I have posted several comments on Coach Charlie Weis in recent days. I am not a huge Notre Dame fan, to no one’s surprise. But I am not exactly a huge Michigan fan either. But I have an entirely different feeling about Michigan, one which respects their history (past and present), especially in terms of how they have dealt with their coaches and how they handle their product, which is entertainment and big business these days. (That is what college football really is if you are honest about it. The really big programs bring dollars into the larger university programs, both athletic and academic.)

Anyway, Coach Lloyd Carr is under fire right now for losing the first two games of this season to Appalachian State and Oregon. He has since recovered and won five games. Michigan will not (likely) finish in the Top Ten, as predicted in the silly pre-season polls. But they will have a better than average season when all is said and done. I respect Lloyd Carr. He handles both success and adversity with a class that is admirable and in the way a good coach and student role-model should. He is, frankly, everything Charlie Weis is not. I read the other day Coach Carr’s philosophy for life and football. It is simple but reflects the greatness of a true coach and a decent man.

Three simple points:

1. Blame No One
2. Expect Nothing
3. Do Something

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Comments

  1. Chad November 23, 2007 at 1:14 pm

    20006 NCAA Football Graduation Rates:
    Notre Dame 95%
    Michigan 71%
    Isn’t the job of a head coach to mold boys into men, NOT make false promises to their mothers and let them out of college without a degree?? How can you make such claims against Notre Dame???

  2. John H. Armstrong November 23, 2007 at 2:31 pm

    I agree the coach “molds” boys into men therefore this is precisely why I question Weis. Is he really doing that based on his lack of discipline, self-control and personal character.
    As for graduation rates you are, in my view, comparing apples and oranges. ND gets superior students and has a national pick of the lot due to its being a private school with a first-rate academic program. Michigan is a public university and thus not the same. 71% is not too far off the mark if this is compared to similar programs in the NCAA. My guess is schools like ND, Duke, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Army, Navy, etc. would all have very high rates of 95% plus.
    Finally, graduation does not equal character, per se, though a degree from ND would mean a lot to me or to a son of mine. I have said all along I respect ND as an institution very highly. My sole question is the coach. If he is not gone this year he is likely gone by the end of next year. Most ND loyalists agree with me.

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