Michigan: A Program Torn Asunder

As far as misery goes, it's been a record-setting season for Michigan. The worst part: at eight losses, the pain isn't over yet. Barring a miracle of Walt Disney standards, the block M will log nine losses in Rich Rodriguez's first year -- and that will set a historical mark unlikely to be broken.

What has gone wrong in Ann Arbor? Scenario: legacy coach and staff depart under pressure, but gracefully. Hot, national-stature coach is hired to the delirious joy of the fans. Talk of a difficult rebuilding year commences -- but no one expected the wheels to catch fire, fall off, and the cart to explode into a thousand fiery fragments.

One of the first things to happen upon Rich Rod's arrival: defections. Quarterback Ryan Mallett to Arkansas was understandable; Mallett possessed every possible skill and ability not needed by Rodriguez's spread offense. His departure laid the groundwork for Nick Sheridan and Steven Threet. To say that these two quarterbacks have struggled would be an understatement.

But then came a more troubling departure. Justin Boren, a lineman who started as a sophomore for the Wolverines, left the program for none other than Ohio State, leaving behind a nasty statement to the press relating precisely what he thought of Rich Rodriguez. Then came the losses, in what seemed like a never-ending stream of pain: Utah, Notre Dame, Illinois, Toledo, Penn State, Michigan State, Purdue, Northwestern.

Michigan squeaked by Miami of Ohio and Wisconsin, and logged their most impressive victory of the season, a 29-6 win over Minnesota. And that's it.

The problem as former Michigan standout Desmond Howard sees it:

"I made a comment (Sunday) on our show that it's not like they were trying to learn a spread offense (as much as) like they were trying to learn how to play football in some of those games, they looked so bad. This isn't Michigan, this is like Michigan Tech."

Can't field kickoffs. Can't catch passes. Can't hold onto the ball. It's not just that they're losing; Michigan does indeed look like a parody of a real football team.

And the news never seems to get better. Earlier this week, Rich Rodriguez lost his cool when he started blasting fans for their frustration, telling them to "Get a life". Even more disturbing, rumors of a new wave of player defections are surfacing from solid sources. Our own Brian Cook reports that Zion Babb is "no longer with the team" and two others are following suit. Via the excellent MGoBlog:

So... yeah. I was sitting on this until I had some outside confirmation and this serves as outside confirmation since three guys were mentioned as a group of players who had already made their decisions. The other two who have told the coaches they are out: sophomore LB/S Artis Chambers and Sam McGuffie.
EVERYBODY PANIC.

Of course, running back Sam McGuffie has been somewhat of a bright spot for the Wolverines. The frosh from Cypress, Texas has a 4.1 YPC average and 3 TDs to his credit. Also leaving the team: backup defensive tackle Jason Kates.

Not much else can go wrong for the Wolverines.

Rich Rodriguez deserves at least a second and third year to straighten things out, but compared to other programs which have replaced their head coaches this season, Rodriguez is grading out as an 'F'. Arkansas under Bobby Petrino has showed signs of competence and even improvement despite a cupboard at least as bare as what Rodriguez found upon his arrival. Ole Miss under Houston Nutt is the 'best four-loss team in the country' and is clearly improved from Ed Orgeron's 2007 version. Both programs face what few would argue to be a much tougher conference slate, yet they have still found a way to win games.

So why can't Michigan find a way to at least beat Toledo?

Whatever has gone wrong for Rodriguez in Michigan has gone badly wrong, and staring at 3-9, it's no longer possible for Michigan fans to wear a brave face and say, "He gets a first-year pass, it'll be better next year." Rodriguez's second year in the maize-and-blue can't be anything like the first, or he won't survive long enough to coach a third.

FanHouse Gut FeelingTM: There's no chance in hell the Michigan faithful will tolerate another losing season. Rodriguez has used up all his good will and then some. After the Ohio State game has reached its merciful conclusion, Rodriguez would be well-advised to hit the recruiting trail hard, and to install an exceptional off-season training program. Michigan needs every last bit of help it can get ... and so does Rodriguez.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

11-20-2008 @ 3:20PM

Brian Grummell said...

I think he'll turn it around.

He was battling 40 years of Michigan Culture in bringing his brand of football. I'm surprised there haven't been more defections. Every new coach faces (and even welcomes) defections. They make room for guys who buy in, aren't loyal to the old order and won't be cancers with poor attitudes.

Sometimes quick turnarounds happen although Michigan 2008 clearly isn't that example, but Rodriguez has proven he can do it at other stops and assume he'll do the same at Michigan it will just take longer than expected and with a very disappointing start.

11-20-2008 @ 4:17PM

Scalz1 said...

You might want to do something called research, instead of a knee jerk piece based off one blog.. Babb was kicked off the team, which is actually reported on Mgoblog.
Or, you might write about something that hasn't been covered ad nauseum.

11-20-2008 @ 6:55PM

Clay said...

Ad nauseum? It may be for those Michigan fans that keep up, but for those of us that don't (Yes there are people that have no interest in keeping up with Michigan football on a daily basis) this is an interesting read. He's an idea, if you don't like it don't read it. This couldn't be happning to better group of people.

11-20-2008 @ 4:39PM

"Or, you might write about something that hasn't been covered ad nauseum."

Someone's grumpy.

11-20-2008 @ 9:45PM

Brandon said...

a few things:
1) people round these parts were not pumped for RR when we got him, everyone pretty much wanted les miles. not saying we aren't happy to have him but the disappointment outweighed the excitement for me
2) with the exception of the odoms punt gaff against NW, we've improved significantly with ball security. the weather was worse against NW than notre dame and we fumbled about 100 times less this past weekend
3) thanks for making the 'get a life' quote sound way worse than it actually was. i believe the actual quote was 'you almost want to tell them to get a life' and that is referencing the fans who make personal attacks on the coaches and players not just any old unhappy fan aka every michigan fan

11-21-2008 @ 7:19AM

Laura Lynn said...

I think the problem here is that Mr. Rodriquez is just not a good person and bad things happen to bad people. Bo was right. We need a Michigan man.

11-21-2008 @ 7:47AM

scalz1 said...

1. Not grumpy at all. You've been living under a rock if you haven't heard 90% of that prior to SEPTEMBER. The transfer rumors are new, but he's wrong about Babb, and the others are very faint.

2. Comments taken out of context to elicit a response is a poor practice, used by poor writers.

This story has been written a thousand times over, and much better. Even if you're not a UM fan, if you follow college football at all, you have heard this before.

11-21-2008 @ 11:33AM

Ok Scalz you do know you have the option not to read it. Your team is having a horrible season. It happens. Get over it. Showing your ass on a blog just makes you look all the more pathetic. Poor lil Michigan fan has his panties in a wad over a little blog. Boohoo.

11-21-2008 @ 8:02AM

Jaxson said...

oh bullcrap scalz. it was an interesting read and well written too. and I hadn't heard most of it. you are way too wrapped up in yourself and yr team! get a life!!

11-21-2008 @ 1:39PM

clint said...

Rich Rod's first few years with WVU were losing seasons, then look at the turn around he did after his recruits got there. I'm a WVU fan and was alittle upset after his departure to Michigan but if they will let him, he will have a BCS title there in a few short years.

11-21-2008 @ 1:58PM

McGuffie is playing Saturday.
Weird.

11-21-2008 @ 2:13PM

WK said...

A losing season is a hard pill to swallow for an arrogant lot like us Michigan fans. We've set the bar high, as it should be. And we will be back on top shortly. I think RR's offense has shown glimpses of what brilliance it could have given a tighter group of players. The defense is another story. Maybe the basketball win over UCLA is a foreshadowing of tomorrow. If Michigan had played in the 2nd half of the Penn State game the way they had played in the first half, we could've had that one. Never say never.......

11-21-2008 @ 4:03PM

pat mc cabe said...

all year rr has been putting square pegs in round holes. couldn't he have run a semi spread with an i back like we did against florida? My concern is like desmond said, "i have seen little improvement game to game". 2009 has got to be better than 6 and 6 or we made the wrong choice.

11-24-2008 @ 10:54PM

Hoov said...

A great coach adapts his program to the strengths of his players.
Dick Rod tries to get his players to adapt to his program.
That is coaching mistake NUMBER ONE.
It's what makes Tressel a great coach and RR an average one.

WVa is NOT and has NEVER been a national power. It has been a regional power...simply because there is no one else in proximity.

Go Bucks!

11-21-2008 @ 8:56PM

Mulepick said...

Rodriguez seems like a real jerk to his players and in general. If I was Threet, and had to endure this coach's idiotic wrath everytime I completed a play, I'd hit the road in a hearbeat. The only way guys like this succeed is to recruit kids that know he's a jerk and are willing to put up with it in the hope he knows what he's doing.

11-21-2008 @ 9:01PM

I'm also wondering how the Ann Arbor people feel about their coaching choice in light of the performance of D'Antonio up the road.

11-23-2008 @ 3:56PM

robert nelson said...

yeah michigan sucks by the way i know michigan schedule vs big ten in 2009 is all set have they made the schedule for 4 games (vs non confernce teams ) im hoping michigan will play against two division 2aa teams ( very weak teams ) and two weak mac teams ??

11-23-2008 @ 7:06AM

RR sucks!! said...

AH, Don' you just love Karma, RR screwed WVU now he's being screwed. Life just doesn't get any better than this. Sorry Michigan...well not really.

11-23-2008 @ 8:23AM

Joe said...

Maybe they can go to Washington and beg for some athletes.

12-10-2008 @ 3:38PM

Skapanza said...

Lot of interesting comments, most of which are upset Michigan fans vs. people piling on UM who aren't familiar with the program (lookin' at you, Mulepick).

RR Sucks should be looking at himself in the mirror and honestly asking himself if next September his team will be better off with pat White gone and Bill Stewart coaching than Michigan will be with a year of having worked on the spread, new QBs, and Rich Rodriguez.

This was a tough season for UM fans. I was surprised by the turnout, as I'm sure many people were. The lack of experience on offense left the defense on the field all game with little to fire them up.

However, I disagree with people who argue that we should have run the semi-spread this season. The mass offensive graduation/draft entering, coupled with defections early on left Rodriguez with almost nothing experienced on offense. The players with experience were the players whose jobs would not change much in the spread: Greg Matthews at WR and the RBs. Their jobs would be to catch, block, and run.

The new players were the players who would still have to have different jobs in the spread: The O-line and the QB. They may not have been tailor-made for the spread, but Steven Threet ran for plenty of first downs (and one 59-yard stunner against a horrifically overrated Wisconsin team), before being injured and sending the team into a Nick Sheridan shame spiral.

UM was going to run the spread sooner or later. The Rodriguez hire assured that, and unlike Laura and Brandon, I was thrilled about his hire. So when would it be better to learn? The answer of course was this season, with fresh, new players who may not have been perfect fits for the offense RR wanted to run, but that didn't have a ton of potential in a standard offense either. Does anyone here think Nick Sheridan would have found more success dropping into the pocket with the sub-standard O-line blocking to chuck 30-yard bombs with his noodle-arm?

This was the season to institute the spread. It hurt, but we got it out of the way. The real loss would have been if we had run a standard offense and still lost all these games. Everyone would say "Why didn't RR use his successful spread?" This season will pay dividends in future seasons. It's a tough pill to swallow, but the sooner we as fans take it, the sooner it can start to heal.