Michigan Football, Team 138, 2017 Season.

[Rocky Bleier]

Interesting. If true.

http://gridironnow.com/jim-harbaugh-...staff-shakeup/

[Jeff Buchanan]

Interesting.

If you follow sports in Michigan, you know who Greg Henson is. I did not know he was associated (as a contributor) to GridIron Now (GN).

Don't know who his sources are either. Is Henson's hypothesis reading in between the lines? Maybe it is maybe it's not. At this point, I'd not put too much stock in his reporting. Click bait.

[Hannibal]

He's gotten a couple of pretty big things right though before they went mainstream.

[Jeff Buchanan]

He's gotten a couple of pretty big things right though before they went mainstream.

Agree ....... I'd wait for this to be further validated by other reports from other observers though.

[froot loops]

If it is true, you won't get any confirmation from media close to the program. Henson has some connections. He is a muckraker. This strikes me as a story that if true would be steered clear of.

[froot loops]

Henson was one of two guys that had Harbaugh to Michigan along with Jeff Moss.

[Hannibal]

He had Hoke to Michigan pretty early too if I remember right.

[hack]

Henson has enough of a track record to be listened to. Not that he's never going to be wrong, but there's reason to believe he might be right.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Let's look at it from a purely practical standpoint.

It makes sense; it fits the narrative that HARBAUGH!!! is interested in winning and will do what it takes to get there.

OTH, Pep Hamilton was hired as a Passing Game coordinator and QBs coach, not an OC as Henson seems to want to be steering readers.

He also suggests that in 2016 Drevno was the primary play caller; I don't think that's how it worked but then again I don't know. However, if JH was dissatisfied with the offense and if Drevno was the guy calling it, why did he just get a new contract. Something doesn't fit here.

Look, it's been pretty well established that the problem with the offense was that the OL got hammered and so did Speight. As the season wore on after Iowa, Speight got worse. I'd say most of that was on the implications of the injury and Speight's fear of getting pounded.

The run game suffered because, well, we've beaten that one to death but the Speight thing contributed. No run game, of course the passing game is going to suffer.

If JH had thought Drevno did a shitty job coaching the OL then why, again, did he get a new contract.

That Drevno is still on staff with the same title, that tells me JH is satisfied with his results. That Fisch and Wheatly are gone may be due to some discord or poor results, it may not. Doesn't really matter.

It's a Henson's story that happens to have a little juice. Fits his MO.

My take is this: Harbaugh didn't have any sit downs with these guys where he told them to look for another job because he didn't like the job either of them did. My bet is that both Fish and Wheatly felt they'd be better off in the jobs they were offered and ended up with and Harbaugh did whatever he could to help them do that.

Moving along, nothing to see.

[froot loops]

The Hamilton hire somewhat fits that scenario, but if you read this story you would think Pep Hamilton would be some aerial maestro. To me the passing game may become more rudimentary with Hamilton if we go by his reputation in the NFL.

[Rocky Bleier]

Fisch was never a long term guy. I thought Wheatley would stay as long as his son was in Ann Arbor.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Fisch was never a long term guy. I thought Wheatley would stay as long as his son was in Ann Arbor.

Yeah, that kind of feeds the story that the departures were not some kind of engineered deal as Henson suggests. Hamilton then is nothing more than a one for one swap with Fisch. Can't see how that hurts Wheatly's feelings and prompted a rift and then his departure.

The lateral to the same position in the NFL though is a little odd. I can see Wheatly being disappointed he didn't get the money he might have wanted at M and the Jags were willing to pay him more. That's just a business decision on the part of both parties though. No hard feelings likely over that.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Just read at mgoblog that Grant Newsome "has a minimal chance of playing" this fall according to Lorentz at 247 (pay-walled).

Couple this with the mention that Deveon Smith "may be the best player in the East West Shrine game" ..... when he's running behind a decent OL (my comment added).

I just don't think M will get any better than they are right now and will probably get worse in 2017 until the OL is fixed ...... and that is a project of longer duration than any one of us would hope it to be given what has transpired in recruiting. There really is no reasonable explanation of why the OL has been a decade long problem in the making and continues to be the Achilles heel of the football program.

I'll grant that we can make some pretty sound observations and give opinions but that's as far as it goes. As outsiders, we really don't know.

Very discouraging.

[Hannibal]

Who do you put at LT next year? Filiaga? Or the year after?

[Jeff Buchanan]

Who do you put at LT next year? Filiaga? Or the year after?

It's going to require some shifting that is not ideal ...... something like:

Bredeson/Kugler/Cole/Onwenu/Somebody.

That somebody at RT could be Filiaga.