MNC suggestion

In case you were on the fence about who to root for tonight, remember how far "conference pride" goes from their side: Cheering for the Buckeyes means wanting all those people to be really happy again. Though we've had to grow accustomed to it, OSU woofing is far worse than SEC woofing. Not to mention the edge in recruiting this would get them.

An OSU win can only hurt Michigan. Geaux Tigers.

Things Fall Apart

The slow drumbeat of the coaching search process had been announcing Les Miles as the next coach of the Michigan Wolverines for the past week. It was an open secret. LSU fans were preparing themselves to lose their defensive coordinator and their head coach. It reached a crescendo on Saturday morning when Kirk Herbstreit announced it on ESPN. Then all hell broke loose.

What happened? Where did things go wrong? I think Michael Rosenberg in today's Free Press has it right, and Brian's take is as good as his work usually is. It doesn't make sense to claim that Miles was never interested in Michigan. Everything he said up until Saturday had been a carefully crafted non-statement. He never said he didn't want the Michigan job, but he couldn't say that he did.

The press conference on Saturday is hard to read. I don't know how he usually addresses the press, but this one was full of bluster and anger, the sort Lloyd Carr usually reserves for the refs. It makes me think this was a snap judgment and an emotional decision from Miles. Something pissed him off and made him jump.

There's the talk out there about Martin and Michigan asking Miles to dance to their song and go through the interview process, there's the story of LSU presenting Miles with an ultimatum to commit to them or be fired on the spot, and there's the fact of the dumptruck full of money they backed up to his house. I don't know. All season we've watched Miles go for it on 4th down, ratcheting up his risk for the promise of a much bigger reward. Michigan's desire for Miles to go through a real interview process may have seemed demeaning to a man of his ego and accomplishments, but I don't think it's enough to make him snap like he did, not with his ultimate prize out there. Overnight his public statement went from "I haven't given it any thought" to "Oh, hell no."

The only thing that changed was the ESPN story. Within a few hours of Herbstreit shooting his mouth off, Miles had suddenly agreed to an extension with LSU and was calling a press conference. I think it points to a big, emotional reaction. Maybe Les heard the story and tried to get in touch with the athletic department, but Bill Martin was taking in a matinee of the hilarious comedy Hitman and turned his cell phone off. Maybe he just assumed Desmond leaked it to Herbie. Everything sounds like this was a snap decision from Les to spurn Michigan and go where he knows he's wanted.

With the dust settling, Michigan still has three days to beg Miles to take the job. That's not going to happen. Bill Martin placed a token phone call on Sunday and Miles's agent said he isn't interested. By now, though, Miles has to know that he's never going to wear Bo's windbreaker, barring some seismic shift in Michigan's athletic department (and it would take an apocalyptic run for that to occur). And while he may be financially more secure, the only winner here is LSU.

Meanwhile, Mitch Albom needs to shut up*. His piece this morning is petulant and reeks of the arrogance Michigan fans are always accused of carrying. Yeah, good riddance to a guy who is unquestionably one of the best candidates Michigan had available to it, even if he wasn't universally anointed by the athletic department. Whose team is playing for a national championship, Mitch?

*I didn't even bother reading Drew Sharp, but I'm confident that he also needs to shut up.

Dewey Defeats Truman

What a great hour that was. If waking up to this was like Christmas morning, then the rest of the day was having LSU burn down your tree and give you dysentery.

(Side note: Though they acknowledged it throughout the day, ESPN's frantic backpedaling was odd, as they didn't even change the URL when they turned it into the "Miles is Staying" story. We have always been at war with Eastasia.)

Miles Interview

Following the press conference, CBS's Tracy Wolfson grabbed an interview with Miles at 2:15 EST. She asked him why he made his announcement.

Les Miles: "Our football team was diverted and I wanted to address some misinformation that was out...I'm the head coach at LSU, I will be the head coach at LSU, and...and will be next year.

Tracy Wolfson: You will be the head coach next year?

Les Miles: Absolutely.

From the sidelines, Wolfson quoted Miles as saying nothing's been signed yet, but anything changing would be "extremely unfaithful."

Les Miles Press Conference Transcript

From Les Miles's press conference:

I'm the head coach at LSU. I will be the head coach at LSU. I have no interest in talking to anybody else. I've got a championship game to play. And I'm excited about the opportunity of my damn strong football team to play in it. And that's really all I'd like to say. It was unfortunate that I had to address my team with this information this morning, but that being done, I think we'll be ready to play.

Update: Via MGoBlog and Quo Vadimus (Is Calvin Traeger going to be our next coach?):

WTI: The End of an Era

This edition of WTI is solely about Lloyd Carr, his retirement, his legacy, and the future of the program. Tomorrow we'll look into the MMB's season with some more football content.

Geoff:	Everyone's known for the last week, but Lloyd Carr made it official today. He's stepping down from his spot as our head coach.
Craig:	It is the end of a 13 year era which, depending on whom you talk to, was a success, a failure, or a maddening enigma.
Geoff:	By turns, I'd say it's been all three.
Geoff:	This is a huge turning point in the program's history. Not since Bo signed on for the 1969 season has the program had to look for its next scion.
Craig:	In many ways, it's the 2008 election of Michigan football, no clear successor, lots of speculation, and a very long run up to the actual decision
Geoff:	Lloyd Carr has done tremendous things for this football team.
Craig:	And for the University.
Geoff:	I'll never, ever forget the magical run in 1997. I was still a junior in high school then, but I dragged my best friend and his flu-like symptoms to the Notre Dame game. I made it to a few more that year too, and I was there for the 1997 Michigan-Ohio State epic and the '98 Rose Bowl.
Craig:	As I stated in my Coach Carr encomium, he is my coach, and I don't know that I have ever wavered from that. You just don't quit on someone because they aren't winning up to the exceptionally lofty standards one has set in their head. Yes, we were maddened at turns by some of the losses, but we overlook some of the comebacks.
Jeremy:	I'd gone to a few games before Lloyd, but he was the face of the program for my formative years.

Geoff:	The first game I remember attending was in '89, so I have some memories of Bo, and more of Moeller, but the Carr era is the one I belong to.
Craig:	The Moeller era, for me, is a nebulous space where I have memories of it, but they are all specifically vague.
Jeremy:	On a micro scale, sure you can pick apart his losses and maddening tendencies, but on a macro scale, by which he'll later be analyzed, he improved the program's winning percentage. By any standard Michigan uses, he deserves his own building on the Athletic Campus. It's as simple as that.
Geoff:	You realize that 4 of the top 6 Big Ten coaches all-time were Michigan men? Schembechler, Yost, Crisler, and Carr?
Craig:	And, we must always remember this...Lloyd Carr did this in the first generation of head coaches in the scholarship limited era, competing after so many of Bo's advantages had been whittled away – Deregulation of college football on television leading to so much more national exposure, the internet, recruiting services, and 24/7 talk radio have all served to level the playing field.
Craig:	But let us please be clear that no one forced Lloyd Carr out. Coach Carr saw an opportunity to leave, at a time when it would likely be best for the school and the program, and he is taking it because, I suspect, he'd like to have a life that is more than just football. Can we begrudge a man for wanting to enjoy his retirement?
Jeremy:	Those stories are just as ridiculous as all the previous years of him being "on the hot seat" after three losses.
Geoff:	He's always said he's not taking the Paterno way out, or even the Bowden one.
Craig:	And there's nothing wrong with the Paterno or Bowden way, but merely, it is a choice.
Craig:	Can we also be clear that Michigan is not like a lot of other schools in that our hot seat is not the same as other places? Michigan is not an SEC or Big XII South school in that regard. Michigan's values are first and foremost a winning program with integrity. And the Fab Five era makes us exceptionally wary of anything that looks even a little sketchy.
Geoff:	Lloyd's program has never had the faintest whiff of scandal about it. Players may have showed up on the police blotter (Perfect Offseason Forever), but the program has always stayed clean.
Jeremy:	I've always trusted Lloyd to handle disciplinary situations properly, and IIRC, he's always done the right thing. Whether it be dismissing someone from the team or letting the system take its course
Craig:	And, honestly, we've all read Crime Notes, is Michigan's football program, statistically, any worse in some of these regards than the university population at large?
Craig:	And, by the way, the guys who have come back with the 60–60–6:00 program have been pretty much model citizens upon their return.
Geoff:	Do enough steps, you learn your lesson.
Jeremy:	They're probably better. I doubt anyone on the football team has triggered a smoke alarm with an overcooked pop tart, or assaulted a UHS employee with a picture frame.
Geoff:	We've been talking about the kind of program Lloyd has built, but this new era is upon us. Right now, Michigan is a high-level program, on the outside of the elite. Over the last 13 years, we have a .750 winning percentage, and we know that will be the Mendoza line for anyone who comes in.
Craig:	By the way, I need to put that in perspective. 8-4 is .667, 9-3 is .750 That ONE win is HUGE!
Geoff:	You look around college football, and you see what can happen with a new hire for the better (Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll) or for the worse (Solich/Callahan, Weis).
Craig:	Indeed. What every Michigan fan, whether they want to admit it, or can admit it, is they want to trade Cooper for Tressel. Now, I am not saying Lloyd Carr is our John Cooper. But John Cooper was not a bad coach. It's just that Jim Tressel has become the coach that Buckeye fans have wanted since Woody.
Craig:	But do you know how rare, how truly rare, that kind of trading up is? Look at Florida, they had to take their Zookian lumps before landing Meyer.
Jeremy:	We want that pendulum to swing back in our direction now.
Craig:	USC hated Carroll when he was hired. There were torches and pitchforks in the Southlands.
Geoff:	Cooper->Tressel is the gold standard for a program that wasn't in trouble going for the elite.
Craig:	It's interesting. Everyone says "Don't go NFL if you want to avoid a Nebraska/Notre Dame issue", but what did USC do? At the same time, USC had fallen off; we forget that given what they have become once more.
Geoff:	I have confidence we aren't going to hire a Charlie Weis. And, if we do, we won't hamstring ourselves with an onerous buyout like they did.
Craig:	I agree. I have a lot of faith in Bill Martin's doing this and doing this right, because this is a business decision as much as anything. Bill Martin knows this is his legacy on the line. This and the renovation. He's going to do everything he can to get it just right.
Jeremy:	He handled the Beilein hiring very well.
Geoff:	I think we need to be prepared for an interesting ride that could last into the first week of January.
Craig:	And he handled the Beilein hire in a way that gives me a lot of confidence in the idea of he's going to do it right. And he's going to start by saying as little as humanly possible to the media.
Geoff:	Again, with the Beilein hiring, we waited until we had a clear shot at the guy we wanted.
Craig:	Can we clarify something else? A Michigan Man does not necessitate someone who has ties to Michigan in the past. It is someone who embodies the values which Michigan Men (and Women) represent and holds the University and its interests dearest to his heart.
Geoff:	It's a straightforward guy who's about the school, not himself. About the team, not just the guy with the headset. He has to see himself (or herself) as part of the tradition we have at Michigan and, like you said, goes about the task of winning with integrity.
Craig:	So, just because we want a Michigan man does not mean that Michigan man has to be connected to Michigan. As I have been thinking about this, I want the best candidate for the job, not necessarily the popular one or the flashy one (particularly not the last one.) And that will be the hardest part. Callahan blew up every ounce of tradition at Nebraska and it became just another Big XII school. The new era will need to blend a reverence for tradition and heritage without being beholden to the old ways simply because it was what always done.
Geoff:	Right. Abandoning the triple option was one thing, abandoning the idea of what the 'Huskers are is another.
Craig:	Like destroying your massive walk-on program.
Jeremy:	The title of Michigan Man is earned, not given exclusively.
Craig:	So we can speculate all we want about whom, and toss names around, but in the end, it's like theorizing what you would do if you won the lottery, fun to speculate, but not likely going to matter much down the line.
Geoff:	I think Michigan is going to look for long-term success. I think they're going to take a full, fair look at all the candidates out there. I think Lloyd will have input, but Bill Martin has reminded everyone that the buck stops with the AD. I think Ferentz is a ridiculous idea, but Brian Kelly will get a look. And I think Les Miles has a 2/3 chance of becoming our next head football coach.
Craig:	Ron English gets an interview. I promise you this.
Geoff:	Mike Debord gets a buyout.
Jeremy:	I think we go through the motions and ultimately get Miles.
Geoff:	The longer this drags on, the more likely it's Miles.
Craig:	I think it's also important that we do not burn any bridges or make any enemies in this process.
Geoff:	Martin will handle everything quietly.
Geoff:	Let's get prepared for a flurry of media coverage without any real answers coming out.
Craig:	So, final thoughts. Certainly thank you, Coach Carr, for everything. That's as simple as I can think to put it. And to the next guy, I hope you know what you're getting into. Because we don't mind if you don't mind, because we don't shine if you don't shine.
Geoff:	Whatever happens, it's the end of an era. I'm worried about what could come next, but excited for the future. Thanks to our coach for 13 years of service and a national title.
Jeremy:	28 years of service.
Jeremy:	I hope we miss Coach Carr, but not ever in a regretful way. May he continue to be an outstanding ambassador for the University and not keep too low of a profile.
Craig:	And as Jam22 said, he needs to go out and spend some of that money. :)
Craig:	Thank you, Happy Thanksgiving to all...and good night.

WTI: Special K With Banana

Craig:	Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to WTI: Glass half full edition.  We're halfway through the season, and one thing is clear, we're well stocked up on crazy.
Geoff:	Dogs and cats, living together.  Mass hysteria!
Craig:	It just scares me how much the "unpleasantness" seems like it was from another season.
Geoff:	That there's even debate on "greatest upset in college football history" this year is an undeniable comfort.

Craig:	Which is bad and good...And the Stanford win this past weekend did prove the biggest negative of it: Anytime a major upset occurs, the unpleasantness will be used as a measuring stick.
Craig:	The difference is, I wasn't ready to remove someone's eye when it was mentioned.  Four wins in a row will make you much happier.
Geoff:	They really will.
Craig:	But let us be clear, this is a flawed team.  So issue #1: If we agree that the best thing about this team is Mike Hart, what is the most disappointing aspect of the 2007 Wolverines?
Geoff:	The defense as a whole, I'd have to say.
Craig:	See, amazingly, to me, it's the special teams.  Because the defense, while disappointing, has looked better in recent weeks, albeit against more conventional attacks or lesser talent running "crazy" schemes.  But the special teams with their bend to the point of actually breaking philosophy have just been driving me mad.  No reliable kicker, poor coverage on all aspects of kicking, and while I know you don't always get a Steve Breaston, no even threat to break one on a return.  It's just madness!
Craig:	Especially when you look at Beamerball and realize that you can win a lot of games, or at the very least, stay close in a lot of games, with exceptional special teams play.
Geoff:	The kick returns have been incredibly frustrating to watch, especially what we saw against Eastern.
Craig:	Seriously, I was watching the Eastern game and thinking "You know, I thought the unpleasantness was humiliating, but if we lose to Eastern, I KNOW PEOPLE WHO WENT THERE! We'd never hear the end of it!"
Geoff:	They absolutely gave up contain on the 86-yarder that should have been stopped before the 40 no matter what.  Then the next time Eastern received the kick, they did the same thing, except the runner decided to go up the sideline instead of cutting back.
Geoff:	For the defense, we knew the linebacking corps and the defensive line lost two NFL players each, but the cupboard wasn't exactly bare with the D line and we thought the linebackers might be of some use in run support.  And we'd had much better results against spread offenses, so the regression was horrifying to watch.
Craig:	OK, let us get back to the positives.  What has been your most pleasant surprise of the season?
Geoff:	Donovan Warren's tackling is up there.  He's not a great corner, but he's been adequate, which is more than you can expect from a true freshman, and he's done well to stick the tackles he's had to make.  He's already better than Grant Mason.
Craig:	Agreed.  Donovan Warren may not be Marlin Jackson or Charles Woodson as a freshman, but he is giving me hope in the defensive backfield.
Geoff:	My other surprise has been the Space Emperor, actually.  Zoltan has been remarkably good week in and week out.  No more alternating 60-yard line drives with 38-yarders, his nuclear death bombs have been pinning his enemies inside their own 20 on a regular basis.
Craig:	If only he understood corners, but I don't know if anyone teaches that any more.
Geoff:	There are no corners in space.
Geoff:	What surprises have you seen?
Craig:	Mine has been Adrian Arrington and Greg Matthews.  With Manningham not being Manningham this year, I feel that Arrington has moved from possession receiver to multispatial threat, and that Matthews has become a mini-Avant.
Geoff:	They've been exceptional, especially coming across the middle.
Jeremy:	has entered the room
Craig:	Greetings Jeremy...
Craig:	OK, Issue #3: Les Miles, have we turned a corner?
Geoff:	I have.
Craig:	Let me preface this by saying two things: 1).  I was opposed to Miles during the summer for fear of hiring a crazy man.  2).  I still think I'd rather have Brian Kelly for reasons stated this week.
Geoff:	After watching that monster of a game between LSU and Florida this weekend, I can't deny it any longer.  If he's available, I want Miles.  He's still a crazy man who'll probably say some dumb things, but he can coach.
Craig:	In watching the game this past Saturday, I think I had the same reaction as you: I'd rather have a coach who costs us a game here or there by rolling the dice and playing to win the game at all times than a coach who would rather get into a shell and hope you can defend the fort.
Jeremy:	I think the real loser in the Brian Kelly situation here is Michigan State, and that's fine with me.
Geoff:	I like Brian Kelly.  If Miles and Tedford don't want the job, he's my #3 choice, but he's a risk.
Craig:	The risk being, he's an unproven commodity at the bigtime level.
Geoff:	Right.  Miles and Tedford are known quantities, to some extent.  Maybe not at Michigan, but they're at major programs and each has taken a bottom feeder up to respectability.
Craig:	But these are just the idle musings of Michigan fans.
Craig:	Issue #4: Michigan has six regular season games left.  Do I have anyone bold enough to predict four more wins?
Geoff:	Tough call.  Any other year and I say "Hell, yes!".
Craig:	But this is the year of infinite confusion.
Geoff:	I think we can do it, but it'll be a rough road.
Jeremy:	I'd take four as an absolute maximum.  Wisconsin and MSU are both overrated, and we have the ridiculous-season and nothing-to-lose factor in our favor vs.  OSU.
Geoff:	The optimist says we get Purdue, MSU, Minnesota, Wisconsin and lose to tOSU to inflict maximum pain on ourselves.  Illinois runs a crazy spread, and this game will make them give Ron Zook a 10-year extension.
Craig:	Minnesota, on paper, looks like a gimme, but we know about the games on paper theory.  Illinois looks amazing right now, but they are still prone to the Zookian collapse.  Purdue might run our defense off the field.  Michigan State looks to be in another trademark Sparty swoon, but that's when they are most dangerous.  You'd never want to see Wisconsin at home, even if Michigan has never lost two games in a row there.  And ever since the Sweatervest showed up, I can no longer feel good about any tOSU game.
Geoff:	I would trade an 8-4 season for a 6-6 where we beat OSU.
Jeremy:	Absolutely.  That's what it's come to.
Craig:	Wait, I'd rather beat State than Ohio State.
Geoff:	You have more Spartans at work than I do.  I have as many Boilermakers as Spartans.
Craig:	Yes I do.  I know far too many Spartans.
Geoff:	Spartans are brain-addled.  They have no long-term memory.
Craig:	Yes, but that could be a survival mechanism.
Craig:	Issue 5, the last of the night: What are you most looking forward to in the last six weeks of the season?
Jeremy:	Mike Hart.
Geoff:	Just watching Mike Hart.
Jeremy:	He sets a record every time he touches the ball now!
Geoff:	And he can't come back next year, so you better take joy in his 4 yards out of nothing while you can.
Craig:	Sub-issue 5: Can Mike Hart get an invitation to New York in December? It seems like there is no front runner at the moment, and while i know that winning will keep him at the forefront of the discussion, can he earn his way to the Yale Club?
Geoff:	If he stays healthy, I think he finishes third in the Heisman balloting.
Jeremy:	If he's not in the top 3, the whole system is rendered fraudulent.
Geoff:	If he stays healthy and Michigan inexplicably/impossibly fights its way into the Capital One Bowl or above and he pulls a Biakabatuka vs.  tOSU, then things get interesting.
Craig:	I like your line of thinking Geoff, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.  Wait, I do.
Craig:	Homecoming this week, so it's a traditional show, no?
Jeremy:	Glenn Miller + the 50th anniversary of "Hawaiian War Chant".
Craig:	Excellent!
Jeremy:	(which we'd play at halftime of homecoming anyway.)
Craig:	Before it was a state, it was a war chant.
Geoff:	Should be fun.
Craig:	All right, that's it for this week's edition of WTI.  Thank you for reading, and Go Blue.
Geoff:	So long, everyone.
Jeremy:	Boil the Beatermakers.