Mailbag question: Is Coach Rod the right guy or the right fit for Michigan?
Posted at 8:00am — 10/17/2010
***This question was asked before the Iowa Game*** Sorry we didn’t get it posted sooner.
Mailbag question: Is Coach Rod the right guy or the right fit for Michigan?
Is Coach Rod the right guy for the Michigan program? His history lends support to the notion that he is a good coach, but maybe, just maybe, Michigan is not the right place for him.
This situation seems similar to Nebraska just a few years ago when Coach Callahan came from the Raiders with much anticipation and fanfare and all believed him to be a good coach, but it just didn’t work out there.
Sammy
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Thanks for the question.
That (right fit) is a question that is way above our pay grade and David Brandon the athletic director at Michigan will make the only judgment that counts at some point. Will any such conclusion be at the end of this year, next year or ten years or longer down the road? It is far too premature for even basic conjecture.
We have always held the position that there were other coaches who would have made the Michigan transition much easier and adapted their system to the left-over roster in a much more timely manner. Others probably would/could have kept some of the now departed players from leaving football, transferring to another school, or moving on to the NFL.
The above does not mean Coach Rod is a bad fit; just that in hiring him Michigan administration needed to be very aware and accept the reality that Coach Rod would completely rework the roster that was left to him. And such a venture does not happen overnight. The task of building he program quickly, after early setbacks, became even more difficult.
To be 100% honest, Coach Rod was not the #1 choice for any of us at GBMWolverine.
That said once Rodriguez took over as Head Coach at Michigan he had our full 100% support and we wanted him to succeed. It made no sense to us to wish anything else.
Some ask us why Coach Rodriguez does not have full support of many Michigan fans and the easy answer is winning football games. But the stage was set early for fan discontent. Several embarrassing incidents upon arrival were soon followed by a disastrous 3-9 start in a season ballyhooed as one of changing from old school to new school. The second year started out promising enough but only Indiana was defeated in the Big Ten and barely so. The reality is winning three (now four) Big Ten games in two seasons is not the historical norm for the all-time leader in football.
There shall be inquiring eyes and inquiring minds in the next two months. The Michigan State result ignited some dormant perceptions that still lay upon the back burner.
So results, not personal agendas, or revenge, or sabotage, are dictating perception. One MSU supporter offered this painful bit of empirical evidence: Coach Dantonio has won as many Big Ten games in Michigan Stadium as has Coach Rodriguez (thump). Michigan’s four wins include two over Indiana, one over a then very hapless Minnesota team, and a second half collapse of Wisconsin, not much in national headlines.
And so, fans are unhappy; the program is going through the toughest times in recent history, excepting the excitement of Denard Robinson. Rivals have defeated UM and fans come to the Big House unsure of the game’s result or the program’s result.
We all love Michigan and if Coach Rod or any other Head Coach fails that means Michigan fails.
In regards to Nebraska that is a series of events and questions that is hard to precisely comment about. But let us hope the final result is not the same as with Nebraska, although Pellini is making husker fans say Bill who?
Written by GBMWolverine Staff
Go Blue — Wear Maize!