On our program. I talked with 3-4 guys this week and was amazed in some respects to the reasons they ALL thought we are where we are. Ironically it wasn’t all Jim and his demeanor nor Don Brown.
The single biggest thing they mentioned was recruiting. They ALL said that our shift in focus to areas like New Jersey , Massachusetts , and the East Coast in general really has been wrong. The comment was that those kids may or may not pan out , but they do NOT have the pure talent of the Ohio , Illinois , Pennsylvania kids that Bo used to recruit or even Carr and Moeller. One guy said it used to be that Woody took in many respects who he wanted from Ohio , but Bo got the leftovers who in many respects had such a dislike for the Bucks for being passed over , that they had that inner rage for rivalry games. They understood ALL rivalry games being Midwest kids. Same with the instate kids. They KNEW the importance of the M vs MSU game and one guy said to me , “ How can a Jersey kid OR a Boston area kid understand the MSU game at all “. He said that you KNEW MSU was coming out like it was a street fight. He also said the East Coast players may or may not pan out , but the Midwest level of talent is not such a crap shoot. He felt the New Jersey dependence was a huge mistake. All of them said we need to focus on better recruiters in our own back yard as coaches. They all said we cannot try to be a national recruiter with our current image. There is a ton of talent right here . They all felt the Brown system was not going to work as it’s so dependent on good corners and interior linemen which we have not recruited. All of them felt Jim can do the job turning things around and believe he is a great coach , but clearly needs to turn the page and the recruiting can do it. They all liked Gattis and the changes the offense is making. Same with the recruiting on offense at the skill positions , but also must continue to focus on Midwest kids and in particular work harder on Ohio and Michigan kids.
The final thoughts were Brown needs to be replaced , get a good young D coordinator with a Midwest recruiting back ground and assemble coaches that can also recruit. They all felt it’s easy enough to turn around quickly but not with Don Brown and an east coast recruiting process.
Most of this you all knew , but all of these guys were former NFL guys and know Jim and Michigan football.
Ironically they all think this season is shot with a win or 2 at best but like this group for 2021. They liked Milton , and the skill positions kids. But they also said we don’t get the physical kind of kid that we used to. They kept referring to the nasty Pa and Ohio kids with attitudes . Finally the one other huge criticism was this. One guy said Bo had a core of coaches that never left. Tirell Burton , Jerry Hanlon , Fred Jackson ( argued as I never liked him much. lol ) but 2 of the guys said Bo and Carr had a core of 4-5 coaches that were kinda lifetime guys and the others would come and many times move on to better jobs , but many just never left. They said program continuity in the staff is big , and while times have changed , there are people who will stay. One of them told me and I am NOT sure this is true , BUT they mentioned Mattison really didn’t want to leave and wanted a little more money and a small increase in power. He went to Jim and Jim said No to both. I was told Mattison still has his house in AA , loves the town and his daughter had a business in AA ( didn’t know if she still had the business in town since he left ). Anyhow I found that interesting. Anyhow sorry this is so long ...... still frustrated in how it all is going.
The single biggest thing they mentioned was recruiting. They ALL said that our shift in focus to areas like New Jersey , Massachusetts , and the East Coast in general really has been wrong. The comment was that those kids may or may not pan out , but they do NOT have the pure talent of the Ohio , Illinois , Pennsylvania kids that Bo used to recruit or even Carr and Moeller. One guy said it used to be that Woody took in many respects who he wanted from Ohio , but Bo got the leftovers who in many respects had such a dislike for the Bucks for being passed over , that they had that inner rage for rivalry games. They understood ALL rivalry games being Midwest kids. Same with the instate kids. They KNEW the importance of the M vs MSU game and one guy said to me , “ How can a Jersey kid OR a Boston area kid understand the MSU game at all “. He said that you KNEW MSU was coming out like it was a street fight. He also said the East Coast players may or may not pan out , but the Midwest level of talent is not such a crap shoot. He felt the New Jersey dependence was a huge mistake. All of them said we need to focus on better recruiters in our own back yard as coaches. They all said we cannot try to be a national recruiter with our current image. There is a ton of talent right here . They all felt the Brown system was not going to work as it’s so dependent on good corners and interior linemen which we have not recruited. All of them felt Jim can do the job turning things around and believe he is a great coach , but clearly needs to turn the page and the recruiting can do it. They all liked Gattis and the changes the offense is making. Same with the recruiting on offense at the skill positions , but also must continue to focus on Midwest kids and in particular work harder on Ohio and Michigan kids.
The final thoughts were Brown needs to be replaced , get a good young D coordinator with a Midwest recruiting back ground and assemble coaches that can also recruit. They all felt it’s easy enough to turn around quickly but not with Don Brown and an east coast recruiting process.
Most of this you all knew , but all of these guys were former NFL guys and know Jim and Michigan football.
Ironically they all think this season is shot with a win or 2 at best but like this group for 2021. They liked Milton , and the skill positions kids. But they also said we don’t get the physical kind of kid that we used to. They kept referring to the nasty Pa and Ohio kids with attitudes . Finally the one other huge criticism was this. One guy said Bo had a core of coaches that never left. Tirell Burton , Jerry Hanlon , Fred Jackson ( argued as I never liked him much. lol ) but 2 of the guys said Bo and Carr had a core of 4-5 coaches that were kinda lifetime guys and the others would come and many times move on to better jobs , but many just never left. They said program continuity in the staff is big , and while times have changed , there are people who will stay. One of them told me and I am NOT sure this is true , BUT they mentioned Mattison really didn’t want to leave and wanted a little more money and a small increase in power. He went to Jim and Jim said No to both. I was told Mattison still has his house in AA , loves the town and his daughter had a business in AA ( didn’t know if she still had the business in town since he left ). Anyhow I found that interesting. Anyhow sorry this is so long ...... still frustrated in how it all is going.
