Michigan Football: Coach Nussmeirer — What Needs To Be Done?

Posted at 6:00am — 1/13/2014

Michigan Football: Coach Nussmeirer — What Needs To Be Done?

Coach Nussmeirer’s First Four Months

This will be a two part series. Success just does not happen by chance very often. I think this will cause all of you to think about how tough a job Coach Nuss has coming up. It will be a case of no rest for the weary.

The mini coronation is over, the excitement remains, and the hope and positive vibes are on the upswing. A lot of bold talk about the future of Michigan running the football, but not from a one-eyed fat man; this talk is believable.

Doug Nussmeier is now the offensive coordinator for the Michigan Wolverines. He leaves behind a stable of NFL big backs that just run over the opposition. He leaves behind a stable of highly rated linemen, some of the nation’s best from the time they hit campus. Nussmeier inherits an offense that has been an enigma. There is a great athlete at quarterback, but sometimes he does not act like a quarterback; sometimes Devin Gardner does some very unsound things on the football field that have become patterns and habits. He is capable of the monster play and capable of the terminal turnover.

Aug 4, 2013; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier signs autographs following practice at Bryant Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Liles-USA TODAY SportsNussmeier inherits a stable of running backs that on the surface is limited, but a quick look at the past history (pre-Michigan) of this position groups shows clear potential, especially for ground and pound. In addition, Hayes and Norfleet can serve as edge weapons to get the ball out on the perimeter to prevent a packed box.

Nussmeier inherits a group of offensive linemen that have appeared confused, missed more assignments than a clipboard could tally, and have been pushed when push comes to shove. There is good news on this front. The linemen are very coachable and there is plenty of potential for this young group to rise up at least one level next year, if not two. As stated by the author before, it is quite possible that the UM team will go as far as the offensive line allows.

So, Nussmeier left the Valhalla of football talent and success to go to a program with clear offensive failures. Dumb guy, right? Not really, the big carrot is that Doug Nussmeier will now be out of the shadow and can incorporate his philosophical beliefs and technical expertise in a manner that will involve little or no opposition. He will be working for a head coach that is glad to have a competent guy take charge and design and run the show from top to bottom.

So, now that the preliminary elements have been addressed, what will happen next?

This is an analysis of what makes sense and also Nussmeier’s past history.

First, a model of change/action will be presented. It is a theoretical model developed by the author years ago for working with student teachers. It has been found that most people follow this model as a natural progression without even thinking about any individual steps or model directed behavior.

AWARENESS:
To solve any obvious problem Coach Nussmeier will start with awareness. Awareness of the problem is necessary but insufficient to improve the offense. Coach Nussmeier was already aware of many of Michigan’s shortcomings before hitting State Street. Coach will also need to become aware of who is part of the problem and understand the why in this equation; that is, why are these problems continuous? Film work, plenty of film work will likely be in store. The problems of this collective group are so dramatic and numerous simply flushing the entire mess down the drain and worrying only about the future may be a massive mistake. Coach Nuss will need to come to a verdict on the systemic and individualistic shortcomings of the unit. Which brings up point two, analysis.

ANALYSIS:
Now everyone understands the offense has problems (not really issues, an issue involves at least two sides debating, it is hard to debate Michigan’s offense has problems). Next, as mentioned above, Coach Nuss will need to accurately figure out the nature of the problem and preliminarily design program facets for correction.

As mentioned above this can be individual failures or collective systemic failures. This site has discussed failures consistently, and we believe accurately detailed the overall failures of the previous system: from execution, to preparation, to adjustment, to design.

Part II we will discuss the AIMS, ACCEPTANCE, ACTION, APPRAISAL of Coach Nuss and Coach Hoke.

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Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu

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