Genius, personified.
This is what you get when undocumented athletic aliens evaluate complex systems -- like football.
Not having lost control of himself on national television, not having humiliated and benched the future of his program out of spite when a game was available to win (on the road), and not having put 9 guys in the box against his opponent's offense and simply awarding points whenever the opponent chose to throw, Kirk Ferentz is faintly ridiculed for being under consideration in 2007 for UM football coach.
-Overall Attractiveness: Ferentz would not be a disaster of a hire, but he would be a disappointing one. He's no more moral than dozens of coaches across the country. He'sincreasingly incapable of keeping the kids he recruits under control. He lost to Iowa State and Western Michigan this year. He represents the closest thing to an extension of the Carr era available out there, something which may be attractive to Sailboat Bill Martin but is an anathema to anyone who actually remembers the Appalachian State game earlier this year.
The opportunity represented by the Carr retirement is to take the program in a different direction. Michigan has stagnated, allowing Ohio State to pass it both off the field and on. Ohio State has better facilities, has won six of seven against Michigan, and has fewer disciplinary problems. The Horror was supposed to be a wakeup call inside the department and amongst the heavy movers; Ferentz represents the snooze button, especially if his hiring is contingent upon retaining certain key assistants who have done nothing to suggest they are capable of coaching out of a wet paper bag.
As an insanely expensive backup plan, Ferentz is fine. The program is unlikely to fall apart under his watch. At Michigan he'll have the talent and depth to beat Western; he won't put up with Michigan's stone age strength and conditioning program, and he's likely to have a level of success comparable to Carr over the long haul. And that's not bad.
As a primary option, Ferentz is indicative of a diseased thought process that hasn't watched the past three years. Lloyd Carr was a very good coach, but the emphasis is onwas. It's over. "Eff you, try to stop us, oops you did let's punt" is over. Ohio State has raised. Picking Ferentz is, essentially, folding.
Better than Debord? YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YESFerentz was thus evaluated.
"Overall Attractiveness: Ferentz would not be a disaster of a hire, but he would be a disappointing one. He's no more moral than dozens of coaches across the country. He's increasingly incapable of keeping the kids he recruits under control. He lost to Iowa State and Western Michigan this year. He represents the closest thing to an extension of the Carr era available out there, something which may be attractive to Sailboat Bill Martin but is an anathema to anyone who actually remembers the Appalachian State game earlier this year.
"The opportunity represented by the Carr retirement is to take the program in a different direction. Michigan has stagnated, allowing Ohio State to pass it both off the field and on. Ohio State has better facilities, has won six of seven against Michigan, and has fewer disciplinary problems. The Horror was supposed to be a wakeup call inside the department and amongst the heavy movers; Ferentz represents the snooze button, especially if his hiring is contingent upon retaining certain key assistants who have done nothing to suggest they are capable of coaching out of a wet paper bag.
"As an insanely expensive backup plan, Ferentz is fine. The program is unlikely to fall apart under his watch. At Michigan he'll have the talent and depth to beat Western; he won't put up with Michigan's stone age strength and conditioning program, and he's likely to have a level of success comparable to Carr over the long haul. And that's not bad.
"As a primary option, Ferentz is indicative of a diseased thought process that hasn't watched the past three years. Lloyd Carr was a very good coach, but the emphasis is onwas. It's over. "Eff you, try to stop us, oops you did let's punt" is over. Ohio State has raised. Picking Ferentz is, essentially, folding.
Better than Debord? YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES."
Profiles in Courage: http://mgoblog.com/content/profiles-heroism-kirk-ferentz
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13 comments
Comments
Ok, we get it
You’re not a fan of Brian Cook. While I tended to agree with a lot of what you have said, this is quickly becoming a dangerous, and pointless, obsession. Cook does very good analysis, but does tend to be a fan first. There’s no fault in that. And I wonder where this animus you have towards him comes from. Let it go.
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
by HoyaGoon on Oct 11, 2009 1:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Honestly, at the time they were making the hire, nothing he said was untrue
Kids were getting in shitloads of trouble, and we were losing to teams we had no business losing too. The team seemed to be on a downward trend. Not to the point that Ferentz should have been on the hot seat, but definitely to the point that one of the premier programs in the country shouldn’t have had him as one of their first choices. Everyone (including you, as I recall) was bitching constantly about the team’s offensive scheme being overly simplistic and behind the times.
Meanwhile, RichRod had built a monster at WVU, largely with under the radar recruits. There was everyone reason to believe that, given the resources available to him at a place like Michigan, he could get them back up to powerhouse status and start challenging OSU consistently again. And that still might happen. Yeah, the guy is a dick, but he can coach. That team is way ahead of where I think anyone thought they would be at this point. They’re extremely young and talented, and bringing in more top talent with every recruiting class. There is every reason to believe that they’re going to get a lot better, and soon.
After the last two season, yeah, it looks like Brian may have overreacted a bit to the Ferentz rumors. But looking at in hindsight isn’t fair. At the time, it was a pretty reasonable position. If I were a Michigan fan, I’m sure I’d have been disappointed by them too, and I suspect that’s true for most of us.
by NorseHawk on Oct 11, 2009 2:18 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Whats up with the love affair with Cook
Stop defending him, his analysis of Ferentz is off-base and condescending. His tone just adds to the elitist crap that I am sick of. Fuck the Buckeyes, fuck Michigan and fuck Musberger(had to add that after hearing him slob Robert Patrick Forciers’ pole last night), I would add the elitist pricks in Happy Valley but they don’t earn my hate. I would like to see Dick Rod hit by a bus and unable to coach for the next few years, where in time he would work his way back into coaching, with Norther Wyoming(yes, this team does not exist). In his absence perhaps Michigan can steal the Zooker from the Illini.
I wash born here, an I wash raished here, and dad gum it, I am gonna die here
by Gabby Johnson on Oct 11, 2009 8:51 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs
Perfect.
You read my mind.
"My momma always said, 'It's better to eat shit than to not eat at all.'" --Rube Baker
by McNutt Butter on Oct 11, 2009 10:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
You mean WAS, right?
That shit was printed over two years ago, and at the time there was a grain of truth to some of it, at least from an outsider’s perspective.
Remember, even this blog was none too favorable towards Captain Kirk for a time there….
by YouCanPutYourEddsInIt on Oct 11, 2009 10:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
I may have read it wrong...
…but I thought the point was in the lead.
Was this from the original or was this B’s interjection? “Not having lost control of himself on national television, not having humiliated and benched the future of his program out of spite when a game was available to win (on the road), and not having put 9 guys in the box against his opponent’s offense and simply awarding points whenever the opponent chose to throw, Kirk Ferentz is faintly ridiculed for being under consideration in 2007 for UM football coach.”
Cause if it’s two years old, that’s hilarious (that’s exactly what they got Saturday night).
by Eyeheartfreedumb on Oct 12, 2009 9:08 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
That part was Bellanca
The rest is a quote (twice, for some reason) from one of Brian’s posts two years ago when Ferentz was rumored to be the top choice for the Michigan vacated.
by NorseHawk on Oct 12, 2009 9:59 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
You’d gone 6-7 and 6-6 the previous two years with zero sign that it was getting turned around, and the only thing you were actually contending for at the time was Fulmer Cups. I seem to remember a fair number of Iowa fans saying “Take him, please” when it was rumored Michigan was interested.
Ah, hindsight.
by Yinka Double Dare on Oct 12, 2009 11:45 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs
While I’m not sold on RRod, and his public display Sat night gave me additional pause, looking at just the last 9 Iowa games doesn’t give a fair picture of the entire body of work. I remember too well Pitt, IL and jNW in the first 1/2 last year. I think UM could have done worse than Ferentz, but recognize criticizing RichRod is wildly unpopular in certain UMblog circles (Brian, Brian?) Stability is important at Iowa, even an autistic OC, who wasn’t the one throwing that first ball to a wide open Michigan defender. We have what I believe is an excellent receiver’s coach, why not a similar quality QB coach?
by txhawkeye on Oct 12, 2009 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Chuck Long has one year left on contract
Just sayin
Brunettes not fighter jets
by rockyh on Oct 12, 2009 3:18 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
One year on a contract
Where he is paid NOT to coach. Got fired last year, but SDSU is contractually obligated to pay him unless he found another job. But his pay was so high at SDSU, and the fact that he’d probably only get hired as a coordinator somewhere esle and have to take a cut, that he basically said “Fuck it, I’ll sit here and collect a paycheck.”
I ate the blue ones ... they taste like burning.
by HoyaGoon on Oct 12, 2009 3:32 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
Not a bad gig if you can get it
Collecting a fat paycheck for doing nothing is my dream job. Hello, single digit handicap!
by Yinka Double Dare on Oct 12, 2009 4:16 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs
He'll also probably get an OC job somewhere
At least I would assume so after his work at Oklahoma. Not that I’d opposed to him getting the job here, but it’s not happening.
by NorseHawk on Oct 12, 2009 4:21 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

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