Dave Stapleton said:
I would hate to see Brad Bates go but you would think the Michigan gig would be his dream job. Fortunately, if he did leave it would be after making two high profile hires.
Yep and it seems like he did a pretty good job with the Addazio hire. BC needed a guy that was going to restore the program after a few years of decay. Addazio seems to be on track to doing that.
Bates would be coming to Ann Arbor under similar circumstances. I don't know what the culture at Michigan is right now. Fort Schembechler makes it seem good, but it's definitely not when we see it on display on Saturdays. It seems like either of the two guys mentioned would be strong hires that get it on both sides (the money side and the on the field side). The whole idea that Brandon is a marketing man and doesn't get the product side pretty much nails it. It was the same thing at Dominos. I mean, look at how that stock has skyrocketed since DB left. You get the sense that, after Rich Rod, Brandon went overboard on the guy who gets Michigan. Hoke came in, cowboyed his first presser, and basically won people over with it. Yes, the first season definitely helped too. However, it's become pretty apparent that DB overlooked the whole winning aspect which I think was the real thing that rubbed people the wrong way with Rich Rod (there were, unfortunately many things). For better or worse, Michigan alums hold themselves in high esteem and hold the football program to equal standards. When the football program isn't performing, people get grumpy.
You have to also wonder, with the way Hoke handles his press conferences, whether he actually answered any of DB's questions. All Hoke does with the media is respond with vague-isms that really don't mean anything. I thought the media didn't push enough sometimes, but honestly, it's Hoke, not them. I just get the feeling DB said "oh this guy sounds good, I like him. He's gonna provide some great sound bites, I can work with that, marketing, money, skywriting."
I like Hoke as a person. He seems like a good guy. But he's just not the right guy to lead Michigan. He's not the right guy to lead a (once) major program. We may have been the cradle of stubborn-ness forever when it comes to style, but in this day and age, you have to have a guy that knows what he is doing. Execution is everything, regardless of the scheme. The best coaches know how to get the most out of what they run. I'm talking about the Briles, the Sumlins, the Sabans, the Meyers, the Shaws, and even the Rich Rods. There's direction and vision. Hoke's failings, to me, are much like his words. He spoke about bringing back power, bringing back an in your face offense and defense. He brought in highly touted recruits that should have been able to make the transformation happen. But it didn't. And what did we hear every post game press conference? "We didn't execute."
I feel like I'm writing a eulogy here, well, so be it.
And I mean that for Hoke and only Hoke because I do like the guy. May be he's just a patsy.
Brandon, I could careless for. I don't have sympathy for him because I feel so much of what he has done has been driven by money and not by what is best for Michigan. More money isn't best for Michigan if you're going to exploit the fans, the students, and the alums. More money isn't the best if you're going to shove down advertisements down people's throats. You're going to spend it on dumb stuff like fireworks, skywriting, or over the top entertainment. That's not why people love Michigan. That's not why people go to games.
A lot has been made to about the students not going to games or showing up on time, but I think this is the issue where Brandon went most wrong. While he wasn't the only one to call out the students (media loved posting pictures of an empty student section), I thought that the criticism was pretty unfair. Changing up the seating plan was another bad move. Increasing ticket prices was really the final straw. May be I'm more sensitive to this because I was or may be still am a recent grad. You've got life things. You've got school things. May be the pregames are more important than the games too. You're still paying for those tickets. So when Brandon criticized the students, to me, it was like poking a bear. It was a move by a guy who was out of touch. And you have to realize, that if the team was actually good, people, regardless of whether they were students or not, would be there on time and anxious for these games. When the team has been as disappointing as it is, you're going to get the no shows and the late comers. Other things will be priorities.
Really, this is unprecedented territory we're in. May be it's just a result of not knowing what to do. However, I think at these times, you've got to figure out what you need to do better. Going after the students was not that action. Making the football team better would have been.
So I will not miss Dave Brandon, if this is the end for him and I hope it is. I don't want him to inflict more damage to the football program that I care deeply for.
