The 39-year war vs. OSU

The 2008 season marks the 40th season since Coach Schembechler took over as Head Coach of the Wolverines in 1969 and ushered in the modern-era of Michigan Football. In the book Bo's Lasting Lessons, Coach Schembechler wrote (at page 30):

From the very start, my entire focus was to beat Ohio State. That was a tall order, because they were the returning national champs, ranked number one in the nation, and had just beaten Michigan the year before, 50-14.

Coach Schembechler, of course, led his first team to a dominating 24-12 victory over the Buckeyes in the 1969 game. That contest was the first of the "Ten Year War" between Michigan Head Coach Schembechler and Ohio State Head Coach Woody Hayes. Bo got the best of Woody in the "Ten Year War" as Michigan went 5-4-1 vs. Ohio State from 1969-1978. For his career, Bo was 11-9-1 against the Buckeyes. Bo was followed as Michigan's Head Coach by Gary Moeller who had a sterling 3-1-1 record vs. Ohio State from 1990-1994. Coach Moeller was succeeded by Coach Lloyd Carr who went 6-7 vs. OSU (after starting 5-1 in his first 6 seasons). That means the Wolverines have a 20-17-2 record in the series vs. Ohio State during the modern-era (1969-present).

Although new Michigan Head Coach Rich Rodriguez is familiar with the rich history surrounding the rivalry with OSU, Coach Rod has a different approach to the game than did Coach Schembechler. During his press conference at the Big Ten Media Days, Coach Rod was asked about the rivalry game vs. OSU and he stated (at the 17:00 mark), "I'm not the kind of coach that has a countdown to a particular game. Other than the game that is next." Coach Rod went on to remark (at the 18:25 mark), "We talk about it but nothing in particularly significant for just one team all the time." This is a markedly different approach than what Coach Schembechler took in 1969 and succeeding seasons. At the Monday (November 13, 2006) Press Conference the week of the 2006 Michigan/Ohio State game, when Bo was asked how much he would prepare to play Ohio State, he responded, "Every day. It was our strategy here at Michigan to do something to beat Ohio State every day, and even if it's in the first meeting to talk about it. But we're going to do something every day." Of course, Bo's approach was extremely successful in 1969 and subsequent seasons. Hopefully, Coach Rod's low-key approach will yield just as successful results in the rivalry game vs. Ohio State. To read more about the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry, you can go to the site Greatest Rivals which was just added to the blog roll. Go Blue!

Michigan was the cradle of coaches during the Bo-era

During his 21-year tenure (1969-1989) as the Head Coach at Michigan, Bo Schembechler always had excellent assistant coaches to help him with the team. Coach Schembechler was not only a great teacher to his players, but also to his assistant coaches. Under Bo, Michigan became the cradle of coaches. Twelve (12) of Coach Schembechler's assistant coaches went on to head coaching positions at major college programs. In fact, several of the coaches went on to achieve great success in their own programs. Three of the assistants have won a National Championship as head coach (i.e., Bill McCartney 1990 @ Univ. of Colorado; Lloyd Carr 1997 @ Michigan; & Les Miles 2007 @ LSU). Additionally, two others have been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (i.e., Jim Young in 1999 & Don Nehlen in 2005). Following is a brief profile of each assistant coach under Bo who went on to be a head coach at a major college program:

• Jim Young (Michigan asst. coach: 1969-1972)

Coach Young was the first of Bo's assistant coaches to leave the Michigan program to become a head coach. Originally, Coach Young came with Bo to Michigan from Miami (OH) University in 1969. Coach Young was the Wolverines' Defensive Coordinator for Bo's first four seasons. Coach Young left to become the Head Coach at the University of Arizona in 1973. When he went to the Univ. of Arizona, he brought fellow assistant Larry Smith along with him to serve as his Defensive Coordinator. After four seasons leading the Wildcats, Coach Young returned to the Big Ten Conference when he became Purdue University's Head Coach in 1977. Coach Young led the Boilermakers from 1977-1981. Thereafter, he served as the Head Coach at Army from 1983-1990. Interestingly, Coach Young's first service as a head coach occurred while he was still an assistant at Michigan. Coach Young led the Wolverines in the 1970 Rose Bowl Game after Bo suffered a heart attack on the eve of the big contest. Coach Young was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999.

• George Mans (Michigan asst. coach: 1966-1973)

Coach Mans was one of only two assistant coaches from Bump Elliott's staff that Bo retained when he became the head man at Michigan in 1969. As a player, Mans had been the captain of the 1961 team. He served on Bo's staff for five seasons before becoming the Head Coach at Eastern Michigan University in 1974.

• Larry Smith (Michigan asst. coach: 1969-1972)

Coach Smith came to Michigan with Bo in 1969 from Miami (OH) University. He served on the Wolverines' staff for four seasons before departing for the University of Arizona to be the Defensive Coordinator under fellow Michigan assistant Jim Young who was hired to be the Wildcats' head coach. Coach Smith went on to become Head Coach at four major college programs [i.e., Tulane (1976-1979); Univ. of Arizona (1980-1986); Univ. of Southern Cal (1987-1992); and Univ. of Missouri (1994-2000)]. Coach Smith is best remembered for leading USC to three consecutive Rose Bowl games in his first three years as the Head Coach at USC. In fact, Coach Smith beat his mentor Bo Schembechler in the 1990 Rose Bowl Game which was the last game of Bo's storied career.

• Gary Moeller (Michigan asst. coach: 1969-1976 & 1980-1989)

Of all 36 assistants who ever worked under Bo at Michigan, Coach Moeller probably had the most long standing relationship. As a player, Moeller was the Captain of the 1962 Ohio State team on which Bo served as an assistant coach under Woody Hayes. In 1967 & 1968, Moeller served as an assistant coach under Bo at Miami (OH) University and Moeller came with Bo to Michigan in 1969. Coach Moeller became the Wolverines' Defensive Coordinator in 1973 after Jim Young left to become the Head Coach at the Univ. of Arizona. Moeller coached the Wolverines' defense to four stellar seasons before taking his first head coaching position. He became the Head Coach at the University of Illinois in 1977 and promptly lost his first game of his head coaching career to Bo when Michigan beat the Fighting Illini 37-9 to open the 1977 season. Moeller remained with Illinois for three seasons before re-joining Bo's staff at Michigan in 1980 as the quarterbacks coach. When Moeller returned, he brought with him one of his assistant coaches from Illinois. That assistant coach was Lloyd Carr. In 1982, Moeller resumed his duties as Michigan's Defensive Coordinator. In 1987, Moeller switched sides of the ball and became the Wolverines' Offensive Coordinator for Bo's final three seasons as head coach (i.e., 1987-1989). In 1990, Moeller ascended to the head coaching position at Michigan as the anointed successor to Coach Schembechler. Moeller led the Wolverines for five seasons and guided them to a win in the 1993 Rose Bowl Game versus Washington.

• Chuck Stobart (Michigan asst. coach: 1969-1976)

Coach Stobart was another one of the assistant coaches who was on Bo's first Michigan staff in 1969. Coach Stobart worked under Bo at Miami (OH) University and followed Coach Schembechler to Michigan where Stobart worked on staff for eight seasons. In 1977, Coach Stobart became the Head Coach at the University of Toledo. His 1981 team went 9-3 and won the MAC title. The following season Coach Stobart became the Head Coach at Utah where he stayed for 3 seasons. He later became the Head Coach at Memphis where he coached from 1989-1994.

• Don Nehlen (Michigan asst. coach: 1977-1979)

Coach Nehlen was hired by Bo in 1977 to replace the departed Chuck Stobart who took the head coaching job at the University of Toledo. Coach Nehlen came to the Wolverines with head coaching experience as he helmed Bowling Green University for the nine previous seasons (1968-1976) where he compiled a 53-35-4 record. However, it was in the three seasons under Bo that Coach Nehlen would learn the techniques and philosophy that were an integral part of his approach in his next head coaching job. Coach Nehlen became the Head Coach at West Virginia University in 1980 and he had a tremendously successful 21-year run. Twice during his head coaching tenure at WVU, the Mountaineers went through the regular season undefeated (1988 & 1993). Of note is the fact that Michigan's new head coach, Rich Rodriguez, played for Coach Nehlen as a defensive back and won three letters (1982-1984). Coach Nehlen was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. Coach Nehlen authored a book titled "Don Nehlen's Tales from the West Virginia Sideline" that chronicles his coaching career at WVU.

• Bill McCartney (Michigan asst. coach: 1974-1981)

Coach McCartney was hired by Bo to join the Michigan staff right from the high school coaching ranks. McCartney had been coaching at Dearborn Divine Child High School where his teams won state titles in both football (1971 & 1973) and basketball (1973). In 1977, Coach McCartney was named the Wolverines' Defensive Coordinator to replace the departed Coach Moeller who took the head coaching position at Illinois. Coach McCartney, a Riverview Community High School (RCHS) graduate, was only 36-years old at the time Bo tapped him to be the Defensive Coordinator. After a tremendously successful five year run as DC, Coach McCartney was hired by Colorado to be its head coach. Coach McCartney led Colorado from 1982-1994 and he guided his team to the AP National Championship title in 1990.

• Jack Harbaugh (Michigan asst. coach: 1973-1979)

Coach Harbaugh was in charge of the defensive backfield during his seven-year stint on Bo's coaching staff. Coach Harbaugh was later named the Head Coach at Western Michigan University in 1982 where he replaced Elliot Uzelac who then joined Bo's staff. However, Coach Harbaugh is probably best known as the father of legendary Michigan QB Jim Harbaugh. Back in the 70s, Coach Harbaugh would take his son Jim to Michigan practices and Jim even worked as a ball boy during games. Jim Harbaugh, of course, went on to be an All-American QB at Michigan under Coach Schembechler. Also, Jim is now the Head Coach at Stanford University.

• Elliot Uzelac (Michigan asst. coach: 1982-1986)

Coach Uzelac, like Coach Nehlen, was hired by Bo after having left a head coaching position at a MAC school. Coach Uzelac was the head coach at WMU from 1975-1981. Interestingly, Coach Uzelac was replaced at WMU by former Michigan asst. coach Jack Harbaugh. Coach Uzelac worked under Bo for 5 seasons before taking the head coaching job at Navy where he led the program for three seasons (1987-1989).

• Cam Cameron (Michigan asst. coach: 1987-1993)

Coach Cameron was on Bo's staff for Coach Schembechler's final three seasons. He remained on staff when Coach Moeller became the Head Coach at Michigan in 1990. Coach Cameron was on the Wolverines' staff for a total of seven seasons. He was named the Head Coach at his alma mater Indiana University in 1997 where he served from 1997-2001. Also, Coach Cameron has worked in the NFL as a head coach as he was the Miami Dolphins Head Coach in 2007.

• Les Miles (Michigan asst. coach: 1980-1981 & 1987-1994)

Coach Miles not only was an assistant under Bo but he also played for him in the mid-'70s. Miles was a two-year letterwinner (1974 & 1975). Miles had two coaching stints with the Wolverines totaling 10 seasons. Coach Miles was first hired as a head coach by Oklahoma State where he served from 2001-2004. In 2005, Miles became the Head Coach at LSU and in 2007 he guided the Tigers to the National Championship title. In doing so, Miles became the third former asst. coach of Bo Schembechler to guide a team to the national title.

• Lloyd Carr (Michigan asst. coach: 1980-1995)

Coach Carr had served as an asst. coach for Illinois Head Coach Gary Moeller for two seasons (1978 & 1979) before Coach Moeller re-joined the Wolverines' staff in 1980. Both Bill McCartney, who graduated from the same high school as Carr, and Moeller recommended to Bo that he hire Carr on staff. Bo hired Carr and the rest, as they say, is history. It is worth noting, however, that Head Coach Carr led the Wolverines to the AP National Championship title in 1997.

Go Blue!

Coach Rod claims program still has "family values"

In response to Justin Boren's statement, Coach Rod addressed the issue of the alleged erosion of values of the Michigan Football program since Coach Lloyd Carr's retirement. Coach Rodriguez would not discuss Justin Boren's situation specifically but the coach did say any claims that that he, or his coaches, have compromised Michigan's values are simply wrong. Coach Rodriguez told the Ann Arbor News via phone on Thursday:

"Anybody who would make any comment about our values is way off-base. The people who know the staff, who know what we're putting together here will tell you just the opposite as far as what's been reported. ... My players and my coaches are my family. They're coached that way. But we're not going to apologize for being demanding. We told that to the players. We also told them our job is to take them some place they can't take themselves, on the field and off the field, and I think the majority of our players understand that."

Coach Rodriguez did acknowledge that the styles and approaches of some coaches on his staff may differ from previous Michigan coaches, but believed that would be expected in a coaching change. Coach Rodriguez did stress that his coaches treat Michigan's players with respect inside and outside of practice. Coach Rodriguez stated, "This is not my first rodeo, and I think if you went back and asked the majority of guys about their experience playing in our program, they'd feel pretty good about it."

Coach Rodriguez' statement was calculated to quell the growing disturbance in the Michigan Football "family" that as the new head coach, he was out of touch with the "Michigan way". Losing Justin Boren (a starting offensive lineman) was particularly devastating considering that Justin's father Mike played for Coach Bo Schembechler. Although Coach Rodriguez professed in his statement to have a familial relationship with his players at WVU, he never has explained why he decided to inform Terrelle Pryor of his decision to take the head coaching position at Michigan before he even told his own team which he allegedly thought of as family. Coach Rodriguez' actions speak louder than his words. I do not believe that he felt the players at WVU were "family" and I sure do not believe that he thinks of the players at Michigan (after 3 months) as family. Lloyd Carr thought of the players like family. That was heartfelt. Coach Rodriguez' comments are simply salesmanship. He already has the job now I just wish he would do it. 2008 is not 1969. Michigan will not be good next season just because the Wolverines won the Big Ten title in 1969 in Bo's first season. People keep comparing this year's attrition (i.e., Justin Boren, Alex Mitchell, Jeremy Ciulla, Mario Manningham, Adrian Arrington, & Ryan Mallett) to what occurred in 1969. Remember, however, in 1969 that despite heavy attrition that Michigan did not lose any guys who could have really helped the team. The same is not true for 2008. The players who have left the squad were key and were at key positions. Many of the players who left did so because of Coach Rodriguez and/or his new offensive system. Coach Rodriguez needs to concentrate on figuring out how to win with the players he has remaining. Go Blue!

Recruiting Wizard

Coach Rodriguez is a Recruiting Wizard. No less an authority than Purdue Head Coach Joe Tiller said so. However, when I say it, I mean it as a compliment. Now I know that Coach Rod and I have not gotten off on the right foot but I take exception to Coach Tiller's comments regarding the circumstances of 4-star recruit Roy Roundtree's de-commit at Purdue and his subsequent commitment to Michigan. Tiller was quoted as saying, "If we had an early signing date, you wouldn't have another outfit with a guy in a wizard hat selling snake oil get a guy at the last minute, but that's what happened." The article went on to state that Coach Tiller was concerned about a loss of integrity among Big Ten coaches.

I took great exception to Coach Tiller's comments as it is just a case of sour grapes and Tiller's baseless swipe adds more fuel to the fire in the "Coach Rodriguez lacks ethics" debate that is ongoing in the media. As Tiller well knows, de-commits are an unfortunate part of the recruiting process. It happened last year to Michigan when Jerimy Finch de-committed from Michigan and ended up at Florida and it almost happened this year when Sam McGuffie wavered in his commitment as he almost chose to de-commit from the Wolverines and head to California instead. Tiller's comments were out of line and he just better hope that Coach Rodriguez decides not to make Tiller pay by having the Wolverines run up the score on the Boilermakers on November 1st. For another take on Tiller's comments, click here to read the hilarious post by Frank of UMTailgate.com. It is worth it.

As for those readers who may be wondering why I'm defending Coach Rod when I've been so hard on him myself, I give the following reasons. First, I always call them as I see them and he is absolutely in the right in this recruiting "dispute". Secondly, and I am paraphrasing, Frank indirectly told me to "cowboy up" regarding the hiring of Coach Rodriguez. Considering that Coach Rod just reached out to the '69 squad, I'm willing to move forward. Giddyup! and Go Blue!!!

*NOTE: Picture of Coach Rodriguez from his signing day press conference of 2/6/08 from MGoBlue.com

The past meets the future

There was a cool event that occurred this week on Tuesday, February 5, 2008 that got lost in the shuffle because everyone was focused on February 6th National Signing Day. On Tuesday, the 1969 Michigan Football team came at the invitation of Coach Rodriguez to speak to the current Wolverine football team. The 1969 team was Bo's first team and thirty players from that squad came out to meet with the staff and players of Coach Rodriguez' first team. Returning players included Jim Betts, Dan Dierdorf, Reggie McKenzie, Billy Taylor, Paul Seymour, Jim Brandstatter, and Don Moorhead. The meeting of the 1969 team with the 2008 team was the brainchild of Dana Coin, the kicker from the '69 team. The event was a huge success. Click here for a link to the photo gallery from the event. Go Blue!

*Note 1: Top Photo of Coach Rodriguez addressing members of the 1969 team on February 5, 2008 from MGoBlue.com.

*Note 2: Side Photo of Coach Rodriguez (far right in photo) speaking with Michigan legends Dan Dierdorf (left) and Jim Betts (top) on 2/5/08 from MGoBlue.com.

Coach Rod continues to play the blame game

In the never ending dispute over his leaving WVU, Coach Rod continues to attempt to cast himself in the role of "victim". In his response filed in Federal Court yesterday, Rodriguez said it was the actions of the WVU administration- not a better job offer- that forced him to resign in December, 2007, and take the coaching job at Michigan. It is evident that Coach Rod continues to refuse to acknowledge his role in this entire dispute with his former employer. There is something about "It takes two to tango." Coach Rod, however, prefers to view the dispute from the perspective of a "victim" who has no personal responsibility for the events that have transpired. The e-mails released by Coach Rod's agent, Mike Brown, to support Rodriguez's contentions actually serve to reveal the true character (or lack thereof) of Coach Rod. A review of the e-mails show that Rodriguez's relationship with the school was on a downhill slide months before he resigned, in part because of his failed attempts to gain total control over the football program. Because of this ongoing dispute, Coach Rod was "available" when Michigan came calling. Unfortunately for Michigan, the school is now saddled with all the drama that Coach Rod brought with him from West Virginia. Worse, Coach Rod's behavior at WVU bespeaks of his character. If he was willing to turn on his alma mater he will certainly not demonstrate any more committment and/or loyalty to Michigan in the future than he showed WVU. If he doesn't get his way at Michigan, Coach Rod may be looking for the next big opportunity. I hope A.D. Bill Martin knew what he was doing when he brought this guy in. I think Martin is going to get more than he bargained for and not in a good way. Go Blue!

UPDATE on 2/8/08: Students at West Virginia University Law School have created a blog dedicated to the lawsuit between West Virginia University and Rich Rodriguez. The blog has links to all the actual court documents including Coach Rodriguez's contract. Check it out. It is very interesting.

*Note: Photo of Coach Rodriguez from MGoBlue.com

Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard wanted a Michigan Man

Desmond Howard, the 1991 Heisman Trophy winning wide receiver of the Wolverines, seems to be having issues with the hiring of Coach Rodriguez. Howard, who was on the search committee, was recently quoted as saying, "Well I think only time will tell if it was a good hire. The saddest part of the whole situation is that a Michigan Man never got offered the job. That doesn't sit well with any former players."

I took a fair amount of flak for my previous post ("Buyer's remorse") as some people saw it as unfairly criticizing Coach Rodriguez without giving him a chance. It's kind of cool that a Heisman Trophy winner who was on the search committee came out publicly a few days later and leveled the same criticisms I made in my post. He has just a little more credence than I carry. As Desmond said, Coach Rodriguez has no choice but to be successful and we wish him all the luck in the world as we would like nothing more than for Michigan to go undefeated next year. However, I think the reality is that Michigan is in for some tough sledding next season. I could even tolerate that if I found the man leading the program to be more honorable (e.g., Lloyd Carr). However, Coach Rod does not even have integrity going for him. I hope Bill Martin knew what he was doing when he hired this guy. Go Blue!

Buyer's remorse

It has been just over a month since Michigan announced the hiring of Rich Rodriguez as the 18th Head Football Coach in Michigan history. In the past month, Coach Rod fired the entire coaching staff save one (Fred Jackson); Coach Rod became embroiled in a very bitter and public spat with his former school WVU over his $4 million buy-out clause and allegations of "shredded files"; players with eligibility have left the program in droves including Ryan Mallett, Mario Manningham, Adrian Arrington and Alex Mitchell; and Coach Rod's recruiting season has been uneven thus far. Uh, is it too late to return Coach Rod to West Virginia University? I think I must have my receipt around here somewhere.

The coaching search was a debacle from the moment A.D. Bill Martin botched the courtship of LSU's Les Miles. Personally, I did not want Miles to be the next coach but I did not like how Miles' candidacy was (mis)handled. The coaching "search" only went downhill from there. It was nothing short of a disaster. Michigan was a laughingstock. President Mary Sue Coleman had to step in and assist A.D. Martin in landing a big name (i.e., Rodriguez) to staunch the bleeding as Michigan was getting killed. The problem is that in the rush to bring in a hot, young coach (Rodriguez is only 44 years old), Michigan sacrificed bringing in the right guy for the program. Michigan was so desperate to "stop the bleeding" it was willing to overpay for a coach (any coach) who was considered a young, hot commodity. In bringing in Rodriguez, we got a young, innovative coach. We also have a person of questionable integrity and character now leading the football program. It did not have to be this way.

Michigan had the perfect internal candidate in Ron English. Young (39 years old) and highly respected, Coach English had been with the program for five years serving as the Defensive Coordinator for the past two seasons. Coach "E" is a man of great integrity and high character as he demonstrated during his tenure at Michigan. Coach English would have made changes but likely would have kept many of the prior members of the Michigan coaching staff. Coach English would have blended the old with the new. He would have been able to move the football program forward while building on the strength of the traditions of the past. The wholesale changes made by Coach Rodriguez means things will be very different next year but it does not mean they will be better. In fact, they will likely be worse. However, under Coach English, the program would be in better shape now and in the future. A.D. Bill Martin did a great disservice by creating an environment where the hiring of an internal candidate would be viewed as "settling" and not in the best interests of the program. In fact, staying inside (as it turns out) would have been far preferable to the outside hire that was made. It's all water under the bridge but sometimes as I watch Coach Rod's soap opera I wistfully wonder what might have been if Michigan had hired Coach English instead. Go Blue!

Back to the Future

The Schembechler-era (1969-2007) is over. The Rodriguez-era (2007-20??) has begun. Despite the fact that there were two head football coaches that followed Bo [Gary Moeller (1990-1994) and Lloyd Carr (1995-2007)], most observers count the past 18 years as part of the Schembechler years as both men were assistants under Bo and continued the Bo way of doing things. However, the hiring of Coach Rodriguez -an outsider- has brought an end to the Schembechler reign. This is the first time Michigan has gone outside the program for a hire since the hiring of Bo Schembechler himself prior to the 1969 season. In fact, there are many parallels that can be drawn to Bo's first days as Michigan Head Coach and Coach Rod's first days at the helm of the Wolverines. There are also some important distinctions.

When Bo was hired by A.D. Don Canham in December, 1968, he had been the Head Coach at Miami (Ohio) University for the previous six years amassing a 40-17-3 record. Bo replaced Bump Elliott who had coached the Wolverines for 10 seasons. The Wolverines were coming off a humiliating loss to Ohio State by the score of 50-14 that had ended Michigan's season. Ohio State went on to win the National Championship that season. When Bo came on as Head Coach, Bump Elliott was moved up into the Athletic Dept. as an Associate Athletic Director. Bo thought to be successful he needed to have his own people with him so he brought six assistants from Miami University. Bo retained two assistants (George Mans & Frank Maloney) that had been on the Michigan staff and Bo brought in one assistant (Louie Lee) from the outside.

Bo held his first team meeting in January, 1969. Bo decided to set the tone right from the beginning. He wrote that his entire focus was to beat Ohio State. Back then, the Michigan Football program had fallen on hard times. Bo has written that when Don Canham took over the athletic department from Fritz Crisler in 1968, the year before he hired Bo, Canham inherited a $250,000 debt, a half-empty football stadium, and facilities that were about to collapse. Bo noted that Michigan had won just one Big Ten title in the previous 18 years. That was all about to change. One of the first things Bo did to set the tone was to mandate the players' living arrangements. "From now on," Bo said, "everyone is going to live in the city of Ann Arbor. Freshmen and sophomores are going to live in the dormitories, upperclassmen will live in apartments near campus, and married students will live in university married housing." After the initial meeting was over, Bo concluded he had accomplished his goal. Bo wrote, "I wasn't there to tell them how great they were. I was there to change the tone of that team. From the looks on their faces after I finished, you'd have to say I succeeded. "

When Coach Rod was hired by A.D. Bill Martin in December, 2007, he had been the Head Coach at West Virginia University for the previous seven seasons amassing a 60-26 record. Coach Rod replaced Lloyd Carr who had coached the Wolverines for 13 seasons. The Wolverines were coming off another tough loss to Ohio State (fourth in a row). Ohio State went on to play in the BCS National Championship title game. When Coach Rod came on as Head Coach, Lloyd Carr moved up into administration in the Athletic Dept. as an Associate Athletic Director. Coach Rod thought to be successful he needed to have his own people with him so he brought six assistants from West Virginia University. He retained one assistant (Fred Jackson) that had been on the Michigan staff and he brought in two assistants (Scott Shafer and Jay Hopson) from the outside.

Coach Rod held his first team meeting on Monday, January 7, 2008. Coach Rod is bringing a new scheme (the spread offense) into the program and he wants the players to sign on to the (radical) changes that are being made. Coach Rod is taking over a program that has won 8 Big Ten titles and a National Championship in the 18 seasons since Bo stepped down after the 1989 season. Additionally, the program has had 200+ consecutive home games of 100,000 or more fans in attendance. Nevertheless, Coach Rod wants to implement change. He wants to do things his way to keep the program moving forward. During his first week, he revolutionized the weight room. During the week of January 7th, Coach Rod held two team meetings and he let the players know that he and the assistant coaches would be dropping by the players' residences to check on them and their living situations. Regarding his players embracing his program, Coach Rod was quoted in The Free Press as saying, "They're all either fully committed or they're not committed at all. There ain't no halfway." I would say that Coach Rodriguez, like Bo before him, is setting a tone. Go Blue!

*Note: Photo of Coach Schembechler from collection of Bentley Historical Library, U-M.
*Note 2: Photo of Coach Rodriguez standing on sidelines during 2008 Capital One Bowl by REINHOLD MATAY/AP Photo

Coach Rodriguez takes the reigns tomorrow

Tomorrow, Coach Rich Rodriguez officially takes over as the Head Coach of the Michigan Football team. During the press conference on December 17, 2007 during which he was introduced as the 18th head coach in Michigan Football history, Coach Rodriguez said the following in his opening comments:

"And I'm studying, I know a little bit about the tradition. I'm studying it, following it, will know it very well in a short period of time, and I'm also excited about following a legend. I followed a legend at West Virginia University in Don Nehlen, which many of you know, who I played for, has great respect and pride in this great university, and I'm following another one in Lloyd Carr. And everybody knows about the legend of Bo Schembechler; I actually got his book last night from the mayor of Toledo, who is a big U-M fan, so I'm going to read that on the way home."

I don't know how much Coach Rodriguez got through the book but if nothing else I hope he read this chapter about Coach Schembechler's first days as the Michigan Football Coach. This chapter is entitled "Setting the tone" and Bo stated his entire focus was to beat Ohio State (the defending National Champions). As a review of the chapter reveals, Bo set the tone for the team from the very first team meeting in January, 1969. Now- 39 years later- Coach Rodriguez will be repeating history. Even if he did not have time to digest the entire book yet or all of Michigan's many traditions, Coach Rodriguez would be wise to follow Bo's lesson and set the tone for the team right from the first team meeting that will be taking place next week. Go Blue!

*Note: Photo of Coach Rodriguez on sidelines during Capital One Bowl by REINHOLD MATAY/AP Photo