loopy

Latest here from AA: (and know that Brandon leaks nothing, so this is all someone's conjecture) Brandon and JH are talking today. Brandon's comments at the presser firing RR and naming JH and saying he was likely going to the NFL seemed to have unleashed a deluge of alums, former players and team mates, dogs, cats children calling JH. It is even "speculated" that Miami's Ross closed his discussions with JH with his thoughts about JH not taking the UM job (Ross' alma mater as well, he is a big $$$ donor there, whole business school is named for him). No independent confirmation has been made, just one "connected, unnamed" source. The usual.

Funny, but useless. When the stadium floor was lowered to increase the sightlines for the lower rows, grass, although tried, is not practical. UM stadium has an underground spring that runs underneath it. The floor is now too close (remember all the clumps of sod flying up during the mid-late 90's and the constant slipping even on sunny days) to the surface. We had the best, even got top guys from rival MSU which is a big Ag School still, and they couldn't make it work either. So it is all artificial from here on out.

Doesn't the rest of that flt info say that the plane is leaving shortly for Hilton Head? Short stop over! But it says our man is on the job, which is good news for us anyway. But, the mood in AA is that Les is not the guy. The fans are very cool to him now and he is 57. The best he could do for us is right the ship and hopefully recruit his successor for his staff. I am sensing that WOLV-nation, after all this, is expecting something more dramatic from Brandon.

How we got here is now irrelevant, unless the next step is to fire Brandon for his "process." His remarks did not even focus on Mich Man as a criteria, but did not rule out hiring one either. What I took away is that he thinks (underscore "he thinks") that this thing is broken in a way that won't be fixed next year or the year after. Using a recruiting class or the hiring of a compatible system guy with the current talent does not seem to come into play. He is going to find the guy he wants to live & die with, and that likely means not only the current RR players, but this last RR class are ill suited to meeting the need. So why even make that an issue in the new hire. RR's biggest flaw was he couldn't put a top flight staff in place. He was loyal to his guys, but some of them are at blame for undercutting their own boss (Scott Shafer and then G-Rob) during games no less. Shafer is said to have tossed up his hands during the PU game and just let the do what they wanted because that's what they were doing, knowing RR wouldn't let them be fired. The tell here is that Brandon is going to get his guy and make sure the staff is first rate, not just some tag-alongs from the coaches last stop.

Further, HOKE is done with his season. You would expect a bang-bang kinda event with RR leaving and a quick HOKE introduction. Anyone have info that HOKE is on a flight from SD to AA, or already in AA. Not even a peep here about that happening.

Whoa nelly. RR is not fired! The 2PM meeting has been delayed and will not take place in the AD offices but at Brandon's home. That does not change the strong sentiment that he will be let go, but the media has jumped the gun beacuse the two haven't even talked yet. That per UM beat writer A. Chenglis who spoke with Rita Rodriguez at her home.

If you look at any good team, they likely also have a very experienced team. If I recall TCU has 3/5 OL seniors and 3/4 on the DL. In fact they will lose a lot next year. And like FLA, when you have youth and inexperience you are vulnerable...mistakes, technique, playing under pressure all play heavily into the outcome. TCU will be very good, but also soooo much younger and inexperienced next year. Playing in the BE will help them, not much competition there now, but they will not be 13-0 next year either.

Not so much scoff at LM, but there is real concern about what happens now. There is limited trust with this new AD. Yes, he is a quality CEO and has cleaned up the Ath Dept and polished the brand (Big Chill, night game vs ND next year, etc.) a bit, but he has not made any significant hire, so there is doubt. He is a smart guy, re-built a multi-billion $$ business from the "scraps" left by Tom Monohagn at Dominos. I think he wants JH. I think the majority of the fan and alums want JH. But if that is not to be, and considering that U. Meyer is out there, he might stay with RR a year and see if he can't land Meyer in 12 mos. Again, all assuming JH is not going to be available. Unlike the Carr retirement, I don't think Brandon feels the pressure of an immediate coaching change. I think he would change for JH, but if JH is not there I don't think he is running around with his hair on fire looking for a 2nd, 3rd or 4th choice. I think he rebuilds the D-staff with RR to make it through 2011, all the while looking for a "significant" hire that might be made for 2012. RR might hit a homerun in 2011 and Brandon looks better and could keep him, but if not, RR would have been an OK crutch to get him to a desirable hire next year (again all assumes JH will not come now or later).

The challenge with Les Miles in 2007 was he was going to the SEC title game and possibly to the NC. Bill Martin, not the guy you want picking coaches for you by the way, should have just asked. But, he waited for the "moment" post SEC title game when he felt it would be more appropriate. That kind of news cannot be kept quiet, just too jucicy, and the UM Ath. Dept has had big information leaks in it for a while (Brandon has cleaned that all up, right quick as you can see by the lack of news on this decision). The news leaked prior to the SEC Champ game, LSU put on a great defense (new, rich contract), UM was lef to admit or deny. They said nothing! Bad PR move. Les could only say he "loved that school (UM)" but could also only say he was staying at LSU because they were the only tangible offer on the table. Fiasco. Brandon may not pick the right guy either, but he will pull the trigger with full confidence he will get his guy, and there will be no "backseat" driving by the fans, alums, or media. For that, at least, I give he credit, even if I don't like it as a fan.

Any candidate would be well served by talking with Meyer first. His relations with Foley (tumultuous at best) are fundamental to his leaving. Any coach would have an easier path to the BCS and likely NC (since all you have to do is go 12-0, not who you play) through NB (in the now weakened B12) or Pitt (Big East is a joke, any quality coach there will end up regularly in the BCS and the NC). The SEC is likely going to see more defections -- Les Miles will go soon, Mullen will likely take another route, Saban will once again go to the NFL (like Carroll he can't resist) and Petrino will likely take a bigger job in the B12 (likely for Stoops). The SEC is just a "meat grinder" for coaches. Over-the-top expectations from $$'s Alums and Boosters, really unrealistic fans, and too much media intrusion. It starting to look like sometplace you go, but not where you stay to finish a career.

Saban is an enigma. Great coach with no distinguishable personality. He wants a job where his is the only program in the area. That kind of rules out any of the FLA jobs (plus now they have SF and UCF poaching talent). I think he prefers that the job be substantial enough to draw high quality recruits. And, he wants to win now!

Of the jobs and conferences out there, the SEC has a couple of those jobs: LSU and TN. Now if Fat Phil takes a hike or gets booted, then Nick would be primed for that job. Obviously LSU is taken for the foreseeable future.

I also think that either the TX or OK jobs (TX more likely) would be right up Nick's alley. I'm not saying that Brown or Stoops is headed anywhere, but should something happen, well Nick would be front and center.

Would he come back to the B10, well PSU seems intent on an east coast guy, but he would be looked at. More likely that he would take either the Illinois job (Zook is proving that you can recruit there) or more likely the ND job when Chubby heads back to the NFL (by the way, with Parcells in Miami, he could come knocking in SB).