Bacon's Book, Lloyd Carr and Michigan Men

I have a number of thoughts on the Purdue game, the upcoming Iowa game, and some of the information provided by our friend Ace in his most recent post, but I would be remiss if I let more than a week go by without discussing the Book.

One week ago, author John U. Bacon released his book “Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football.”  Bacon is a noted Michigan historian who once co-wrote “Bo’s Lasting Lessons” with Bo Schembechler, and Rich Rodriguez, in his infinite wisdom, thought it’d be a great idea to provide Bacon with unprecedented access to himself, his coaching staff, his locker room, and his players.

Rodriguez undoubtedly thought the book would be his opus as he brought Michigan to heights not seen since the early 1900s.  As we know, what ended up happening was the complete antithesis, as Rodriguez coached Michigan to depths never seen in school history.

The book, which I completed in a little over a day, is a must-read for any Michigan fan, and a should-read for any college football fan.  It is, at its core, both utterly fascinating and completely depressing, at least from a Michigan fan’s standpoint.  Fascinating to be inside the coaches meetings; to trail Denard Robinson for a day, to delve into the mercurial mind of Tate Forcier.  Depressing for everything else: the initial coaching search, the endless defections, Stretch-Gate, and of course, the porous on-field record.

[caption id="attachment_1196" align="alignnone" width="294" caption="A lot of sad faces during RichRod's tenure"][/caption]

I could probably fill multiple blog posts with my thoughts on various aspects of the book, including the endless PR failures of both the University of Michigan and Rodriguez; the sheer lunacy of RichRod after losses; and the ridiculous Football Bust that ultimately spelled the end of his tenure.  And I could certainly go to town on the Detroit Free Press and it’s ridiculously unethical, hack-filled sports staff consisting of Mark Rosenberg, Mark Snyder and Drew Sharp, among others.

But instead, I’m going to focus on one particular aspect; or to be more specific, one particular man.  And judging from various topic posts and subsequent responses on various Michigan message boards, he might be a more polarizing figure among Michigan fans than even Rodriguez himself.  I’m talking, of course, about Lloyd Carr.

But first, a bit of auto-biographical background.  I was not a Michigan fan at all until my freshman year in 2000.  I know all about the glorious history of Michigan football, but my obsession really doesn’t extend much beyond Charles Woodson and the 1997 National Championship team.  When I think of Bo, I think much more of the godfather of the Michigan program than I do an iconic coach.  So in my eyes, Lloyd Carr embodied Michigan and Michigan Men.  He was my coach.

Speaking of Michigan Men, there’s been endless talk about what that means, who is one and isn’t one, and Bacon’s book covers this is in detail.  Depending on who you listen to, a Michigan Man embodies integrity, responsibility, accountability (wooo Brady Hoke!), and all that jazz.  But I tend to take more of simplistic view.  In my eyes, a Michigan Man is simply someone who LOVES Michigan... yes, in all CAPS.  It’s a love of the school, the teams, the environment.  It's a love of Ann Arbor and a belief that it's the best place on earth.  It's a love that courses through every fiber of your being, a love that borders on obsessiveness.

Perhaps the great Fielding Yost said it best when he said, “It is based upon a deathless loyalty to Michigan and all her ways; an enthusiasm that makes it second nature for Michigan Men to spread the gospel of their university to the world's distant outposts; a conviction that nowhere is there a better university, in any way, than this Michigan of ours."

Powerful stuff, right?

I never doubted Lloyd Carr’s love for Michigan during his tenure.  I always felt that he was ego-less, that he put the University well above personal gain, pride or pettiness.  And then he retired.

What followed, according to Bacon, has made me question everything I ever really thought about the guy.  Most of what I read I already knew, or at least suspected, but that doesn’t make it any easier to take.  I knew Carr was hell-bent on ensuring that Les Miles would never get the Michigan job in 2007, but I had no idea that he was the first person to reach out to Rodriguez and suggest that he consider the job (which just makes everything that came to pass all the more surprising).

Perhaps he never thought Rodriguez would officially be offered or actually take the job, but for the life of me I can’t figure out why Carr would encourage players to transfer, going so far as to tell his team that he’d happily sign any transfer request before Rodriguez even stepped on campus.  I can’t get my head around why he would explicitly tell Ryan Mallett and his father that Mallett “needs to transfer.” And worst of all, I cannot fathom how he could sign off on Justin Boren’s transfer, to Ohio State of all places, and then sit idly by when the aforementioned Mike Rosenberg publicly states that Rodriguez ran Boren off by using “some of the foulest, most degrading language imaginable” during practices.  P.S.... As far as multiple observers could tell, Rosenberg never even attended a single practice during RichRod’s tenure.

Lest we forget, Carr did all those things while still employed by the Michigan Athletic Department.  And as unfathomable as those things are, in my mind they pale in comparison to this: according to Bacon, Carr refused no fewer than eight personal invitations from Rodriguez to speak to the team at practices or during pre-games during that first 3-9 season.  Carr claimed that he didn’t want to get in Rodriguez’s way, but are you kidding?  How many times do you think Bo turned down requests from Carr to speak to the team?  Hell, Bo spoke to the 2006 team the day before he died!

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m in no way asserting that Carr is the reason behind Rodriguez’s atrocious record at Michigan (though having Mallett around probably wouldn’t have hurt), and I don’t really believe that having Carr speak to the team before games would’ve suddenly inspired them to become world-beaters, because it certainly didn't make much difference when he was actually coaching (see App. State or any game vs. OSU this century aside from 2003).  But it’s principle, and if the guy truly loved Michigan as he purported to, he would’ve bent over backwards to do everything he could to support Rodriguez, as opposed to actively avoiding helping the guy in any way, shape or form.

Allow me one final example.  As stated above, just after Rodriguez was hired but before he arrived in Ann Arbor, Carr, who left of his own volition, told his former players that he’d be happy to sign any transfer papers.  When Rodriguez -- who was never granted “Michigan Man” status by anyone -- was fired, he said, “When I start a job, I like to finish it.  That’s not going to happen.  But I’d like to see you all do it.”  Did he tell Denard Robinson that he needed to transfer?  No.  See a difference?

Mike Martin probably summed it up best when he said, shortly after Rodriguez walked out of the Michigan locker room for the last time, “We’ve been through this before.  [Last time] every guy who had a chance to leave, left.  That tore our team apart.”  How many key upperclassmen transferred when Brady Hoke was hired?  Not a single one.  As the movie “Remember the Titans” so eloquently stated, “Attitude reflects leadership.”  Carr’s upperclassmen either bolted for the door, or mentally checked out as soon as he stepped down.  Rodriguez’s upperclassmen are serving as the foundation for a season that’s coming very close to surpassing the wildest expectations of anyone around.

[caption id="attachment_1199" align="alignnone" width="198" caption="Seniors Martin, Koger, Molk and Van Bergen "][/caption]

So who’s the real Michigan Man?

(Author's note: All quotes are pulled directly from “Three and Out: Rich Rodriguez and the Michigan Wolverines in the Crucible of College Football” by John U. Bacon)