<p>[Hoke</a> Announces Coaching Staff Change - MGOBLUE.COM - University of Michigan Official Athletic Site](<a href=“http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010814aaa.html]Hoke”>http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010814aaa.html)</p>
<p>Finally we can at least play half-decent football</p>
<p>Wonder if any other coaches will also be let go. Any word?</p>
<p>I am waiting to hear what bearcat’s thoughts on the matter are</p>
<p>Doug Nussmeier, OC at 'Bama is being named MI OC tomorrow. Kiffen replacing him at 'bama.</p>
<p>Sounds like a good move to me. The people who know him seem to think so. i don’t care what bearcats has to say about this one because what does he really know about this anyway. I doubt there will be any further changes until the new guy comes - if anyone else goes I would think the OL coach is most at risk.</p>
<p>The Ticket was discussing the possibility of Nussmeier eventually replacing Hoke and that this was just the first step. </p>
<p>Thoughts? </p>
<p>(I have no opinion, I just thought it was interesting.)</p>
<p>"…make no mistake: Nussmeier was not some pirate coup with Alabama desperately defending as Michigan thrusted and parried. Alabama boards have been buzzing for weeks about who their new OC would be. Saban told Nussmeier to look around for a nice landing spot and Michigan provided one. For whatever reason, Nussmeier was just not process-y enough for Dear Robot." (mgoblog)</p>
<p>“A former NFL QB, Nussmeier also has earned a reputation as one of the country’s best developers of quarterbacks. Among his proteges: Bama’s AJ McCarron, Washington’s Jake Locker and Keith Price and Michigan State’s Drew Stanton and Jeff Smoker. Nussmeier also coached QBs for the St. Louis Rams in 2006-07 and helped Marc Bulger, a former sixth-round pick, make it to a Pro Bowl.” (Bruce Feldman)</p>
<p>I don’t think he was hired as a replacement for Hoke because I don’t think he’ll be here that long. He is making a ton of money though, so he may be content.</p>
<p>I heard that Jim Schwartz is available!</p>
<p>romanigyspsyeyes, I do not think Nussmeier was hired with the thought of replacing Hoke. Nussmeier does not have experience as headcoach and has never stayed anywhere longer than 3 seasons. At the moment, I think he was brought in to manage the Offensive side of the ball for the foreseeable future. Of course, given his age, should Nussmeier so wish, he can conceivably become head coach when Hoke retires, or should Hoke continue to have 4-6 loss seasons. Mattison is too old, so Nussmeier may have cnsidered Michigan a great option should he decide to make it his long term home. But given his track record of moving on every 2-3 years, he doubt he will stay longer than 3 years at Michigan. I think Michigan 's offense will shine in 2015 and 2016, at which point Nussmeier could be hired as HC at a high-profile college program.</p>
<p>GoBlue81, Alabama fans are so dillusional that they assume that if Nussmeier left Alabama, it had to be because he was asked to leave. That is most likely not the case. Most people do not realize that this was weeks in the making. As in 6-9 weeks. It usually takes over one month for an OC to separate from his current position. You can bet that Hoke and Brandon have been talking to Alabama’s HC and AD since early December in order to ensure a smooth transition for both programs. Michigan did not want Alabama to make it difficult on them, and Brando saw to it that they went through the regular process. Chances are, only after Nussmeier expressed his decision to leave for Michigan (sometime in late November or early Decmeber) did Alabama start talking Kiffen. </p>
<p>This season, Alabama averaged close to 40 points per game. In the SEC, that is amazing. Certainly among the best in their league. I think Nussmeier was set on leaving Alabama because he felt that Saban cast a long shaddow and that he would be able to gain more visibility at another program.</p>
<p>Could you ever see Michigan hiring someone like Lane Kiffen as a coach?</p>
<p>[Tennessee</a> adds NCAA penalties related to Lane Kiffin era](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/sec/2012/11/16/tennessee-ncaa-added-penalties-lane-kiffin-willie-mack-garza/1709233/]Tennessee”>Tennessee adds NCAA penalties related to Lane Kiffin era)</p>
<p>Good for those Alabama fans who are happy with this hire, but I guarantee there are plenty who are not pleased at all.</p>
<p>Kiffin is a lousy HC, and his integrity is highly questionable, but he is an excellent OC and at Alabama, he will be called upon to manage Saban’s offense. This is one of the main difference between Hoke and Saban, and probably explains why Nussmeier wanted out. At Alabama, he pretty much ran Saban’s offense while at Michigan, Nussmeier will call the shots on offense. He will be able to make the offense his own. Very different mangement styles. Hoke delegates while Saban is reportedly a micro-manager.</p>
<p>I tried to give Borges the benefit of the doubt as long as possible, but there were just too many questionable play calls in crucial situations, too much going back to the well on plays that clearly weren’t working, and too much lack of player and position group development as the season progressed. The lack of development was most obvious on the OL, but really it’s true of all parts of the offense. At WR Jeremy Gallon had a great year, building on some great work last year, but Devin Funchess, while he had a few moments, didn’t really progress much from last year, and none of the other WRs stepped up. Jake Butt emerged late in the season at TE but it was too little, too late. At RB they stuck with Fitz Toussaint long after it was apparent he wasn’t the same player we had seen in 2011, without the strength to break tackles and without the burst to get to the outside and to avoid tackles. I thought they stuck with Fitz in part because the freshman RBs looked completely lost picking up blitzing defenders in passing situations, but that’s a player development issue, too–and Fitz didn’t do all that much better pass-blocking, as he could identify the guy to block but rarely blocked him. At QB, Devin Gardner had his moments. Unfortunately there were almost as many horrendous moments as great ones, but on the whole I thought he actually regressed from last season when he came on strong as a back-up for an injured Denard Robinson. Gardner came nowhere near living up to his extremely high upside potential. Too many errant throws off the back foot (reminiscent of DR in that regard), too many moments of panic in the pocket. It didn’t help, of course, that he was under constant duress from the offense’s inability to defend against the pass rush, and that he was badly beat-up from too many sacks and too many QB hits. But it’s not all the OL; even accounting for poor protection, the QB play was at best erratic. I think Gardner has tremendous talent and I hope he’ll be back for his final year of eligibility, but this season was a huge disappointment at the QB position.</p>
<p>In the end I fault Borges more for the lack of player and unit development than for the scheme or the play-calling. (Some of the play-calling was shockingly dull, predictable, and predictably ineffective, but I thought the same thing of Bo). This offense was young and inexperienced at many positions. You can cut youth some slack, but if the players, the position groups, and the offense as a whole aren’t getting better as the season progresses, you need to question the coaching. Some of the fault might lie with the position coaches, but it’s the OC’s responsibility to see that the whole thing is progressing, and it just didn’t. My impression is that Borges is more of an X’s and O’s guy than a player development guy. If that’s the case, he just wasn’t what Michigan’s offense needed in 2013, and he wouldn’t be what they will need in 2014. Nussmeier at least has a track record of developing QBs. Let’s hope he and Devin Gardner recreate that magic, and the other uncertain pieces on offense start to shape up as well.</p>
<p>The fact is that UMich was not doing as well offensively, and this is concerning. The players and alumni most likely pressured for the firing. We are getting a coach from one of the best college programs in the country, so that’s great for UMich! We definitely need to up our game b/c we are no longer the winningest college football program…thanks a lot, Irish. </p>
<p>GO BLUE!!! </p>
<p>Meanwhile, we are killing it on the basketball court!</p>
<p>We still are the “winningest college football program” IMRP23. Michigan just doesn’t have the highest winning percentage currrently. That could change very quickly and has changed over the years.</p>
<p>AJ McCarron was more of McElwaine’s protege whe was backup QB for McElroy, though Nuss still had 2 good seasons with them. Still he probably learned quite a bit from Saban though that he could implement for Michigan</p>
<p>The impact Nusseier could have on recruiting will be significant. The #1 QB of the 2015 class who verballed to Alabama a couple of months ago was recruited by Nussmeier. There is a reasonable chance that Nussmeier will be able to convince him to make the move to Michigan. George Campbell, the #1 WR of the 2015 class had committed to Michigan a couple of months ago, but then decommitted. However, I have a hunch that Nussmeier is going to recruit both of them on the promise of the other and on the fact that Michigan has has a verbal commitment from the #1 RB for the class of 2015. Wouldn’t that be something? #1 QB, #1 RB and #1 WR! </p>
<p>In the shorted term, Minnesota commit, top 10 RB Jeff Jones is having second thoughts and is scheduled to visit Michigan in two weeks. Since Michigan does not have a RB commit for this upcoming class of 2014, there is a chance we may get Jones.</p>
<p>There is no doubt that Borges had lost the confidence of recruits on the offensive side of the ball. Nussmeier is breathing new life into the program. Hopefully, he can turn the offense around quickly.</p>
<p>;There is a reasonable chance that Nussmeier will be able to convince him to make the move to Michigan.;</p>
<p>I wouldnt say that just yet…</p>