Mailbag Question: How long will it take

Dear Sirs,

Excellent job! I agree with you on most points. I truly hope that things turn for Coach Rod, but I think this is going to be a slow process.


In your opinion how long will it take and will Coach Rod be given the time to do it. I know he has Martin’s support but if this 3-9 happens next year the natives (big money donors) are going to get restless.

Regmac

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Thanks for the question and comments.

In our opinion, it is important for Coach Rod that Michigan show improvement next season, both in record and in play. People can blame the defense all they want, but the offense must get out of the cellar of the 100's on the stat sheet (out of 119 college teams). There is no reason for a Michigan team to be one of the worst in college football in almost every offensive stat.

It is equally important that Michigan gets to 6-6 and qualifies for a bowl game. We see no reason Michigan cannot do this. With their schedule and how bad the Big Ten really is, we see no reason for this team not to be bowl eligible next year.

If Michigan can show improvement and get bowl eligible, Coach Rod will have bought the time necessary to get his players in place and properly install his schemes. The addition of getting the extra fifteen practices will help, as well, for the 2010 football season: especially with a young football team and possible a true freshman seeing a lot of snaps at quarterback. So this next year, the more snaps Forcier gets the better this team will be in the future.

If Michigan does not get bowl eligible things could, and quite likely will, get very ugly.

We are not saying Coach Rod will (or should) be fired, just that patience among Michigan supporters will be running very thin, and pressure will be unbelievable for a program that has seen the success it has since Bo arrived. The donors, fans, alumni, etc., will not be happy without seeing noticeable improvement for the 2009 football season. Combine this with the fact that in 2010 Michigan Stadium's renovations will be completed and the football program will need the support of big donors to fill those luxury boxes, outdoor seating, and keep the donations flowing, not only to pay those bills off, but also to generate money for the other twenty-four athletic programs at Michigan.

In OUR opinion again, going 3-9 and not getting bowl eligible has put a ton of pressure on the program. Most people can understand one season of growing pains, but if the losses start metastasizing into multiple seasons, the prognosis for Coach Rod's system begins to look grim.

Written by CoachBt and ErocWolverine