He got lucky with Andrew Luck. His QBs at Michigan have mostly been shit.

fuck any analysis of 2107. It doesn't matter anymore. Harbaugh is just one more coach in a long line who was successful elsewhere before coming to UM and having his pants pulled down at midfield. Analysize that phenomenum

There is a fog of arrogance and stupid hanging over Schembecler Hall. Guys do stuff that they wouldn't do when they are hungry and coaching at an underdog program. I'll bet that Harbaugh never had a shitty coaching arrangemen at Stanford or San Fran like he has at Michigan. A nepotism hire like Jay Harbaugh is the kind of thing that you would never do in the NFL or if you were taking over a 1-11 team. It is the kind of thing that you do when you think it is easy to win. I don't know why guys come to our program and then turn stupid, but they do.

Also, there is a schizm that has formed in the Michigan fan base between the fans who actually have expectations and those that don't. Or it could just be the impression that I get from reading too much mgoblog. If the latter group wins, then our football program has been fully basketball-ized.

The feeling amongst the fans reminds me of Year 3 under Hoke. Some hope deep in your heart that he can turn it around, but expecting that he won't, and just waiting for it to be played out.

For me, it's worse. A lot worse. With Hoke, I knew deep down that he wouldn't be there for much longer. But with Harbaugh, we're stuck with him in the same way that ND is pretty much permanently stuck with Brian Kelly. The end of the Carr era and two really shitty hires have lowered our expectations to the point where an 8-5 guy won't get fired. And it's not like there's a savior out there. We could hire Jeff Brohm tomorrow and instead of coaching like he does at Purdue, he would hire his brother-in-law as the defensive coordinator and we would end up 4-8. Because when you become the coach at Michigan, you expect to throw your jockstrap out onto the field and just win.

Regardless, I think that there is a good chance that we will start grumbling about potential replacement for Harbaugh a year from now. By December of this year, Harbaugh will be 1-7 against MSU and OSU and headed to the Pinstripe Bowl or another Outback Bowl. I can't believe that the program that I grew up with has sunk to this level -- where it is acceptable to have a record against your rivals that is worse than John Cooper's against UM while never legitimately competing on a national level. At least John Cooper has some nationally elite teams, albeit with a tendency to choke badly.

[Jeff Buchanan]

In other news:

Winovich is returning for his 5th year based on his twitter feed.

There appears to be a major overhaul of the offensive staff on going. Lots of names out there. Greg Roman's name has appeared .... again. Enos, as already mentioned. Some others not worth mentioning.

Reportedly, Drevno, Frey and Hamilton are all gone having accepted other positions. Frey to FSU is pretty solid. The other two I don't know. That news is very early and is not terribly reliable. The Greg Roman to M though is being reported from several sources.

Roman currently with the Ravens, was with JH in SF and, according to one report talking about him in conjunction with rumors he's headed to M, is a pistol guy. If that's actually true this is pretty significant.

This whole thing may have been going on for a while and could be related to M's and Patterson's mutual interests in his transfer. That Jim's brother, John, is the HC of the Ravens and that there has been chatter that he may get fired fits right in with this whole scenario I'm concocting.

Rumors of Brown's departure aren't getting any traction but Chris Partridge to Bama is.

There's also been chatter that the shitty performance of the team in the Outback Bowl may have had something to do with the coaching churning that was underway the weeks before the game. Guys about to lose their jobs or who know they are about to get a pink slip don't really commit to get stuff done. I remember when RR took the team to play v. Mississippi St that he and his assistants all knew they were gone even though it had not yet been officially announced. The game was a disaster and the Outback Bowl had a similar feel to it, at least for me. Something just wasn't right in that game.

Fun to speculate and if all this comes to pass, great news for the offense which has sucked during JH's tenure. It appears he knows it and is holding the right guys accountable.

[Hannibal]

If that's true about the coaching staff, then it is the second example of the team laying an egg because the coaches were mentally checked out. The first was the 2015 OSU debacle. It's Harbaugh's job to recognize this. South Carolina fired their OC and a grad assistant called the plays. If our offensive coaches were sure to leave, then at least one of them should have been pushed out the door so that somebody else could clock in and prepare.

[Hannibal]

So where is the Spring Break vacation this year? Japan? Egypt? The Great Wall of China? Antarctica? I want my team to be the most culturally educated 8-5 team in the country!

[Jeff Buchanan]

I get what you're saying, Hanni ...... if I understand JH's personality, he values loyalty and that goes both ways. I have to respect he's working to give those he hired and has now had to fire a soft landing when they are terminated.

That approach is not the norm anymore. You fuck up and don't deliver in just about any work setting there's no ceremony when you get fired. Security clears out your desk and puts all your stuff on the door step and then ushers you out the door. The boss is rarely involved ..... his people take care of the dirty work.

I don't think JH isn't going to do that.

[froot loops]

Harbaugh's approach to coaching staffs is puzzling, by season 4 you should have some sort of stability and there shouldn't be a constant churn. I don't think he came in with a great staff and has been dealing with it ever since. I don't think losing Don Brown would be a big loss.

[hack]

Every single one of them is replaceable. I hope plenty of them are indeed replaced, though mostly on the offensive side.