Tuesday, December 14, 2010

TMQ - The Legends and the Leaders??????

Sorry for not posting yesterday. Life was a little hectic with this early winter storm…But so much has happened that I really don’t know where to begin. So let’s begin with the most obvious:

The Legends and the Leaders instead of the East and the West - or anything else for that matter. And Michigan somehow didn’t get the Leaders Division? The word “LEADERS” is in our fight song for @!#$%@^’s sake! I mean…are you kidding me?

Really? I have typed that word so often lately I think it’s losing some of its impact…but never the less…ReallY??

Jesus Tap Dancin’ Christ…Our Tailgate could have come up with a better logo (check the T-shirt) and names for the divisions than what the Big 10 and Jim Delaney paid big money to an outside consultant to come up with. And I guarantee you they would have been better. But you need to take some risk and then sell it.

That’s the thing about taking risk. You have to take a little every now and then and back it up with support. That’s what the Big 10 did when they added Penn State and they managed to come up with a pretty good logo in that process. This is an abomination and the name’s of the Divisions is simply unacceptable. No matter how you market it…I heard Brandon on the radio last night during my two hour commute on the icy by-ways and he stated that he had “nothing to do with it” which I believe 150% but then he added that he “fully supports” the Big 10 office, which I know is a load of doo-doo that’s simply too big to ignore.

First, if Delaney has the audacity to just “spring” this on everyone, which is what Brandon claimed (he stated he heard about it on Twitter – same time as everyone else), how on earth can that not be defined as a dysfunctional process? Wouldn’t the AD’s at least get a say in this and vote yea or nay? I mean, if there was at least a vote, Brandon could at least say, “Hey, I voted, but it was 7-5 in favor of this…” or whatever. Now, he simply looks powerless in a conference where the two major powers, Michigan and tOSU should have some say in at least the naming of the divisions…

I could rant on this quite awhile, but I will stick with what Brian has suggested over at mgoblog which is: We’re going to call it East and West, Period. Deal with it, Wisconsin.

The Rest of the Mess

Wow, the coaching carousel is in full rotation and it’s going so fast that little kids are flying off the thing. For those of you that haven’t been paying attention, within the last 7 days we’ve had firings, hirings, and quite frankly, rapings of certain D1 schools by other D1 schools. There is truly no honor when it comes to picking a coach from another institution. So, in some particular order, at least the way your MMQ sees it, let’s review the biggest surprises and non-surprises:

Biggest Surprise: Muschamp from Texas to Florida. Yeah, we all know that Muschamp was originally from Florida and he also coached under Saban. But he was the heir apparent at Texas…And that’s saying something. I believe, as do others, that Florida is a step down from Texas. Sorry, Gatorland, but in the pecking order, that’s simply the way it is. My feeling is that Muschamp would have been at Texas for life after Mack decided to hang up the whistle. Now, he’s immediately going to be under the microscope and have to deal with the comparisons to Urban. And my feeling is he will fail in those comparisons. Don’t be surprised if Muschamp gets canned after 3 years of lackluster performance and ends up in the Big 10 like Zookie after trying to replace the legend Spurrier. And speaking of Texas, there’s a melt down going on there unlike anything that institution has ever seen. I’m not sure what they will do, who they will get, but suffice it to say now that Gatorland has opened the “Rape and Pillage” door to assistants, Texas more than likely will be calling some high profile coaches in waiting looking to see who wants a better deal. And they have the $$$$ to do it. Uh, hey DeLoss Dodds and Mack– Rich Rod might be looking…You interested?

2nd Biggest Surprise: Al Golden from Temple to Miami. I guess Miami has just thrown in the towel? I mean, it’s not that I’m not an Al Golden fan…I just don’t know that much about him. Yes, he took Temple from 1-11 the year before he was hired to two winning seasons, but…is that a resume for the once proud U? I mean, I really thought Mullen (Former Florida O-coordinator at Mississippi State) was a better candidate. Did he turn them down? And…

3rd Biggest Surprise: Mullen doesn’t go anywhere? MSU has been the SEC stepping stone for a lot of coaches. Just doesn’t make sense that Mullen didn’t end up getting a better gig for himself (Florida or Miami) while his stock is up. Not that MSU is bad or anything, it’s just not a university you think of when you think top 25.

4th Biggest Surprise: Malzahn turns down Vanderbilt. I’m not sure that was too smart. Head coaching jobs in the SEC are not few and far between, but at the same time, when one does come along, I think you grab it. Everyone agrees to a man that Cam Newton is the best college player ever (sic)! So do you think your offense works in spite of him or because of him and should you capitalize on that while the getting is good? That was pride talking…even though Malzahn got some big money out of the discussion with Vandy…

5th Biggest Surprise: Indiana hiring Kevin Wilson. Yeah, he’s got Oklahoma experience, but I think there were better candidates available and frankly, I think Lynch was a better overall fit for the program. It will be interesting to see if that works or if Indiana is looking again in 6 years…

6th Biggest Surprise: Jon Embree at Colorado. This was a job that had the following names attached to it at one point in time: Harbaugh, Gruden, McCartney (unretired), Les Miles (assistant at Colorado under McCartney), Houston Nutt, and Mark Richt. And they “settle” for a former player in the 90’s and Washington Redskins Tight End coach…Hmmmm, did Colorado finally come to the realization that there “Big Time” head coaching job really wasn’t that Big Time?

7th Biggest Surprise: Pittsburgh forcing out Wannstedt. I mean, I get it. Wannstache has routinely disappointed with what everyone calls top shelf talent. And I understand the frustration. But, the catch 22 is will they be able to land the top shelf talent without Wannstache and his prior NFL experience? That remains to be seen and until they hire someone, it’s putting recruiting in a tough spot.

8th Biggest Surprise: Jerry Kill from Northern Illinois to Minnesota. Here was another search with big names like Harbaugh, Gruden, Dungy, Nutt, and the end up with a guy that everyone had to do a Wiki search on to see what he’s done in his career. If Minnesota ever gets back to glory, it will have to be with a really hungry young coach that wants to make it happen.

1st Biggest Non-Surprise: Urban retiring. Look, I almost didn’t put this as a non-surprise and the whole fiasco last year smelled a lot like, “Don’t quit on us now because you didn’t give us a chance to prepare and we’re going to lose all our recruits. Give us one more year.” So, Urban agreed and the results of a half assed season as far as coaching was concerned were pretty self evident. So, yeah, when he announced again he was done, I was surprised, but then again, I wasn’t surprised.

2nd Biggest Non-Surprise: No one has grabbed Brady Hoke. Brady has done some good things everywhere he’s been and had his team close to beating some big names this year. But maybe there’s something in the resume that just doesn’t scream top tier progam. I can’t help but think he will land in either of the following: Pittsburgh or Vanderbilt. Both of those jobs would be a step up unless he’s waiting for the Stanford job which brings us to:

3rd Biggest Non-Surprise: Dick Rod is still the coach at Michigan. I’ve heard Brandon on the radio 3 times in the last 2 days. I heard him on WJR with Beckman, Albom, and also on the FAN or the ticket. And he had to answer the same stupid question every time: What are you going to do about Rich Rod? He must literally be sick and tired of having to deal with it. But his answer is always the same: He will evaluate the Rod after the Gator Bowl. I really don’t see how he can keep him at this point. He’s in a real tight spot: If he’s going to keep him, he knows it and can come out and say it to keep the recruits from wondering, right? If he’s going to can him, he has to continue to say what he’s saying. So, if he keeps him, he’s going to catch holy hell for not simply coming out and saying that. And then, what does he say (exactly) to the fans about year 4? We are expecting better results and some wins over some of our arch rivals. Will the year hinge on that or will it still hinge the ever ambiguous “getting better”? It’s frustrating, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the Rod still get’s the ax late in all of this…

Idle Thoughts From Saturday

-Will Michigan win it’s bowl game?
-Will everyone please stop asking Brandon what he’s going to do about Dick Rod when you already know the answer?
-You think you’re special and he’s going to give you a different answer than he’s given everyone else?
-Gatorland literally sacks Texas.
-Texas has been gutted…All that’s left is Mack Brown.
-Major Applewhite looks like he’s staying…But is that enough?
-Muschamp was a big part of that defense and the defensive recruiting.
-Think Miami will name the visitor's locker room after their new coach?
-Wait for it....Wait for it...Get it?
-The Domers must like being out of the lime light, at least for now.
-MSU (ours) must still be pissed that they didn’t make a BCS game.
-Delaney IS PISSED that the Big 10 was shut out of the Rose Bowl.
-No offense to the Sugar, Orange or Fiesta, but they AIN’T the Rose Bowl.
-And everyone knows it.
-I think Wisconsin vs. Stanford in the Rose would have been great.
-Let TCU have a shot at Va Tech in the Orange.
-They’re going to the Big East, anyway.
-Keep the Big10-Pac10 tradition on New Year’s afternoon alive.
-If it’s not about tradition, then have the stinking play-off…

The Hot Seat
All right! The masses have spoken and Julie Bowen is the 2010 Hot Seat Mascot of the Year! Thanks to all who voted and we will be displaying a shot of Julie on the side bar until the 2011 season starts! Some of the shots we used of Julie over the season...Hmmm...Picking one for the sidebar could prove to be a challenge! I'll decide, but I'm always open to suggestions!








I still think we have coaches on the Hot Seat, but without any moves coming to this point, do all these guys get an additional year?

1. Dennis Erickson – Maybe he survives? Who else are you gonna’ get?
2. Rich Rod – Hotter again, One last chance to change the Fire Rich Rod Chorus…
3. Butch Davis – North Carolina…I just don’t see how he survives with everything that’s happened.
4. Richy Rich – 6 losses in the SEC? And still the coach…
5. Zookie – Heh-heh…Bowling…But could have been so much better

2010 GONE LIST
1. Brewster – Did you hear they are trying to get Peterson from Boy’s State to interview? Riiiiight…..
2. Dan Hawkins – Colorado’s been winning since he left. Go Figure.
3. Randy Shannon – Miami: Hadn’t even made our hot seat, but I guess if you’re not playing for ACC titles in your 3rd year, you’re gone…
4. Bill Lynch – Indiana: Didn’t see this one coming, either. Figured he had a job till someone saw him and figured he might do better at their school…
5. Urban Legend – nough said.
6. Wannstache – Didn’t see it coming…

Hot Coach Search
Brady Hoke
– actually had TCU sweating a little
Harbaugh – It will take the right job to make him leave…
Gruden – This guy’s name comes up for every vacancy….
Houston Nutt – See Gruden…
Steve Mariucci – Not doing anything constructive now…

OPEN SPOTS:
Vanderbilt
Pittsburgh

I’ll have some bowl bets come Friday. Stay tuned!

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