| 07 November 2009
I remember when Saturday afternoons were fun. Joyous, even.
Growing up a Michigan Wolverines fan, I looked forward to Saturdays, seeing them pound teams into submission a crisp Fall afternoons.
Not anymore.
We still have glorious Fall afternoons, but the pounding? Michigan is no longer holding the hammer. They've become the nail.
This sort of thing is seen far too often at the Big House these days...
Today the Wolverines continued their fall from grace.
Michigan lost to Purdue at home for the first time in several generations. I'm not exaggerating. When the Boilermakers last won at the Big House, 1966, Purdue's quarterback, Hall of Famer Bob Griese, was barely old enough to buy beer. He's 65 now. You do the math.
The Wolverines remain one victory short of qualifying for a bowl game. But with Wisconsin and tOSU remaining on the schedule, and both are heavy favorites.
Again, you do the math. If you can't beat Illinois and Purdue...
I never thought I'd be rooting for a Michigan team to qualify for the Motor City Motor City Pizza Pizza Bowl Bowl. or any other fleabag bowl game destination. Yet, here I am, bitching up a storm over the Wolverines inability to get their 6th win of the season.
Is there such a thing as an infinite facepalm? Or facepalm ∞?
Oh so very, very wrong...
So, now what?
I hate to say it, but I will.
Patience.
The Wolverines are in too deep with Rich Rodriguez to do anything other than give him time. At the very least another year, and what's much more likely, 2.
The administration can't fire him. Well, they could, if they listened to the rising amount of bile and anger coming from the alumni base, but the rebuilding would begin again. (We're long past the "Michigan doesn't rebuild, they reload" thoughts)
What might be a 4 or 5 year rebuild under RichRod suddenly turns into a decade long Notre Dame/Nebraska/Alabama style debacle if he's canned. Another coach would be hired, he'd come with another scheme, needing another type of player. The circle begins once more.
Let's not forget a couple of other things.
Michigan kept Tommy Amaker, the the worst basketball coach in the Big Ten during his tenure, around for 6 painful to watch years. If Amaker can last 6 years, with no real past track record to speak of, how long do you think the Michigan administration would give RichRod, who had proven himself a winner at the D-1 FBS level?
Enough time to know if he's the man to take the Wolverines to the next level, or a monstrous, program killing, mistake. The jury is still out, but you know what directions most fans are currently leaning...
Of course, the timetable is rapidly sped up if the NCAA finds some sort of shenanigans in their probe into the practice time fiasco.
NCAA violations = Rich Rodriguez is out post haste.
Factor in the current athletic director, Bill Martin, retiring as of September 2010. Martin's timing guarantees Rodriguez comes back next season. (Which I'm sure he realized when he set the date) You'd be insane to hire a new coach when your AD is a lame duck.
So that's where things stand. Even after another unimaginable loss, patience is the word of the day for the Wolverines' fanbase.
I'm not happy about it, but as a life-long Detroit Lions fan, I'm sure as Hell used to it.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
