2019 Michigan Season Thread

[ELA]

I wonder if Jaybaugh is going to keep his job.

I assumed he was the one who just extended that offer to a 13 year old from his Fortnite crew?

[847badgerfan]

I assumed he was the one who just extended that offer to a 13 year old from his Fortnite crew?

Could be. I read the comments that there is an 8th grade offer out, in addition to this 7th grader. What is neat is that they will both be from the same high school. When they get to high school, that is.

[Anonymous Coward]

Is he really getting full control of the "bus"? As in, he gets to shape his own staff? If that's the case, they should have kicked the tires on Canada. He'd be in Bloomington right now, if given full control. Wilson wouldn't do that though.

I can't speak to what JH meant. I can just say that he is now on record saying that Gattis has the keys to the car - I believe that regarded O design and game day calls. However, I am 100% sure he does not have the ability to hire/fire assistants. Still, at least in rhetoric, this is a seismic change. JH has never "given over the keys" at any of his stops as far as I know - not even in words.

[Mdot21]

I wonder if Jaybaugh is going to keep his job.

he’s arguably the 2nd best recruiter on that staff behind Chris Partridge. 
I’d much rather have Mike Hart at RB coach, believe me. But part of me feels like RBs can’t be coached too much. Sure they can be coached to improve their blocking and catching, but in terms of running the football- that’s a god given ability. You either have that as a RB or you don’t. No one coached Emmitt Smith or Barry Sanders or Walter Payton or Marshall Faulk or Gale Sayers how to run. They just had it. You either have it or you don’t. 
Michigan’s biggest problem at RB has been recruiting. They haven’t recruited a legitimate high level RB. Hopefully Zach Charbonnet is that.

[Anonymous Coward]

Meanwhile, Michigan is now 1 over the limit on coaches. They can either demote McDaniels back to analyst or release Pep. And every insider take is that McDaniels is here to stay. JH - as he did with Drevno - seems to be shopping Pep around (he's been seen all over the NFL of late) but set to fire him if there are no takers. Sadly, I'm guessing there won't be.

[Mdot21]

Hired Arizona State's DL coach.  Dude should send a finders fee to that NT they had last year, who was a one man wrecking crew.

Love the hire on paper. Don’t think he’s going to be an upgrade from Mattison. But he’s like 35 years younger. So there’s that.

[Anonymous Coward]

I recall, maybe not giddiness, but some excitement about a steady pro-style hand. The thing about the Luck stuff is you could've credited the first two years to Pep and written the last one off as injuries at the time.
Granted I feel like Michigan often has the most extremity of overall program buildup on this site, but it's also had the most ups/downs/dissatisfaction with pretty good owing to the OSU thing.

Dollars to donuts, that was my take. Positive with seemingly good reasons ... but ultimately deluded.

[Mdot21]

Meanwhile, Michigan is now 1 over the limit on coaches. They can either demote McDaniels back to analyst or release Pep. And every insider take is that McDaniels is here to stay. JH - as he did with Drevno - seems to be shopping Pep around (he's been seen all over the NFL of late) but set to fire him if there are no takers. Sadly, I'm guessing there won't be.

Pep is a goner. Insiders all said months ago he was told to look for a new job. 

[FearlessF]

Michigan’s biggest problem at RB has been recruiting. They haven’t recruited a legitimate high level RB. Hopefully Zach Charbonnet is that.

too many 4-stars?  not enough 5-stars?

[Anonymous Coward]

too many 4-stars?  not enough 5-stars?

An ongoing joke both within and from outside the program (but especially viral among M fans) is that Ann Arbor has lured too many 5-star RBs. As if that number at that position + M = curse. It's silly, but the coincidence (0/4 - Baraka, Grady, Green, Isaac) is nevertheless surprising.
I think it's mostly based on poor OL coaching since Carr left (now turning under Ed Warinner). We'll see and can test it almost immediately. Charbonnet is another guy with silly measurables/rankings/film. And the OL returns 4/5 starters as well as one of the best OL coaches in the game. Hopefully it's really that simple.

[Anonymous Coward]

Per Gattis, his offense will be more spread/RPO.

It's such an unexpected move by Harbaugh. Should be fascinating to follow.

[Roaddawg]

Does he have the personnel to make that move right now will be a huge question.  Think back when Rich Rod came in and wanted to run his system, the personnel just was not there and M fan were not going to give him the transition time to make it work.  If Jimmy Football does not like the result, he will go back to what he knows and loves.

[Anonymous Coward]

Does he have the personnel to make that move right now will be a huge question.  Think back when Rich Rod came in and wanted to run his system, the personnel just was not there and M fan were not going to give him the transition time to make it work.  If Jimmy Football does not like the result, he will go back to what he knows and loves.

I don't think the personnel is the question. If anything, Harbaugh's 2018 offense was built for the wrong roster.
Patterson is a Tate Forcier/healthy-McSorely type. He was born to run to throw, run to run, and air it out. The top 3-4+ of the receiving corps are all future draft picks, likely including high picks. Whether they are among the most productive in college isn't about genes but the head coach's interests and the OC's tact.

Then there's Ed Warriner who did solid work in the power game in 2018, but became a commodity as an OL coach for his units on more spread offenses, and Michigan probably has one of the most nimble centers in the country. Many C's can't pull off one reach block ever. Like David Molk, Ruiz could reach all day.

So personnel isn't the real question, and this isn't like Carr-to-RR (in terms of fit, it's more as if Carr inherited the 2008 roster from RR or as if RR inherited the 2011 roster from Hoke).

The real questions are (1) is Gattis all that and (2) is Harbaugh as committed to his spread/RPO future as he seems? Tact and will. That decides this. The Johnnys and Joes are already in town.

[bayareabadger]

Per Gattis, his offense will be more spread/RPO.

It's such an unexpected move by Harbaugh. Should be fascinating to follow.

I mean this politely as possible, this sentace is the start of disappointment. 
Spread and RPO sound a lot more high tech and foreign than they end up being.