2019 Michigan Season Thread

[betarhoalphadelta]

Very jealous, AC... Glad you had a blast. Sounds amazing  

[Anonymous Coward]

Very cool about your origins; had no clue. I'm not sure if your parents retired around Zion/Springdale or a small hop away, like St. George. 

It's a real embarrassment of riches out there - state wide, truly, but somehow even more so in that SW corner. We had originally hoped to include St. George. We were basically there, but it just didn't fit. Ditto Kanarraville and New Harmony.

If you get into the nitty gritty, including not just parks/towns but named hikes/sites, there may be a literal hundred reasons (on our scratch papers and word docs) begging us back to that SW corner of UT. And that's just what Google helped us know about.

[Anonymous Coward]

Very jealous, AC... Glad you had a blast. Sounds amazing  

Thanks man! This probably isn't weird, at least I hope not, but when we were out there I did briefly think of you and medina, just based on past posts about the great outdoors.

[Brutus Buckeye]

Very cool about your origins; had no clue. I'm not sure if your parents retired around Zion/Springdale or a small hop away, like St. George.

It's a real embarrassment of riches out there - state wide, truly, but somehow even more so in that SW corner. We had originally hoped to include St. George. We were basically there, but it just didn't fit. Ditto Kanarraville and New Harmony.

If you get into the nitty gritty, including not just parks/towns but named hikes/sites, there may be a literal hundred reasons (on our scratch papers and word docs) begging us back to that SW corner of UT. And that's just what Google helped us know about.

They are in St George. 
Lake Powell is a good trip, and while there you'd be wise to drop down into AZ and check out the slot canyons. 

[Anonymous Coward]

But...Gattis didn't get a promotion.  With Locksley gone, he would seemingly be OC at Alabama with an amazing amount of talent returning. Instead, he was going to Maryland and then Michigan to also be the OC.  I'm not knocking him as a coach, I just don't understand what the reasoning is there.

It's realistic that he would have remained co-OC at Alabama. Leaving to become sole OC is not quite a lateral move when the HC also offers you full control of the offense.
Locksley may have been offering that. We've been skeptical about whether Harbaugh was offering that (it'd be unprecedented for him), but JH just admitted he's handing over the keys on his podcast. Meanwhile, it's now being reported that Saban gave Gattis a "20-minute verbal lashing" when he expressed his interest in leaving for UMd.
I think those are significant changes in info that's public. So rather than it being weird that Gattis didn't stay at Alabama or that "Saban didn't want him," I think it's at least as safe (and arguably truer) to say Saban did want Gatttis** and frame Gattis's motivations as pretty normal: He wanted full freedom and a guarantee for no "Co-." And perhaps he'd have had neither in Tuscaloosa.


**("When Coach Harbaugh called, it kind of caught me off guard because I had just left a meeting with Nick Saban getting my butt chewed out for 20 minutes telling him I was leaving and he was trying to get me to stay. It did not go over well.")

[Mdot21]

It's realistic that he would have remained co-OC at Alabama. Leaving to become sole OC is not quite a lateral move when the HC also offers you full control of the offense.
Locksley may have been offering that. We've been skeptical about whether Harbaugh was offering that (it'd be unprecedented for him), but JH just admitted he's handing over the keys on his podcast. Meanwhile, it's now being reported that Saban gave Gattis a "20-minute verbal lashing" when he expressed his interest in leaving for UMd.
I think those are significant changes in info that's public. So rather than it being weird that Gattis didn't stay at Alabama or that "Saban didn't want him," I think it's at least as safe (and arguably truer) to say Saban did want Gatttis** and frame Gattis's motivations as pretty normal: He wanted full freedom and a guarantee for no "Co-." And perhaps he'd have had neither in Tuscaloosa.


**("When Coach Harbaugh called, it kind of caught me off guard because I had just left a meeting with Nick Saban getting my butt chewed out for 20 minutes telling him I was leaving and he was trying to get me to stay. It did not go over well.")

yeah pretty easy to see his reasoning. $1.5 million of them. That's what Gattis' annual salary will be at Michigan. And the press release of his hiring said he'd be calling the plays and on Harbaugh's own podcast it was explicitly stated that Gattis would have full control.
So in conclusion- huge pay increase, full control, and dropping the CO title = no brainer. Anyone would do it. Sort of like Mattison going to OSU. You get offered double the money and more control you take it.
What makes no sense to me and strikes me as weird- is Dan Enos going to Miami.

[Mdot21]

surprising no one- Michigan OL Nolan Ulizio is transferring.

[Anonymous Coward]

What makes no sense to me and strikes me as weird- is Dan Enos going to Miami.

Sounds like Saban was blindsided by the idea that Locksley, Enos and Gattis would all be gone.

[847badgerfan]

Quite the offseason in Ann Arbor. Helluva 17 days so far. Jeez.

[Mdot21]

Quite the offseason in Ann Arbor. Helluva 17 days so far. Jeez.

it's been a doozy. That's for sure.
I'm really liking the hires of Gattis and Campanile. Both of those look like home runs on paper. They got an upgrade at OC by snatching Gattis and dumping Pep and an upgrade at Safety coach and LB coach with Patridge likely heading back to LB and Campanile taking over safety.

I'm thinking it'd be next to impossible to get an upgrade at DL coach. Can't do better than Mattison. He's one of the very best.

[Anonymous Coward]

Quite the offseason in Ann Arbor. Helluva 17 days so far. Jeez.

You're not wrong.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm thinking it'd be next to impossible to get an upgrade at DL coach. Can't do better than Mattison. He's one of the very best.

It may be true, especially in his prime. I think he probably still has it, but an interesting thing about the Michigan DL, which has been up there with the very best nationally across the last 4 or so seasons, is how much they feasted on Hoke era recruiting. Harbaugh has been impressive at recruiting and developing DEs (Mattison clearly never lost that), but the best of these recent M DLs were driven by highest end college tackles (Hurst, Glasgow, Henry, etc.). And now those guys are going extinct in A2. Kemp and Dwumfour aren't garbage, but they're merely above average among Big Ten starters, which's a massive dropoff from recent editions. And this isn't covering depth issues either. Even with Mattison, 2019 appeared dire on the interior DL. Crazy to say.

Thank goodness JH is handing over his offense. Because with all that talent returning, it'd be a crime to not let them try to save a defense for once.

[847badgerfan]

it's been a doozy. That's for sure.
I'm really liking the hires of Gattis and Campanile. Both of those look like home runs on paper. They got an upgrade at OC by snatching Gattis and dumping Pep and an upgrade at Safety coach and LB coach with Patridge likely heading back to LB and Campanile taking over safety.

I'm thinking it'd be next to impossible to get an upgrade at DL coach. Can't do better than Mattison. He's one of the very best.

I wonder if John Palermo would be available. He seems to be taking it easy, but he is very good at what he does, although abrasive. I remember him coaching my kid at camp in Madison. Definitely old-school. Might fit in.

[MaximumSam]

It's realistic that he would have remained co-OC at Alabama. Leaving to become sole OC is not quite a lateral move when the HC also offers you full control of the offense.
Locksley may have been offering that. We've been skeptical about whether Harbaugh was offering that (it'd be unprecedented for him), but JH just admitted he's handing over the keys on his podcast. Meanwhile, it's now being reported that Saban gave Gattis a "20-minute verbal lashing" when he expressed his interest in leaving for UMd.
I think those are significant changes in info that's public. So rather than it being weird that Gattis didn't stay at Alabama or that "Saban didn't want him," I think it's at least as safe (and arguably truer) to say Saban did want Gatttis** and frame Gattis's motivations as pretty normal: He wanted full freedom and a guarantee for no "Co-." And perhaps he'd have had neither in Tuscaloosa.


**("When Coach Harbaugh called, it kind of caught me off guard because I had just left a meeting with Nick Saban getting my butt chewed out for 20 minutes telling him I was leaving and he was trying to get me to stay. It did not go over well.")

I mean, I get that Gattis was basically a glorified receiver coach and it is an upgrade to go be the OC at Michigan.  I don't get Saban letting all of his offensive staff go.  It's just kind of weird, with Gattis apparently not liked enough to be the OC at Alabama but now he's the OC at Michigan and Harbaugh is supposedly going to let him run the offense as he wants.  On paper it is good - Michigan really needs to open up things on offense a bit to be a real contender, and Gattis brings experience with two very good offenses.  But I have my doubts on how this is all going to work.