Maize's Return of the Victors Valiant | Michigan Wolverines Football

[Maize08]

Brandon Announces Resignation Amidst Coaching Search
Less than 24 hours after Michigan beat Middle Tennessee State, a press release from the Michigan Athletic Department was made available.

Quote:

January 2, 2015 Director of Intercollegiate Athletics David Brandon will be stepping down from his position, effective July 1. Mr. Brandon has accepted a position away from the University, closing a remarkable chapter in Michigan athletics.

The Press Release would go on for three more paragraphs, describing the school's athletic successes under Brandon. David Brandon was closely tied to the Head Coach he hired in 2010 to take over the football program. Many considered Brandon to blame for the failures of the football program.

Brandon's fierce loyalty and passion for Michigan was part of the reason he was brought in. A former player under Bo Schembechler, Brandon enjoyed a successful business career including being the CEO of Domino's Pizza. The savvy businessman and alumnus seemed a perfect choice for the position.

Yet that loyalty and passion led to some issues. Brandon was known for micro-managing athletic programs, working above the University and by many accounts, "isolated" himself in decision-making process.

This led to former players and coaches calling for him to be fired. Yet a large contract and profitable department took the pressure off. Many of his notable mishandlings had to do with ticket prices and memorabilia.

The last few years has seen a drop in total attendance and a major drop in student ticket orders and reorders. In football alone, there was a drop of 14,000 student ticket reorders before the 2014 season. When the University Board of Regents started getting involved in the current coaching search, it might have shown Brandon the writing on the wall.

Brandon will be taking a position at Valassis as a non-Chairman board member. Dave Brandon was a former CEO at Valassis, a Michigan company that is known for direct mailing for coupons, in-store and digital advertisements. The position is expected to mean a raise in pay from Brandon's expected $900,000 salary next season.

Brandon will finish out the athletic year, a new Athletic Director will be taking over on July 1. This also means a smaller role for Brandon in the interim, including in the coaching search. From his previous football coaching search, it was notable that both Les Miles and Jim Harbaugh did not have an on-campus interview. Miles met with Brandon in an airport, while Harbaugh was not approached about the position.

The search for the new AD is expected to start immediately. Although the football coaching search takes precedent, especially with the National Championship just days away.

Michigan fans will have to endure Michigan State with a shot for a national title. They will also have to deal with no AD and no Head Coach for the football team. Although the two leading candidates have had reasons to not be on campus. Jim Harbaugh and his 49ers' season ended on Sunday (Dec. 28), while Les Miles and LSU will be playing in the BBVA Compass Bowl on Saturday (Jan. 3).

The lack of information and "closed" process has left many to speculate. There was The Advocate story that Les Miles had "an agreement" to become the next Head Coach at Michigan. The report from the Baton Rouge paper was quickly removed. It's expected the University will not wait much longer, with National Signing Day around the corner. To put many at ease, it will all be over soon. Just in time to find an Athletic Director.

[Maize08]

Michigan Wolverines Final Season Statistics - 2014
Passing	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	TD	INT	SACK	RAT
Devin Gardner	172/410	2,089	12.1	160.6	15	19	31	87.6
Shane Morris	27/55	352	13.0	35.2	2	1	2	111.2
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM
Derrick Green	201	1,056	5.2	83	3	10	81.2	0
Devin Gardner	160	678	4.2	15	0	6	52.1	1
De'Veon Smith	117	501	4.2	40	2	3	38.5	0
Joe Kerridge	15	52	3.4	8	0	1	3.9	0
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	DROPS	YDS/G	YAC
Devin Funchess	73	806	11.0	9	58	4	61.9	300
Jake Butt	50	759	15.1	3	71	3	63.2	323
Jehu Chesson	21	231	11.0	2	32	5	19.2	53
A.J. Williams	19	247	13.0	1	32	0	18.9	153
Dennis Norfleet	14	141	10.0	0	25	3	10.8	67
Amara Darboh	10	111	11.1	0	27	5	9.5	54
De'Veon Smith	6	50	8.3	2	23	3	3.8	23
Blocking					PCAKE		SACK
Graham Glasgow					24		4
Mason Cole					23		2
Jake Miller					23		11
Eric Magnuson					18		7
David Dawson					12		4
Kyle Bosch					8		2
Kyle Kalis					6		1
Ben Braden					5		1
	Tackles			Sacks		Turnovers
Defense	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TLOSS	FF/FR	INT	TD
Jake Ryan	54	58	112	4.5	23	1/1	1
Desmond Morgan	32	47	79	3.5	15	1/2	2	1
James Ross	33	27	60	2.5	10	2/0	1
Brennan Beyer	24	32	56	6.5	19	3/1	0
Frank Clark	24	26	50	5.5	14	2/0	0
Delano Hill	11	20	31	1.5	5	0/0	3
Jeremy Clark	12	19	31	1.5	5	1/1	0
Jabrill Peppers	12	16	28	0.0	0	3/3	2
Raymon Taylor	10	17	27	0.0	1	1/0	3
Jarrod Wilson	10	17	27	0.0	1	1/1	1
Ondre Pipkins	10	16	26	1.5	6	0/0	0
Willie Henry	10	15	25	1.5	9	0/0	0
Joe Bolden	13	7	20	0.0	3	0/0	0
Chris Wormley	8	13	20	3.0	9	0/0	0
Dymonte Thomas	8	9	17	0.0	1	1/1	0	1
Blake Countess	5	5	10	0.0	1	0/1	1
	Kickoffs					Punts
Returning	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	RET	AVG	TD
Dennis Norfleet	32	735	22.9	99	1	28	8.7	0
Jourdan Lewis	14	350	24.9	48	0
Jabrill Peppers						35	7.8	0
	Field Goals				Extra Points
Kicking	FGM	FGA	PCT	LONG	XPM	XPA	PCT	PTS
Matt Wile	19	28	67%	50	37	38	97%	94
Punting	PUNTS	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	BP	IN20	TB
Will Hagerup	78	3,467	75	44.4	33.3	0	28	23

[Maize08]

2014-15 Bowl Results
New Mexico Bowl: Air Force (9-4) 31, East Carolina (8-5) 23
Idaho Potato Bowl: Houston (10-3) 42, Bowling Green (11-3) 10
Poinsettia Bowl: Clemson (8-5) 38, Utah State (8-5) 17
Beef O’Brady’s Bowl: Arkansas (7-6) 21, Cincinnati (7-6) 10
New Orleans Bowl: UL-Lafayette (10-3) 42, Cal. (7-6) 25
Las Vegas Bowl: Arizona State (7-6) 30, Fresno State (10-4) 25
Hawaii Bowl: Western Kentucky (8-5) 30, Boise State (9-5) 27
Little Caesars Bowl: Indiana (9-4) 45, Buffalo (8-5) 24
Military Bowl: Navy (8-5) 24, Northern Illinois (8-5) 17
Holiday Bowl: USC (10-3) 34, West Virginia (8-5) 24
Belk Bowl: Memphis (9-4) 17, Virginia Tech (7-6) 10
AdvoCare Bowl: Baylor (8-5) 41, Virginia (7-6) 38
Russell Athletic Bowl: Miami (10-3) 31, Iowa State (7-6) 23
Car Care Bowl: Kansas State (8-5) 38, Minnesota (8-5) 20
Armed Forces Bowl: New Mexico (10-3) 27, UT-San Antonio (6-7) 7
Fight Hunger Bowl: BYU (10-3) 40, Oregon State (7-6) 28
Alamo Bowl: UCLA (12-2) 38, Texas (8-5) 19
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl: Oklahoma State (8-5) 36, Northwestern (7-6) 28
Music City Bowl: Florida (8-5) 31, Pittsburgh (6-7) 7
Sun Bowl: Boston College (7-6) 27, Washington (7-6) 24
Liberty Bowl: Marshall (10-4) 36, Kentucky (7-6) 16
Chick-Fil-A- Bowl: South Carolina (8-5) 38, Louisville (9-4) 10
Heart of Dallas Bowl: Michigan (7-6) 38, Middle Tennessee State (7-6) 14
Gator Bowl: Auburn (9-4) 31, Iowa (7-6) 13
Capital One Bowl: Georgia (10-4) 41, Nebraska (10-4) 21
Outback Bowl: Wisconsin (10-3) 20, Tennessee (9-4) 3
Rose Bowl: Oregon (13-1) 31, Ohio State (10-3) 16
Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma (12-1) 35, Texas A&M (9-4) 13
Sugar Bowl: Ole Miss (11-3) 24, Notre Dame (9-4) 23
Orange Bowl: Stanford (10-3) 32, North Carolina (10-4) 14
Cotton Bowl: Alabama (10-3) 24, TCU (9-4) 13
Compass Bowl: LSU (8-5) 38, Penn State (7-6) 17
GoDaddy.Com Bowl: Ball State (11-3) 28, South Alabama (9-4) 17
BCS National Championship: Florida State (13-1) 34, Michigan State (12-2) 7

[Maize08]

NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 - Updated: Jan 10, 2015
RK	LW	TEAM (VOTES)	W	L	POINTS
1	2	Florida State Seminoles	13	1	1525
2	3	Oklahoma Sooners	12	1	1437
3	6	Oregon Ducks	13	1	1317
4	7	Stanford Cardinal	10	3	1268
5	1	Michigan State Spartans	12	2	1225
6	8	UCLA Bruins	12	2	1098
7	9	Ole Miss Rebels	11	3	1062
8	5	North Carolina Tar Heels	10	4	1030
9	4	Ohio State Buckeyes	10	3	994
10	11	Alabama Crimson Tide	10	3	956
11	13	USC Trojans	10	3	861
12	15	Auburn Tigers	9	4	769
13	17	Wisconsin Badgers	10	3	759
14	10	Texas A&M Aggies	9	4	572
15	21	Miami Hurricanes	10	3	544
16	12	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	9	4	516
17	23	BYU Cougars	10	3	474
18	14	Tennessee Volunteers	9	4	402
19	NR	Georgia Bulldogs	10	4	383
20	NR	Indiana Hoosiers	9	4	370
21	NR	Louisville Cardinals	9	4	364
22	NR	Ball State Cardinals	11	3	313
23	16	Nebraska Cornhuskers	10	4	301
24	19	TCU Horned Frogs	9	4	276
25	NR	New Mexico Lobos	10	3	253

[Maize08]

End of 2014
Overall Record: 7-6
Conference Record: 3-5 (5th in Big Ten East)
Home Record | Road Record 5-2 at Home | 1-4 on Road
Schedule/Results:

Spoiler

vs. Appalachian State - W - 44-20
@ Notre Dame - L - 3-14
vs. Utah - W - 31-21
vs. Miami Univ. - W - 31-7
vs. Minnesota - L - 17-24
@ Penn State - L - 28-35
vs. Indiana - W - 37-30
@ Rutgers - W - 40-21
vs. Michigan State - L - 14-19
vs. Maryland - W - 17-10
@ Northwestern - L - 27-35 (OT)
@ Ohio State - L - 17-27
vs. Middle Tenn. St. - W - 38-14

Awards/Accolades: Jake Ryan (Breaks School Season Record for Total Tackles | All-Big Ten 1st), Jake Butt (All-Big Ten 2nd), Desmond Morgan (All-Big Ten 2nd), Will Hagerup (All-Big Ten 2nd)
Heisman Trophy Winner: QB Brett Hundley, UCLA
Conference Winner: Michigan State (9-0)
National Champion: Florida State (13-1)

[Maize08]

I will post the article introducing the new Head Coach tomorrow. Then, a little start into the off-season. Thanks everyone for commenting and following this, this is when things get interesting.

[Maize08]

Jim Harbaugh Named 20th Michigan Football Coach
Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Only one day removed from the National Championship game, Michigan has tapped the man to take over the football program. Over the weekend, it became clear that Jim Harbaugh was the target. His name had been rumored throughout the previous season. In what is considered a 'coup' for the University of Michigan, news leaked during last night's game.

As Michigan State was struggling to keep pace with Florida State, the attention in the second half turned to breaking news. Once leaked, the Athletic Department was quick to announce a press conference. Jim Harbaugh was en-route to Ann Arbor, to take over at his alma mater. His "dream job."

Harbaugh is coming from a tremendous four seasons as the Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Amassing a 43-20 record, he led the 49ers to three straight NFC Championship games and an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII. 2014 would be his worst season in the pros, going 7-9 and missing the playoffs by losing two of the last three games.

Harbaugh was in contract negotiations with the 49ers, who tabled the talks for after the season. It became clear that Harbaugh was being courted by multiple suitors. The 49ers negotiated a buyout with Michigan over the weekend; it is expected the University paid half of his next year's base contract. It is believed the 49ers were willing to part ways, but feared him landing elsewhere in the NFL.

Then came Monday, when Jim Harbaugh met Athletic Director David Brandon and Senior Associate AD Rob Rademacher. They met at Harbaugh's home outside San Francisco. Brandon, who will be exiting before Harbaugh's first game, was joined by Rademacher, whom the Board of Regents have tabbed to aide in the search.

The meeting lasted five hours. In his introductory press conference, Harbaugh was introduced by David Brandon. Brandon said, "I told him, he was the person that could take Michigan football to the upper-echelon and keep them there. He would have every resource at his assistance. But success starts with Jim."

Brandon went on to say, "Coach has been notably hard on his alma mater. He expects more from Michigan, which is the exact reason I was so interested in talking to him about this position. He knows the University is special, I wanted to hear what needed to change.”

By the end of it, Harbaugh happily agreed and the entire process was put into motion. First the buyout, then getting the hire approved by the Board of Regents, and finally negotiating the terms of his contract. The specifics are unknown, but Harbaugh will become the highest paid Head Coach in college football. He has agreed to a six year deal, and also he has been given full control of his staff and an 'increased' staff salary budget.

Jim Harbaugh just recently turned 51 and when he took to the podium, he joked about the photos of Harbaugh's playing days displayed in Schembechler Hall for the announcement. "It's all grainy footage now." Yet many fans and alumni remember Harbaugh's time as starting Quarterback for the Wolverines between 1983 and '86. In his senior season, Harbaugh would finish third in Heisman voting while leading Michigan to the 1987 Rose Bowl.

Jim grew to love Ann Arbor after his father Jack spent time as an assistant for the Wolverines. "This has always been home to me. For a kid who moved around a lot, life of a coach's son, this is just a great place to be."

When he left Ann Arbor, Harbaugh went to the NFL. Drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the '87 Draft, Harbaugh would enjoy a 14 year NFL career playing for four franchises.

Then began his coaching career. Harbaugh started by getting hired by Bill Callahan to be the Oakland Raider's Quarterbacks Coach. The Raiders would go to the 2002 Super Bowl, in part due to the play of Rich Gannon. Gannon enjoyed the best football of his career during Harbaugh's time on staff. He won the 2002 NFL MVP award and made back-to-back Pro Bowls.

From there came his first head job. Taking over a down program at the University of San Diego, Harbaugh compiled a 29-6 record (22-2 in his last two years). Then came his time at Stanford, where he took a desolate program and built them into one of the best in college football.

When Harbaugh was hired at Stanford in December 2006, the Cardinal team was coming off 1-11 season. In his four seasons, the record improved every year: 4 wins to 5 wins, to 8 wins and a bowl appearance in 2009 (the team's first since 2001). Finally, the 2010 season proved Harbaugh knew how to build a winning team.

Stanford was led by then Heisman hopeful Andrew Luck and a stout defense. A 12-1 season included a win over rival USC and Cal., topped with the only BCS bowl victory in the program's history. Harbaugh mentioned his time at Stanford often during his press conference. He likened the academics and need for an identity. But there was one big difference:

"Stanford isn't Michigan. I came here because I believe this is the greatest college football program in the country. I want to prove that and I plan on winning a national title."

Jim Harbaugh was a favorite of many to get the job. He now takes over in a position where he will have few distractions or limitations to make the program succeed.

He was even given the thumbs up by new University President Mark Schlissel, who released a short statement praising Harbaugh's toughness, passion and desire to win. More than that, Schlissel knows Harbaugh will do so in a manner that "reflects the reputation of the University."

"Now the work starts," said Harbaugh, speaking of the late start he is getting and tough road ahead. There are only 29 days until National Signing Day. He will also have to assemble a staff and start to evaluate the roster.

Harbaugh ended the presser with: "I'm ready, this is what I do. And I just can't wait to get going. Go Blue"

[Maize08]

Big Ten Coaching Carousel Stops Spinning
A strange start to the off-season included four Big Ten coaches being fired. Most notably, Brady Hoke was fired after the Ohio State game. A long search resulted in former Wolverines' Quarterback Jim Harbaugh returning to Ann Arbor. A big coup for the program, it's a sign that Michigan might be on track to turn around the down program.

Elsewhere, Illinois moved on from Tim Beckman after three disappointing seasons. The Illini were quick to poach Pete Lembo from Ball State after he had the Cardinals winning 11 games and finishing as a ranked team.

Also fired following the last game of the season, Maryland parted ways with Randy Esdall and Purdue let go of Darrell Hazell after two seasons. The Terrapins struggled in their first year in the Big Ten, even after a fast start. The Terps were happy to bring Mark Hudspeth to College Park from UL-Lafayette. Hudspeth went 35-17 in four seasons with the Ragin' Cajuns including three straight nine win seasons and bowl wins ('11-'13).

As for the Boilermakers, their search continued well into bowl season. After vetting Mike Stoops, Stoops instead chose Kansas over Purdue. Purdue finally landed on Florida Offensive Coordinator Kurt Roper. Roper was credited for the recent success and turnaround at Duke. Those four coaches are taking over four of the toughest spots in the conference.

Harbaugh Contract Finalized, Announced
The money involved in Michigan's coaching change has drawn massive attention. After paying Brady Hoke two million as part of his buyout. The University also paid $2.5 million as half of Harbaugh's base contract for next season with the 49ers. That was before even negotiating a contract with Harbaugh, who was rumored to become the highest paid Head Coach in college football.

Harbaugh's contract was made public and showed the coached signed a six year, $42 million dollar deal. For his first two seasons, Harbaugh will make $6.5 million each season. In his third year, the contract rises to $7.25 for the remaining four seasons.

More shocking than the numbers, Harbaugh also negotiated a very large staff salary. The program's football staff has a four million dollar budget for all coaches and related personnel to the football program.

The $6.5 million will make Harbaugh the second highest head coach behind only Nick Saban. Saban's total compensation package has the Head Coach making just over seven million a year. It is believed Harbaugh was more interested in a larger staff salary, than a larger contract.

Speight Transferring to ODU
True Freshman Quarterback Wilton Speight has decided to leave Michigan just as Coach Harbaugh is taking over. Speight was worried about playing time, after redshirting this past season. With recruit Alex Malzone expected to overtake him on the depth chart, Speight was losing his spot.

More than that, the former Under Armour All-American game participant was one of the best Quarterbacks in the Class of 2014. He has decided to return closer to home, enrolling at Old Dominion University. Speight will sit out next season and will have three years of eligibility remaining.