Gongratulations Coach Delaney and staff

[first11]

one and done!

Micks heart may be in the right place, but his head surely is not....

...more of the same for UM??????? I hope not

 

[GrizFan2011]

He got dealt a SHITTY hand and did the best he could. Maybe I missed it but I am pretty sure Mick didn't guarantee anything this season and didn't come out and suck on purpose. Is he the best Griz coach ever? Not even remotely close....but putting the blame solely on Mick is just stupid.

You are right. It was Glenn's fault?

Mick got handed a great team of players. He is not a Head Coach. Never has been.

This is a guy who ran the Vu Villa for 10 years and couldn't sell beer and pizza in a beer and pizza town. Went to Western and took the team to a 2-??? season. Had Beers follow up behind him with 2 back to back Championships, I believe. And we expect Mick to be a great head coach at the University of Montana??? Not going to happen. He needs to step aside.

 

[UMAlum]

I have mixed feelings about the situation. On one hand we all have to thank Mick for accepting the challenge that the president threw his way. RE didn't want to be involved in a search for a new HC. However, now that we are at the end of the season I'm hoping key decision makers, including Mick, think very hard about what they really want. If Mick does not have the ambition (desire, fire in the belly, etc) to want be around and compete for MANY years to come ... than I believe it's best for the program if he were to step down at this time. If the plan is to coach one more year and then retire, I just don't see what that accomplishes.

 

[griz4life]

Delaney came out of retirement to help a team in trouble. If you can't show gratitude for that you truly are clueless. Rosenbach and Burtnett were in town for only a few weeks when Royce Engstrom chose to fire Pflugrad. It would have been easier for them to quit in March, but they stuck it out. If Delaney re retires soon it's pretty much a given the assistants will lose their jobs. So, Burtnett and Rosenbach will be moving on again in less than a year's time. Try explaining that one to your family. Kefense Hynson, too.

Thanks, coaches. This Griz fan is grateful.

 

[grizatwork]

Thank you Mick for putting your heart and soul into our grizzlies this year. Thank you for holding your players accountable both on and off the field. Thank you for keeping things together this year with a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator, a couple new position coaches, a new athletic director, all the offseason junk. A whole new defense with one senior, an offense with no experienced quarteback. A new punter and kicker. Both freshman. This griz fan is eternally grateful and embarrassed by some of my fellow fans.

On a side note, we might have won a few more games if smithwick-hann started earlier in the season. At least his down field passes came close to his receivers. Something TM never could accomplish. TM was, is, and never will be the answer. SSH, AB, or gustafson need to be it next year.

 

[doebrmn]

As pointed out before the season started, there was a reason that he received a 2 year contract and it was not because UM asked for it, it is because he asked for it. He knew the season COULD likey turn out the way it did and he wanted the security of not getting thrown under the bus (like many Griz fans are already doing). THIS IS A GUESS, UM also understood there was a chance of some type of sanctions being handed down after the season that would affect its ability to recruit a new head coach. They wanted to make sure they had a HC in place and did not want Mick to just retire after the season if UM was facing some type of sanctions. This gives them another year of continuity to have a HC in place and then can start recruiting next year hoping that any NCAA issue is a one year deal or UM will at least be one year closer to having whatever it is over.

As for Mick, many posters are this board are forgetting that the Griz DC and OC left before the Sh*t storm. Plu hired the replacements. Coordinators are a huge part of a teams suceess. I think too much blame is being put on Mick. It is easy to say this is the same team Plu would have had except JJ, but that is not true. All the outside distractions take a toll. Had Plu stayed on that would have been one less distraction than what Mick dealt with. If JJ was still on the team that is two less distraction (and the main ones) that Mick would not have to deal with (of course he wouldn't be the HC, but you get the point). Finally, Mick didn't go out and buy drugs with 3 weeks left in the season. Another distraction that was not of his making.

Is he a great HC, I don't think so. You don't coach in the College ranks for 40 years and only make HC once unless it is clear you are better suited to be a position coach or Coordinator. But he stepped up when UM needed him, kept a team with many off-field distractions and on-field issues in a position to win all of its games. He deserves credit for that.

 

[Grizzoola]

If we had an AVERAGE BSC qb we could have easily won that game today. The problem is SSH is so so so limited that we cant move the ball once the d commits to stop the run....i think this is why our playcalling seems so brutal because they dont really have confidence the ball can be pushed down the field.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but out of the 4 QBs we have, two are pro-style types (SSH & Gustafson) and two are spread-option types (TM & AB). If Pflu recruited SSH, what was Pflu thinking, when he was running a s-o offense? I don't know who recruited Gustafson, but same question.

I'm not saying these two kids aren't talented, committed QBs for the Griz. It's just a mystery why you recruit QBs that are unsuited to the offense you want to run. I was wondering why Nate Montana was on board, since he clearly was not a s-o type QB.

Then, there's also the big, beefy OL. I thought these types were suited for the pro-style not the s-o.

It seems to me that the program can't make up its mind what type of offense it wants to run, so it's trying to have some blend of the two & it's not working. Even when TM was playing, it seemed he was playing as a pro-style QB, rather than a s-o QB, which is why he was recruited.

BTW, what type of offense is MSU running?

 

[Wolfman_Jack]

A major part of the head coach's job is to get kids to focus despite outside distractions, it's a valuable life skill that even average coaches can instill to their players.

This team obviously failed miserably at that task.

And obviously our HC isn't even average as a coach. And you want to give him credit because he wasn't the cause of the distractions, and because he knew we would suck this year so he got an extra year on contract. wow.

 

[PlayerRep]

A major part of the head coach's job is to get kids to focus despite outside distractions, it's a valuable life skill that even average coaches can instill to their players.

This team obviously failed miserably at that task.

And obviously our HC isn't even average as a coach. And you want to give him credit because he wasn't the cause of the distractions, and because he knew we would suck this year so he got an extra year on contract. wow.

You don't know what you're talking about. The team and coaches did a terrific job focusing on the task at hand and playing under tough circumstances, including without their Payton Award list qb.

 

[tgriz]

This coaching staff, headed up by Booger, was terrible by any measurement.

When the coach comes out after a loss like yesterdays and say's - we played the best we could. It is time to make a change. A commitment to mediocre play is not what we need. If people are satisfied finishing below teams like Northern Colorado, than this is your guy

 

[RABIDAWG]

Thank you Mick for putting your heart and soul into our grizzlies this year. Thank you for holding your players accountable both on and off the field. Thank you for keeping things together this year with a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator, a couple new position coaches, a new athletic director, all the offseason junk. A whole new defense with one senior, an offense with no experienced quarteback. A new punter and kicker. Both freshman. This griz fan is eternally grateful and embarrassed by some of my fellow fans.

On a side note, we might have won a few more games if smithwick-hann started earlier in the season. At least his down field passes came close to his receivers. Something TM never could accomplish. TM was, is, and never will be the answer. SSH, AB, or gustafson need to be it next year.

Generally agree except with that part, "passes came close to his receivers". Should be a great competition for Q-back this spring. May we find the right man!

 

[Wolfman_Jack]

A major part of the head coach's job is to get kids to focus despite outside distractions, it's a valuable life skill that even average coaches can instill to their players.

This team obviously failed miserably at that task.

And obviously our HC isn't even average as a coach. And you want to give him credit because he wasn't the cause of the distractions, and because he knew we would suck this year so he got an extra year on contract. wow.

You don't know what you're talking about. The team and coaches did a terrific job focusing on the task at hand and playing under tough circumstances, including without their Payton Award list qb.

How can you see your keyboard with your head that far up your a$s?

Our "terrific" record sure went on to show how focused and determined the team was. Your words, not mine.

I guess some people just accept mediocrity, hell, some of the people on this forum even congratulate it.

 

[uofmman1122]

As pointed out before the season started, there was a reason that he received a 2 year contract and it was not because UM asked for it, it is because he asked for it. He knew the season COULD likey turn out the way it did and he wanted the security of not getting thrown under the bus (like many Griz fans are already doing). THIS IS A GUESS, UM also understood there was a chance of some type of sanctions being handed down after the season that would affect its ability to recruit a new head coach. They wanted to make sure they had a HC in place and did not want Mick to just retire after the season if UM was facing some type of sanctions. This gives them another year of continuity to have a HC in place and then can start recruiting next year hoping that any NCAA issue is a one year deal or UM will at least be one year closer to having whatever it is over.

As for Mick, many posters are this board are forgetting that the Griz DC and OC left before the Sh*t storm. Plu hired the replacements. Coordinators are a huge part of a teams suceess. I think too much blame is being put on Mick. It is easy to say this is the same team Plu would have had except JJ, but that is not true. All the outside distractions take a toll. Had Plu stayed on that would have been one less distraction than what Mick dealt with. If JJ was still on the team that is two less distraction (and the main ones) that Mick would not have to deal with (of course he wouldn't be the HC, but you get the point). Finally, Mick didn't go out and buy drugs with 3 weeks left in the season. Another distraction that was not of his making.

Is he a great HC, I don't think so. You don't coach in the College ranks for 40 years and only make HC once unless it is clear you are better suited to be a position coach or Coordinator. But he stepped up when UM needed him, kept a team with many off-field distractions and on-field issues in a position to win all of its games. He deserves credit for that.

This is all true, with exception to the OC position.

As I've said for a loooong time, Rosie was NOT brought in to run the offense.
Robin Pflugrad ran the offense, just like Chip Kelly does at Oregon.
The Oregon-style spread was Pflu's baby, and it's been painfully obvious no one on the staff knew how to run it. At all. Rosie was here for two months before Pflu was fired. There's no way he picked everything up that fast.

Our offense is probably more dependent on calling the correct play than any other offense in the big sky. It's all about creating mismatches and taking advantage of space and the numbers game. You dictate what the defense wants to do, and then take advantage of what they're not doing. And if you aren't calling the correct plays to set up the mismatches, it doesn't fucking work, ala exhibit A: this whole goddamn season.

We got yards because we have a fantastic offensive line and great athletes. We didn't score because the gameplay was all wrong, and teams had an easier time defending it more often than not.
Not to mention we got stuck playing our third and forth string QBs, although I think Pflu running the offense would have made them (especially McKinney) look much much better.

My dad texted me the day Pflu got fired letting me know, and my initial thought was "well, there goes the offense". I thought I was being melodramatic at the time, but looks about right, right now.

And yeah, our D didn't perform nearly as well as we expected, but I'd be willing to bet they would have looked much better if the offense didn't fail on 5-10 straight drives in a row every single game.

So yeah, distractions definitely killed this team, but the death blow was firing Pflu. That was by far the worst thing that happened, in this Griz fan's opinion.

 

[stubbins]

As pointed out before the season started, there was a reason that he received a 2 year contract and it was not because UM asked for it, it is because he asked for it. He knew the season COULD likey turn out the way it did and he wanted the security of not getting thrown under the bus (like many Griz fans are already doing). THIS IS A GUESS, UM also understood there was a chance of some type of sanctions being handed down after the season that would affect its ability to recruit a new head coach. They wanted to make sure they had a HC in place and did not want Mick to just retire after the season if UM was facing some type of sanctions. This gives them another year of continuity to have a HC in place and then can start recruiting next year hoping that any NCAA issue is a one year deal or UM will at least be one year closer to having whatever it is over.

As for Mick, many posters are this board are forgetting that the Griz DC and OC left before the Sh*t storm. Plu hired the replacements. Coordinators are a huge part of a teams suceess. I think too much blame is being put on Mick. It is easy to say this is the same team Plu would have had except JJ, but that is not true. All the outside distractions take a toll. Had Plu stayed on that would have been one less distraction than what Mick dealt with. If JJ was still on the team that is two less distraction (and the main ones) that Mick would not have to deal with (of course he wouldn't be the HC, but you get the point). Finally, Mick didn't go out and buy drugs with 3 weeks left in the season. Another distraction that was not of his making.

Is he a great HC, I don't think so. You don't coach in the College ranks for 40 years and only make HC once unless it is clear you are better suited to be a position coach or Coordinator. But he stepped up when UM needed him, kept a team with many off-field distractions and on-field issues in a position to win all of its games. He deserves credit for that.

This is all true, with exception to the OC position.

As I've said for a loooong time, Rosie was NOT brought in to run the offense.
Robin Pflugrad ran the offense, just like Chip Kelly does at Oregon.
The Oregon-style spread was Pflu's baby, and it's been painfully obvious no one on the staff knew how to run it. At all. Rosie was here for two months before Pflu was fired. There's no way he picked everything up that fast.

Our offense is probably more dependent on calling the correct play than any other offense in the big sky. It's all about creating mismatches and taking advantage of space and the numbers game. You dictate what the defense wants to do, and then take advantage of what they're not doing. And if you aren't calling the correct plays to set up the mismatches, it doesn't f***[*] work, ala exhibit A: this whole goddamn season.

We got yards because we have a fantastic offensive line and great athletes. We didn't score because the gameplay was all wrong, and teams had an easier time defending it more often than not.
Not to mention we got stuck playing our third and forth string QBs, although I think Pflu running the offense would have made them (especially McKinney) look much much better.

My dad texted me the day Pflu got fired letting me know, and my initial thought was "well, there goes the offense". I thought I was being melodramatic at the time, but looks about right, right now.

And yeah, our D didn't perform nearly as well as we expected, but I'd be willing to bet they would have looked much better if the offense didn't fail on 5-10 straight drives in a row every single game.

So yeah, distractions definitely killed this team, but the death blow was firing Pflu. That was by far the worst thing that happened, in this Griz fan's opinion.

exactly correct! fantastarific post....

 

[CV Griz Fan]

As pointed out before the season started, there was a reason that he received a 2 year contract and it was not because UM asked for it, it is because he asked for it. He knew the season COULD likey turn out the way it did and he wanted the security of not getting thrown under the bus (like many Griz fans are already doing). THIS IS A GUESS, UM also understood there was a chance of some type of sanctions being handed down after the season that would affect its ability to recruit a new head coach. They wanted to make sure they had a HC in place and did not want Mick to just retire after the season if UM was facing some type of sanctions. This gives them another year of continuity to have a HC in place and then can start recruiting next year hoping that any NCAA issue is a one year deal or UM will at least be one year closer to having whatever it is over.

As for Mick, many posters are this board are forgetting that the Griz DC and OC left before the Sh*t storm. Plu hired the replacements. Coordinators are a huge part of a teams suceess. I think too much blame is being put on Mick. It is easy to say this is the same team Plu would have had except JJ, but that is not true. All the outside distractions take a toll. Had Plu stayed on that would have been one less distraction than what Mick dealt with. If JJ was still on the team that is two less distraction (and the main ones) that Mick would not have to deal with (of course he wouldn't be the HC, but you get the point). Finally, Mick didn't go out and buy drugs with 3 weeks left in the season. Another distraction that was not of his making.

Is he a great HC, I don't think so. You don't coach in the College ranks for 40 years and only make HC once unless it is clear you are better suited to be a position coach or Coordinator. But he stepped up when UM needed him, kept a team with many off-field distractions and on-field issues in a position to win all of its games. He deserves credit for that.

This is all true, with exception to the OC position.

As I've said for a loooong time, Rosie was NOT brought in to run the offense.
Robin Pflugrad ran the offense, just like Chip Kelly does at Oregon.
The Oregon-style spread was Pflu's baby, and it's been painfully obvious no one on the staff knew how to run it. At all. Rosie was here for two months before Pflu was fired. There's no way he picked everything up that fast.

Our offense is probably more dependent on calling the correct play than any other offense in the big sky. It's all about creating mismatches and taking advantage of space and the numbers game. You dictate what the defense wants to do, and then take advantage of what they're not doing. And if you aren't calling the correct plays to set up the mismatches, it doesn't f***[*] work, ala exhibit A: this whole goddamn season.

We got yards because we have a fantastic offensive line and great athletes. We didn't score because the gameplay was all wrong, and teams had an easier time defending it more often than not.
Not to mention we got stuck playing our third and forth string QBs, although I think Pflu running the offense would have made them (especially McKinney) look much much better.

My dad texted me the day Pflu got fired letting me know, and my initial thought was "well, there goes the offense". I thought I was being melodramatic at the time, but looks about right, right now.

And yeah, our D didn't perform nearly as well as we expected, but I'd be willing to bet they would have looked much better if the offense didn't fail on 5-10 straight drives in a row every single game.

So yeah, distractions definitely killed this team, but the death blow was firing Pflu. That was by far the worst thing that happened, in this Griz fan's opinion.

exactly correct! fantastarific post....

I agree also. Losing Pflu was huge. Then you add JJ to the list, that was just too much to overcome.

 

[grizare#1]

Our coaching problems are simple, we coached not to loose instead of coaching to win!!!!

 

[becker2117]

As pointed out before the season started, there was a reason that he received a 2 year contract and it was not because UM asked for it, it is because he asked for it. He knew the season COULD likey turn out the way it did and he wanted the security of not getting thrown under the bus (like many Griz fans are already doing). THIS IS A GUESS, UM also understood there was a chance of some type of sanctions being handed down after the season that would affect its ability to recruit a new head coach. They wanted to make sure they had a HC in place and did not want Mick to just retire after the season if UM was facing some type of sanctions. This gives them another year of continuity to have a HC in place and then can start recruiting next year hoping that any NCAA issue is a one year deal or UM will at least be one year closer to having whatever it is over.

As for Mick, many posters are this board are forgetting that the Griz DC and OC left before the Sh*t storm. Plu hired the replacements. Coordinators are a huge part of a teams suceess. I think too much blame is being put on Mick. It is easy to say this is the same team Plu would have had except JJ, but that is not true. All the outside distractions take a toll. Had Plu stayed on that would have been one less distraction than what Mick dealt with. If JJ was still on the team that is two less distraction (and the main ones) that Mick would not have to deal with (of course he wouldn't be the HC, but you get the point). Finally, Mick didn't go out and buy drugs with 3 weeks left in the season. Another distraction that was not of his making.

Is he a great HC, I don't think so. You don't coach in the College ranks for 40 years and only make HC once unless it is clear you are better suited to be a position coach or Coordinator. But he stepped up when UM needed him, kept a team with many off-field distractions and on-field issues in a position to win all of its games. He deserves credit for that.

This is all true, with exception to the OC position.

As I've said for a loooong time, Rosie was NOT brought in to run the offense.
Robin Pflugrad ran the offense, just like Chip Kelly does at Oregon.
The Oregon-style spread was Pflu's baby, and it's been painfully obvious no one on the staff knew how to run it. At all. Rosie was here for two months before Pflu was fired. There's no way he picked everything up that fast.

Our offense is probably more dependent on calling the correct play than any other offense in the big sky. It's all about creating mismatches and taking advantage of space and the numbers game. You dictate what the defense wants to do, and then take advantage of what they're not doing. And if you aren't calling the correct plays to set up the mismatches, it doesn't f***[*] work, ala exhibit A: this whole goddamn season.

We got yards because we have a fantastic offensive line and great athletes. We didn't score because the gameplay was all wrong, and teams had an easier time defending it more often than not.
Not to mention we got stuck playing our third and forth string QBs, although I think Pflu running the offense would have made them (especially McKinney) look much much better.

My dad texted me the day Pflu got fired letting me know, and my initial thought was "well, there goes the offense". I thought I was being melodramatic at the time, but looks about right, right now.

And yeah, our D didn't perform nearly as well as we expected, but I'd be willing to bet they would have looked much better if the offense didn't fail on 5-10 straight drives in a row every single game.

So yeah, distractions definitely killed this team, but the death blow was firing Pflu. That was by far the worst thing that happened, in this Griz fan's opinion.

this is just a really really good post! one question, didnt J. Smith do alot of the playcalling aswell? i suspose i could be mistaken but i thought he did...but that is a moot point, your post was spot on

 

[Cats2506]

A major part of the head coach's job is to get kids to focus despite outside distractions, it's a valuable life skill that even average coaches can instill to their players.

This team obviously failed miserably at that task.

And obviously our HC isn't even average as a coach. And you want to give him credit because he wasn't the cause of the distractions, and because he knew we would suck this year so he got an extra year on contract. wow.

You don't know what you're talking about. The team and coaches did a terrific job focusing on the task at hand and playing under tough circumstances, including without their Payton Award list qb.

is JJ still on the Payton list ?

 

[becker2117]

A major part of the head coach's job is to get kids to focus despite outside distractions, it's a valuable life skill that even average coaches can instill to their players.

This team obviously failed miserably at that task.

And obviously our HC isn't even average as a coach. And you want to give him credit because he wasn't the cause of the distractions, and because he knew we would suck this year so he got an extra year on contract. wow.

You don't know what you're talking about. The team and coaches did a terrific job focusing on the task at hand and playing under tough circumstances, including without their Payton Award list qb.

is JJ still on the Payton list ?

next year when it first comes out he will be might be

 

[uofmman1122]

As pointed out before the season started, there was a reason that he received a 2 year contract and it was not because UM asked for it, it is because he asked for it. He knew the season COULD likey turn out the way it did and he wanted the security of not getting thrown under the bus (like many Griz fans are already doing). THIS IS A GUESS, UM also understood there was a chance of some type of sanctions being handed down after the season that would affect its ability to recruit a new head coach. They wanted to make sure they had a HC in place and did not want Mick to just retire after the season if UM was facing some type of sanctions. This gives them another year of continuity to have a HC in place and then can start recruiting next year hoping that any NCAA issue is a one year deal or UM will at least be one year closer to having whatever it is over.

As for Mick, many posters are this board are forgetting that the Griz DC and OC left before the Sh*t storm. Plu hired the replacements. Coordinators are a huge part of a teams suceess. I think too much blame is being put on Mick. It is easy to say this is the same team Plu would have had except JJ, but that is not true. All the outside distractions take a toll. Had Plu stayed on that would have been one less distraction than what Mick dealt with. If JJ was still on the team that is two less distraction (and the main ones) that Mick would not have to deal with (of course he wouldn't be the HC, but you get the point). Finally, Mick didn't go out and buy drugs with 3 weeks left in the season. Another distraction that was not of his making.

Is he a great HC, I don't think so. You don't coach in the College ranks for 40 years and only make HC once unless it is clear you are better suited to be a position coach or Coordinator. But he stepped up when UM needed him, kept a team with many off-field distractions and on-field issues in a position to win all of its games. He deserves credit for that.

This is all true, with exception to the OC position.

As I've said for a loooong time, Rosie was NOT brought in to run the offense.
Robin Pflugrad ran the offense, just like Chip Kelly does at Oregon.
The Oregon-style spread was Pflu's baby, and it's been painfully obvious no one on the staff knew how to run it. At all. Rosie was here for two months before Pflu was fired. There's no way he picked everything up that fast.

Our offense is probably more dependent on calling the correct play than any other offense in the big sky. It's all about creating mismatches and taking advantage of space and the numbers game. You dictate what the defense wants to do, and then take advantage of what they're not doing. And if you aren't calling the correct plays to set up the mismatches, it doesn't f***[*] work, ala exhibit A: this whole goddamn season.

We got yards because we have a fantastic offensive line and great athletes. We didn't score because the gameplay was all wrong, and teams had an easier time defending it more often than not.
Not to mention we got stuck playing our third and forth string QBs, although I think Pflu running the offense would have made them (especially McKinney) look much much better.

My dad texted me the day Pflu got fired letting me know, and my initial thought was "well, there goes the offense". I thought I was being melodramatic at the time, but looks about right, right now.

And yeah, our D didn't perform nearly as well as we expected, but I'd be willing to bet they would have looked much better if the offense didn't fail on 5-10 straight drives in a row every single game.

So yeah, distractions definitely killed this team, but the death blow was firing Pflu. That was by far the worst thing that happened, in this Griz fan's opinion.

this is just a really really good post! one question, didnt J. Smith do alot of the playcalling aswell? i suspose i could be mistaken but i thought he did...but that is a moot point, your post was spot on

That could be true, but as I understand it smith was always upstairs looking over the whole field. Pflu called the plays, smith took a look and saw what was up on defense, and sometimes called down to the field to tell him wait, that doesn't look good, and then you saw the Griz all look to the sideline for the call. But especially when we were in the hurry up, Pflu was leading the offense.

Side note: we were going hurry up in the first quarter yesterday, and then it seemed to me like it just....stopped. Is that the case, or was I fooled by the radio broadcast?