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Michigan Football: Relooking at The Michigan Football Administration — Part II

GBMWolverine Staff — Thu, 09 May 2013 11:00:33 +0000

Posted at 7:00am — 5/9/2013

Michigan Football: Relooking at The Michigan Football Administration — Part II

The first administrative construct for discussion is positive involvement of the Athletic Director. All programs spout the gospel of helping a coach, and some practice it. All too often a seemingly impassioned athletic director ascends to the podium to declare support for a head coach, and then a short time later, the passion turns to announcing a new coach.

David Brandon is far more substance than fluff. He is far more worried about what is good for the Michigan program than his own hide. He is in a position of clearly demonstrating past managerial success, has reasonable financial security, and is held in esteem because of what he is more so than what he has accomplished in his short time as Michigan Director of Athletics. Mr. Brandon also is in a position to claim expertise about the nature of football and football operations. Mr. Brandon is a dedicated graduate and not a hired gun brought on board as a fundraiser and cheerleader. While not secretive, Mr. Brandon is not transparent about every decision and interaction, and that is good.

Apr 13, 2013; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Brady Hoke during the Spring Game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

His hiring of Coach Hoke was not a plan C as some imply or state as fact. Clearly, he is genuine in his belief that Hoke will not only put the Michigan back into Michigan football, but be very successful.

As stated, David Brandon is not a hired gun that comes to town for a big salary, routinely hiring and firing to keep the locals happy and do the dirty work. He is vested in the program’s success and has publicly made it clear one of his main responsibilities is to provide resources for success, for all programs. He does not threaten, he does not posture, he does not throw staff under the bus, Brandon is visible and readily accessible.

Proficient- and maybe heading for Exemplary some day.

The second construct involves material support. Psychological and moral support is nice, but big time football must have tangible resources. In today’s world of big time college sports, an age-old phenomenon of “upping the ante” is taking place. Practice facilities, locker rooms, weight training facilities, study personnel, stadium nuance, scoreboards, and the list goes on as far as items schools “up the ante” on the opposition. Successful fundraiser Bill Martin started the process of upgrade and Brandon is digging in to complete the work. The upgrades are obvious, perhaps not the world’s best, but nonetheless the upgrades are impressive. A Big Ten network commercial on behalf of Michigan shows the final vision.

Proficient- and probably at the middle to top end of proficient.

The final construct to be discussed in part two is observation and accurate program success. Brandon is a successful manager, he is hard working, and he has sufficient technical knowledge of football and other sports to make informed judgments. Not every athletic director can make that claim.

Nov 24, 2012; Columbus, OH, USA; Michigan Wolverines athletic director Dave Brandon prior to the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon has made it clear football will receive the lion’s share of assessment. He is more than a frequent visitor to practices and events. He does not show up to have a good time and be seen. Brandon shows up to accurately observe and assess. He has demonstrated precision in this regard but also has undertaken this venture as a partnership with the program personnel. Again, Brandon does not blow smoke. Brandon is trustworthy and he is not an egotist. Poison is an accurate word for the relationship of an athletic director and head coach who do not trust each other or at the very least have mutual respect. Loyalty, appreciation, and commitment are powerful forces linked to high character. Brandon seems to fit the bill.

At least Proficient, perhaps Exemplary.

Part three will deal with constructs more closely related to staff than athletic director. Although clearly an informed look demonstrates an athletic director certainly is a stakeholder in achieving success of the final set of constructs.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff

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Michigan Basketball: The Usually Non-Paradoxical Coach Beilein — Michigan’s Straight Rail

GBMWolverine Staff — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:15:45 +0000

Posted at 7:15am — 5/6/2013

Michigan Basketball: The Usually Non-Paradoxical Coach Beilein — Michigan’s Straight Rail

Perhaps Coach John Beilein may be a little mysterious to very young recruits, but on the whole there is no mystery to his methods. He relies on tried and true absolutes and as such there really is nothing of a paradox.

Turn the clock back and Coach Beilein would fit in nicely with many of the so-called old school types that accelerated basketball to a very high level. He likely would find conversation engaging and enjoyable with guys like Pete Newell, Fred Taylor, Henry Iba, and perhaps even John Wooden.

Apr 8, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach John Beilein reacts during the first half of the championship game in the 2013 NCAA mens Final Four against the Louisville Cardinals at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Coach Beilein is essentially a self-made man. He coached young and he was never an assistant. Being the headman at a small school means a coach must do it all: plan, administrate, scout, be inventive, and survive to get a chance at the next level.

This has proven to be useful to Coach Beilein as likely there will be little or nothing he has not encountered. On the other hand, he does not have the advantage of a huge family tree, as would a Donovan or Rick Pitino.

Coach Beilein has viscosity, but it may be safe to label this level of flow as controlled and somewhat slow. He does not change elements of his program just to change. He looks at the actual state and envisions the ideal state, then adjusts his resources to attempt to push forward the actual state.

Coach Beilein would have made a great Ward Cleaver, but perhaps he is too quiet to play even that calm role. He is the type of coach that few parents would question regarding the welfare of their student athlete.

One of his greatest traits is patience. He is patient perhaps to a flaw. But his belief in the final result of his system supplies the room to be patient.

Those who have similar traits as Beilein get tagged with stereotypes of strengths and weaknesses. In Coach Beilein’s case the perceptions have at least some validity. The book on Beilein is that his teams could not rebound and play strong man-to-man defense. It was also “documented” he did not recruit stars.

At Michigan Coach Beilein certainly has enjoyed more resources. So, the recruiting tag has pretty much melted away with two classes. For the first time in ages Coach Beilein has mentioned to the nth degree the importance of defense and rebounding. He appears to have converted. Now we will see if improvements do materialize.

Probably few coaches enjoyed a lightning run to the Championship like Coach Beilein. In essence this was an earned reward for all those days of putting his toil into lesser teams in small venues. But Coach Beilein would never lessen the importance of sports at lower levels, and indeed he knows such experiences made his very fiber and reinforced his underlying foundations of basketball and basketball management.

Come to the message board and give us your thoughts, agree or disagree.

Please comment on our GBMWolverine Message Board about this article and read what others comment.

You can contact us at our e-mail address: GBMWolverine

Follow us on Twitter:
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff

Go Blue — Wear Maize!