Sunday, January 19, 2014

Poll results: What grade would you give the hiring of offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier?

New Michigan offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier
This post doesn't really need much commentary on my end. I asked readers what grade they would give Michigan's hiring of Doug Nussmeier, and the vast majority give the hire an "A." For what it's worth, there were zero votes for "D" and then four votes for "F," so I have to imagine that a few Buckeye or Spartan trolls stumbled across the site. If those votes were from legitimate Michigan fans, I would be curious to know the reasoning.

A: 79%

B: 18%

C: 1%

D: 0%

F: 0%

22 comments:

  1. I don't know how you don't give this hire an A, as it satisfies the wish list of just about everybody that matters ..... including Thunder.

    Hoke get's the two Tight End/H Back, ball control, downhill running game that he's been recruiting for since the day he got here, serving to complement his nicely developing defense.

    Thunder get's a solid commitment to the inside zone blocking scheme as opposed to the every thing under the sun floundering Big Al had been employing, not to mention a solid commitment to the one back offense with it's constraint plays, counters, screens etc. and maybe even some Pistol ... isn stuff thrown in there just for the giggles.

    The Michigan Men will get an offense that will very much look like the offenses of the past 20 years and some blowout wins as our talent advantage in The Big matures and streaks against lower echelon teams redevelop. I would also expect a streak against the Buckeyes and especially Sparty as the law of averages with regards to the Buckeyes, and inherent/chronic, Spartan self destructive, stupidity rears it's ugly head. The once in a generation success Sparty enjoys, seemingly with the coming of age of some Bullough kid is in it's maturity. If I had to guess, I'd go with a rash of real ugly felony headlines, or more likely a recruiting fiasco, but it could be anything.

    It should all feel very familiar, comfortable and nostalgic

    I also see the return of our 70's esg frustration on the national stage as our talent advantage dissipates against the best teams in the SEC and ACC. But, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

    Who knows, maybe they'll make it a little more fair and start playing the National Championship game up north and outside every other year. That would be fun.

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  2. Right now I'm not sure if I would put a grade on it. I would like to see what kind of impact he has on the program before I would either grade it or put a percentage on it

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  3. Right now I'm not sure if I would put a grade on it. I would like to see what kind of impact he has on the program before I would either grade it or put a percentage on it

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  4. A for the hire AND the way it was handled. All of the ducks were in a row before anything was announced publicly. No embarrassing leaks about Borges possibly being gone, requiring dissembling and denials before the fact, and no delay between the firing and the announcement of the new hire, that might have caused some recruits to waver. No rumors about potential hires only to have them reject us publicly (more embarrassment). One and done. Spot on job by Hoke and Brandon. Now they just have to translate this into success on the field.

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    1. Absolutely. Brandon and Hoke did the search and everything else in secrecy before firing Borges. That was cold, but it also saved us from meaningless drama and speculations. More and more I think about it, Brandon is the CEO of the football program. I am pretty sure he partially controls Hoke behind the scenes and was an integral part of the Nuss hire. The fact that Hoke walked off the stage without taking questions and Brandon remained there to take on questions is an indication imo.

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  5. I think it is a strong hire but I am reluctant to give it n A (I gave it a B) because by most accounts Nuss is a climber. If this offense performs well enough to justify an A for the OC, then I expect Nuss will be gone after 2, maybe 3, seasons. I think Nuss will be a huge asset in recruiting. But I was kind of hoping for the OC from a D1-AA or D2 programs with a track record of overachieving with inferior talent. Maybe they would not have made as big a recruiting impact right off the bat but they'd probably stick around a bit longer.

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    1. "But I was kind of hoping for the OC from a D1-AA or D2 programs with a track record of overachieving with inferior talent."

      The problem there is that their overachieving with inferior talent might well be due to the relatively inferior defenses they faced. That much of a jump is a bit of a crap shoot, and given the pressure and focus on the Michigan program right now a crap shoot was too risky. Nussmeier was the right choice at the right time. Solid A hire given all the circumstances.

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    2. Absolutely right. I even think that Hoke's hiring was a bit of crapshoot considering the fact that he was facing inferior competition at the Ball State and San Diego State. I remember how Ball State fared vs. Michigan in 2006, but I am pretty sure Michigan did not bring their A game in fighting Ball St. Nuss has to be the best hire given all the circumstances.

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  6. Yes, there would have been some attraction to getting a guy from a program like Boise State or Texas Tech or Louisville, who has put together highly productive offenses with less than 4 and 5 star talent, but the reality is that Nuss WILL have top-notch talent to work with. I'm happier to have a guy with a proven record of achievement with those kinds of players, since that's what we have. And if he does well enough recruiting and on the field to be lured away in a few years, our talent base should make it easy to attract someone else with top-notch credentials.

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  7. Who knows - maybe Nuss is being bred to be the new head coach. He's been a great coordinator at all his stops, and wants to be the head coach sooner than later, and maybe it'll happen at Michigan.

    It seems like Hoke is a good guy, and a decent coach, but after watching how he's handled some of these games, I don't know if I can call him a great coach. At Michigan he has so much money to dish out for hiring GRADE A coordinators. The Michigan brand and the coaches we have on staff have brought in GRADE A talent. But our team's performance does not deserve an A for 2013. 2011, sure - but how we lost to Iowa still befuddles me. 2012 - maybe a B. I understand we had one of the roughest schedules around, but 5 losses is quite a bit. 2013 - maybe a C- with 7-6 against a weaker big ten with a cupcake out of conference schedule, excluding notre dame. What is in store for 2014? To me, I think we have solid depth and talent at every position excluding interior defensive line. We have all our rivals away, but with the talent, coordinators and position coaches (I left out head coach on purpose) we have, I think we should win two of them.

    If Hoke wins 8 games next year, I'd like to see him gone. If he wins 9 games next year, I'd like to see Dave Brandon to think long and hard about his job. If he wins 10 or more games next year I'm happy with him staying, but this mediocrity bullshit has got to go.

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    1. I think we are all on the same page here. I'd say 9 wins is the bare minimum for Hoke to keep his job. We are starting to have quality depth at almost every position as you say, and the team is being filled up with Hoke's recruits. 9 wins would have to be the bare minimum. If he wins 7 or 8 games again, we should move on to a new head coach. Maybe Nuss can take the job depending on how he performs.

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    2. Hoke is indeed on the hot seat now. Watching how Michigan's D, which usually is pretty good under Mattison, gave up plays after plays in the bowl game really showed me that the D at the time was mentally jaded from the inconsistent and poor play from the offense. The D can help out the O only for so long, before giving up themselves. Getting the O fixed is of highest priority for this team, and that's why Hoke and Brandon hired Nuss.

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    3. No offense Suduri, but I feel like you say a lot on a lot of topics that you aren't very knowledgeable on.

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    4. No, we're not all on the same page. The page I'm on is that I saw in 2011 what Hoke could do with experience and talent along the lines. I expect to see greater success in 2015 and 16 when the staff has more of the same, but with more talent. Hoke is solid for 2 years MINIMUM. I'll eat a bug if I'm wrong.

      Phil

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    5. Ok, you can eat a bug if you'd like, but I don't see Hoke surviving with yet another bad season in his 4th year. I expect greater success in 2015 and 2016, too. Especially 2015, as Hoke's 2012 and 2013 would be upperclassmen and we get both MSU and OSU at home. But he better put on a solid showing in 2014 in order to get there.

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    6. Like the things you said about Funk, and now what you're saying about Hoke. I will be the first to admit that I am ahead of myself sometimes on these things, and that I may sometimes act a little too knowledgeable on something that many people know more on. Maybe it's just me, but you seem a little heated way too often about the little things, and I think you generally have the wrong idea on some things. You seem like a very passionate fan, and knowledgeable on some things, but sometimes I think you just get a little too wild about other things. That's just my view though, I'm not trying to start an argument at all.

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    7. Ok man. Not everyone will agree with me and vice versa, so that's fine. As you point out, Michigan football is too big of a part in my life -- I am not really interested in any other sport except CFB, so all of my sports energy/passion goes into M football. This may not be a good thing, but I just cannot stop myself from being a sucker for M football!

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  8. Do you still write for Maize 'N Brew?

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  9. The four "F" votes came from the Borges family: Big Al, his wife, and two kids.

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    1. let's not say things about the man's family.

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    2. I don't see what was so wrong with what anonymous said, it was actually pretty funny

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