WebFire;539381 wrote:At 8pm last night, I thought he was safe. At 8am today, not so much.

I'm afraid Purdue is the only win left. 6-6 and 2-6 in the Big 10 in his 3rd year isn't gonna fly. The only thing that might keep him here is David Brandon, the AD. But Brandon will get a lot of pressure to fire him.

If he does stay, it must be under the condition that he fires (most of) the defensive staff. Problem is, bringing in a new DC is not going to immediately fix the defense.

ytownfootball;540170 wrote:I actually think Illinois is going to put it to UM this week. They aren't a bad squad.

WebFire;539381 wrote:At 8pm last night, I thought he was safe. At 8am today, not so much.

I'm afraid Purdue is the only win left. 6-6 and 2-6 in the Big 10 in his 3rd year isn't gonna fly. The only thing that might keep him here is David Brandon, the AD. But Brandon will get a lot of pressure to fire him.

If he does stay, it must be under the condition that he fires (most of) the defensive staff. Problem is, bringing in a new DC is not going to immediately fix the defense.

krambman;540746 wrote:I think you're pretty much spot on. I think their defensive issues have a lot less to do with coaching and scheme than they do with talent though. They are playing way too many freshman and have something like two scholarship players in the secondary? I'm not sure how that happens at a school like Michigan. Has he only offered scholarships to offensive players the last few years?

I think that even at 6-6 and 2-6 in the conference (that would give him a grand total 5-19 in conference and he already has two more conference losses than Jim Tressel has in his 10 seasons at OSU) he still may be given one more year. As I said earlier, a lot of people think that three years isn't enough time to give a coach (although I think at this point we know what we're going to get with RichRod and it's obvious that he's in way over his head there). If he does get canned this year I think that they will try and spin it as having more to do with his off field stuff than his record. I also think that they will consider what coaches will be available and who they could hire if they fired him at the end of this year. They'll use one of those firms to put feelers out first to find out if they could get someone they wanted if they let him go. There's a lot more going into this decision than just his record.

krambman;540746 wrote:I think you're pretty much spot on. I think their defensive issues have a lot less to do with coaching and scheme than they do with talent though. They are playing way too many freshman and have something like two scholarship players in the secondary? I'm not sure how that happens at a school like Michigan. Has he only offered scholarships to offensive players the last few years?

I think that even at 6-6 and 2-6 in the conference (that would give him a grand total 5-19 in conference and he already has two more conference losses than Jim Tressel has in his 10 seasons at OSU) he still may be given one more year. As I said earlier, a lot of people think that three years isn't enough time to give a coach (although I think at this point we know what we're going to get with RichRod and it's obvious that he's in way over his head there). If he does get canned this year I think that they will try and spin it as having more to do with his off field stuff than his record. I also think that they will consider what coaches will be available and who they could hire if they fired him at the end of this year. They'll use one of those firms to put feelers out first to find out if they could get someone they wanted if they let him go. There's a lot more going into this decision than just his record.

bo shemmy3337;542443 wrote:There is no question that his record is not the only reason why he is in trouble. Michigan is never in trouble off the field and yet they are now. I would love him to be the offensive coordinator but I don't see that happening. I think he needs to let Greg Robinson do his own thing. Don't tell him what scheme to use and let him completely control the defense. I expect them to be much better on defense next year regardless of who the coach is as they can not be worse and most the players are coming back. They also are going to have many new kids coming in on the defensive side of the ball.

All the worries of his offense not working in the big ten are gone IMO. Michigan is scoring enough points and are still very young on offense IMO. Each of the last 3 games could have made the season IMO and now he has one more chance to do so. This weekend. They have to peat Purdue and they have to win this weekend to guarantee his job for next year IMO. I don't think he will be around for long but I do think he will be back next year. Go Blue and the season is on the line in the next 2 weeks.

Fly4Fun;542462 wrote:Michigan is never in trouble off the field? I'm sorry, but under LLoyd Carr's coaching tenure they had problems. Every school has problems... that's because we are dealing with young male athletes who inherently make stupid decisions. Some programs tend to recruit more bonehead players than others... but to pretend that any school is immune from this is laughable.

Also, I think the 3 year rule applies if a coach is doing somewhat well according to the history of the program both old and recent. As far as RichRod goes though, I do not believe he has been doing at least mediocre based on the recent success of Michigan... it's not as if he was starting out fresh at Rutgers or some crappy school. I was one of the many that said RichRod was going to be a bad hire for Michigan just like I said it for Charlie Weis at Notre Dame. The sooner that UM dumps Rich Rod an his gimmick offense with a lack of a defense the better. Michigan needs to find a coach who knows how to get a competent defense to have a chance in the Big 10.

bo shemmy3337;542443 wrote:I expect them to be much better on defense next year regardless of who the coach is as they can not be worse and most the players are coming back. They also are going to have many new kids coming in on the defensive side of the ball.

WebFire;542496 wrote:While no one thought the defense would be good, this was the same thought coming into this year. How could it be any worse? Well, the defense is arguably worse than last year.

bo shemmy3337;542443 wrote:All the worries of his offense not working in the big ten are gone IMO. Michigan is scoring enough points and are still very young on offense IMO. Each of the last 3 games could have made the season IMO and now he has one more chance to do so. This weekend. They have to peat Purdue and they have to win this weekend to guarantee his job for next year IMO. I don't think he will be around for long but I do think he will be back next year. Go Blue and the season is on the line in the next 2 weeks.

strongbad;542874 wrote:I am one Michigan fan that is tired of Rich Rod's gimmick offense that IMO will never "work" in the Big Ten, I like Denard Robinson but the pounding he takes in the Big Ten is obviously too much. In no way should a Michigan defense (lower cased for a reason) be as bad as this current version. Honestly I've heard people talking that Lloyd left the cupboards bare but it wasn't that long ago that Michigan was a Shawn Crable "late/errgh why'd you do that", hit on Troy Smith away from a title shot. I'd loved to have had Ryan Mallett these last few years (with J. Harbaugh as coach).

mucalum49;543440 wrote:I was going to write that I think Rich Rod is safe IMO because no new coach would be exposed to Alabama, Boise, Nebraska, OSU their first season because if the team is still down then the change wouldn't show much progress with such a tough schedule. Yet before I posted I saw that UM plays those teams in 2012. Next year their nonconference actually sets up to where I think if they are unsure about Rich Rod they may make a move sooner than later. Next year's schedule of Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, ND, and San Diego State is a lot more favorable and allows for a new coach to still succeed even if there are some bumps in the road.

krambman;543486 wrote:You make a really good point here (although it's Michigan State, not Michigan that plays Boise). If Michigan retains RichRod his head will still be on the chopping block next year (and how he does in conference will be the key yet again). Since Michigan is a very young team this year they will likely improve next year. Also, the Big Ten sets up well for them to do better next season as many of the top teams are senior laden and will lose key players this off season (I believe that Cousins, Stanzi, and Tolzien are all seniors). However, with their schedule in 2012, it's likely that Michigan may struggle again, and that they might finally let him go. It would be wise for the school to consider this possibility and consider the fact that it may be best to fire him and bring in a coach now instead of after the 2012 season. Basically it will come down to this: whether or not the power-that-be think that he can continue to make progress and get the program back to a place where they are contending for a National Championship. If they don't think that he can (and can soon) then they will let him go and hire someone they think can get the job done. Either way I wouldn't feel too bad as a Michigan fan because right now it looks like you'll be back contending far sooner than Notre Dame will.