GoblueinNE_PA

Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 7:56 p.m.

Rellez If RichRod could do it (and have the best class of his career at Michigan) then I'm sure another coach can do it as well. Sometimes, folks here act like there's never been a coach fired before. It happens, frankly has happened at most of the schools that have won BCS championships. Here's an interesting stat, over the past 5 years, only 1 coach with more than 4 years of tenure at his current school, has won the BCS National Championship. That means that all of these schools had IMMEDIATE turnarounds with a new coach and then won big. Flushing the toilet on this guy is what we need to do and do it quickly.

rellez

Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 5:32 p.m.

I love those who say 'recruiting in overrated'. I might be crazy, but most people have been complaining about how RR has not recruited. I feel fairly confident that Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Les Miles, and Mack Brown would rather take his chances with 4 and 5 star recruits. Just so happens that these guys get mostly 4 and 5 star kids...and have won National Championships. So I guess recruiting is overrated. The issue is not losing this one recruit. The issue is gaining other recruits b/t now and the time RR is fired. The major recruits left on Michigan's board are being recruited by other BCS schools. In many cases, they are top BCS schools. So, if you think a coach can come in and pick up the pieces and still salvage a top 10-20 class b/t Jan 5th and Feb 2 (signing day) best of luck with that.

marineblue

Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 12:42 p.m.

Dee Hart is not small for an incoming running back. since when is 5'9 190 lbs small for a (incoming) freshman running back? all you "casual" fans are going to be very disappointed when RR stays. that will ensure me more amusement when i stop in to read the BRILLIANT commentary here at aa.com.

blueinwestpenn

Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 12:31 p.m.

Recruiting is over rated. Well said. Besides we're gonna see a flock of recruits fly our way when JH comes over.

Hebner

Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 12:31 p.m.

Hart is important to the future of this program, but he is not Michigan football. Brandon has my full endorsement on this because RR seems to use every situation to his advantage- including the recruiting trail. A full evaluation is necessary for the program's sake and if we loose Hart so be it.

Terrin

Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 9:56 a.m.

It makes no sense for Brandon to make a move now. First, if Michigan wants to get rid of RR it can't let him go until after January 1 otherwise the University has to pay him 4 million as opposed to 2.5 million. Second, it sets a bad precedent. He already said he evaluates all the programs after the season. Letting RR go now would be buckling to pressure. Third, there is still a ball game. It would be unfair to Michigan's current players to let him go before that is over. People are leaving because Michigan stinks. This guy went to the Wisconsin game and probably was embarrassed for Michigan. The reality is these kids want to play in the NFL. You have a much better chance of playing in the NFL is you are playing for a team with a winning record.

umdgt

Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 9:21 a.m.

Completely agree with waiting, and don't really care about losing another small, fast, fragile back. Put Rich Rod against LSU in the Gator Bowl and show again that his small, fast, fragile philosophy of football gets trashed by large, quick, and strong when you play quality opponents. Although I don't necessarily like Rich Rod due to his behavior (which IS strange), I am much less inclined to make this personal versus declaring once and for all that his philosophy and system may be perfect for the Big East but will never be successful in the Big Ten (or any other quality conference). I'm tired of hearing that the poor outcomes in Big Ten games is due to injuries - the fact is that the injuries are because he has tiny guys running around with reckless abandon and being creamed by guys big (and quick) enough to play legitimate football.

Solar Blue

Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 8:59 a.m.

David Brandon has been consistent, saying that he will "announce" a decision after the season is complete. While I don't necessarily want to see Dee Hart de-commit, DB is sticking to his plan. One recruit shouldn't alter the big picture plan for the direction of this program. I am assuming that a change is going to happen. With the buyout dropping by $1.5 mil after January 1, that is a key factor. Also, one critical reason that DB cannot announce a change now is out of respect to the situation for the potential coach. Any prospect currently employed (Harbaugh, Miles, or the Boise coach) all are in the midst of bowl preparation of their own for their current teams. As men of character, they DO NOT want Michigan's coaching search process to hurt their current team. I for one respect this to be so and the accept the effect it has on the timing of an announcement. I prefer to look at it as a "one step back, two steps forward" situation in the long term.

Blu-n-Tpa

Sat, Dec 4, 2010 : 6:54 a.m.

We have a Big Ten running back already at Michigan. Stephen Hopkins run well with power and has size 6', 235. Teach the O-line to trap and/or counter block and 4.5 yards and a cloud of small rubberize particles. DB should wait. I agree it's tough to watch but the holidays are coming and then it's the new year.

D21

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 11:07 p.m.

According to the Det News, Josh Groban tweeted: "Coach Rodriguez, I'm very flattered," Groban wrote Friday on his Twitter page, "but crying to You Raise Me Up is SO five years ago." Obviously not a RR fan either.

D21

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 10:11 p.m.

GoblueinNE_PA said, "I don't entirely agree with D21 that recruiting is completely overrated but coaching is definitely the more important component at the college level. We don't have it now, but will when the new guy gets here" Clarification: Some posters were moaning and whining about the recruiting part being hurt by AD Brandon's "delay" of RR's status quo until after UM's bowl game. My point to them is that the recruiting still last beyond Jan 2011 and finding the right coach is far more important than recruiting at this point. Regardless of how highly ranked RR's future recruiting classes may be, UM still will continue to suffer with RR as the head coach.

azwolverine

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 9:14 p.m.

truebluefan, It's worth losing one 5 star recruit if it means getting one 5 star coach. RR is not the best coach for Michigan.

GoblueinNE_PA

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 8:46 p.m.

I wish the kid the best of luck no matter where he ends up. That beings said, 3 and out is correct. Losing a small fast RB isn't that big a deal for this team. They already have a bunch of kids like that. Whomever we get to replace the Hack will end up with a recruiting class that is, at worst, the equal of what RichRod was bringing in. I mean, come on, it's ranking #29 as it is. A brain dead monkey could recruit that well at Michigan. Nope, the new guy will come in and stabilize what there is of RichRod's class and bring in a few of his own recruits, similar to what the Hack did 3 years ago. Though, I'm sure the new guy won't disown the entire class like the current clown. I don't entirely agree with D21 that recruiting is completely overrated but coaching is definitely the more important component at the college level. We don't have it now, but will when the new guy gets here.

Mick52

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 8:42 p.m.

Who cares what this kid does? He may have verbally committed just to tell recruiters to leave him alone. Like someone noted, its not the stars, Mike Hart did fine. I would rather have good recruits on the OL to open the holes anybody can run through. RR deserves another year just for the performance of the offense. Look at the roster. It is quite amazing when you consider the youth of this team. Especially in the backfield, the toughest position to play. These players have not reached their peak. I doubt any coach could have done better overall with this team. Carr's defense in 2007 did not do much better than this one during the App State and Oregon games with experienced players. So why is it such a surprise a group of 1st and 2nd year players did so poorly?

Jaxon5

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 7:50 p.m.

Overheard at the football bust: "Do you think Dee Hart decommitted because of the Josh Groban song selection? I told you Michael Bolton would have been a better choice....Tell me, how am I supposed to live without yoooou?..."

3 And Out

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 5:28 p.m.

Espn around the horn: Rich Rod just focused on himself and his problems at the team banquet.... that cant help recruiting can it? narcissistic coach?

3 And Out

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 5:26 p.m.

"No One Player is Bigger than This Team" -- Bo said that Michigan football will survive this period of time and one 5 foot 7.5 175 lb RB decommitting is not going to kill us... we have bigger needs than that anyway (like an entire defense, kicker, punter, coaching staff etc.) Prediction: Harbaugh comes in January and immediately poaches some NFL level talent with his enthusiasm and his personal pipeline in the the NFL... we get back to major talent coming to Michigan...not 3 stars, walk ons and tiny RBs.

The1Cool

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 4:51 p.m.

As usual ESPN is the last to cross the finish line. Guess you can't take an 18 year old's word. Hart said it didn't matter who was coaching at Michigan. Oh, well.

Chad Williams

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 4:43 p.m.

Its not Brandon's fault its the media coming up with these speculations. All year Brandon has said he is our guy, he also mentioned there will be no win/loss decision but if the program is progressing. Obviously people have seen a 7-5 record and a bad defense and just assumed we made no progress. But i believe after two seasons with a bowl and making one is progress. You have the big ten player of the at QB. Almost a full team returning next year with more upperclassmen who actually play. Win the bowl game he stays. When carr came in as coach he just took what was left and never changed it. More of a dont fix it if it aint broke thing and it worked until the SEC took over college football and USC dominated. Athletes have taken over sports in general. Well coached players with good football IQ but no athletic ability are getting replaced becuase speed beats smarts. You can teach football to those guys and then you end up with a denard robinson. Guy looked like he never ever took a snap at QB in his life time and a year later nearly 2500 yards passing and a real good completion and QB rating.

michboy40

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 4:10 p.m.

D Brandon is waiting until after the bowl because Harbaugh won't talk to him right now. Neither will any other quality coach. That is the problem...it has nothing to do with whether we win or lose the bowl game. Get your heads out of your but's. He is doing the right thing even if it hurts. Can you imagine if he fired RR and then Harbaugh, Miles, et al say no to us? We would be done for the next five to ten years, minimum! These kinds will not be signing until Feb anyway so RR will have time for damage control.

D21

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:51 p.m.

Chilly, u forget that 4 of those 8 defensive players will defect (par average) if RR continue to coach.

D21

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:49 p.m.

Madblue speaks the TRUTH!

Chilltime

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:48 p.m.

@madblue - eight of the 14 recruits are projected to play on the defensive side of the ball.

D21

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:47 p.m.

Besides, some of the prospective recruits know (thru their handlers) that playing for UM under a different coach would be far better than under RR.

madblue

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:42 p.m.

FYI, Mike Hart was only a three star prospect, and he turned out pretty good wouldn't you say. Running backs can be found anywhere, no one heard of Monte Ball or James White at Wisconsin. We need big time players on defense, period!

D21

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:42 p.m.

The recruiting rankings aren't the true indicator of what will make or break the teams. Wisconsin ranked in the 40's for the past 5 years yet they are better than UM who was ranked in the Top 10 and 20 for the past 5 years. The key is COACHING, COACHING and COACHING.

OkBlue

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:41 p.m.

Forever is absouletly right. DB hasn't done crap to impress. He marches to the same dogma tune. No playoff, after the bowl, blah blah blah. Either fire him, support him, or I'll take a supreme with no onions. Recruits want stability, period.

ecmichman

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:30 p.m.

Who cares if he goes elsewhere? We already have a 5-6 165 lb. dynamo named Vincent Smith. I guess you can never have enough of these small interchangeable parts on hand. That way when one gets his bell rung, you just trot another one out there. Besides when Barwis is done with this kid, he would be down to a svelt 140 pounds anyway.

NoBowl4Blue

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:28 p.m.

If recruiting was over rated then why doesn't Michigan have a defense? As far as Hart is concerned maybe cry baby could call him and whine a little.

EVRYBDYZGT1

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3:26 p.m.

It is true that this uncertainty will affect recruiting. I think DB has already made his decision. He does, however, have a million and a half reasons to delay going public right now. Too bad. I liked having Denard here. That's ok, though, Tate will fit in to the new, old pro set. Now we'll have to rely on our buck-and-a-half RBs to run through the DL. Nothing recruiting can't fix. Oh... Nevermind.

D21

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 3 p.m.

Relax, Recruiting is OVERRATED! When UM hires Jim Harbaugh, there will be more than several committed players switching their allegiance to Bo's prdogial son, Harbaugh. Sit back and let AD Brandon dazzle you all. Recruiting is OVERRATED!

Larry Weisenthal

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 2:13 p.m.

I'll add my vote that it's a really bad idea to keep everyone twisting in the wind: recruits, RR himself, assistant coaches. I can't imagine that anything which happens in the Bowl game will add any useful information to what is already known. Let's say that everyone on the team plays lights out and they get a couple of big turnovers and benefit from a couple of timely penalties and beat a rated team by 10 points or more. Does that really signify that RR is suddenly a genius and great motivator? Of if the team plays lights out but the breaks go the other way and they lose by 17 points? Or if they have their usual game, i.e. limited first half offensive effectiveness, followed by late scores in slop time, combined with atrocious defense and special teams. What new knowledge does any scenario add? As much as I personally believe that RR is not a good fit for Ann Arbor, I think it's cruel and unusual punishment to make him and his assistants twist in the wind. Throw another $1.5 million on top of the bad money already spent or else give him a public vote of confidence and commitment to another year. Make the sort of tough decision you were hired to make, Mr. Brandon.

rellez

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 2:09 p.m.

I do not think people are defending RR. In fact, I think most people are assuming RR is gone. RR dug his own grave by not winning football games. The point is, why does Brandon need to wait until after a bowl game? Does he not know what he is going to do by now? Is a win in a third rate bowl game going to suddenly show that RR can win football games in the Big Ten? The only thing Brandon is doing is holding up progress. Hire a new coach/fire RR. Let the new coach go out and try to salvage as many recruits as possible. If for some incredibly horrible reason Brandon has decided to bring back RR, just say it. Either way, Brandon is the one person who can now put a stop to what has amounted to three lost years.

madblue

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 2:08 p.m.

Not that big of a deal as far as I am concerned unless he is going to play defense too! We need help on defense, that should be UM's main and only focus.

rellez

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 2:05 p.m.

I do not think people are defending RR. In fact, I think most people are assuming RR is gone. RR dug his own grave by not winning football games. The point is, why does Brandon need to wait until after a bowl game? Does he not know what he is going to do by now? Is a win in a third rate bowl game going to suddenly show that RR can win football games in the Big Ten? The only thing Brandon is doing is holding up progress. Hire a new coach/fire RR. Let the new coach go out and try to salvage as many recruits as possible. If for some incredibly horrible reason Brandon has decided to bring back RR, just say it. Either way, Brandon is the one person who can now put a stop to what has amounted to three lost years.

truebluefan

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:53 p.m.

David Brandon is really screwing this up. RR worked hard to get a great commitment from a borderline 5-star RB. Now Brandon's indecisiveness on RR's future at Michigan is ruining it. It's obvious the kid wants to play for RR and not "replacement to be named later", whoever it may be.

I love Michigan Football

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:47 p.m.

I'm starting read alot of comments where people are downing David Brandon and blaming him for stuff now, especially that Dee is decommiting. Don't you people think that Dee and the other recruits know what is going down? Hart was an early enrollee, of course they are gonna tell him you have a choice to play for University of Michigan, but expect a new coach eventually. It might not be this year, but the latest would be next year that Rodriguez will be fired. Everyone of those recruits are contemplating their futures right now, and I'm sure most of them know exactly what is going to happen in the near future. How does Rich get these people to defend him?

paperstreetsoap

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:47 p.m.

@fornever Why is everyone else responsible for what rr has done except for rr himself?

madblue

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:46 p.m.

Not that big of a deal as far as I am concerned unless he is going to play defense too! We need help on defense, that should be UM's main and only focus.

rellez

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:41 p.m.

Forever, You are 100% correct. This one falls on the shoulder of Brandon. This could become a wasted recruiting class unless Brandon makes a move. Tell me one program who is not using this situation against Michigan in recruiting...MAKE A MOVE BRANDON! It is not hard, say he is your guy or fire him.

sigdiamond

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:38 p.m.

Rich Rodriguez should send this kid a Josh Groban CD immediately. Something needs to be done to stop the bleeding, and this adult contemporary wunderkind is our only hope

81wolverine

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:36 p.m.

This would be REALLY bad if he decommited. It's not just that we need a "featured back" to complement Denard and Hart's so good. But, it's the potentially damaging message it might send to other recruits - commited or not. Hopefully, the Michigan coaches will somehow be able to keep him in the fold. I'll say this: recruiting is becoming a high-stakes, almost dirty business in many ways. And the SEC coaches have long been known for using negative-recruiting against other schools, in addition to other dirty tricks. Look at the whole Cam Newton fiasco as a recent example. I wouldn't be surprised if Slick Nick used Michigan's current situation to bend Dee's ear toward Alabama. But, it ain't over till it's over as they say. Time to pull out the extra strength snake oil and get on the plane to Orlando!

Lou

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:30 p.m.

Rivals has already removed him from our listing of this years recruits and on his personal page it has his interest listed as High on Bama while his interest in Michigan is listen as None! He's gone!

Forever27

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:18 p.m.

@paperstreetsoap, i disagree. This is what happens when your AD refuses to back your coach and puts the entire recruiting class in jeopardy. Either fire him or keep him. Just make up your mind Brandon.

paperstreetsoap

Fri, Dec 3, 2010 : 1:15 p.m.

This is what happens when your program stinks. You lose out to better programs with better coaches.