Member for

7 years
Points
2394.00

Recent Comments

Date Title Body
This was a really cool…

This was a really cool interview.  Thanks to OP for sharing.  Really cool that he took the time to meet with the local radio crew during a super chaotic/busy time in his life.  You can tell how beloved he is by the way the host is speaking of him.

He coached here five seasons…

He coached here five seasons.  Three NCAA tournament appearances*. Won a Big Ten Title. Earned a one seed. Made a sweet sixteen.  Made an elite eight without the team's leading scorer. 

The trend was terrible, but the five-year stretch isn't worthy of slapping "Failure" across his face on the cover of the paper. The last two years were a disaster and the program is in a terrible spot, but you can't ignore his success. 2021 was one of the best regular season seasons in program history. 

*I'm counting 2020.  We were projected as a six seed.

He coached here five seasons…

He coached here five seasons.  Three NCAA tournament appearances*. Won a Big Ten Title. Earned a one seed. Made a sweet sixteen.  Made an elite eight without the team's leading scorer. 

The trend was terrible, but the five-year stretch isn't worthy of slapping "Failure" across his face on the cover of the paper. The last two years were a disaster and the program is in a terrible spot, but you can't ignore his success. 2021 was one of the best regular season seasons in program history. 

*I'm counting 2020.  We were projected as a six seed.

When we hired Juwan, the…

When we hired Juwan, the discussion was around whether we're a Blue Blood (or a New Blood).  

I think at this point, it's fair to say we a top 20 job.  We are ranked 16 in the KenPom history rankings (1997-2023) and probably higher if you go back another 10/20 years.  

Being in the Big Ten puts us at a financial advantage over a ton of other schools.  We have really good (not great) facilities.  If you think 3-4 Big Ten, SEC and ACC jobs ahead of us. Probably 2 Big East and Big 12 jobs.  That puts us around Top 20.  

The admissions policy and football school stigma hold us back.  NIL I don't think is a huge impediment.  We're slow to move but similar to football, I could see a nice NIL program coming together.  

I think it's fair to…

I think it's fair to question if May is a one-year wonder.  Had four years as a .500 coach in CUSA before last year's epic run.  That was an incredible year, but they returned everybody this year, and the season has been a disappointment. They're probably a 2OT win v. Arizona from missing the tournament after being preseason Top 10.

He took over a 13-14…

He took over a 13-14 Marquette program and then went to the tournament as a 9 seed, 2 seed, and 2 seed. 

Leading a program to a 2 seed is an elite season. Doing it back to back is really impressive. Especially for a program that had been irrelevant for about a decade. 

Obviously Texas didn't go well, but he won 19 games in five of six years.  Had them as a 3 seed his last year.  It was bad but not a disaster. Meanwhile, he as experience at two power 5 schools, which I really value in the portal/NIL landscape.  

I'm really not excited about…

I'm really not excited about Medved as a candidate.  His record at Colorado State isn't anything to write home about.  It's fine. I get the basketball program is down after the last two years.  But we're still Michigan and probably a top ~20 job.  Let's act like it.  

I like DeVries as a backup candidate. Shaka makes ~3 million a year.  Let's offer him $4.5 or $5.0 million and see if he bites at a 50% raise.   See if Mick Cronin wants to come back to the midwest. Let's see if we can poach somebody with a proven track record in a P5 conference.

I saw Brian mention Goodman…

I saw Brian mention Goodman said he has a "hefty" buyout.  I couldn't find a number listed anywhere.  $17 million seems really high - where did you see that? 

 

Any chance he's a mole?

Any chance he's a mole?

I believe Sam alluded to QJo…

I believe Sam alluded to QJo coming back in the Roundtable discussion this week.

That's interesting.  Ant…

That's interesting.  Ant says a lot of stuff, but he also knows a lot of stuff.  Given the conventional wisdom is that the Beilein likelihood is 0%, I'd be shocked if he didn't have some sort of intel.   

My comment was based on the…

My comment was based on the discussion on the podcast by Bud Elliott who is one of college football and recruitings most plugged in reporters / personalities.  He didn't know for certain the details of those player's deals, but he laid out his reasoning for using $2 million as the high end for Downs.  

It's reasonable to deduce Sabb ain't getting the same as Downs.

The episode was from January 24 and titled "Myth Busters! How much are teams spending in the portal?" It touches on a lot of details behind how NIL works.  If you're interested in learning more, it's worth a listen.

I don't believe the $2…

I don't believe the $2 million number for Sabb.  

Cover 3 had a podcast addressing the rumor that OSU spent $13 million on their transfer class.  They went player by player and estimated the "high end" of what they imagine they got in NIL.  They could barely get to $5 million total.  

Downs was the highest at $2 million.  He has a chance to be the best the best college safety in a decade + two years before he's eligible for the NFL.  

Garrett was worse than Jac,…

Garrett was worse than Jac, IMO.  I don't mind Jac on his SNF / normal NBC stuff.  Can't speak much to his ND broadcasting.

I hope it turns into a UM /…

I hope it turns into a UM / Clemson battle with Dabo needing to bend on his transfer portal stance.  I like our odds there!

If you know of $6 courtside…

If you know of $6 courtside seats to a MBB game, I will take them!  

I thought I could score cheap UM/MSU tickets for Saturday but they're still pretty pricey.  Maybe a bunch of Sparty fans driving the price up?

Appreciate the insight here…

Appreciate the insight here.  What is the power broker's beef with Chip? Just that he took a while to win after being hired?  From an outsider perspective, he turned the program around and had them in a solid place from a W / L perspective.  

A lot of sarcasm in the…

A lot of sarcasm in the comment here, but I think this is an important hire.

With the state of college football, all major programs will soon have a GM.  For a first time HC like Moore, it's extra important.  Especially considering the lack of experience of the staff. Somebody who has five year's of experience in the program is huge.

Got it - thanks for the…

Got it - thanks for the explanation!  

In the NFL you can teach your players the 400-level course and use your specialty plays all the time because every game matters.

In college, you need to implement things at a 100-level and slowly mix in your advanced courses.  Then you have to save your specialty plays for high leverage situations.

 

Being in the NFL for the…

Being in the NFL for the last two decades probably means Martindale will be a downgrade from Minter in the strategic deployment of Michigan's Amoeba tricks, but I'm not convinced he runs a different system.

I read / hear this at times from Brian/Seth.  There seems to be an implication that the NFL runs more simplistic stuff than college.  That's the opposite of my understanding.  Why would him being in the NFL be a downgrade in the deployment of Michigan's Amoeba tricks?

A reporter calling for an…

A reporter calling for an ADs head bc a source tells him things aren't great.

Kind of a wild thing for him to say without providing any detail.

If the Ravens were replacing…

If the Ravens were replacing their HC, OC, DC, and STC all at once and only promoted internal candidates, that would be a mistake imo.

I ordered a couple of things…

I ordered a couple of things from them before the Natty.  They're pretty nice quality.  Unfortunately, their customer services is dreadful and it was an issue on two of the three orders I've made.  For a brand charging premium prices, I would expect better.

Given my experience and their underwhelming drop, I opted to skip an order from them for the Natty.

There's probably some…

There's probably some Alabama board asking the same thing about why they played Mr. Brightside for us at the previous commercial break :)

I think Henderson and…

I think Henderson and Barhart are the two least likely to get drafted.

My worry is that we are…

My worry is that we are removing most of the leadership from our program - HC, OC, DC, Strength Coach - and replacing all of it with the next man up.  

It sure seems like the next man up is a good option, but at some point, doing that to every position could be an issue. Campbell is a great QB coach, Sherrone a great OL coach, Newsome a great TE coach, Clink a great DB coach.  Now we have a first-time HC and first-time coordinators who just "lost" a ton of great position coaches.  First time callers on both sides of the ball.

Imo, Moore needs to make at least one outside hire at coordinator.  I'd prefer two.

I'm left to wonder who will…

[Deleted]

Double post

I'm left to wonder who will…

I'm left to wonder who will actually coach the Ravens D next year.  I'm sure John was hoping to get Minter back.  Maybe he promotes Zach Orr?  I saw he interviewed somewhere recently.

I'm not sure when / why I…

I'm not sure when / why I picked up on this, but I think Juwan / Izzo actually have a friendly relationship.  Does anybody have a backstory there?

I went to KenPom and sorted…

I went to KenPom and sorted by defense.  Then looked at coaches that we could potentially poach (not at a huge program or a longtime coach) and looked at the coach's history page.  

Using this highly scientific method, Otzelberger was the name that stuck out.

The other was Shaka Smart but his tenure at Texas wasn't great.

Why is that? I remember the…

Why is that? I remember the report he was going to get fired toward the end of the season.  As an outsider, I was pretty surprised by that. The program was in the gutter when he took over and he's been solid the last three seasons.  He's had 8, 9, and 8 wins.  The program has had three 10-win seasons since 2000.  What are expectations there?

 

Love this post and your…

Love this post and your response.  Nobody got more hate than TWill last year. Ppl expected him to transfer and tbh, nobody would have blamed him.  But he clearly worked hard and improved all offseason.  

On another team, we are lauding his development and talking about how great a role player he is a la Novak / MAAR / Brooks.  Those players are all beloved, so maybe not a great comp.  What about Zak Irvin who turned into a really nice player his senior year.

Curious why you say that…

Curious why you say that about Barnett.  MSU was 2-8 under him.  It couldn't have been much worse.  

He was also the DB coach from 20-23, overseeing some of the consistently worst secondaries in the country. 

I didn't follow them too closely last year, but he seems like a good enough dude.  But has he shown that he's even a decent coach? 

Fwiw - rumor I heard from a…

Fwiw - rumor I heard from a friend of a friend was he interviewed for Jags and Giants, but his preference is was to go wherever Harbaugh goes. Even if Harbaugh doesn't go somewhere, he's still likely to leave.

Him transferring one week…

Him transferring one week into his first semester is notable because he wouldn't be allowed to transfer a second time without sitting out a year.  If he loses the competition to Noland, he'll have to hang around or transfer and sit out.

Since sportsbetting is…

Since sportsbetting is legislated at the state level, the laws by state vary.  It's possible your state does not allow for betting on coaches futures. 

For example, some states don't allow betting on college player props.  Others (NJ, Illinois) don't allow for betting on college games that involve a school from their state.  

To be fair, how many fans of…

To be fair, how many fans of schools like their AD? 

True.  But Juwan was able to…

True.  But Juwan was able to win the Big Ten and go to the elite eight in Year 2 then make the Sweet 16 in Year 3. 

He was National Coach of the Year in Year 2. There are issues in the program right now. But he's had more success than Hoke. 

I agree.  If we continue our…

I agree.  If we continue our current trend and finish 11-20.  See ya later.  

If we turn things around and end up at ~.500.  I could see a path for keeping him.  This was a rebuilding year - lost two first round picks and an All American (could argue that was partially Juwan's fault).  Then, he had major health issues in the preseason and start of the season. 

A strong finish coupled + a lot of key pieces and returners + a good recruiting class coming in = one more year for Juwan. 

This is correct.  These…

This is correct.  These markets have super low limits and are not "sharp" markets.  They're basically an advertisement.

MGM / DraftKings are legal sites, but a lot of the times you see odds for crazy markets, it's at the offshore books (illegal books) that do it for the publicity. 

I wouldn't read too much into the odds.  If they swing widely, that would be more informative.  

This confirms my suspicions …

This confirms my suspicions - the hold up is much more on Jim's end of things than Warde's.  Those requests all seem reasonable.  Not enough to cause a delay. The delay is because Jim doesn't want to sign it before the NFL hiring cycle is over. 

Not a typo, but I was…

Not a typo, but I was looking at the Mgoblue box score. I have no idea which one is correct.  For OP's sake, hopefully the shorter one.

I'm not sure how it compares…

I'm not sure how it compares to other CFP Semifnals, but last year's game against TCU was 4 hours and 55 minutes - much longer than the typical CFB game.  

I have similarly heard that leaving the golf course is a disaster - 1-2 hours.

This is correct.  

Once…

This is correct.  

Once they set up the CFP, they became much less relevant.  NY6 bowls were filled half w/ teams who were disappointed they didn't make the CFP.  This is when Opt-Outs started. The lower-level bowls still had some relevancy for the G5 / small P5 teams. Still, a quarter+ of the teams were losing their coaches - either fired or hired to take another role.

Then, with the transfer portal, bowls are fully irrelevant. Almost every team has double digit opt outs, transfers, or coaches sitting out.  There are very few teams that resemble what they were all season.  No matchups between teams that both resemble what they were all season.  

Tbh, they've always been exhibitions.  An opportunity for teams to go on vacation, get in some extra practice, and put on a show for the fans.  They never really meant anything - except maybe the big ones.

Amen, man.  We do an…

Amen, man.  We do an incredible job finding and developing talent.  But we don't have the run we've had without JJ, Edwards, Will Johnson, and Dax Hill. 

Interesting comments here. …

Interesting comments here.  To me, it sounds like he's not the plug and play star we expected two years ago.  But, he's another CB2 option with super high upside.  

Essentially the opposite of Wallace - who performed really well in college but lacked upside.  

Letting Jackson, Walker, Hill battle it out for CB2 would be a great scenario for next year.  Assuming McBurrows goes to the slot. 

My expectations for this…

My expectations for this team were extremely low.  Was going to be surprised if they made the NIT.  That said, they're about as good as last year's team and wayyy less talented.  In that regard they're more fun to watch. 

The lack of defense and not being able to win close games negate that.  This should be much better defensively - Burnett, Olivier, and Tarris should all be high-level defenders. The whole does not equal the sum of the parts.  Seems to be a theme with basketball the last couple years.  It's possible people used Dickinson's defense as a scapegoat last year.  

Juwan's recruiting is far…

Juwan's recruiting is far from his problem.  He's brought in tons of talent.  It's getting production out of the talent and roster construction that is the issue. It's a huge issue. 

This year's recruiting class was disappointing, but Nkamhoua and Love (pre admissions) were nice pulls.  

Came here to say the same…

Came here to say the same thing.  Always enjoy is columns even when he takes the anti-Michigan stance.  Reminds me of coworkers who are fans of rivals but are also good sports.

Fwiw, OSU hiring a PI firm…

Fwiw, OSU hiring a PI firm isn't unprecedented in CFB.  In the SEC, I believe it's relatively common for schools to hire PI firms, especially with regards to recruiting.