Mailbag question: Players attitude

Posted at 8:00am — 1/16/2010

Mailbag question: Players attitude

I have this question. What kind of an attitude would one expect a player to have, when their coach, maybe not in so many words, says that he needs players – that the cupboard was bare?

This is not a knock on RR. I WANT him to succeed. I think he made some mistakes, and hope that he recognizes that. But when you trash your team in the press, what does one expect?

I have another question. A poster on one of the other boards, who apparently has some credibility, has said that RR is gone after next year no matter what. If he loses, he is axed. If he wins, he will shop himself around because neither he, nor his family is happy, or accepted, in Ann Arbor. I hope that is not true. But naming Gary Moeller, a person I also have a lot of respect for, to me, supports that theory.

What input, if any, do you have regarding either of those questions?
Thanks, as always. Love your work.

Mike M.

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Thank you for the questions and comments Mike.

Calling players out is a long accepted coaching tactic. Sometimes it works, and other times this strategy backfires.

We would prefer any Michigan coach (past or present) to call out players and staff members in private? We see no good of continually lighting up players and coaches in public. We saw such actions this year on the sidelines with Coach Rod chewing out more than one assistant coach on the sideline. Do not get us wrong, sometimes such action is warranted and we have seen the likes of Bo, Mo, and Carr do this as well, but it seems like every time Coach Rod blows up he is on camera.

There are so many rumors involving Coach Rod it is mind-boggling trying to keep tract of all of them. You would think black helicopters, aliens, UFO’s, and the CIA were all in Ann Arbor with how some of these “experts” on message boards are spreading these “facts” (rumors?).

As we have said for awhile now, it does no one entity, and the program collectively, any good to keep offering up random and totally unsubstantiated conclusions about a head coach’s life expectancy on the recruiting boards, especially when kids, parents, and other watch these sites with keen eyes. One would think if these “experts” are so worried about recruits seeing their name on boards discussed in a negative vein that pursuing a witch-hunt type of climate about the head coach would be off limits.

As of today Coach Rod is head coach at Michigan and until we get official word otherwise we will support him. Support does not mean blindly following.

We have been made aware by some quite informed people that every indication supports a supposition that Coach Rod will have two years to turn this thing around and that AD Brandon does believe Coach Rod can turn it around. Of course if something from the NCAA that is damaging crops up, this might/would change the above tentative terms and length that we are talking about, as well as if something very drastic happens this year where the team falls flat on its face like it did in its first year under Coach Rod.

Written by GBMW Staff

Go Blue — Wear Maize!