Things have not been going well for the Michigan Wolverines this past year. First, there was that huge upset in the Big House against Appalachian State (no Michigan, I have not forgotten) that started a horrible skid. Then there was their fifth straight loss to rival Ohio State. And then they had to settle for Rich Rodriguez when what they really wanted was Les Miles. And that was just the regular season.
The off-season has proven even more tumultuous for one of the most storied programs in the country. Player after player has transfered out of Michigan to play else where after Rich Rod’s arrival. Then came the loss of heavily recruited Terrelle Pryor who decided to sign with the rival Buckeyes, leaving what seems to be nothing but unanswerable questions involving the quarterback position. Now, with the impending draft of their offensive line’s all-star, Jake Long, comes another blow. Former Wolverine OL Justin Boren has decided to cut his ties with the Maize and Blue to sign on with none other than the Buckeyes.
- B/R Ticket Guide
When asked why he was leaving the Wolverines, Boren said, “family values have eroded” under the new head coach, Rich Rodriguez. Now, we can debate the reasons for the departure of Boren. They could be simply sour grapes, and they could be exactly what he says they are. Either way, there should be cause for concern in Wolverine Country.
The Athletic Department for Michigan may think that they found their guy, but the players and recruits are thinking something else. Maybe it would have been better for the athletic department to, you know, ask the players what they would like. After all, they are the ones making the money for them.
Rodriguez is a good coach to be sure. But it may not matter if the good, talented players Michigan has (or had) will not play for the man. This is an “I told you so” moment for me. I knew this hire would cause problems for Michigan. I just thought it would be later instead of sooner. Well, here’s to being proven wrong.
comments (12) write a comment »
write a new comment
7 months ago
Hey, idiot:
1) It's Boren, not Bolen.
2) It's maize and blue, not blue and gold.
3) Nobody thinks Michigan had to "settle for" Rodriguez. By your logic, Alabama had to "settle for" Nick Saban after Rodriguez turned them down last year.
4) Jake Long graduated. That's what college athletes are supposed to do.
5) Ohio State had been recruiting Pryor since last March, whereas Michigan only entered the picture when Rodriguez was hired. Pryor choosing the Buckeyes was hardly a surprise.
6) Defections always occur whenever there's a coaching change. It's hardly abnormal.
7) It makes little sense to seek the input of players who will invariably leave the program in 2 or 3 years when hiring a coach who will be with the program indefinitely.
from 7 months ago
In defense of my colleague...
1) I did not know that typos were grounds for name calling.
2) You're right on that one... he missed that.
3) Les Miles was the clear cut number one choice at Michigan -- no questions asked. Even though Rodriguez is a high profile coach, it's valid to say the Wolverines 'settled for' him.
4) He tied Long's departure to Boren's departure.
5) Guys change school choices like Diddy/Puffy/Puff Daddy/P. Diddy changes names.
6) Leaving Michigan for Ohio State? From what I've read, that's a rare phenomenon. Not only that, Boren was one of Michigan's best OLs.
7) Good point. But, like he said, Boren's comments aren't too encouraging.
from 6 months ago
Talib,
great comments. Check out www.boschemblogger.com if you're a big fan.
7 months ago
As a side note, I think Rodriguez will be just fine. How well will he do? I don't know. I didn't like the Rodriguez hire, either, but I think my colleague might have exaggerated a little bit here. The Wolverines aren't about to fall apart by any means.
7 months ago
"The Athletic Department for Michigan may think that they found their guy, but the players and recruits are thinking something else. Maybe it would have been better for the athletic department to, you know, ask the players what they would like. After all, they are the ones making the money for them. "
Some players have left Michigan since RR's arrival. But recruits? I don't know of any that left or decommitted accept some kid named Weinke who chose Iowa. It was his second choice all along.
As far as your notion that the athletic department should listed to what the players think, let's consider that shall we?
The 2007 Michigan team was preseason No. 5, had 3 preseason Heisman candidates on the roster and 1 Outland trophy finalist. Michigan ended up loses 4 games (one of them arguably the most embarrassing in UM football history, even college football history), and finished 9th in total offense while playing in the weakest Big 10 conference in recent memory. Michigan also lost to Ohio State for the 5th time in 6 years.
But no, let's listen and do what Boren wants.
Justin Boren is fat. Boren hates running. Boren's performance in 2007 contributed to Michigan 8-4-0 record, the injury of Michael Hart and more notably Chad Henne versus Oregon, because, 5 star recruit or not, Justin Boren is not playing at that level.
In 2008 Michigan is going to run a no huddle spread option offense that requires the OL to sprint to the line of scrimmage before every snap. You can't be fat and slow or consider yourself entitled to start, just because that's the way it's always been.
Boren is in no position to start asking questions or making demands.
It might be different if Michigan were 11-1-0 and Big Ten champions or something.
Michigan was 9-4-0 and lucky not to be 7-6-0. Boren, and any players with an opinion, should just keep it to themselves and be ready to earn their starting roles for a change.
Michigan is so much better off without Carr and without Mike DeBord it's unreal.
It will take time, but if one thing Rich Rodriguez track record from Glenville State to Tulane to Clemson to West Virginia is that he instills fire and change...for the better of all on the team.
I find amusing that Ohio State fans can't seem to see any parallels. When Tressel came to Columbus in 2001, many Michigan fans laughed and thought the Wolverine dominance over OSU would continued. It didn't. Tressel has turned OSU football around 180 degrees for the better.
Now Michigan inherits a new coach who was 1 game and 1 injured QB away from the BCS title game last year, he brings in a new system and new attitude, but Ohio State fans reject out of hand the possiblity that Michigan football too can improve.
Why is that?
Is Tressel just such a better coach than Rodriguez? What evidence possibly supports such an assertion at this point, since neither have ever coached against each other before.
7 months ago
I apologize for the 'idiot' remark, but your colleague did write 'Bolen' twice, indicating that it wasn't a typo. That, coupled with the 'blue and gold' reference, got under my skin a bit since it proved that he he knows very little about the program he proclaims is 'disintegrating'.
About Michigan having supposedly settled for Rodriguez: if you had followed the Miles-to-Michigan saga, you would not claim that Michigan hired Rodriguez only because it couldn't get Miles. There's no doubt that Miles was the fan favorite to take over for Carr. Whether or not the powers-that-be agreed was a different matter. Even before Carr formally announced his retirement, there were whispers that Miles was not well-liked by those who mattered within the athletic department, including Carr himself. This perception was reinforced when Carr, at his retirement press conference, was asked how he felt about Miles and responded with a cryptic remark about the the competitiveness of the recruitng trail. When it came time for Miles to talk to AD Bill Martin, Martin couldn't be reached. Miles' agent has publicly stated that he frantically tried to get in touch with Martin after LSU put Miles on the clock to accept a lucrative contract extension, but that Martin didn't return his calls (he was rumored to be out sailing). Given that all of this was happening while Miles was busy preparing his damn strong football team for the SEC Championship Game (not to mention the erroneous ESPN report that came the morning of the game claiming Miles-to-Michigan was a done deal), he had no choice but to take LSU's offer. Everyone close to Miles said that Miles would have accepted the job in a heartbeat had it been offered to him and blasted Martin for the way he handled the matter. Miles himself subsequently stated that he "couldn't get [Michigan] interested in me". Who knows what actually transpired, but it's clear that Miles was never officially offered the Michigan job and that Martin's (perhaps intentional) foot-dragging killed the possibility. Rodriguez was never even rumored to be a serious candidate, fallback or otherwise, until only a few days before he was hired, mostly because nobody thought he would leave WVU.
And even if you're right, an elite program's failure to land its first-choice coach hardly means it's disintegrating. Pete Carroll wasn't USC's first choice. Jim Tressel wasn't Ohio State's first choice. I don't even think Urban Meyer was Florida's first choice. If Michigan can achieve the kind of results that the above programs achieved after they "settled" for their coaches, then I have no problem settling for Rodriguez.
6 months ago
Michigan fans check out www.boschemblogger.com for timely accurate info about our Wolverines. Its a very cool Michigan football only site. Go Blue!
from 6 months ago
Thanks for the site, I checked it out. It's great and a couple of the articles will be in my next post!
6 months ago
There are a few interesting comments on the original article at collegesportspro.com, one of them being mine.
Talib, good poinst except for the name calling... oh, what the heck, I think he's an idiot too. Two mispellings do not equal a typo.
Boren is a crybaby. I don't think enough people understand that, and are just using it as firepower against RR as usual since he was hired. I would have preferred Les Miles for sure, but still glad we got RR. Definitely looking forward to the interesting season coming up, and not trying to focus on the RR/WVU situation.
6 months ago
video > NCAA College Football Michigan Wolverines Report
http://www.gamblerstelevision.com/143323/
No I don't gamble, but I happened to find a great video on this site about the Wolverines. It's AWESOME because they make some great points, including making fun of Justin Boren and mentioning that we are a 6 to 1 favorite to win the BCS national championship!
6 months ago
video > NCAA College Football Michigan Wolverines Report
http://www.gamblerstelevision.com/143323/
No I don't gamble, but I happened to find a great video on this site about the Wolverines. It's AWESOME because they make some great points, including making fun of Justin Boren and mentioning that we are a 6 to 1 favorite to win the BCS national championship!
6 months ago
Talib.
Urban Meyer was Florida's First Choice. Just to clear up any confusion. Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley flew out to Utah as his first order of business in finding a new coach. Not a big deal but just to clarify.
write a new comment