Dave Brandon says decision to fire Rich Rodriguez could unsettle recruits, current players
This story has been updated with quotes from recruiting analyst Tom Lemming
The decision to fire Rich Rodriguez less than a month before national signing day could hurt recruiting for the Michigan football program, athletic director Dave Brandon said.
However, Brandon said at a press conference Wednesday that there is no rush to hire a new head coach to appease recruits or limit attrition of current players from the team.
“This isn’t about one particular kid that we’re recruiting or one particular kid on the football team,” he said. “This is about making a decision that will really lay the groundwork for years to come.”
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All visits scheduled for this weekend for potential football recruits have been delayed, Brandon said. He said football officials have been in contact with recruits’ families to reschedule visits.
Losing recruits and current players is a real concern for the Michigan football program, which suffered personnel losses in the wake of Rodriguez taking the job in 2007. Rumors already have some players that Rodriguez recruited to Michigan, such as Big Ten offensive player of the year sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson, considering a transfer.
Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming said Michigan is going to struggle to get a good class due to the decision to wait until now to make a decision on Rodriguez.
“It’s going to be tough to get a good class, a great class is impossible,” he said. “But, salvaging a medium Michigan class is a possibility.
Brandon said he has an open-door policy for any player who wants to speak with him about the program.
“Believe me, I’ve talked to some players over the last few weeks, not because I’ve sought them out, but because they wanted to speak with me and I’m quite happy,” he said.
Brandon has taken some heat from fans and the media for waiting until after the Gator Bowl loss to Mississippi State University to make a decision on Rodriguez.
He said he believed it was important for the team to be coached by Rodriguez until the final game of the season, instead of an interim coach. He said firing Rodriguez earlier wouldn’t have helped recruiting.
“From my perspective, if you terminate a coach in December, that’s not exactly going to help recruiting,” he said. “There’s this idea that if you terminate a coach between the last game of the season and a bowl game, somehow that’s going to enhance your recruiting efforts. I don’t necessarily buy into that.”
Brandon called the potential for losing recruits and current players a risk factor whenever there’s a major transition in a program. He said he expects the decision to unsettle some players but that the athletic department will work to keep them at the school.
He said he really wants players to give the new coach a chance once the hire has been made.
“Our job will be to communicate with our players in such a way that they give us a chance to see this process through and give us a chance to introduce them to the new coach,” he said, “and make sure they have a clear understanding that this is still Michigan.”
The team is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Schembechler Hall to meet with department officials about the decision. Brandon said at the press conference that he wasn’t sure if he’d be at the meeting, but if not he’d meet with the team soon.
Lemming said hiring a coach who runs a pro-style offense could be harmful to the program, since many of the players Rodriguez had been bringing to the school were small, quick athletes not suited to a power game. He said many of the players from this class, if they stuck with their commitments, would be in the fourth class of spread players.
Lemming said Jim Harbaugh would be one of the few rumored replacements that could keep some of the top players in Michigan’s class coming to Ann Arbor.
“Jim Harbaugh is such a good recruiter, he could salvage the class. Les Miles recruits the southern area of the country a lot, they could be hesitant to come up north,” he said. “Brady Hoke is not recruiting the same caliber of talent at San Diego State, Harbaugh is really the only one capable of salvaging a good Michigan class.”
Brandon said one of the things he will be looking for in the program’s next head coach will be strong recruiting ties to the Midwest. He said he expects Michigan to still recruit on the national stage, but said there are a lot of good players in the area.
“There’s still a lot of good football played in the Midwest, and I think there is a distinct advantage to someone who has some of those roots and relationships,” he said.
Kyle Feldscher covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com.
Comments
rockettrg
Thu, Jan 6, 2011 : 2:30 p.m.
We all should know that it is often fatal to follow a Lemming.
goblue_4
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 8:15 p.m.
I thought a good coach would adopt his system to the players that are already there or at least that is ALL I heard on this board since RR came to town. JH will keep a lot of these guys in town and work with them in a system that will get the most from there talents. But most of all hopefully DBfinds us a coach that everyone supports and gives whoever it is time to do they job.
goblue_4
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 8:11 p.m.
I thought a good coach would adopt his system to the players that are already there or at least that is ALL I heard on this board since RR came to town. JH will keep a lot of these guys in town and work with them in a system that will get the most from there talents. But most of all hopefully DBfinds us a coach that everyone supports and gives whoever it is time to do they job.
oli
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 7:48 p.m.
The main reason RR's players were smaller than everyone they played was because they were freshmen and sophomores. And the reason his class was ranked so low was because of the number of recruits not the quality and that number was created by how many scholarships were available. Whatever, he's gone. Maybe the new coach will coach them up, but he will also be coaching them when they are juniors and seniors when they are much more capable of competing with other juniors and seniors.
mgoblue48348
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 7:08 p.m.
I am glad to see there aren't many calling this a debacle like the last coaching search, it wasn't DB's fault Faux news wanted to be first instead of correct. As far as this article is concerned I say.... Those who stay will be champions.... GO BLUE
Jaysham
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 7:05 p.m.
Theo212 Your "King" is dead! Sean T. Dead Flowerz was Esham's best album with Closed Casket & Tongues as his 2nd and 3rd best. Harbaugh, Miles, Hoke, Peterson, Patterson all of them is a upgrade over Rich Fraud cause everyone of those coaches will focus on Defense and Special Teams and that is a very important issue that needs to be addressed within the football program and work with precise detail on fundamentals like form tackling, ball security, not commited stupid penalties, reteach are defensive backs how to play press and bump and run coverage, and a return to having physical Safetys and Corners who lay the wood on opposing players like Woodson, Peoples, Marlin Jackson, Corwin Brown, Tripp Welbourne, Vada Murray, Marcus Ray, Cato June, Tommy Hendricks, Ernest Shazor, Leon Hall, Ty Law, Lance Dottin etc. Just having a coach with a proven set of assistant coaches that can teach these kids the proper fundamentals will be a complete upgrade and whoever is named the new head man will win at least 8 games this year! Check Check 1 2 and you don't!
PortageLkBlu
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:56 p.m.
Who says we have to get away from the spread why not use both pro set and spread?
HEADDOG
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:48 p.m.
Not sure if this is doable, but the next coach should be someone who can take the current players and work his system (if it is something other than the spread) with them and then recruit his system players & hopefully runs a 4-3 defense. Face it some kids will leave like they did with RR but if the new coach can convince them that he is working his system with their talents they may stay. I think RR was going to set his sytem in motion from day one and that is just his philosophy, some coach's are different and neither is better.
PortageLkBlu
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:45 p.m.
I don't remember, who did RR beat in the Bowl games while he coached at WV?
3 And Out
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:37 p.m.
RR was recruiting tiny players who could not compete in the Big Ten... recruiting will not suffer, it will improve....particularly on Defense. RRs current class was ranked sub 25 in the country.... top recruits were NOT buying in to his finesse system... Recruiting will rebound quickly and rightly so... no worries, Dave Brandon rules.
magnumpi
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:14 p.m.
Papabear151, LOL at throwing peanuts comment. i think the media hurt the situation way more than DB. Felt bad for him though, he looked TIRED!
azwolverine
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:12 p.m.
oli, If a new coach comes in here and wins with RR's players, that means they have coached them up in a way that RR wasn't capable of. That won't be hard to judge.
azwolverine
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:09 p.m.
missionbrazil and michigan7011, I completely agree with both of your posts. First of all, it is far more important to get the right coach in than it is to worry about a Dee Hart or a Denard Robinson. We already found out this year with Denard Robinson that no one player will make or break the program. As great as he was, the anchor of poor coaching dragged him down. RR wasn't getting it done and had to go. Further, unlike Bill Martin, DB did not just start thinking about who he's going to hire this morning. He's too smart for that. I'm sure Harbaugh was/is his number one choice, but I'm sure he's got a short list of other top candidates that he is/has been in contact with. UM will be back, and the rest of the B10 will have to fear the Blue...again. portage...I don't generally agree with you on most things, but I agree with you on the fact that those who wanted RR gone (like me) should not now complain about the fact that the timing wasn't what they wanted. Step one of resurrecting UM is complete: RR is gone. Now, have confidence that DB knows what he's doing to complete an equally important step: getting the right coach. If he does that, the rest will take care of itself. Go Blue!!!
oli
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:05 p.m.
Wow, no patience among Michigan fans. Why is all the talk about hiring a "Michigan Man". How about we let DB go out and find the best football coach regardless of his ties to Michigan football. And how about we give that coach the five years needed to build a program. Harbaugh would be be great but if its not him you don't have to drop down to Brady Hoke. You also should realize the way the media and fans have treated RR makes this not a very attractive job. No one is coming in here and winning much in the next couple of years and if they do it will be with RR's players and hard to really judge.
Makes
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:05 p.m.
If anything, it was Dave Brandon's handling of this situation that probably hurt things more than anything.
HEADDOG
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 5:57 p.m.
Gear up folks for the Hokey Pokey. I met him 2 years ago at a clinic for HS coaches and let me tell you he was facinating, smart, energetic and would bust some balls at Michigan. My friend played ball with him at Ball St and said then he would be a big time HC someday. I think he or JH would be a good fit but don't get worried about Hoke.
michigan7011
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 5:27 p.m.
Wow, not many rational fans out there in comment land. No one recruiting class is going to make or brake this program. But making a hurried hired without dotting the i's and crossing the t's can set it back years. Let the man do his job. Screw Lemming, this hire is more important than Dee Hart or Denard Robison.
PortageLkBlu
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 5:12 p.m.
@Joad, sure I can it just goes to show you that we all have a different point of view hence this site look, it wouldn't be much fun if we all had the same point of view about everything however, that said it is my belief that we should support DB the mans got his work cut out for him. I used to think everyone would be drooling to get the Mich. job as head coach I see now that that is not necessarily the case.
rico2458
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 5:10 p.m.
SDST play TCU hard brady hoke the man you see
missionbrazil
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 5:09 p.m.
Papabear, good point. DB is willing to change the pay scale at UM and do what is necessary to insure that we get the best possible guy to bring our program back to the top tier of college football. There are too many people panicking and saying things like "oh it's January 5th and we don't have a coach" or "what if Harbaugh doesn't come"... or better yet "I told you we should have stuck with RR, at least we could be mediocre next year" -??? DB was hired for exactly this moment... UM will get it right this time, and OSU / Wiscy / PSU / MSU / and Iowa need to start worrying about us again.
Mo the Educator
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 5:06 p.m.
I sincerely hope that Brady Hoke is one of the best recruiters in the country, because not only is he going to lose most of this year's recruiting class, but he could also lose many key players from the current roster as well. The most important recruiting speech of his career will be given in a few days to a group of highly-pissed kids who were loyal to Rich Rodriguez.
Tom Joad
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 5:03 p.m.
No one likes a L.O.S.E.R. You can't give any commendation to a losing football coach...15-22 and an embarrassing and pitiful 6-18 in the Big Ten
Papabear151
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:55 p.m.
Michigan is willing to pay big bucks for its next coach. Brandon said the school has previously been "in the middle of the pack" in paying its coaches. "I don't necessarily believe that's appropriate," he added. This is from an espn article after the presser. Why would he say any of this if Hoke was his primary target? You could probably throw peanuts at hoke and he'd come coach at Michigan.
PortageLkBlu
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:45 p.m.
Well, some of you got what you wanted RR is gone. The very least you complainers can do now is support DB. To not support DB now would brand the RR hater as just habitual complainers. I wanted RR to stay you boys and girls know that you've heard me say it enough. My immediate point of view is this, RR is gone as in history, now we support DB in his search and choice for a new coach and then support the new coach. It won't surprise me to see RR do well in college football in the future. I hope it's a good choice cause if he, (our new coach) has a lousy first 3 years don't count on him being fired because your not happy with the win loss record. I liked RR and I wish him and his family the best.
aareader
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:44 p.m.
If Lemming is correct it appears we are looking at quite a mess and a long rebuilding time frame. Jim Harbaugh is such a good recruiter, he could salvage the class. Les Miles recruits the southern area of the country a lot, they could be hesitant to come up north, he said. Brady Hoke is not recruiting the same caliber of talent at San Diego State, Harbaugh is really the only one capable of salvaging a good Michigan class. If not Harbaugh I do not see a coach on the "short list that can make a good transition work." Hope Mr. Brandon has a plan C....
Papabear151
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:44 p.m.
Harbaugh is meeting with the 49'ers today (now?) and there are rumors that Michigan offered him 5.2, he turned it down and is looking for 6+ Almost all of the comments Brandon made about the midwest and all of that make me think Hoke is probably it One comment doesnt, the whole "Michigan has been middle of the road on paying coaches, can't do that anymore" comment. Maybe Michigan truly hasn't made a move for Harbaugh, and that was Brandon saying "Yes, you have a meeting with the 49'ers, if the only reason you go there is the $$$... well we can do that too."
joe golder
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:41 p.m.
DB had his shot and wiffed! President coleman get out the checkbook. If money or being the next mythical michigan man doesn't work bringing in JH fire DB right away. We are screwed for the next 3 years anyway. Talk Carr to step in until you find the right AD. Give Jackson the reins until the right coach can be found. Lets not go any farther down the road to nowhere. Its time Colman and Carr get involved. I never understood why Carr didn't have more impute. The implosion of the football program may never happened.
rico2458
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:36 p.m.
Brady hoke is the coach i like it he did a good job at SDST
Sean T.
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:24 p.m.
The stlye of QB or offense will never determine the future of the program but a good coach definitely will. Being a fan of Denard is cool but he isn't the program, furthermore mobile QB's isn't something new nor is the spread. I know a coaching change is hurtful to the RR fans but it was more hurtful to have him here. Just look at his body of work and positives versus the negatives....not even close! Go Blue
local
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:20 p.m.
Brady Hoke I think is the guy. He will keep Fred Jackson to help with the transition and recruiting. He will bring if Loefler to help with QB and offense, and Hoke will have his hands in the defense. When I watched San Diego State in the bowl game, they played hard, made very few mistakes and simply looked ready to play. I know they played a lesser opponent, but the intangible things looked good. Harbaugh is clearly my first choice, but i just get the vibe, like others, that he isn't coming back to Ann Arbor. Les Miles, older, how long would he be at Michigan even if he left LSU. I think Michigan needs a coach for the long haul, someone to be around for 10-15 years and really build stability (and maybe groom next coach years down the road). Just my thoughts!
81wolverine
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:04 p.m.
Make no mistake - Brandon MUST find someone as soon as possible at this point. The sooner we get The Guy in here, the sooner he can salvage recruiting & player retention, get his assistants hired, plan for spring football, and learn the system in place here. I'd be extremely disappointed and disillusioned with Brandon if he doesn't hire someone good in the next week.
Forever27
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 4:04 p.m.
@NoBowl, you sure use the word "we" a lot for someone who has said nothing but negative things about Michigan football.
NoBowl4Blue
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 3:54 p.m.
It's not like Rich Rod aka cry baby was recruiting the same kind of talent Texas or OSU recruits. I think a change could help and doubt many loses of current players. We won't see a Mallett or Borean type player leave, come to think of it other than DR we don't have any.
KeepingItReal
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 3:52 p.m.
In reading many previous blogs, it is obvious that many are pinning for are the old one dimensional, drop back, slow moving QB. I would highly recommend that Denard Robinson contact the Oregon coach. His style of play, skills and athletic gift are ideal for that program. He will definitely get a chance to play QB there if that is his desire and he will probably flourish in that system. Michigan is not a good program for him to remain in. He will never be fully appreciated and his capabilities will always be questioned by the old guard who keep wishing for the old days.
marlon glenn
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 3:52 p.m.
At this point, it does not matter how long he takes. Why not hire a coach the day before the season starts? What could it hurt, right? :)
Dankston Hughez
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 3:51 p.m.
No Duh.....he just made his first mistake as AD we are going to be in trouble for the next 4 years people. YOu have no idea what he has just done.
Papabear151
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 3:51 p.m.
Well I just lost all of my faith in DB to make the right decision. Theres this idea that if you terminate a coach between the last game of the season and a bowl game, somehow thats going to enhance your recruiting efforts. I dont necessarily buy into that. This is the dumbest quote I have ever read. You are asking kids to make decisions that will have DRASTIC influences on the rest of their lives. You dont think the uncertainty and stain (yes, this has been embarassing for michigan so far) that all of this has brought is tarnishing recruiting? I'm starting to think Harbaugh was an absolute yes but the deal fell through because of one reason or another. Brandon is still trying to salvage it, but ultimately he knows Hoke is who are gonna get stuck with. Yes... stuck with... just like we got stuck with RR because the last AD couldn't do his job either. How come Michigan can't seem to get their first choice because of their indecision. Why is this a recurring problem?
Blu-n-Tpa
Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 3:49 p.m.
Fact is from last year forward ever year COULD have been RR last year and other coaches have been using it vs Michigan already. It was a win-win decision by DB. Defensive recruits will still come to get playing time right away. Those players that stay will be the guys the new coaching staff wants. Transferring is hard. It's better to stay and not lose a year than go and find yourself behind the guy that came in and played while you watched. The guys on the team will get the first look come spring. Take advantage of that opportunity, show them you can cut it at Michigan.