Ex-Wolverine Updates

Jay Hopson has Alcorn State chugging along pretty nicely.

Former DT Richard Ash: Ash made 1 tackle in Western Michigan's 45-14 victory over Murray State.

Former TE commit Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 3 catches for 38 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown in Oregon's 38-31 win over Washington State. The game was tied 31-31 until the Ducks scored the go-ahead touchdown with 5:33 left.

Former CB Cullen Christian: Christian had 1 tackle in West Virginia's 45-33 loss to Oklahoma.

Former CB commit Dallas Crawford: Crawford made 3 tackles in Miami's 41-31 loss to Nebraska.

Former K Matt Goudis: Goudis sat out Miami's loss to Nebraska with an injury.

Former LB coach Jay Hopson: Hopson, the head coach at D-II Alcorn State, moved to 3-1 with a 52-9 win over Mississippi Valley State. His only loss this year came at the hands of Southern Miss, an FBS school, by a score of 26-20. Against D-II opponents, the Braves have scored 50+ points in each game and they have allowed 6, 7, and 9 points.

Former defensive coordinator Greg Robinson: Robinson is now the defensive coordinator at San Jose State, a team that is #99 nationally with 31 points per game allowed. They're also #59 nationally by giving up 375 yards/game, which isn't terrible considering two of their opponents have been Auburn and Minnesota.

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez: Arizona won a ridiculous game against Cal by a score of 49-45. Arizona was down 28-6 at halftime, but they outscored Cal 43-17 in the second half. The game was finally won on a 47-yard Hail Mary from Anu Solomon to Austin Hill as time expired. Solomon was 47/73 for 520 yards, 5 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Receiver Cayleb Jones caught 13 passes for 186 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Hill caught 8 passes for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns. It's interesting to watch from afar as Rodriguez has gone from a run-heavy spread offense at West Virginia and Michigan to a passer-friendly one in Arizona, although they usually still run the ball well.

Former S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal made 7 tackles in Pitt's 24-20 loss to Iowa.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Demar Dorsey

CB Demar Dorsey: Dorsey has been signed by the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League. The last time he played football was in 2012, when he played four games for Arizona Western Junior College, making 12 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 interception.

K Anthony Fera: Fera hit a 42-yard field goal, had a 44-yarder blocked, was 1/1 on extra points, and average 38.3 yards on 9 punts as the Longhorns lost to Baylor by a score of 30-10 in the Big 12 Championship game.

Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson: Robinson's Longhorns defense gave up 508 yards and recorded zero turnovers in the 30-10 loss to Baylor.

CB Adrian Witty: Witty had 4 tackles in Cincinnati's 31-24 overtime loss to Louisville in their final regular season game.

You can find other players and their stories in the Ex-Wolverine Encyclopedia.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Vladimir Emilien

TE Pharaoh Brown: Brown was targeted twice but did not record a reception in Oregon's 36-35 win over Oregon State in the Civil War. The game was won on a touchdown pass from Marcus Mariota to Josh Huff with 29 seconds remaining.

CB Dallas Crawford: Crawford was bottled up for 14 carries and just 22 yards, plus 1 catch for 3 yards, in Miami's 41-31 win over Pitt.

S Vladimir Emilien: Emilien had 2 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 fumble recovery in Toledo's 31-29 loss to Akron.

K Anthony Fera: Fera was 5/5 on extra points and 2/2 on field goals (from 49 and 37 yards) in Texas's 41-16 win over Texas Tech.

K Matt Goudis: Goudis was 5/5 on extra points and 2/2 on field goals (from 39 and 29 yards) in Miami's 41-31 win over Pitt.

LB Mike Jones: Jones had 6 tackles in Western Michigan's 33-14 loss to Northern Illinois.

Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson: Robinson's defense tallied a whopping 9 sacks in Texas's 41-16 win over Texas Tech.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez: Arizona ended its regular season on a downer with a 58-21 loss to Arizona State. Ka'Deem Carey finished the game with 32 carries for 157 yards and 1 touchdown, but quarterback B.J. Denker threw 3 interceptions. Arizona ends the year at 7-5.

S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 4 tackles and 1 pass breakup in Pitt's 41-31 loss to Miami.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson is helping out a Texas team that was thought to be sliding downward.

TE Pharaoh Brown: Brown had 1 catch for 18 yards in Oregon's 45-24 victory over Washington.

K Anthony Fera: Fera was 3/3 on field goals, including makes of 50, 43, and 31 yards. He was also 3/4 on extra points with the fourth attempt being blocked. His Texas Longhorns beat Oklahoma by a score of 36-20.

Linebackers coach Jay Hopson: Hopson's Alcorn State team moved to 5-2 after a 48-0 destruction of Grambling. The team rushed for 288 yards and passed for another 254

S Carvin Johnson: Johnson had 6 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass breakup in Hampton's 31-26 victory over North Carolina A&T. That's Hampton's first win of the year.

LB Mike Jones: Jones had 14 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, .5 sacks, and 1 pass breakup in Western Michigan's 33-0 loss to Buffalo. Western is 0-7 on the season, but Jones is having a decent year with 63 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass breakup.

Defensive coordinator Greg Robinson: Don't look now, but Greg Robinson - recently hired as Texas's defensive coordinator - helped the Longhorns to their 36-20 upset win over Oklahoma. Oklahoma managed just 263 total yards and quarterback Blake Bell got picked off twice, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

WR Jerald Robinson: Robinson had 3 catches for 33 yards and 1 touchdown in Walsh University's 38-28 win over Malone. He now has 24 catches for 306 yards and 5 touchdowns on the year.

S Marvin Robinson: Robinson started at safety and had 5 tackles in Ferris State's 54-44 win over Grand Valley State.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez: Arizona fell to 3-2 after a 38-31 loss to USC. The Wildcats were down 28-3 at one point, but they recovered to make it a one-score game. Quarterback B.J. Denker had a career day with 363 yards and 4 touchdowns through the air.

WR Je'Ron Stokes: Stokes had 1 catch for 8 yards in Norfolk State's 14-7 loss to Delaware State.

S Ray Vinopal: Vinopal had 6 tackles in Pitt's 19-9 loss to Virginia Tech.

CB Adrian Witty: Witty had 6 tackles and 1 tackle for loss in Cincinnati's 38-20 win over 0-6 Temple.

Ex-Wolverine Updates

Marvin Robinson

CB Greg Brown: Brown is listed as a 5'11", 202 lb. cornerback for Iowa Central, a junior college. I have been unable to find any game statistics.

S Vladimir Emilien: Emilien had 2 tackles for Toledo in a 38-23 loss to Missouri.

S Carvin Johnson: Johnson had 10 tackles for Hampton in a 31-7 loss to William & Mary.

LB Kaleb Ringer: Ringer, now a backup at Ferris State, had 3 tackles in a 56-10 loss to North Dakota State.

DC Greg Robinson: Robinson, who had been working as a consultant for the Texas Longhorns, replaced Longhorns defensive coordinator Manny Diaz after the embarrassing weekend loss to BYU in which Texas allowed 550 rushing yards.

WR Jerald Robinson: Robinson, now at D-II Walsh College University, had 7 receptions for 47 yards and 2 touchdowns against Edinboro in a 35-34 loss.

S Marvin Robinson: Robinson, playing linebacker in a 4-4 defense at Ferris State, had 10 tackles and 1 interception in his debut. FSU lost by a score of 56-10 to North Dakota State, however.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez: Arizona beat UNLV by a score of 58-13. Running back Ka'Deem Carey had 16 carries for 171 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Wildcats are now 2-0.

DL coach Bruce Tall: Tall, Michigan's former defensive line coach under Rich Rodriguez, is now the defensive coordinator at Charlotte. The 49ers have given up 7 points in each of their two games and are now 2-0.

CB Adrian Witty: Witty had 3 tackles for Cincinnati, but the Bearcats lost to Illinois by a score of 45-17. Also in the game, former Michigan recruiting target Munchie Legaux suffered a terrible knee injury and will miss the remainder of the year.

Ex-Wolverine Updates: Rodriguez's Staff

Former safeties coach Adam Braithwaite arguably had the most success of any former Rodriguez staffer in 2011,
as his Christopher Newport team almost finished in the top third of D-III defenses and the team went 8-3.
(image via Daily Press)

Former head coach Rich Rodriguez spent the 2011 season as an NCAA football analyst for CBS Sports.

Former offensive coordinator Calvin Magee spent the 2011 season as the offensive coordinator at Pitt.  The Panthers finished the regular season #68 in rushing offense (151 yards per game), #75 in passing offense (211 yards per game), #83 in total offense (362 yards per game), and #69 in scoring offense (25.75 points per game).  They also allowed more sacks than any other team with 4.75 per game.  Magee has been hired to re-join Rodriguez at Arizona and coordinate the offense.

Former defensive coordinator Scott Shafer ('08) has spent the last few seasons at Syracuse.  In 2011 the Orangemen finished #32 in rushing defense, #98 in passing defense, #64 in total defense, and #74 in scoring defense.

Former defensive coordinator Greg Robinson ('09-'10) spent the 2011 season away from football.

Former quarterbacks coach Rod Smith ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season as the quarterbacks coach at Indiana.  The Hoosiers went 1-11 with a victory over South Carolina State.  True freshman Tre Roberson finished the season  at 81-for-142 passing for 937 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions.  He also ran the ball 109 times for 426 yards (3.9 yards per carry) and 2 touchdowns.  Sophomore Edward Wright-Backer finished the year at 91-for-153 passing for 1,029 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions.  He ran the ball 46 times for 68 yards and 0 touchdowns.  Overall, the Hoosiers had the #80 passing offense, the #85 total offense, and the #101 scoring offense (21.4 points per game).

Running backs coach Fred Jackson ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season at Michigan, turning Fitzgerald Toussaint into an awesome running back.

Former wide receivers coach Tony Dews ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season as the tight ends coach at Pitt.  Starter Hubie Graham finished the year with 27 catches for 307 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Dews has been hired to re-join Rodriguez at Arizona as the wide receivers coach.

Former offensive line coach Greg Frey ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season as the offensive line coach at Indiana.  The Hoosiers finished #58 in rushing (161 yards per game) and #95 in sacks allowed (2.58 per game).

Former defensive line coach Bruce Tall ('08-'10) was hired as the defensive coordinator at Charlotte, a fledgling football program that won't begin playing until 2013.

Former linebackers coach Jay Hopson ('08-'09) spent 2010 and the first part of 2011 at Memphis.  However, he resigned at Memphis after the first two games of the season, when he gave up 59 and 47 points to Mississippi State and Arkansas State, respectively.  His current job situation is unknown.

Former secondary coach Tony Gibson ('08-'10) spent the 2011 season as the secondary coach at Pitt.  The Panthers finished #71 in the country in pass defense (233 yards per game) and his defensive backs made just 4 total interceptions.  Gibson has been hired to re-join Rodriguez at Arizona as the Wildcats' secondary coach.

Former safeties coach Adam Braithwaite ('10) spent the 2011 season as the defensive coordinator at Christopher Newport, a Division III program.  CNU finished #85 in rushing defense, #94 in pass defense, #83 in total defense, and #116 in scoring defense while going 8-3 on the year.  There are 238 teams in Division III.

Where did Rich Rodriguez's staff go?

Running backs coach Fred Jackson was the only coach to survive the Rich Rodriguez tenure. (Ann Arbor.com)

Adam Braithwaite (Safeties coach, 2010)
Braithwaite was fired along with the rest of the defensive staff in January.  He was recently hired by Christopher Newport University to be the team's defensive coordinator.

Tony Dews (Wide receivers coach, 2008-2010)
Dews was hired by new coach Todd Graham at Pitt shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Panthers tight ends coach.

Greg Frey (Offensive line coach, 2008-2010)
Frey was hired by new coach Kevin Wilson at Indiana shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Hoosiers offensive line coach.

Tony Gibson (Defensive backs coach, 2008-2010)
Gibson was hired by new coach Todd Graham at Pitt shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Panthers cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator.

Jay Hopson (Linebackers coach, 2008-2009)
Hopson was hired by Memphis prior to the 2010 season to be the defensive coordinator and safeties coach.  The Tigers were #116 in total defense and #110 in scoring defense prior to Hopson's arrival.  Memphis finished 2010 with the #115 squad in total defense (460.67 yards/game) and the #117 scoring defense (39.83 points/game).

Calvin Magee (Offensive coordinator/tight ends coach, 2008-2010)
Magee was hired by new coach Todd Graham at Pitt shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Panthers co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach.

Greg Robinson (Defensive coordinator, 2009-2010)
Robinson's current whereabouts are unknown.  Rumor has it that he's been auditioning for Just for Men commercials.

Scott Shafer (Defensive coordinator/cornerbacks coach, 2008)
Shafer was fired after the 2008 season.  He was then hired by Syracuse to be its defensive coordinator.  Syracuse had been #101 in both total defense and scoring defense prior to Shafer's arrival, but they improved to #37 in total defense and #81 in scoring defense by 2009.  Syracuse finished 2010 at #7 in total defense (301.46 yards/game) and #17 in scoring defense (19.31 points/game).

Rod Smith (Quarterbacks coach, 2008-2010)
Smith was hired by new coach Kevin Wilson at Indiana shortly after the staff was fired from Michigan.  He will be the Hoosiers quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator.

Bruce Tall (Defensive line coach, 2008-2010)
Tall was hired by Charlotte to be the program's first defensive coordinator.

Mailbag: How will Craig Roh be used?

Indiana sucks.  Craig Roh doesn't.

My understanding is the he DC ran the 3-4 at Baltimore and I'm concerned what this means for Roh.  He doesn't seem suited to play LB or DE in that system. Is he strictly a one-gap lineman and if so, how do you see him being used by the staff?

First of all, I think Roh is one of the top two defensive players on the roster (with Mike Martin).  He's 6'5", 250+ pounds, he's strong, he can cover a little bit, he's pretty quick, and he's aggressive.  So I don't blame you for being concerned about how he will be used.

Luckily, I think new defensive coordinator Greg Mattison will put Roh in a position to achieve success this coming season.  In my opinion, the old coaching staff was almost criminally negligent in their use of Roh last season.  As a true freshman in 2009, Roh split time with Brandon Herron and notched 7.5 tackles for loss and 2 sacks.  As a full-time starter in 2010, Roh inreased his total tackles by only six (37 to 43) but his tackles for loss dropped to 5.5 and he had a whopping 1/2 sack.  That's why I was so convinced that the spring 2010 practice rumors were erroneous or overblown that Michigan would be using a 3-3-5.  Sure enough, Michigan tried to play Roh as an outside stacked linebacker, which was a failure.  Rumors popped up that Craig and his father, Fred, approached the coaching staff about using Roh appropriately . . . or running the risk of seeing him transfer.  Almost immediately afterward, we saw Roh playing defensive end again.  I can't vouch for the validity of those rumors, but generally, where there's smoke there's fire.

As for Michigan's defense in 2011, recruits have reported that Brady Hoke has been relaying messages about running a 4-3.  Obviously, things could change or be misinterpreted, but that's the word on the street.  On the other hand, Mattison did indeed run a version of a 3-4 this past season with the Baltimore Ravens, and I have a hard time believing that he would change schemes at the snap of a finger.  On the other other hand, someone with Mattison's age and experience probably knows the ins and outs of both systems.

Really, it would be nothing more than a guess for me to say what type of defense Michigan will run in 2011.  There seems to be evidence for both.  But Roh has the size and skill set to play weakside defensive end in a 4-3 (Tim Jamison was 6'3", 263 as a senior) or outside linebacker in a 3-4 (Terrell Suggs is 6'3", 260).  My guess is that the defense will be a hybrid type of 3-4/4-3 in which we'll see Roh deployed like he was in 2009, back when Greg Robinson had some semblance of a clue what he was doing with the defense (remember when Roh looked promising and Steve Brown had such a solid season?  You know, before Rodriguez forced the 3-3-5 on him?).  Once in awhile, Roh will drop back into the flat or pick up a running back in man coverage.  Once in awhile, Roh will stand up and blitz the interior of the line.  Most of the time, he'll rush the passer.

I was wrong last year when I said that Michigan would probably run a 4-2-5, but after the defensive performance of 2010, I'm not convinced I was wrong that Michigan should have run a 4-2-5.  It's not that the 3-3-5 can't be successful in the Big Ten, but that assumes that the linebackers can be competent.  Obi Ezeh was a disappointment, Mouton was off-and-on, Roh was misused, and by the end of the season, only Mouton remained in the same spot (Ezeh was benched for Kenny Demens, and Roh was put at defensive end).  Rodriguez, Robinson, and the other defensive assistants had no clue how to work together and employ their personnel, and they were sent packing because of it.

Now that Hoke is in charge and brought in one of his guys - somebody he knows and trusts - I think the defensive coaching will be much smoother.  Michigan had an identity when Rodriguez brought Calvin Magee to run the offense.  They both knew what they wanted to do, and the offense improved steadily.  Conversely, Rodriguez brought in a 4-3 guy that he didn't know (Shafer), forced him to run a 3-3-5 after two-thirds of a season, fired Shafer, brought in a 3-4/4-3 guy that he didn't know (Robinson), forced him to run a 3-3-5 after a full season, and then got everyone fired.

I still believe in Roh's talent, and sadly, a 3-3-5 is just about the only defense where he can't fit somewhere.  I think 2010 was a bit of an aberration in Roh's maturation, and we'll see an explosive pass rusher and stellar athlete wearing #88 once again, rather than this:

Yes, that's a 250 lb. defensive tackle lined up over Mississippi State's left guard.  It's also a touchdown.

Top 10 Failures of Rich Rodriguez

1.  Losing games.  This is obvious, but it belongs on the list.  Rodriguez finished his three years at Michigan with a 15-22 record.  That winning percentage (.405) is the worst in Michigan history.

2. Losing to rivals.  Rodriguez was 0-6 against Michigan's two biggest rivals, Ohio State and Michigan State.  If you want to include Penn State, he was 0-9.  He was outscored by a total of 317-140 in those nine games.  It's unclear how much a couple victories against Ohio State or Michigan State might have affected Rodriguez's tenure, but wins against Indiana and Purdue don't carry the same weight.

3. Neutering Scott Shafer.  Shafer has proven to be a solid defensive coordinator at every other stop - Western Michigan, Stanford, and Syracuse.  The former two were prior to Shafer's hiring at Michigan.  But Rodriguez's other defensive assistants were proponents of the 3-3-5 and seemed to undermine his authority.  Late in the season, Rodriguez even authorized a mid-season switch of defensive schemes from the 4-3 to a 3-3-5; Michigan subsequently allowed 42 points to Purdue, a team using a converted running back to play QB.  Shafer could have been a good coordinator at Michigan and helped Rodriguez keep his job, but he was fired after the 2008 season because, well, someone's head needed to roll after a 3-9 season.

4. Hiring Greg Robinson.  Robinson had intermittent success as a coordinator in the NFL and in college.  But just like Shafer, Robinson was a 4-3 or a 3-4 guy.  In my opinion, the defense showed some promise in 2009, when Robinson used safety Steve Brown as an outside linebacker and freshman Craig Roh as a rush linebacker.  However, Rodriguez used the 2009-10 offseason to convert to the 3-3-5, and Robinson was obviously uncomfortable and inexperienced with running that defensive set.  That resulted in 458 points allowed in 2010, an average of 35.2 points per game.

5. Not retaining holdover players from the Carr era.  Michigan was extremely short-handed in 2009, fielding a team of 69 or 70 players who were given scholarships right out of high school.  Some of those players were bound for a career of anonymity, I'm sure, but others were not.  Quarterback Ryan Mallett was vaguely in Heisman contention this season.  Justin Boren became an All-Big Ten guard at Ohio State.  Adrian Arrington chose to enter the NFL Draft (and became only a 7th round choice) a year early.  Rodriguez can't shoulder the blame entirely for these departures, but there's no question that a guy like Boren would have been helpful in 2008 and 2009, the former season featuring a starting guard (John Ferrara) that was a mid-season position switcher from defensive tackle.

6. Stretching too much.  The Detroit Free Press reported some trumped-up charges regarding Michigan's practice schedule, and that sparked an NCAA investigation.  While the charges were blown out of proprtion, they were a black mark on the Michigan program and resulted in probation and some lost practice hours.  Rodriguez wasn't responsible for everything that went wrong in the compliance department, but his staff did fail to keep track of its countable practice hours accurately and a graduate assistant watched some voluntary 7-on-7s, which is a no-no.

7. Not finding his Steve Slaton.  Pat White got a lot of hype at West Virginia, but running back Steve Slaton was almost as important as White.  And prior to White's arrival on campus, Rodriguez used running backs like Quincy Wilson and Kay-Jay Harris to great effect.  Rodriguez never found "that guy" at Michigan, partially due to injuries and partially due to recruiting.  Therefore, the offense wasn't as spectacular as it might have been.  The lack of a running game cost Michigan a couple games throughout his tenure.

8. Not developing top prospects.  Rodriguez seemed to have an abnormal number of high-end recruits bomb out of the program.  And it's probably a coincidence, but most of them seemed to come from the defensive secondary.  Four 4-star players recruited by Rodriguez never made a significant positive impact at Michigan (Demar Dorsey, Boubacar Cissoko, Justin Turner, Vladimir Emilien), which resulted in five true freshman defensive backs seeing significant time in 2010.  Furthermore, arguably Michigan's best prospect in the last few classes (William Campbell) has yet to make an impact at Michigan and just switched from nose tackle to offensive guard in the middle of the season.

9. Handing out the #1 jersey to J.T. Floyd.  Before Rodriguez ever coached a snap at Michigan, he tried to give the #1 jersey to true freshman cornerback J.T. Floyd.  He was either unaware of the jersey's significance or chose to ignore that aspect, but it was nonetheless a mistake.  Nothing seemed to highlight the fact that Rodriguez wasn't a "Michigan Man" more than the #1 jersey snafu, which pitted some alumni and fans against him from the start.

10.  Poor player personnel decisions.  Part of the heat falls on the assistant coaches, but Rodriguez shoulders most of this blame because he has the final say: Rodriguez didn't put his players in their best positions to succeed.  Running backs Sam McGuffie and Vincent Smith played far too much when there were more productive and explosive backs on the roster (Brandon Minor and Michael Shaw for starters).  Obi Ezeh should have been an outside linebacker starting back in 2008; and at least according to their play on the field, Ezeh should have been replaced by Kenny Demens much earlier.  Cameron Gordon - who has linebacker speed - spent half the 2010 season playing free safety.  William Campbell spent two years toiling on the defensive line before making a permanent move to the offensive line, and he didn't even redshirt to allow for a fifth year of eligibility.

Effects of Coaching Carousel on Michigan

Several coaches from schools around the country have been fired, retired, or resigned recently, and some of those coaching situations may have an impact on Michigan.  Here I'll discuss the ways in which the departures of Urban Meyer (Florida), Randy Shannon (Miami), and Dave Wannstedt (Pitt) might impact the situation in Ann Arbor.  I don't think any of them necessarily signify impending doom for Rich Rodriguez (Urban Meyer isn't coming to Ann Arbor), but they might affect the Michigan program in smaller ways.

RECRUITING
All three schools I'm going to focus on harbor Class of 2011 commits who have Michigan offers.

• Florida: RB Mike Blakely, SR Javares McRoy, LB Ryan Shazier, DB Valdez Showers, WR Ja'juan Story, CB Nick Waisome
• Miami: DE Anthony Chickillo
• Pitt: RB/SR Bill Belton, CB Terrell Chestnut, CB Kyshoen Jarrett, LB Ben Kline

The three players in the above lists who have shown the most interest in Michigan are Showers, Jarrett, and Kline.  Showers is from Michigan, and the other two seemed to be giving the Wolverines a fair look before committing to become Panthers.  Assuming that Florida's head job is filled by someone with Florida roots (Mississippi State's Dan Mullen, Louisville's Charlie Strong), I doubt that many Gator commits will waver.  However, Pittsburgh's open job will likely be filled by an outsider, and that means Jarrett and Kline might be ripe for the picking.  Jarrett has reportedly sent out feelers to other programs, including Michigan, and Kline had Michigan in his top few schools at one point.

GATOR BOWL OPPONENT
Urban Meyer's intentions are to coach the Florida Gators in the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day.  However, just like Michigan did with Rich Rodriguez back in 2007-2008, Meyer's replacement might be hired prior to January 1.  That guy might be Mississippi State's Dan Mullen.  And even though Mullen is familiar with the landscape of Florida and has only been gone from Gainesville for a season, I'm not sure that Florida's athletic director would want to sacrifice several weeks of recruiting right near the end of the cycle.  I would not be surprised to see Meyer's replacement hired within the coming week; if Mullen's the guy, he probably won't be coaching the Bulldogs on January 1.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Mississippi State would be a mess for the bowl game.  Going back to that Michigan/West Virginia situation in 2007-2008, interim head coach Bill Stewart led the Mountainers to a 48-28 victory over #3 Oklahoma.

MICHIGAN'S COACHING STAFF
It's practically a foregone conclusion that, at the very least, defensive coordinator Greg Robinson will be gone before the 2011 season.  If it doesn't happen prior to the bowl game, it will happen soon after.  But with the tenuous status of the entire coaching staff at Michigan, it's not like some coordinator out there is going to accept a job at Michigan this very instant.  For now, Robinson is the guy.

None of Pitt's staff is likely to come to Michigan, but the Miami and Florida staff changes may have an effect. 

Randy Shannon was a very good defensive coordinator for the Hurricanes for six seasons before becoming head coach.  He also has NFL experience with the Miami Dolphins, so heading back to the NFL isn't out of the question.  Shannon seems like a long shot to come to Michigan as a coordinator, especially because Michigan has a tradition of underpaying coordinators.  Athletic director David Brandon might signal a new regime by shelling out some dough for a big-name coordinator, but I have my doubts.

More likely candidates include:

• Vance Bedford.  Bedford was a defensive backs coach at Michigan for five total seasons, most recently in 2007.  He then joined the Florida staff and followed Charlie Strong to Louisville to become defensive coordinator, where he currently has the #12 total defense and the #15 scoring defense in the country.  If Strong becomes head coach at Florida, that might cause a shakeup in his staff, but I don't see a significant reason that Bedford wouldn't follow Strong back to Gainesville except for . . .
• Chuck Heater.  Heater was a running back at Michigan from 1972-1974.  Though he hasn't coached at Michigan, he's still a "Michigan Man."  He succeeded Strong as defensive coordinator at Florida, and has the #9 total defense and #31 scoring defense in 2010.  If Strong were hired, Bedford or Heater would likely head elsewhere for a coordinator position.  Since Bedford seems to be Strong's "guy," this might make Heater a free agent.

The availability of these guys is largely based on speculation and connections to Michigan, so I don't have any inside sources saying that David Brandon is pursuing these guys.  However, they seem like fairly logical choices to replace Greg Robinson at Michigan.  As I said in a prior post about Rodriguez's future in Ann Arbor, I stated that one of the caveats should be that a defensive coordinator should be hired and Rodriguez should be told to keep his hands off the defensive side of the ball.  Shannon, Bedford, and Heater have the experience and credibility to come in and run their systems without too much blowback. 

All of these dominos are unlikely to fall, but they're things to consider as Michigan likely searches for a defensive coordinator and staff this offseason.

Mailbag: Will Rich Rodriguez return in 2011?

Frustrated.

Dear Magnus,

I'm a long time reader, first time writer.

I'd like to know if a) you think Rodriguez will be fired and b) you think he should be fired.  Please keep your response to 10,000 words or less.

Thanks,

Matt

Thanks for the e-mail, Matt.

These are difficult questions to answer, but I'm just a blogger, so my opinion really doesn't matter.  So what the hell, let's go for it.

Do I think that Rodriguez will be fired?  To put it bluntly, yes.  I think the din of disapproval has grown too loud.  People expected more when he was hired, and they expected it faster.  To the vast majority, THIS IS MICHIGAN, and Lloyd Carr couldn't possibly have left the cupboard this bare.  And to an extent, they're right.  I have a hard time believing that a Lloyd Carr-coached team would have wandered through a season with as little of a clue about how to play defense as this 2010 squad has, and the mind boggling amount of attrition over the past few years probably could have been stemmed in some way.  How?  I don't know.  But other programs have gone through coaching changes without losing 17 players in their first three recruiting classes (2008-2010) like Rodriguez has, and that's not counting the droves who were already in Ann Arbor and were subsequently driven off by Rodriguez's rules, conditioning, or attitude.

Athletic director David Brandon has been publicly supportive for the most part, and I think he's done a good job of standing by Rodriguez.  I don't think Brandon had his mind made up when he was hired that Rodriguez would be gone after 2010, but he has probably reached that conclusion over the past few months.  The 0-9 record against Ohio State, Penn State, and Michigan State might have been the nail in the coffin for Rodriguez, who lost all of those games handily in 2010.  As I said in my post the other day, the 7-5 record this season was what I expected.  But just because Michigan people expected that season doesn't mean that they'll accept it.

Do I think Rodriguez should be fired?  The answer to that is a little murkier.  With even a halfway decent defense, this team could have been 9-3 or 10-2.  Wisconsin and Ohio State were tanks this year; Penn State, Iowa, and Michigan State were all fairly beatable, in my opinion.  If David Brandon sat down Rodriguez and said, "Look, we're going to hire this particular guy to run a 4-3 (or 3-4 or 4-2-5 or even 3-3-5) defense, and you will leave him alone to do his own thing," then that might be the difference.  But should an athletic director really have to do that?  If Brandon has to tell Rodriguez what defense to run, then Brandon might as well trade in his suit and tie for a whistle and a headset.  The defense was bound to be bad because of all the youth, but you can't tell me that it had to be this bad.  Not 109th in total defense and 102nd in scoring defense.

As far as I'm concerned, it's Harbaugh or bust.  I don't want Brady Hoke just because "He's a Michigan man."  Les Miles' road to Ann Arbor has essentially been blocked.  I don't want a first-time head coach like Gus Malzahn, the offensive coordinator from Auburn (who would likely face some of the same resistance Rodriguez has).  Michigan shouldn't hire some guy just because that guy's name happens to not be Rich Rodriguez.

If Harbaugh balks, I think Michigan ought to keep Rodriguez and go after a proven defensive coordinator.  I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of bringing in West Virginia's Jeff Casteel, who might be out of a job if WVU head coach Bill Stewart's rumored retirement comes to fruition.  But whoever the new coordinator would be, he would have to be given some autonomy over the defense.

I know that's not an extremely definitive answer, but without knowing Harbaugh's intentions or the future of Casteel (among other moving parts), it's difficult to make a decision right this moment.

Michigan vs. Ohio State Awards

Let's see more of this guy on offense . . . Denard Robinson.  What?  Yeah, you read that correctly.  I hope that in years to come, Robinson can stay healthier than he did this year.  Earlier in the year, I wanted Robinson to run the ball less.  On Saturday, I wanted him to run the ball a lot.  Well, he ran 18 times for 105 yards, but dislocated a couple fingers on his left hand and missed most of the second half.  Sometimes that's the way the cookie crumbles, I guess.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . Butterfingers Roundtree.  I'm not sure what happened to one of my favorite players on this year's team, Roy Roundtree.  He was perhaps the most dependable receiver on the team over about the first nine games of the season, but dropped a couple passes in games 10 and 11, then dropped five passes (I think) against Ohio State.  He had several chances to make critical catches and couldn't seem to keep his focus for some reason.

Let's see more of this guy on defense . . . Courtney Avery.  The presence of Avery might allow Troy Woolfolk to return to free safety in 2011.  I really like what I've seen from him in the second half of this season.  He needs to get stronger and work on his tackling, but I look forward to seeing him develop over the next few years.

Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . Greg Robinson.  Bye, Coach Robinson.  I hope you land on your feet somewhere.  A lot of people are mad at you, but I kind of feel sorry for you.  Maybe at your next destination, the head coach won't force you to run a style of defense that you don't understand.

MVP of the Ohio State game . . . Jordan Kovacs.  I know I mentioned yesterday that I wish Kovacs had tossed the ball to a more athletic teammate after he intercepted a pass at the end of the second quarter, but Kovacs played a solid game.  He ended the day with 17 tackles and the interception.  Good for him.

New defensive coordinator?

Defensive line coach Bruce Tall

Rumors have begun to float that Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson has been or will be replaced by defensive line coach Bruce Tall, at least in the interim.  Rumors are also beginning that the search for a full-time replacement has begun.  I am not vouching for the validity of these rumors, just reporting that they exist.

Bruce Tall's coaching history:

1985-86: Tight ends and special teams coach at Cornell
1987-92: Defensive line coach at Ohio Wesleyan
1993-97: Defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Northeastern
1998-2001: Defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at Harvard
2002-07: Safeties coach at West Virginia
2008-10: Defensive line coach at Michigan

Penn State 41, Michigan 31

Happier now?  No?  Yeah, me either.

Michigan lost last night.  I'm not sure if you heard, but it was bad.

Sad bullets:

Michigan's defense is still atrocious.  Matt McGloin, a former walk-on who has been the borderline third-stringer for the Nittany Lions, completed 17 of 28 passes for 250 yards and 1 touchdown (plus 1 rushing touchdown).  Furthermore, the Wolverines were unable to force a turnover even once.  Running back Evan Royster was averaging 64 yards a game until this point, and he torched the Wolverines for 150 yards on 29 carries; his 5.2 yards per carry average would have been significantly higher if Penn State wasn't simply trying to run out the clock at the end of the game and slamming into a stacked line.  The defense got one important stop in the game, but a hurting offense - missing its top two tight ends and its starting quarterback, and with a hodge podge offense line - put up 435 yards and 41 points.

Vincent Smith isn't good at running.  You all know my thoughts on where Vincent Smith belongs in the pecking order at running back on this team, but here's where he ranks among the rest of the Big Ten's lead rushers.  Smith had 9 carries for 24 yards against a depleted Penn State defense and behind a solid offensive line.  Stephen Hopkins had a slightly better day running the ball, and Michael Shaw's lone rushing attempt went for 4 yards.  I wish I had a good reason for offensive genius Rich Rodriguez only being able to squeeze out the tenth best yards per carry average for a running back in the Big Ten, but I don't. 

White, UW: 86 carries, 570 yards, 6.6 ypc, 9 TD
Edwin Baker, MSU: 124 carries, 800 yards, 6.5 ypc, 7 TD
Leveon Bell, MSU: 95 carries, 585 yards, 6.2 ypc, 8 TD
Dierking, Purdue: 67 carries, 403 yards, 6.0 ypc, 3 TD
Clay, UW: 160 carries, 887 yards, 5.5 ypc, 13 TD
Royster, PSU: 117 carries, 600 yards, 5.1 ypc, 4 TD
Dan Herron, OSU: 129 carries, 634 yards, 4.9 ypc, 12 TD
Leshoure, Illinois: 158 carries, 780 yards, 4.9 ypc, 6 TD
Robinson, Iowa: 172 carries, 806 yards, 4.7 ypc, 10 TD
Vincent Smith, Michigan: 79 carries, 349 yards, 4.4 ypc, 4 TD
Darius Willis, Indiana: 64 carries, 278 yards, 4.3 ypc, 4 TD
Bennett, Minnesota: 104 carries, 444 yards, 4.3 ypc, 2 TD
Trumpy, Northwestern: 74 carries, 307 yards, 4.1 ypc, 2 TD

Freshmen play like freshmen.  On a long completed pass thrown by McGloin last night, I remember seeing freshman cornerback Cullen Christian, freshman free safety Ray Vinopal, and redshirt freshman wide receiver-turned-free safety-turned-quasi-linebacker Cameron Gordon converging on the play.  I honestly don't know that I've ever seen a more inexperienced defense.  And that doesn't even include the pain of watching a perfectly positioned Terrence Talbott watch a ball whistle right past his perfectly positioned arm and into the belly of a PSU wide receiver. 

Denard Robinson runs the ball TOO MUCH.  Holy crap, Rich Rodriguez.  When are you going to learn that you're driving Robinson into the ground by running him 27, 28, 29 times a game?  Sure, Robinson had 27 carries for 191 yards and 3 touchdowns.  He had a great game (running the ball, anyway).  But he also missed time due to injury for the sixth time out of eight games.  If he's such a valuable runner, put him at running back and give the snaps to a quarterback who can actually pass the ball, Tate Forcier.  While I haven't been a fan of changing Robinson's position up to this point, the gaping hole at running back makes me think the Forcier/Robinson combo in the backfield might not be such a bad idea after all.  In case you're wondering, Robinson is averaging 20.5 carries a game so far this season.

So much for the bye week.  We thought Michigan would be able to heal its injuries and put together a good game plan for a struggling Penn State team.  But Mike Martin re-injured his ankle injury and missed most of the game, Denard Robinson got dinged up again, and running back Michael Shaw totaled one carry.  Meanwhile, Michigan's defense couldn't cover the flats, couldn't break on deep balls, and couldn't stop a paltry running game.  And Jeremy Gallon still looks like a lineman trying to catch the ball; instead of letting a kickoff go into the endzone for a touchback, he dropped the ball and then kicked it out of bounds at his own 2-yard line.  I don't really feel like the week off helped this team at all.

Greg Robinson is gone after this year.  I'm almost sure of it.  Somebody's head has to roll after this year's performance, and Rodriguez will be lucky if it's not his.  But I do not expect Greg Robinson to return in 2011, whether the defense has been littered with freshmen or not.  This is the worst defense in Michigan history and perhaps the worst in the country.

Michigan 31, Western Michigan 7

Wow. That's the one word that kept coming to mind as I watched the game yesterday. This is such an utterly different team than the 2008 incarnation that it's difficult to imagine Steve Threet and Nick Sheridan running this type of offense.

It's clear that Tate Forcier is the driving force behind this offense. Any argument to the contrary would be insanity. He didn't run the ball particularly well and needs to work on his reads on the zone read option. That being said, except for a couple hitches, Forcier threw the ball very well and directed the offense better than anyone else on the roster can. He looked like a veteran quarterback on the first TD pass when he scrambled and directed Junior Hemingway to head downfield. His second TD pass to Hemingway brought back memories of Henne-to-Manningham. And Forcier's play action fakes on Rich Rodriguez's version of the waggle pass were excellent, not to mention his ability to square his shoulders and fling the ball to Koger for a TD and then that one-handed snag seen above.

Denard Robinson was adequate. His 43-yard touchdown run was, quite simply, electric. But keep in mind that it came on a broken play where he mishandled the shotgun snap; he was supposed to run the ball left or perhaps pitch it to Martavious Odoms who was coming behind him for a potential end around. If you take away that 43-yard run, Robinson ran the ball 10 times for 31 yards. He completed two short passes; missed badly on another in which he and the receiver weren't on the same page; and threw a dangerous deep jump ball to Mathews that ended up incomplete. Robinson's body language and decision making indicated that the game was moving a little too fast for him. Things will slow down for him and he could be a star down the road, but that time isn't now.

The running game was a bit of a disappointment for me. Forcier made some poor reads, and Rodriguez seemed more interested in getting the ball on the perimeter than taking advantage of his stable of running backs and WMU's poor defensive line. Some of this may have been due to the fact that starting fullback Mark Moundros was injured on special teams early in the game; without their best lead blocker, perhaps Rodriguez and Magee preferred to keep the ball on the outside. Regardless, the offensive line was a strength and even though starting running back Carlos Brown finished with 5.4 yards per carry, I feel Michigan could be even better at running the ball in the coming weeks.

Defensively, I was impressed with Greg Robinson's schemes and Michigan's tackling. There were several plays on Saturday where I thought WMU's running backs would have broken tackles if they were facing the 2008 defense. But Michigan's defenders seemed to stick to ballcarriers like glue. Not only were they tackling better, but the defense was hurrying to the football. If the first guy didn't make the play, usually a second guy was there ready to clean up the mess.

In the second half, WMU quarterback Tim Hiller started getting rid of the ball quicker. He found a rhythm and started hitting underneath passes to his receivers. Greg Robinson might be served well by disguising coverages on the outside, changing the look from cover 2 man to a cover 2 zone. Suddenly, instead of driving the cornerback off with his initial burst, that cornerback is sitting underneath the quick hitch to the outside. A couple well orchestrated disguised coverages might be just enough to make Hiller think twice, which would give Brandon Graham, Mike Martin, and the rest of the defensive line enough time to get to the quarterback.

Offensive game ball goes to . . . Tate Forcier. He finished 13/20 for 179 yards, 3 TDs, and - most importantly - zero interceptions, fumbles, or sacks in his first game at Michigan.

Defensive game ball goes to . . . I was tempted to say Donovan Warren, but I'll say Steve Brown. He finished third on the team with six tackles, including five solo. His new position at SAM linebacker appeals to his strengths, which are speed and physicality. Warren made several tackles and played very physical, but he picked up two pass interference penalties and a personal foul.

Let's see less of this guy on offense . . . Denard Robinson. Until he can run the offense more smoothly and completely, he should be behind center less. I felt like the offense got bogged down when he was in the game. His passing was subpar and jittery, and it seemed like WMU's defense didn't respect his ability to do anything but run. (Honorable mention: Nick Sheridan and David Cone.)

Let's see less of this guy on defense . . . J.T. Floyd. Floyd was in there as a backup to Boubacar Cissoko once Cissoko aggravated his shoulder injury. But especially in next week's game against Notre Dame, with Jimmy Clausen throwing to Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, Michigan can't afford to put Floyd in there at cornerback. He got burned a couple times - including the 73-yard TD pass, on which Troy Woolfolk was also at fault - and he's probably just too slow to be playing corner. If Michigan had any depth at the CB position, Floyd would probably be a safety. Hopefully Cissoko gets healthy and freshman Justin Turner steps up his game in the coming week. Otherwise, I'm afraid we should expect a rain of deep balls from Clausen next week.

MGoBlue's official game information.