Reports: Drevno is Out
Message boards had it last night, Brandon Justice reported it earlier this morning, Sam was talking about it, and now Bruce Feldman has SOURCES:
SOURCES: OC Tim Drevno is stepping down at #Michigan. The Wolverine Lounge first reported the news.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 23, 2018
…so there’s enough smoke that we should probably report the fire. Michigan’s embattled offensive coordinator Tim Drevno, by hook or by crook, appears to be leaving the program.
We had high hopes for Harbaugh’s longtime sidekick due to the regular asskickings Drevno’s wards handed out at Stanford, and there was a brief moment last year when it looked like the OL was growing into a similarly ferocious meat grinder.
Alas, nobody’s pass protection has significantly improved in three seasons, and a lot of Michigan’s problems last year and today go back to offensive tackle recruiting, which also goes back to Drevno. He was looking increasingly superfluous last year when Michigan brought in another offensive coordinator type in Pep Hamilton and another offensive line coach type in Greg Frey. With Harbaugh calling the plays, Pep still around, yet another OC type Jim McElwain joining the staff, and OL development guru Ed Warinner with the team in some capacity, “What precisely do you do here?” was slated to remain a valid question.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:33 PM ^
Good points. That's why I was just saying "suspicious", not declaring it as truth.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:31 PM ^
Not at all. It's not like Harbaugh is gonna turn to the camera and say "You're fired!" with a thumbs up. Seems more likely that he was doing his friend a solid by giving him time to find another job or take a lesser role.
Hard to judge without knowing what was said behind closed doors, Harbaugh could very well have been up front with Drevno months ago even.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:39 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 9:03 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:13 PM ^
Pep's role is likely a demotion as well, no? I guess it will come out next when the actual titles are handed out, but I don't expect any "cooridinator" roles under McElwain who is clearly being given the reigns to the offense. Pep would have to fall back to a simple position coach. I think he ultimately bolts back to the NFL, maybe sooner rather than later. Sources said he had other options ... but probably at a pay cut. He might now go negotiate an exit deal like Drevno and take the NFL gig.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:16 PM ^
I just really, really hope that Anderson still lands at Michigan.
It sounds like Drevno and his NFL experience was something that Calvin was really impressed with.
“Coach Drevno is a huge factor. He’s a big reason....As far as technique, coach Drevno has experience in the NFL, so that’s a huge plus for him. Aside from he’s great and I can tell he really knows the game, so that’s a big one...From my conversations and meetings with coach Drevno... he’s an incredible offensive mind. He knows offensive lines really, really well. I think he has a good idea of schemes. From what I’ve seen I think he’s a great offensive mind and it’s why I continue to talk to him and talk to Michigan.
He also mentions that he really likes Dudek, and his visit occurred while Warinner was here, so that's something.
I still think we have a chance simply because of this quote from Anderson:
“I’ll leave it at this, I want Shea Patterson to play.”
That's not usually a comment someone who is considering 4 teams makes, its usually a comment on a team you want to play with. Hopefully this doesn't change that for the worse.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:18 PM ^
I said my piece in the other thread, but I look forward to a much more experienced offense doing better this year and everyone saying "thank god we got rid of Tim Drevno", and that will be the most blatant correlation vs. causation around.
Sort of like this:
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:21 PM ^
...I'd like to buy your rock."
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
Homer: Let the bear's pay the bear tax; I pay the Homer tax.
Lisa: DAD! That's the home-owner tax.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:23 PM ^
correlation vs causation like when Drevno had Andrew Luck and Toby Gerhart and NFL talented linemen at Stanford and got all the credit?
Not trying to kick the man when he's down, but he didn't get the job done in three years on the oline, so I'm fine with a change
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:30 PM ^
Realistically, Drevno had ONE good year of O-Line play at Stanford...the final year. Other than that they weren't world beaters by any stretch of the imagination.
So then fast foward, and Drevno arrives at a Michigan football team with WAY MORE talent than what he started out with at Stanford. So he's already ahead of the curve so to speak and yet after three seasons the O-Line looked as bad as it's ever been.
This is the reason why I'm happy with this change. We've lost a guy who had one good year at another school and gaining (more than likely) a guy with multiple amazing years at OSU.
February 23rd, 2018 at 4:30 PM ^
You thinking that if the offense is better it is because of everyone having more experience, too.
FWIW, JH disagrees that experience is all this offense needs.
February 23rd, 2018 at 8:23 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:27 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:28 PM ^
Glad to see a change, the longer the over-represented OC-ish types all stayed around the more I questioned whether Harbaugh was managing effectively or not. That said, no ill will toward Tim Drevno. He didn't get it done, but he clearly wasn't trying to be ineffectual. Best of luck at the next stop, and Go Blue!
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:34 PM ^
Let's not forget about Tanner Engstrand in all of this. I would love to see Harbaugh give him increasing responsibility. His offesnes at USD have been really impressive. The last five years they averaged 39, 26, 31, 35, and 36 points per game.
February 23rd, 2018 at 8:20 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:35 PM ^
to be honest, Pep's background is not a fit for a McElwain offense. They would need a younger guy with spread/RPO experience as a player and coach. That is not Harbaugh. It seems like JH is turning more into the CEO type HC (like Saban) and is now "contracting out" his offense to McElwain. I would expect McElwain to want to hand-pick his QB coach.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:40 PM ^
It was time.
February 23rd, 2018 at 1:56 PM ^
So much for Calvin Anderson
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:14 PM ^
WOTS: Devonte Dobbs didn't care for Drevno.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:20 PM ^
Webb says this can only be a plus in the recruitment of Dobbs.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:16 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:28 PM ^
Glad that Coach Harbaugh is holding his staff accountable
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:38 PM ^
So, Sam and others have said he's the master at OL. I hope to God he steps in there. I have a question for those with the skills to analyze though; how well did he do at Minnie in '17? It might give us an idea as to how well he can improve things in a year.
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:11 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:47 PM ^
So everyone is excited about getting the Minnesota O-line coach? The team that we abused for a record number of TFLs last year?
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:17 PM ^
no. Everyone is excited about getting the OL coach from OSU when they were scoring 40 pts a game, had one of the best rushing attacks in the country, and were sending lineman to the NFL.
February 23rd, 2018 at 4:18 PM ^
Warriner will do just fine as the O line coach. The offensive productivity was high at OSU when Tom Herman was making the play calls. He gets a lot of the credit for the high scoring offense. Now if only michigan could hire Urban Meyer.
February 23rd, 2018 at 5:19 PM ^
No.
The only thing likable about Urban Meyer are his initials.
February 23rd, 2018 at 5:24 PM ^
ha. nice.
February 23rd, 2018 at 2:52 PM ^
I didn't see one brief moment at all last year when it looked like the OL was growing into a similarly ferocious meat grinder. I hope Warinner can take them there!
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:10 PM ^
Our receivers were getting open, so I think they were executing well enough. When your QB can't make the right read given only two options, idk what else you can do.
February 24th, 2018 at 11:26 AM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:30 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:35 PM ^
One subplot to the #Michigan staff moves: Drevno had been recruiting gifted grad transfer LT Calvin Anderson who I spoke to this morning. He told me UM's new OL coach Ed Warinner actually was an assistant at Army when Anderson's dad was a DB at West Point. https://t.co/N6LXW0CZcJ
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 23, 2018
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:42 PM ^
There were a LOT of people here questioning Harbaugh's commitment to excellence by assuming that his relationship with Drevno was essentially more important that his desire to win.
What kind of fans run with that BS line of thinking?
February 23rd, 2018 at 3:43 PM ^
Ok.
- The writing was on the wall when Drev got moved out of the press box and back down to field level. People were throwing fits that Harbaugh wouldn't "do anything," as if a HC is just going to start firing people mid-season, but clearly things were happening behind the scenes. This has obviously been coming for a while.
- People who draw a line through the last 15 years of football as if everything is all the same are kidding themselves. Yes, the offensive problems looked hauntingly like the problems that Hoke had, but the behavior of the HC is completely different. Hoke (or Brandon) was loyal to Borges for three years before reluctantly replacing him with warm body whose job qualification is that he knew Nick Saban; he never fired Funk despite four years of utter OL disaster. Harbaugh is not afraid to shuffle coaches, to hire guys in positions of need even if he already has guys in place, or to give someone a firm handshake when necessary. We saw it last year when he hired Frey, we've seen it this year.
- Mostly, this just demonstrates how silly much of the anger that foments during the season is. You want something to happen? Be patient. We don't know what goes on in the room, and we don't know who is responsible for the issues the offense has (the people who were convinced it was all on Pep appear to have egg on their face right now, but then, we still don't know! We just know Drev is out). Assuming that we know the one single problem, and that our proposed solution must be the right one, and that Jim Harbaugh is messing up because we know better than he does, is absurd.
It seems this had to happen. I'm not thrilled with McElwain, but Harbaugh needed to make a change and he did. Drevno came in with Harbaugh with OC and OL responsibilities and those are by far the two biggest problems with the team. This had to happen.
February 23rd, 2018 at 5:34 PM ^
Yes there was a fair bit of job overlap and yes the O-lines had issues so it's hard to say this is the wrong move, but here's where I wish I had a better idea of who was doing what in practice. Drevno certainly shares the blame for our O-line recruiting and development issues, but to what extent blame = culpability, I don't know. I didn't want Drevno fired as a scapegoat, just only if doing so actually solved our O-line issues. Just based on results we were certainly in the market for an upgrade but it's baffling that a coach with his track record would start coasting, and under Harbaugh of all people. WTF happened to you, Drev??
The lingering concern is that even if our O-line issues due to Drevno were bad enough to justify his termination, if he's not the singular cause then any improvement from here is limited by how much wasn't his fault. That's not to be pessimistic; I honestly don't know. If it's 100%, yay for this move, but I would find that strange. Frey's also out and at least some of the last year was on him.
Personally I think Frey might've been the bigger problem, at least while he was here. I don't mean the time wasted on IZ per se; he was out the door so fast I suspect it was a DJ Derpin' situation, where he basically got hired on track record and then used Harbaugh as a springboard. In my experience, when guys start to chase that brass ring they begin to shit where they eat.
February 23rd, 2018 at 5:55 PM ^
We can't and likely will never know exactly who was responsible for what. One thing that I don't believe is the case: Drev isn't getting the blame as a scapegoat. Scapegoat firings, if they happen, happen to embattled coaches who need to maintain their public standing when a fanbase and/or athletic department are skeptical. That is not Harbaugh's situation. And they occur visibly and quickly, say for example in the week following a disastrous collapse against an inferior team in a bowl game. Not the case here, either.
I don't think Frey is "at fault" for OL issues that existed before he got here and continued into his time here. I don't know that we know the whole story with why he was hired--clearly an effort was made to go to zone running, an effort that totally failed. But one thing is clear--Drevno wasn't doing a good enough job with the OL on his own. I believe that is because he was also doing OC duties, and Harbaugh felt they needed another man coaching in the trenches.
It is possible that Harbaugh felt the only way things would work out with Drev going forward is if he coached OL only. That seemed to be the situation late last year (Drevno moved down to the sideline, etc) and appears to be where things were going this year. Perhaps Harbaugh knew that Drevno had to go after the bowl game, or perhaps Drevno saw the writing on the wall and decided to exit himself. We don't know.
But we're not the ones that need to figure out who is to blame, which staff member was exactly at fault for everything. Harbaugh is. He, ultimately, is accountable for what happens. I think he's the right guy to be accountable for it, but it does fall on him.
February 23rd, 2018 at 7:18 PM ^
since I am pretty much the definition of "Some Guy On The Internet"...But I have four "sources" with some insider-ish connection to the program and all of them reported with some certainty that Drevno was on the way out and the only way he could possibly stay would be if he accepted a diminished role going forward. That info may have ultimately originated from the same place, but I thought it was telling since these aren't people inclined to just regurgitate message board gossip.
February 23rd, 2018 at 6:58 PM ^
Is everyone just assuming that or has there been some valid sources?
February 23rd, 2018 at 6:59 PM ^
nearly full-time monitoring the entire OL coaching/recruiting process.
That will free me up to speed up my intense observation on how the second base coach is doing for Hutch & The Gang in Softball.
Today went OK--2-0 over Virginia Tech.
Stay Tuned.....
February 23rd, 2018 at 7:26 PM ^
Disappointing to see negative remarks but do understand and share the frustration. Drevno has not panned out to expectations but clearly a quality man.... I respect his efforts and wish him all the best. Thank you Coach Drevno!
Cheers to moving on and kicking ass in 2018 & beyond! Go Blue!
February 23rd, 2018 at 7:26 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 7:26 PM ^
February 23rd, 2018 at 8:26 PM ^
Continuity in an offensive line is crucial and critical for an offense in general. If you want your team to compete at the upper most levels, you can't reboot its offensive or defensive culture every three or four years. Our defense is great because of the thread of continuity from 2011 with Mattison and Hoke to today with Dr. Blitz Brown and Mattison. The offense, until the last couple years, has been in a churn. I wasn't happy with last season but the rotating door of injured quarterbacks really make an offensive assessment near to meaningless.
Ah Hell. Trust Harbaugh and cross fingers. But cheering Drevno's departure could well prove premature.
And last of all, but not least of all, best of luck coach Drevno!!!
February 23rd, 2018 at 8:51 PM ^
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