Michigan Football's Plethora of Problems May Have Saved a Coaching Job

Not long after Michigan barely escaped with a 42-37 win over Massachusetts, it was reported that ESPN’s Mark May called for the ouster of defensive coordinator Greg Robinson.

Sure it was a horrible defensive performance, especially since there were glimmers of hope during both the Connecticut and Notre Dame games.

But don’t forget, head coach Rich Rodriguez has a ton of problems to deal with, starting with the NCAA’s investigations here and at West Virginia, the difficulty of getting some recruits in school, and the shoddy performances in last year’s Big Ten campaign.

In more stable years, a coaching change may have been in order.

Some blame the defensive problems on defections, some on the system itself, but others see three coordinators in five years as the biggest problem.  

The loss of Brandon Graham to the NFL and Troy Woolfolk to injury didn’t help either.

One thing is for sure: Both players and coaches have owned up to Saturday’s defensive dud. Sophomore linebacker Craig Roh didn’t mince words.

“We were terrible on defense,” Roh told the Associated Press. “We just didn’t look like we were prepared to play, and we didn’t make adjustments during the game.”

Granted, this is a young outfit. Consider this: If Michigan was to open next season with the group intact, 10 of the 11 starters would be back. So without making outlandish changes, tweaking the system might do the trick. Many recommend just simplifying things.

Everyone in the stadium can see the shocking coverage lapses in the secondary. Some of the problems are eerily similar to the blown assignments in last season’s Iowa game.

There are some pretty good athletes on the defense, and seeing them out of position is mystifying. The lack of tackling fundamentals is also puzzling.

Coach Rodriguez can finally see his spread option offense clicking on (almost) all cylinders. He's also well aware that Michigan needs all phases of the team to produce if there is any hope for a postseason bowl game.

“Let's not pretend that we’re the 1985 Chicago Bears,” Rodriguez told reporters after the game. “There are a lot of things we need to clean up.”

Everyone is hoping for a breather with Bowling Green Saturday so Michigan can not only work on the defense, but also on the offense and special teams. The Wolverines really haven’t shown much of a power game, but they did tease us in the Notre Dame victory when Stephen Hopkins followed William Campbell into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown.