Well, for the 9 time in 10 years, I extend congratulations to the Buckeye fans on the board. I think my only hope for better days ahead is if Coach Tressel decides to emulate Tom Osborne and leaves college football to run for public office. I would think his grinding our program into the dust after Buckeye fans had endured years of frustration under Cooper would pretty much guarantee him a senate seat in Ohio. Otherwise, as long as he remains head coach, I sense I will be posting congratulatory notes year after year after year. Not much else to say. You have a great coach who represents your school with class and integrity and an outstanding team that I am sure will do well on 1/1/2011.
Bobda, Thanks for your kind remarks and class as well. Some how I did not view the game yesterday with the same enthusiasm as in past years. I do think the Game has lost some of its luster and the future with the alignment of the Big Ten, things may never be quite the same. Brandon has a tough decision to make or at least the timing of his decision. I do not think Rich Rod is the right coach for the Maize and Blue. I also question if Harbaugh can be convinced to return to Michigan. Any thoughts?
If Michigan gets Harbaugh.....and they should.....now....then I predict UM will return to dominance and Tressel will have his hands full.
Thank you Bobda, always first class with you. I will not let my kids read your congrats posts so that they don't get the wrong impression of M fans.... :wink: It's clear that the shoelaced one is explosive and with him at the controls, the offense is quite difficult to contain. That said, he is also not a very big man and count me amongst the group that doesn't believe it physically possible to have someone that slight handle the ball as much as RR's offense requires in a tough, physical conference......over the course of a long season, the laws of physics will inevitably prevail....imo. Better times are ahead my friend.....best of luck in your bowl game.
I can't stand Harbaugh but he is exactly what the Wolverines need because he is one hell of a coach and would fit in perfectly with his style and game planning. Tressel is the gold standard in Big Ten football. Always puts his team in position to win and never coaches them out of a game. And he is one hell of a presence on the sidelines. Nice post Bobda! Congrats, Buckeyes!
I'm seeing guys post who say they know things and that RR has already been fired and the deal with Harbaugh is a done deal. This is something like the Urban Meyer thing, they will try to keep it on the down low till after Stanfords bowl game. Which is why Brandon said he would not evaluate RR till after the UM bowl game...giving himself some cover.
Harbaugh would be an impressive hire, but that will be quite a rebuilding job if he jumps. Assuming the current Stanford team is the model JH would want to recreate at Michigan... RR's players aren't even close to what will be needed. And I can't believe he'll want to leave the Cardinal before they play their bowl game which pretty much nixes any chance at recruiting for this year. Kinda similar to the smoking crater Fran left in College Station. :x Good luck Bob!
I've heard some suggest that RR's buyout $ drops materially after 1/1/11 if M doesn't have enough leverage given the NCAA findings already to lessen the blow.....that may be a factor as well. Harbaugh to AA would make things very, very interesting......given his history with us and understated personality, he is not a favorite in C'Bus.....that would be something.
If Harbaugh is available, my guess is that RR is gone. While our AD indicates that no decision will be made until the season is over-and I assume that means after our bowl game-he did recently comment how he was committed to our BB coach. His public vote of confidence for Belien and his silence on RR suggests to me that RR is in a very tenuous position. The possible saving factor for RR is that this is a young team and the team's performance improved from last year. That might buy him another year with changes being to the coaching staff, especially the DC. But, what top flight DC would want to come to Michigan if RR stays given his uncertain job status. Also, his uncertain job status will have a negative effect on his ability to recruit. What compounds the problem is that his past recruiting classes do not compare with the best classes that Carr and Moeller were able to pull in. But, part of the problem there are changes in circumstances. Carr and Moeller were able to bring in the cream of the crop from Ohio and the Midwest when competing against Cooper and the revolving coaching door at ND. Tressel locked down Ohio and Weiss kicked in our ears in recruiting during the final years of Carr and RR's first 2 years. After three years, I have a hard time envisioning RR being able to turn things around. That gap between OSU and us is as wide as it was when Hayes was in his prime and coached against the likes of Elliot and Ootserbahn. While RR clearly can put a team on the field that can move the football, his defense was woeful in year 1 and remains woeful in year 3. Our special teams have been pathetic for three years which is odd given that his teams at WVA were pretty good on defense and special teams. Moreover, his original emphasis on speed over size resulted in our fielding undersized teams that get chewed up by the end of the B10 season. After the Wisconsin smack-down, he acknowledged in a press conference that we need to get bigger. He should have figured that out a lot earlier.
Someone told me that Stanford did not sell out its 50,000-seat stadium once this year. I don't know if it's true, but if so, Harbaugh would coach before more fans in 3 home games than he did all season at Stanford. I don't like him, but his record as a coach speaks for itself.