Answering Some Questions About the Hire
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9 CommentsNow that Rich Rodriguez has been hired, there are many questions being asked covering a wide range of topics. To help answer everything out there, I’m going to give my take on the various question marks surrounding the new coach.
1. How will this affect recruiting?
Hiring Rich Rodriguez will have a big effect on recruiting, just as any new head coach would. There will likely be a few commits that opt to go somewhere other than Michigan, but at the same time, there will likely be a few recruits out there that now opt to go to Michigan. It wouldn’t surprise me if one or two came right from West Virginia’s recruiting class, but the majority of new commits at this point likely will be recruits that have already been considering Michigan and West Virginia.
2. Staying on the topic of recruiting, any predictions as far as who will stay and who will go?
A lot of this is based on speculation, but here is my take on the recruiting class as it stands right now:
RB Sam McGuffie – Probably will stay since his speed is a good fit in the spread offense. Just look at Steve Slaton and Noel Devine.
RB Mike Cox – Likely will stay, but I have absolutely no reasoning behind saying that. That prediction is more of a hunch.
HB Christian Wilson – I wouldn’t say I expect him to decommit, but it wouldn’t be surprising at all. An H-back type of player in the spread offense isn’t exactly the greatest fit in the world, but West Virginia did utilize its fullback a lot, so maybe Wilson just needs to be shown how he would be used before deciding one way or another.
WR Darryl Stonum – He will be here. Stonum is enrolling early, meaning he will be at Michigan next month, so there’s no reason to believe he won’t honor his commitment.
TE Kevin Koger – Koger is a Michigan fan first and foremost. Although the tight end is downplayed in the spread, if Rodriguez opts to air it out with Mallett at QB, then Koger would get a lot of passes thrown in his direction. Call it a hunch again, but I think he stays.
TE Brandon Moore – Ditto for Moore. Since he is an athletic tight end, I really think he would do well in R-Rod’s offense. Again, it’s a hunch, but I think he stays.
OT Rocko Khoury, OT Elliott Mealer, OT Dann O’Neill, OG Kurt Wermers – No solid info on any of the linemen, but my guess is that all end up coming to Michigan. 1 decommitting wouldn’t shock me at all, but I think all decide to stay with the Wolverines.
LS George Morales – He will stay as long as his scholarship offer is honored. My guess is that it is just as a courtesy to the previous coaches and Morales himself.
DT Mike Martin – Probably will stay.
LB Kenny Demens – Seems like he is true blue through and through. I don’t see him leaving.
LB J.B. Fitzgerald – Probably will stay.
LB Marcus Witherspoon – Probably will stay.
CB Boubacar Cissoko – I think Boo Boo stays. He has been talking about taking visits to have a back up plan, but now that a coach is hired I doubt he actually goes on any.
Recapping my thoughts from above, things look good. I may be a tad too optimistic, but hopefully only a couple or no recruits decide to decommit.
3) Any recruits more likely to come to Michigan now that Rodriguez is hired?
Absolutely. The #1 recruit in the nation (Terrelle Pryor) has already added Michigan back to his list. It appears that he is a heavy lean to Ohio State, but now that R-Rod has come to Michigan things change quite a bit. I would still be surprised if U-M was able to land Pryor, but man, I can’t even imagine how awesome that would be. Pryor is said to be the next Vince Young by some, so you can bet Rodriguez would love to have him as his QB.
On top of Pryor, there are two West Virginia recruits that Michigan will probably have a shot at now. Offensive guard Josh Jenkins and wide receiver D.J. Woods both are listed as soft verbals already, and at the same time both have Michigan on their “schools of interest” list, so I would assume they will give a look at the Maize and Blue now that Rodriguez is there.
4) How will Mallett fit in the spread offense system? Will he transfer?
I am already sick of hearing about how Mallett won’t fit in the system Rodriguez runs and how it will be funny to watch him run the option. That is all completely irrelevant because Rodriguez adapts to the abilities of his quarterback. It is probably fair to assume he’d rather have a dual threat QB that can run as well as pass, but if Mallett is his only option then that is fine. Back when he was the offensive coordinator at Tulane, Rodriguez’s quarterback was Shaun King, a drop-back passer. The offense was great back then and I see no reason why it can’t be with Mallett. On top of all that, Mallett is much more comfortable in the spread/shotgun style of offense since that is what his high school team ran.
As far as the subject of transferring goes, it is far too early to even consider that possibility. It definitely is out there, but until we know more about the coaching staff and recruiting, I’m not even going to begin talking about that yet.
5) What coaches from the old staff will be retained?
I’m really not sure who will stay, but I would say the three most likely to be back are Scot Loeffler, Fred Jackson, and Erik Campbell. As far as who is gone, I would guess that Mike DeBord (YES!), Andy Moeller, Steve Stripling, Steve Szabo, Vance Bedford, and Mike Gittleson (YES!) all are not retained. That leaves Ron English, who in my opinion is a toss-up at this point. I would actually like to see him return since the defense has been pretty good against non-spread teams that don’t have a mobile QB. Since Rodriguez is all about the spread, my guess is that he could help English learn how to defend it. At the same time, keeping English would give Rodriguez an option to not use the 3-3-5, which probably wouldn’t be as successful in the Big Ten as it is in the Big East.
6) Early guess at who follows Rodriguez to Ann Arbor from the West Virginia coaching staff?
Some stalkers dedicated fans from West Virginia followed Rodriguez to the airport and saw him leave for Toledo (where the plane was headed) with WVU offensive coordinator Calvin Magee and defensive backs coach/recruiting coordinator Tony Gibson. Other than those two, I really have no idea how the staff will be put together.
7) When will the official switch of head coaches happen?
Since it is believed that Rodriguez will not coach West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl for obvious reasons, I would say right after the Capital One Bowl is finished, even though MGoBlue.com lists Michigan as having two head coaches right now.. My guess is that Rodriguez will spend his time until then putting together a coaching staff and getting adapted to Ann Arbor. Aside from all that, I would hope he tells Ron English how to defend the spread so Michigan has a chance to beat Florida (Urban Meyer did say his offense is based heavily off R-Rod’s).
Rate this hire.
I will give it an A. It could have been an A+ had it happened before all of the national embarrassment, but Bill Martin did a good job in the end. The saying about a “W” being the only thing that matters at the end of the day works in this situation as getting a great coach at the end of the day is all that matters, and Michigan did just that.
“Stalker”…cute…I’ve heard a lot of Michigan fans talk about how they’re sick of the same 6 plays over and over again. You’re in for quite a shock. It’s the same with Rich Rod’s spread. I wouldn’t rally around the flag just yet. How are our coaches doing there now days? I here Beilein lost to Harvard…hmmm…would’ve been different if he had lost in a game of “Who has the best stock portfolio?” Good luck with yet another WVU coach…
We landed Huggs last time…and we’d thump Michigan’s b-ball team.
Oh and it’s “hear” not “here”. I’m not an ignorant West Virginian, just a drunk one…here’s to you Rod.
This is an outstanding hire. I never thought that RR would leave WV and therefore, I looked past him as a possible coach. In my opinion Rodriguez is the best coach available. He has an outstanding offensive mind and is a great recruiter.
Terrelle Pryor is talented enough to get on the field as either a QB or WR and I believe he will be playing at Michigan, he made a soft commit to WV in spite of listing OSU and his interests seems to be following RR.
Michigan needs speed in this day and age, and I believe Rodriguez will focus on speed. RR’s teams may not be known for their defenses however, and that needs to be addressed with a stud DC. English’s defense got better as the year went on with their young secondary, and maybe with their experience it should make a difference next year.
I think RR was told that he had to keep “some” of the staff because of Lloyd Carr, however, I believe that Carr will be retiring altogether after a year or so for personal reasons. That will give RR more freedom.
I expect RR to excel at Michigan and the battles against OSU should re-ignite the cold war again… that’s exciting. Michigan will be seriously considered as a National Championship candidate again soon once RR gets his system rolling. Can you imagine what he could do with the talent here at Michigan?
WOW!!!
I mostly agree with you about our commitments, with the exception of Mike Cox. He is basically a younger version of Mike Hart but a little slower. Most schools wanted him to be a fullback, Michigan got him because we promised him he could play halfback. I wouldn’t be surprised if he decommits and goes to BC or UConn.
I think Christian Wilson stays, either as a very athletic fullback or more likely as a tight end or linebacker.
id like to see english stay even if it is just as a position coach instead of a coordinator. all of the players seem to love him and it would help some commits stay. he brings great intensity and passion as well. also he is a good recruiter-getting warren out of ca last year, without him i dont wanna think how bad we woulda been.
Boo Boo is deciding between UM and PSU per UM rivals…
Demens’ mother is calling the shots and she is obsessed with UM’s academics, so no need to worry with him. For his sake, I hope he gets a real major (not general studies) in case he does not make it to the nfl…
Take this for what it is worth, but rumor has it that RR will ditch the 3-3-5, and that was one condition he had to agree to in order to get the position. If true, that is a REALLY GOOD THING for UM as the 3-3-5 is awful in defending against power running teams. Rutgers was very successful running the ball against wvu and they don’t have the power of OSU, Wisconsin, Iowa, PSU, MSU.
For those wondering, john l smith ran a slightly different defense. His was a 4-2-5 scheme, not a 3-3-5, but in both situations, there is an extra defensive back that is supposed to “hit like a linebacker and cover like a defensive back.” The 3-3-5 is mostly for covering the spread and allows a lot of cover 2 to prevent the big play. More likely than not, the extra db will be a liability against good power running attacks. It may be good to use the 3-3-5 in specific circumstances, such as when you play against teams with spread formations such as purdue or nw, but it would be a big mistake having it as your base defense.
Just thought I would add my 2 cents. Keep up the great work Sean!!
Thanks for your thoughts, and it’s nice to see one person from that other team come in peace…
I saw that about Boo Boo, sounds like he is going to visit Penn State before taking his official to U-M. At least he’ll give RR a shot, but my hopes of keeping him certainly have decreased.
And for the 3-3-5, I’m not sure if he’ll keep it or not. I would say it depends a lot on the DC. If he brings the same guy he had at WVU, then I would expect it to stay. At the same time, if Ron English is still the DC, then there’s a good chance the 3-3-5 will be used as well since English experimented with a similar style sometimes this season.
Personally, I think the 3-3-5 isn’t good for the Big 10. Against teams like Illinois, Purdue, NW, or anyone else that uses the spread it would work great, but for teams that like to pound the ball it is a bad match-up. Since OSU and MSU run that style as well as most of the rest of the Big 10, I would hope we see a default 4-3 or something similar with 3-3-5 packages thrown in there.
Spartan Bob:
Are you serious that you think that RR was offered on the condition that he not use a 3-3-5?
AD’s do not micromanage coaches, must less a guy who is regarded as one of the top coaches in college football.
There were no such conditions, and there were never conditions that he keep certain assistants either.
I know Brian at Mgoblog stated that, but it just does not pass the smell test. No coach, much less a top coach at any school is ever required to keep the former coaches staff. Martin said yesterday that the program needed new blood. Does that sound like someone who wants assistants kept on against the new coach’s will?
I mean, some of these rumors about the strings attached to this job are just ridiculous.
Miles did not take the job because of timing and probably because of his worry that Carr would undermine him. Schiano appears to be happy with the lower pressure of Rutgers for the time being. It is probably just that simple.
The new coach does not have to clean Martin’s sailboat, or memorize the greek alphabet, or run stairs. The new coach will have complete control of what happens on the field.
J. Lichty,
As you pointed out, it is still just a rumor, so that is why I said to take it for what it is worth. I was just passing along what I have heard from what I think are good sources on MSU’s rivals. Of course they are probably not as connected at UM, but they were right on RR coming to UM. (They were saying RR was a done deal as of Friday, barring a bidding war, which ended up not taking place.)
I cannot think of any specific examples, but I don’t think it is that unrealistic that coaches are told to run a certain type of offense or defense. I bet Paul Johnson was told to scrap the wishbone as his base offense at GT. It is not that unusual that RR might have been told to ditch the 3-3-5. He might on his own decide to scrap it as his base defense even if his dc comes in. If he does not, he will not be able to run that kind of defense against osu, wisconsin, iowa, psu, msu, etc. Those teams will run it down UM’s throat with their 2 TE, lead blocker formations.
As Sean mentioned, this rumor is dependent on a number of factors, such as who the dc is. If RR starts off with the 3-3-5, there is no guarantee he will stick with it. (Didn’t ND just switch to a 3-4 defense?)