You can’t have what you’re searching for (long)

[TobieSmith]

I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”

She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.

I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.

Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.

Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.

I’ve been dreading this moment for years.

A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.

Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.

That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.

Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.

John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.

Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special times for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)

I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.

When all’s said and done, I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.

In the meantime, though, I’m not excited by this coaching search. There are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.

Fortunately, I don’t expect him to be the guy.

I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.

There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)

Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?

 

[DrBarbay]

I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”

She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.

I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.

Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.

Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.

I’ve been dreading this moment for years.

A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.

Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.

That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.

Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.

John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.

Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special moments for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)

I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.

I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.

But there are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.

I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from a Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.

There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)

Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?

Great, great post! Thanks for sharing. Agree on all fronts. We will circle the wagons and move forward as best we can. Even if we know the best of times is behind us. Loved the quote about “falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.” Well done. Hopefully we can hire two great ones in a row. Normally, the consensus take is wrong. Best of luck to Warde. Thanks again.

 

[andrewhfine]

I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”

She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.

I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.

Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.

Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.

I’ve been dreading this moment for years.

A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.

Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.

That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.

Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.

John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.

Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special moments for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)

I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.

I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.

But there are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.

I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from a Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.

There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)

Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?

Great post. You hit the nail on the head. He’s a unicorn. Losing him this way hurts more than retirement because part of you feels like he could still be here. It sucks that he won’t retire here, partially it seems precisely because he’s a unicorn who wouldn’t compromise (not that we wanted him to).

 

[Voltron_Blue]

Bravo, Tobie. Well said. A fitting tribute. And while I hadn’t arrived on the dog analogy myself, it really fits and I think I’ll use it going forward.

In fact, that was so well done you should consider writing for this site...

 

[TobieSmith]

Bravo, Tobie. Well said. A fitting tribute. And while I hadn’t arrived on the dog analogy myself, it really fits and I think I’ll use it going forward.

In fact, that was so well done you should consider writing for this site...

Now that really would take us back to a dark time.

 

[DrMazenblue]

Great post.

I agree with all points made except for one -- "schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life." What?! Of course it is, particularly if it involves Bucknuts, Sparties, Domers, Ala-effen-bama, all SEC teams other than Vandy, ISIS, and Vladimir Putin.

 

[aherre10]

Lol hookers can be loved too.

Hard because he’s the best, most accomplished we’ve ever had, even harder because of how great of a person he is.

 

[LosAngelesWolverine]

I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”

She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.

I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.

Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.

Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.

I’ve been dreading this moment for years.

A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.

Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.

That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.

Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.

John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.

Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special times for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)

I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.

When all’s said and done, I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.

In the meantime, though, I’m not excited by this coaching search. There are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.

Fortunately, I don’t expect him to be the guy.

I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.

There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)

Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?

When we hired JB, I was very excited. My other top choice was Tony Bennett. That probably would have worked out well, too.

He did a tremendous job here and set the bar very high. But what he did, IMO, is rekindled a once proud program. It’s obviously going to be very hard to find someone as good as him, but I’m also not conceding that it’s impossible. We just have to make the right hire.

In terms of finding a guy who can take over a team which hadn’t made the tourney in ten years, and then accomplish what he’s accomplished, that guy is a unicorn. Absolutely.

But finding a guy who can take over this program - now great again - and win at a high clip? Much easier.

I liken it to what Harbaugh did at Stanford. Almost no one could take over that program like he did in 2007 and accomplish what he did in four years. From losing to UC-Davis to winning a BCS game. But once JH left? I don’t know if David Shaw is great or not, but I know the task he faced was much easier than what JH inherited.

If we can’t land a top national guy - and the odds are probably not great - I’d like to see what Yak could do. I think he’s going to be a great head coach someday.

 

[bama blue]

Thanks, Tobie. I concur. My biggest problem is totally selfish, I really liked the style of ball JB developed over the years. The subtle changes in game plans, and adapting to his players abilities, along with the development that we saw from so many players from one year to the next was incredible. He will be sorely missed.

 

[mich56]

I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”

She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.

I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.

Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.

Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.

I’ve been dreading this moment for years.

A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.

Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.

That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.

Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.

John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.

Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special times for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)

I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.

When all’s said and done, I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.

In the meantime, though, I’m not excited by this coaching search. There are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.

Fortunately, I don’t expect him to be the guy.

I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.

There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)

Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?

Thanks for being an optimist, Tobie....we need more voices like you on this day. John Beilein was a rare gentleman who could coach and also be an honest and respected person in everything he did. We were blessed to have 12 years of his presence at Michigan. As for his replacement, who knows? But Michigan basketball has been restored to great heights, and hopefully we can maintain our position among the best.
Go Blue, always!

 

[ChrisBalas]

I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”

She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.

I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.

Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.

Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.

I’ve been dreading this moment for years.

A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.

Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.

That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.

Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.

John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.

Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special times for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)

I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.

When all’s said and done, I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.

In the meantime, though, I’m not excited by this coaching search. There are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.

Fortunately, I don’t expect him to be the guy.

I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.

There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)

Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?

Love it. Great post.

 

[IABlueCrue]

I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”

She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.

I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.

Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.

Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.

I’ve been dreading this moment for years.

A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.

Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.

That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.

Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.

John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.

Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special times for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)

I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.

When all’s said and done, I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.

In the meantime, though, I’m not excited by this coaching search. There are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.

Fortunately, I don’t expect him to be the guy.

I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.

There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)

Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?

This just became the best post about Beilein's departure. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Kafe]

Thanks, I needed that. Everything you say rings true for me.

 

[TobieSmith]

When we hired JB, I was very excited. My other top choice was Tony Bennett. That probably would have worked out well, too.

He did a tremendous job here and set the bar very high. But what he did, IMO, is rekindled a once proud program. It’s obviously going to be very hard to find someone as good as him, but I’m also not conceding that it’s impossible. We just have to make the right hire.

In terms of finding a guy who can take over a team which hadn’t made the tourney in ten years, and then accomplish what he’s accomplished, that guy is a unicorn. Absolutely.

But finding a guy who can take over this program - now great again - and win at a high clip? Much easier.

I liken it to what Harbaugh did at Stanford. Almost no one could take over that program like he did in 2007 and accomplish what he did in four years. From losing to UC-Davis to winning a BCS game. But once JH left? I don’t know if David Shaw is great or not, but I know the task he faced was much easier than what JH inherited.

If we can’t land a top national guy - and the odds are probably not great - I’d like to see what Yak could do. I think he’s going to be a great head coach someday.

I agree, the right hire could be just as successful, maybe even more so. I’m not saying “A downturn is inevitable, so we might as well accept it.”

When I say we won’t get another Beilein, I’m talking about the whole package, not just the wins and losses. That, IMO, is something we won’t be able to find—even if we make a great hire.

 

[tonysoprano]

I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”

She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.

I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.

Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.

Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.

I’ve been dreading this moment for years.

A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.

Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.

That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.

Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.

John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.

Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special times for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)

I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.

When all’s said and done, I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.

In the meantime, though, I’m not excited by this coaching search. There are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.

Fortunately, I don’t expect him to be the guy.

I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.

There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)

Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?

Great post. It sums up my thoughts and feelings exactly.

The only thing that I'd add is that I hope that Warde tries to be more thoughtful and creative rather than choose a more obvious choice that covers his behind - because the good obvious choices aren't coming and the others make a return to Amaker/Ellerbe-ville seem far too likely. I don't follow college basketball closely anymore, but I find it hard to believe that there isn't someone out there that looks a lot more like Chris Beard in 2016 than the cast of characters being bandied about currently.

 

[geoffclarke]

Wonderful article, Tobie. Thank you.

 

[Maker]

Good stuff Tobie. I don't know that anyone else could have overcome the injuries and players leaving early and still win at that level. He caught some bad breaks (a few fortunate ones as well) but always made his team better regardless.
The main reason to look at Jordan, Yak, Saddi is precisely because if there is anyone that can preserve at least a good part of what Beilein brought, it is likely one of them. They know the model at least.

 

[BlueNBama]

For Lions fans this feels a lot like Barry Sanders....

 

[JohnBorton]

I was ecstatic when Michigan hired John Beilein 12 years ago. Since early in that coaching search, I’d been convinced he was “the guy.” I remember when news broke that he took the job, I turned to my wife and said, “We got Beilein!”

She didn’t care, but she’s a keeper, so she acted happy for me.

I believed in him from the beginning and really never wavered. There was that point in 2011—you know the one, right after a gut-punch home loss to a ranked Minnesota team we needed to beat, and right before a trip to East Lansing—when, I confess, I wondered whether he would be around long enough to get it done. But even then, I didn’t doubt that he was capable of it if given the chance.

Dave Brandon’s statement at the time (which I’ll have to paraphrase, because I couldn’t immediately find it a direct quote) was that he had no intention of firing Beilein, because If I do, I’d just have to go find another John Beilein. I agreed. I remembered how pleased I was less than three years earlier that Beilein came to Michigan, and I wasn’t at all confident that we could find a better replacement, even when he was 1-6 in the B1G after missing the tournament 2 of his first 3 seasons.

Something is clear now that wasn’t as clear eight years ago: you’re not going to find another John Beilein. Mike DeCourcy has Bob McKillop high on his list of possible replacements because “McKillop is the closest thing there is to another Beilein.” He’s probably not wrong, but McKillop is 68; he’s not the future of your program.

I’ve been dreading this moment for years.

A friend texted me tonight, “Feel like my dog died.” The crazy thing is, it wasn’t hyperbole. In fact, I had landed on the exact same analogy myself. I’m heartbroken. But one flaw in the analogy is that although a new dog can’t replace the last one, it can wind up being just as great.

Our next coach can’t be as great as Beilein.

That’s something we have to recognize and be OK with. He is the greatest coach in Michigan basketball history, and his successor almost certainly won’t eclipse him. That’s true even if his successor does the one thing Beilein didn’t (besides signing a McDonald’s All-American) by winning a national title.

Having a coach about whom you feel no ambivalence, in any respect, is something that’s basically unattainable beyond childhood. To utterly revere a sports figure, either you have to be a child, or he has to be a unicorn.

John Beilein is a coaching unicorn. Michigan basketball fans have been immensely blessed to have him at the helm the last 12 years. He gave us great memories that we’ll never have to apologize for.

Maybe we can be lucky enough to experience that again, but it’s certainly not guaranteed. Part of enjoying life is recognizing the truly special times for what they are. (Watching Alabama football fans learn this the hard way whenever they lose Saban will be a guilty pleasure for me—though schadenfreude is not part of enjoying life.)

I’m very interested to see who our next coach is. I remember being excited during past coaching searches in both basketball and football. And whoever we wound up hiring, I always was prepared to expect the best, even if I had little reason to be.

When all’s said and done, I’ll be the same way this time around, I’m sure. I’m an inveterate optimist.

In the meantime, though, I’m not excited by this coaching search. There are certain things that don’t excite me anymore. Rick Pitino, for example, is truly a master tactician. He grasped the significance of the three-pointer, and took advantage of it, better than basically anyone else in basketball. And he remained immensely successful long after others caught on. But no, thanks. You can’t root for Rick Pitino after you’ve rooted for John Beilein. It would be like falling in love with a hooker after your wife died.

Fortunately, I don’t expect him to be the guy.

I’m actually a lot more OK with a less proven hire than most people probably are. Aside from Tony Bennett, Mark Few, and Jay Wright, how many proven team-builders are there who aren’t steeped in filth? There are many examples of college coaches who achieved great things after being elevated from assistant: Tom Izzo, Few, Brad Stevens, and Steve Fisher (his accomplishments at SDSU proved that his U-M accomplishments were due to more than just great talent) stand out in my mind, but I’m sure there are several other good examples.

There may be even greater things ahead for the program. Maybe we won’t even experience a significant drop-off. (Like I said, I'm an inveterate optimist.)

Regardless of what happens, though, we should appreciate how fortunate we’ve been. Beilein broke my heart, but I don’t begrudge him the right to choose his career path. None of us should. How ridiculous would it be if we did?

Good stuff, Tobie. Tony Bennett would be a good option. Here he is reminiscing about the Beilein hire ...