Drunken nights usually end up in heated discussion about something college football related and last night was no exception when it came down to the coaching search. In the last couple weeks I have come to realize that when it comes to this coaching search, the train of thought of Michigan fans is completely skewed and absurd. (I am not innocent here!)
Why are we all so preoccupied with our mission to pull down some huge name college coach from another top tier program who has already been successful in major conference college football? We think that because we are Michigan that Bill Martin should go out and just steal some coach away from a program where he is already winning and already getting paid big bucks, and we can do this because, by golly, we're fuckin Michigan!! This is an irresponsible attitude. This is not the answer to solving Michigan football mediocrity, and we all as fans need to stop pointing at Bill Martin like he is out to sabotage Michigan football because he somehow couldn't pull Les out of LSU, and he is looking interviewing coaches from the (GASP!!) MAC and other smaller conferences or smaller big conference programs. Casual fans are calling for Martin's head because he hasn't pulled an Alabama and hired an overrated and over hyped big name for ridiculous amounts of money. However, smart fans take all of this and stride and will look at the big picture.
Hiring big name coaches that have proven success in the big leagues has yielded a lot of success for recent programs, and by success I mean embarrassment. Look at Notre Dame...big name coach, proven success (SUPER BOWLS for godsake), and the worst season in Notre Dame history. How about Alabama? Alabama went out and paid an unfaithful, big headed cock-of-a-coach to come resurrect their program. How is that going so far? I know it's early but Alabama took a step back with a abysmal finish and losses to unranked Mississippi State and UL-Monroe!!! (at home!) So Bama spent twice as much money for the same results as the previous season and an embarrassing home loss to a middle of the pack Sun Belt team. Why do we think hiring a big name who is successful somewhere else means he will be successful with our team? The hiring process (from a fan's perspective) MUST be more than this...
Hiring up and coming coaches from smaller football programs or simply bringing in successful coordinators to take over as head coach has brought a lot of teams success. Why are coaches at smaller programs deemed incapable of running Michigan program with pride, integrity, and immense success when they are limited by lack of big conference head coaching experience on their resume? Jim Tressel's success in 1-AA football was enough to get him the job at Ohio State and we all know how that has gone for Michigan fans. (SHIT!!!!) Urban Meyer coached at Utah before he was deemed the "savior" of Florida football. Rich Rodriguez was simply a offensive coordinator for Clemson before elevating West Virgina back to national prominence. Jeff Tedford was an offensive coordinator at Oregon before turning around a terrible Cal program. Houston Nutt went 4-7 as head coach at Boise State (back when nobody knew they existed) before being hired as the Arkansas head coach. Mike Tomlin was hired to coach in the NFL without any head coaching experience! And the best, Bo Schembechler, was the head coach at Miami(OH) before becoming the most successful and beloved coach in the modern history of Michigan football. Yes, a MAC team my friends.
Contrary to popular belief, Bill Martin does have a process and this process is not limited to seeking out someone in this elitist group of coaches already at the top of their careers. (but may include some sailing) Bill Martin is not an idiot and we all know that Lloyd isn't either. The process of hiring a new coach will depend on the prospective coach's abilities at any level and his passion toward the game, along with his drive and determination to be a successful head coach here for a long time. There are plenty of great coaches that are qualified to coach this Michigan football team whether or not they are household names yet. Bo sure wasn't when he was hired by Michigan in 1969.
In closing, take a different perspective on this coaching search. We all need to and myself is included in this. I was on the Les Miles train ten times over. Life is not over because we didn't get Miles and in some ways, we may be better off. We sit around telling everyone how badly this coach and that coach are going to suck and how Michigan is gonna go 4-8 when they come yadda yadda yadda. Who the hell are we?! Let's leave it to Bill and Lloyd because if anyone is capable of judging one's future success at this school, it is those two men.
2 comments:
Alright turnaround guy. Whining and crying 3 days ago to now unyielding faith in martin and lloyd? Even i'm not drinking that much kool-aid. But, i agree that because miles isn't our coach, doesn't mean we are completely fucked. There are a lot of smart and (gasp) better coaches out there than les miles.
The problem now is the perception that no one wants to coach at michigan. If reports are true, miles virtually was boxed into a corner to choose LSU over Michigan, now Schiano would rather stay at Rutgers, I'd say Tedford (if even offered) is at least 50% likely to stay at Cal.
Does anyone besides Ron English, Brady Hoke and Mike DeBord want this job?
With whining and crying brings clarity. Thinking about this coaching search rationally would indicate Bill Martin is doing this with a process that doesn't involve celebrity status in the coaching world...Les clouded my vision.
It's kind of wierd that it seems like nobody wants this job...? Is it because we're just hiring at a bad time...I wouldn't think so at all. I think we need to dive deep in the depths of coordinators or smaller school head coaches that will do a ton once put on the big stage at Michigan. Usually, high paid big time head coaches don't want to leave their cushy situation at their current school. Maybe Colin Cowherd is right in saying that Michigan isn't the best job out there anymore...?
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