Note that this post follows Journey Into the Abyss - RichRod at Michigan. It is not necessary to read that one, but it might provide some additional continuity for those who are interested.
Imagine being in the situation where you have supervised a group but have now moved on. The new group you are joining still has its supervisor in place. Your new position will become available after the organization makes one more major effort, so you just have to sit in the background for a while.
The current supervisor tries to include you into the operations of the organization. He asks your opinion and introduces you to your future colleagues. Meanwhile the organization you will be joining prepares for its big event under someone else's direction.
You feel you were born to lead and are a person of action. You know you will get your opportunity shortly. But it is still hard not to backseat drive while the car is careening down the highway. It is both sweet and sour when the big event comes off successfully for the organization.
Your predecessor moves on and you move into his shoes. You have different – more modern – ideas about how to operate things. Some of the personnel are leaving as a matter of course, others will be leaving because they have no loyalty or stomach for you or your ideas. It is time to replace a large number of people who you will be working with, and replace them with people having different kinds of outlooks and talents than the organization has ever had before.
It is a task you have done before – and successfully! It takes time. The immediate productivity will be low. But you have confidence gained from previous experience that the long term results will be to ensure your new organization is much more competitive in the modern context than it was before. The alternative to your efforts, as you see it, is to let your new organization become second-class.
To complicate matters, your departure from your previous organization was less than amicable. Not only did customers get upset, but your colleagues seemed to have a different picture of your role there and of your departure than you did. Your leaving was, to put it bluntly, contentious and soon became litigious. Your family was insulted and your old home was vandalized.
Many of the customers and colleagues of your new organization seem to understand what you are trying to do, and accept the need to build slowly. They feel as you do that your new organization has to be brought into the twenty-first century, and it would not be easy to do that. But other customers have deep reservations about your plans, feeling that there should be a way to accomplish the goals without destroying what the organization has meant to them and to tradition.
It is January 2, 2008 and you are about to begin your rebuilding task even as some doubt the need to rebuild. You are competing for new personnel with traditional rivals across the continent, rivals who now seem to feel that they have an edge up on you because of your and your new organization's troubles. Through the long winter and the slowly brightening spring, you try pull your chestnuts out of the fire. You don't expect to win them all, of course, but you feel that you have taken credible first steps.
At the end of spring, you have your first attempt at training the combined old and new personnel. They are not yet what you want, but they are what you have to work with. They are skilled, but their skills are not always what you desire. And throughout the summer, you plan how to get the most out of those you have while keeping your ultimate goal in mind.
And two days before Labor Day, you have the opportunity to lead your organization for its first big event under your leadership. You hold your breath as your personnel move out to meet their challenge. You know they will do their very best but doubt whether their best is sufficient. The customers turn out a tenth of a million strong. Some are bleeding with you all the way, some would like to see you fall on your face.
But the season is under way. It is now August 30, 2008 and Michigan hosts Utah at football in the Big House.
Danica Patrick
Jessica Gomes
Did You See That?
College Football Top 25 Review
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I don't buy into RRs problem being replacing graduating starters. Carr left him with among the most talented benches in NCAAF.
RR's fate for 2008 was sealed early.
1. He wasn't able to keep a lot of key players from transferring, notably QBs.
2. He placed all of his QB eggs in Pryor's basket. Do I have to list the reasons this wasn't going to happen?
3. He didn't look for a suitable option to his preferred scheme. There was till a lot of quality dual threat QBs unsigned he could have pickd up (Orhian Johnson is the 1st to come to mind).
The fate of 2008 was sealed long before spring practice was completed. You have to hang this entirely on RR - there were chances to avert disaster, all of which he missed. A good coach realizes there are times he has to adapt his system to his talent, not vice-versa.
4. Thru the season, commitments and decommitments reported from week to week.
5. After the season, still more transfers.
I do think he will have tSUN back, but I no longer feel it will be a 2, 3, or even 4 year rebuilding effort I once did.
...Then again, having a big name coach and recognized program is no guarantee they will ever be back.
Prove It
Frellin Cold In, AK
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Thanks for your comments, Prove. There will be more blogs in this series covering the season and the things that happened there.
Meanwhile, I recommend that you read "How to Fire a Head Coach" and "Journey into the Abyss - RichRod at Michigan." These might support some of your comments.
Appleseed
Detroit, MI
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I read "How to Fire..." I just didn't agree with much of it.
WVU is a smaller major program - around $35M a year. By comparison, all but a couple of majors is $30M+, the average major is around $52-54M, the highest major is around $110M, the highest of the mid-majors is around $30M. WVU is operating near the bottom.
RRs salary was a small fortune to the WVU program. They had to bring in other entities to raise the funds. Unfortunately, these other entities demanded additional access and input for their contributions. I don't think they wanted to drive RR out, but their desire for access in exchange for financial support contributed to him bein open to options.
In addition to this, Mich was a huge step up for a coach. I think he would have taken it without the above. I was only surprised by some of the coaches that turned the position down.
WVU had every right to ask for the contratual payback. They had financial pressures, and pressure to punish RR from other entities the needed to appease (politics, alumni, etc.)
RR had a right to push the issue to the courts hoping to at least settle for a lesser amount. With UofM brought nto the isssue, it moves up to a requirement.
I fault RR for not writing a loan against future salary into his UofM contract in the event WVU pushed the issue.
The other fault is the comments made by WVU and other entities on behalf of the program. This had to hurt their search for a replacement and hurt the reputation of the program. If they were really concerned about the program, they should have demanded the penalty paid then shut the frell up.
Penalties for breaking a contract are common now for NCAAF head coaches. If they break their contract, they can expect to pay the penalty, just like they can expect to get paid if they leave.
If the universities don't want to agree to the coaches terms, they can find a different coach. there are lots of quality coaches out there. I would reference Tressel was an unknown and off the map when he took tOSU job, where his initial salary was something like a whopping $500K.
If the coaches don't like the penalties, they can drop their salaries accordingly or not take the position.
I see no fault in any of this.
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Frellin Cold In, AK
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I also place fault with the UofM AD.
It was known that Carr might retire.
He should have not only had a list of candidates in his desk drawer, he should have quietly contacted them before the end of the season to determine interest.
He should have also been in discussions with Carr, requesting notification and delay before Carr announced, allowing the program to informally interview and reach an agreement with Carr's replacement before the announcement was made.
Without this, it understandably became a media circus and an embarrasment for the program.
...and despite his mistakes, I do think RR was a good choice.
To his list of mistakes above, he should have semi-formally stepped down and concentrated 100% on visiting and assuring current UofM players, securig UofM recruits, pursuing some addditional recruits, watching some practices, and assembling his staff.
He should have only returned to WVU to pack his office, resign, pack his home, say goodbye to his players, and stand idle on the side lines for a bowl game coached by his assistants.
If there was any truth to destruction of records and files at WVU, that was a mistake as well.
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Frellin Cold In, AK
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You make some good points, Prove. The "How to Fire a Head Coach" was not intended to be a definitive explanation of what actually happened, but was instead an attempt to reconcile conflicting statements and attidtudes among those involved. I have not idea if that is what happened in the case of WVa and RichRod, but it is a scenario which has happened and will happen repeatedly.
You are quite right about the different nature of the programs at WVa and UMich. And in the past I would agree with you about the head coaching position at UMich being a very desirable position. But the dynamics are different now. I think it is still one of the respected coaching jobs, but has lost a considerable amount of its luster.
And I do hold UM's AD very much to blame for the difficulties. I really believe that he felt that getting Les Miles was a foregone conclusion. As a result he did not do the necessary spadework to check out possibilities.
In other words, I am not so sure that we are that far apart on some things. I will be interested in your comments to my future posts in this series.
Appleseed
Detroit, MI
Total Comments (945)
We are almost on the same page.
Again, nice blogs.
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Frellin Cold In, AK
Total Comments (6724)
Very nicely done! You paint a great picture of RR's struggles here.
Redwing19: retired
Halifax, NS
Total Comments (35151)
MI UM wrote....."RR can definately be a stubborn man.Much of that i think comes from a strong belief in himself and the system".......or it comes from being egotystical.....
That was one of his biggest problems at WVU and with the AD and staff....but others called it being like a little spoiled kid...."If I can't have EVERYTHING my way, then I'm taking my ball and I'm going home !!"..........
WVU's AD bent over backwards to give RR everything that he wanted...problem was, that as soon as one demand was met, another would arise...........Advertising in the stadium, private boxes for family and friends, unlimited facilities access to family and friends, personal pay web site, players be able to sell their books (after receiving them for free)...and the story goes on and on. .......Soon enough, UM will have his personal demands put onto them......unless they give in to his every whim......
Bottom line....UM gave in and paid RR $4mil to WVU due to the fact that the lawyers were getting to the point of asking RR about when he talked to the AD at UM (against ncaa rules)..... and they were about to get to the real nitty gritty about RR, and dealings through his accountant/ lawyer/ agent Mike Brown. Also about calling commits (Pryor) while still on WVU's payroll and using their cell phone....he told his recruits BEFORE even telling his own players that he was leaving......Class act , Huh !!
3 reasons that RR did so well at WVU....1) Casteel, 2) Kirelawich, 3) Dunlap......all Defensive coaches that RR tried to lure with him to UM, but decided to stay at WVU when coach Stewart was hired...something about " THOSE WHO STAY WILL BE CHAMPIONS !"........
During RR rein at WVU........the Defense was ranked in the top 10 every year...and at times pulled the offense......and until he gets a good defense at UM, he will still only avg. a 5-7 win season..at best.
English..gone, Shafer...after one season, gone...now the hiring of Robinson...who incidently went 3-9 in '08..what a coincedence! Robinsons '08 team gave up 347 points...most in Syracuse history ! Robinsons overall record at Syr. was 10-37...Uh, oh !!
Sure he was good in the NFL, but guess what...THIS AIN"T THE NFL !!!!!!
I've always been a Wolverine fan (over 30 yrs.), but as long as RR is at the helm, there will always be 5 loss seasons, and all everyone will hear is excuses, excuses, excuses............
then he'll say that UM didn't meet his demands, that people were threatening his family, that there were racial inuendoes, and that people were vandalizing his hotel room....hahaha !!
Get rid of this clown and start talking to Les Miles....that's the only way that UM is gonna make it back to the Big Dance !!!! just sayin !!
shelldawv
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