The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday Novermber 29, 2007- 5A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, November 29, 2007 - 5A
Sleeper pick boasts pedigree
mm, Michigan hiring
a relatively young,
relatively unknown
coach from
a school in
Ohio.
Remind
you of any y
other situ-
ation in the
Wolverines'
past? m (t
OK, JACK
before you HERMAN
attack me
with your Pro-Kelly
maize and
blue torches,
I under-
stand Cincinnati Brian Kelly
won't be the next Bo Schem-
bechler.
Then again, who will?
Given Kelly's success as a
head coach over the last 17
years, he's as good a choice as
any of the other realistic candi-
dates for the Michigan vacancy.
Some of you may be skepti-
cal, considering Kelly amassed
most of his 146-54-2 record at
Division-II Grand Valley State.
But his team's level of domi-
nance over his final three years
would have been impressive
even for a Pee-Wee football
coach.
His 2001 squad set the all-
time Division-II record by
scoring 58.4 points per game.
His 2002 and 2003 teams won
National Championships. In
those three years combined, he
lost just two of 43 games.
And since leaving, he's prov-
en he can coach at the Division-
I level.
In three years at Central
Michigan, heaosted a 19-16
record and led the Chippewas
to their first winning season
in seven years. (If you recall,
current Michigan offensive
coordinator and head coach
candidate Mike DeBord also
coached at Central Michigan.
His record: 12 wins, 34 losses
and one resignation. You be the
judge.)
He's already made a huge
impact at Cincinnati, too. And
it's not just the team's 9-3
record. Orthat it made the top
25 for the first time since 1976.
He has people camping for
Cincinnati tickets to ... football
games?!
A high-powered spread
offense helps (sounds nice,
doesn't it?), but so does a coach
with a politician's love for the
people. The son of an alderman
and himself a former presiden-
tial campaign worker, Kelly
knows how to motivate players,
fans and recruits.
"He's a salesman is what he
is," Grand Valley State coach
Chuck Martin told ESPN.com.
"Whether it's Grand Valley
State or Central Michigan or
Cincinnati, he has kids believ-
ing they can move mountains.
His No. 1 strength is offense.
His No. 2 strength is how good
he is politically at getting peo-
ple to believe in his program.
He sells it door to door, which
not a lot of coaches will do."
And if he's able to sell his
platform at schools like those,
imagine what he could do with
a powerful political machine
like Michigan behind him.
Kelly might not be the most
recognizable name on the can-
didates list. But I have the feel-
ing we won't be saying "Brian
Who?" once he's coaching.
- Herman can be reached
at jaherman@umich.edu.
He's good, but not for Blue
Brian Kelly's coaching prowess is undeniable, but he remains a dark-horse candidate to fill the Lloyd Carr vacancy.
The dark horse
Name: Brian Kelly
Education: Assumption Col-
lege
Experience: defensive
backs coach, Grand Valley State
(1987-88); defensive coordina-
tor, Grand
Valley State Third in a
(1989-90);
head coach, series of
Grand Valley profiles of
State (1991-
2003); head coaching
coach, Cen- candidates.
tral Michigan
(2004-06);
head coach, Cincinnati (2007-
present).
Pros: Kelly would bring
fresh blood and an explosive
offensive philosophy to a pro-
gram that quite frankly needs
it. He's been successful every
location on his coaching tour,
making Grand Valley State into
a national powerhouse and
turning usual doormats Central
Michigan and Cincinnati into
conference contenders. He has
a squeaky-clean image in terms
of recruiting, though that might
partially be because of the
smaller stages most of his teams
have played on.
Cons: Kelly doesn't have any
big-conference college football
experience. Even though he's
experienced success every-
where he's coached, it's been
against relatively weak compe-
tition. There are also questions
about whether or not he'd stay
at Michigan, since he has a rep-
utation as someone who sticks
around only until a better offer
comes. A racist remark Kelly
made while coaching in Central
Michigan certainly wouldn't fly
in Ann Arbor, either.
Why he'll get it: There's a
lot of pressure from fans and
boosters to get the Michigan
football program up to speed
with the rest of the nation.
Kelly's innovative offense has
had success everywhere he has
brought it. Bringing in a lesser
known coach who had his start-
ed in a smaller division seemed
to work for Ohio State, so why
not for Michigan?
Why he won't: Two words:
Les Miles. All indications are
that Miles is the top candidate
on most people in power's list.
And while Kelly is on the rise as
one of the best up-and-coming
coaches in the nation, he prob-
ably isn't ready for Big Ten ball
just yet. Michigan State passed
him up for Mark Dantonio, and
Michiganverywell could do the
same for a candidate it feels is
better qualified.
What people are saying:
"When he first walked into our
new meeting room, you could
feel this energy. There was just
this spark about him. The sec-
ond he started speaking, the
excitement in his voice was just
awesome. He said, 'My goal
here isn't to rebuild, it's to win
a Big East championship.' He
basically said, 'I'm a winner.'
" - Cincinnati safety Haruki
Nakamura
'll give you this much: Brian
Kelly is a great coach.
He turned Grand Valley
State into a Division-II power-
house, win-
ning two .
National.
Champion-p
ships.
Then he
made Cen-
tral Michi-
gan, a team
that man- .
aged just DANIEL
12 wins in BROMWICH
its previous-
four sea- Anti-Kelly
sons under
coach Mike
DeBord (yes, the same one), a
respectable program. After a
turmoil-filled first year, Kelly
posted winning records in his
final two seasons and took the
Chippewas to the Motor City
Bowl in 2006, where they won.
And his first season at Cin-
cinnati has been impressive as
well. He's led the Bearcats to
their first nine-win season since
1953, winning games at Rutgers
and South Florida along the
way.
Kelly is known as a phenom-
enal Xs-and-Os guy and an
impressive coach in general.
He's proven that much, and for-
mer players and coaches have
sung his praises.
But he's not the right guy for
Michigan.
He has no attachment to
the program. Kelly grew up
and went to school in Massa-
chusetts. He's never played or
coached in Ann Arbor. As such,
Kelly doesn't have the under-
standing of Michigan tradition
that other qualified candidates
do (see: Les Miles).
Kelly doesn't necessarily
want to coach the Wolverines.
I mean, sure, he'd jump at the
opportunity, but only because
it's a better job than the one he
has. Compare that to other can-
didates who have openly said
they are defined by Michigan
and that it would be a dream
come true to return (see: Les
Miles).
If he did get the job, Kelly
wouldn't stay for long. As some-
one who is known to have his
eyes on the NFL, he'd leave at
the first good offer he gets. For
a program that's had just three
coaches in the last 40 years, a
short-term fix shouldn't excite
Athletic Director Bill Martin.
Other candidates have had their
eyes on the Michigan since the
day they started coaching and
would be happy to coach here
for as long as they could (see:
Les Miles).
Martin said that he'd like his
next coach to be a Lloyd Carr
clone. While there aren't many
coaches out there who could
emulate Carr's class and loyal-
ty, Kelly is far from it. He lied to
his players, coaching staff and
fans at the end of2006, issuing a
statement that he was staying at
Central Michigan and looking
forward to the Motor City Bowl
after'he didn't get the Michigan
State or Iowa State head coach-
ing jobs. But just three days
after the Chippewas' final reg-
ular-season game, Kelly accept-
ed the Cincinnati job and didn't
even stay to coach the bowl.
Other coaches have remained
loyal to their team even with
their dream job available, even
coming close to tears toward
the end of the season when
saying how much they loved
their team (OK, maybe just Les
Miles).
Kelly is a great coach, and
he'll almost surely continue his
success at Cincinnati and at all
his future jobs. But Michigan
demands more from its head
football coach, and Kelly can't
give the Wolverines what they
need.
- Bromwich can be reached
at dabromwi@umich.edu.
Campus vibe reflects hot run
By NATE SANDALS
Daily Sports Editor
When Michigan coach Red
Berenson suited up for the Wolver-
ines, students lined up on Hill Street
. waiting to pack The Coliseum for
hockey games.
In Berenson's senior season
(1961-62), Michigan went 15-1-0 to
begin the season.
The best start since then?
This year's second-ranked Wol-
verines, who currently hold a 13-1-0
overall record.
With the fast start and especial-
ly last weekend's College Hockey
Showcase sweep, the team is seeing
campus enthusiasm grow to new
levels.
"I saw in the newspaper that we
had the front page," freshman Carl
Hagelin said. "A lot of classmates
came to me and talked about the
games."
It's no secret student season-tick-
et sales have decreased in recent
years. While opposing goalies are
still welcomed with "sieve" taunts,
the student section is not as full or
as loud as it was in the late 1990s
and early 2000s.
One reason for the decrease is
a recent string of relatively disap-
pointing seasons. Since 2003, the
Wolverines haven't made a Frozen
Four - the measuring stick for suc-
cess in Michigan hockey fans' eyes.
"We'vekindofbeendisappointing
the past three or four years," senior
assistant captain Chad Kolarik said.
"We haven't won (a National Cham-
pionship) going on 10 years, so that
doesn't surprise me."
But riding a 12-game winning
streak, the Wolverines are begin-
ning to see the campus come around
to hockey once again.
"You get a little extra recognition
when you're winning," Berenson
said. "Now that the students are
back (from Thanksgiving break),
I think they'll get into it pretty
good."
Berenson expects the conclusion
of football season and the addition
of video highlights from games to
the athletic department's website,
mgoblue.com, to spur more campus
interest in the team.
While players and coaches don't
expect student participation to
reach the frenzied level of football
season, they hope the team's early
season triumphs will draw more
fans to Yost Ice Arena.
"It's huge for us, just getting
momentum and having the fans
on our side," Kolarik said. "It's the
sixth man out there."
The past two seasons, Michigan
has uncharacteristically struggled
at Yost, losing five home contests
each year.
While the Wolverines have
played at home just six times so far
(and won all six), the rest of the sea-
son offers many opportunities for
the Wolverines to show off for the
Yost faithful.
They intend to do just that.
"That's one of our team's goals
- you have to win at home, that's
where it all starts," Berenson said.
"That's your best-case scenario:
your home rink, your home locker
room, your home fans."
Freshman Carl Hagelin has noticed the increased attention No. 2 Michigna is receiving throughout campus.
Michigan faces biggest challenge of year, physical defense in Aggies
By ALEX PROSPERI
Daily Sports Writer
Texas A&M is known for its intense fan
base.
But the 15th-ranked Aggies' defense is
what could give the Michigan women's bas-
ketball team the most trouble.
"They're all up in you," Michigan coach
Kevin Borseth said. "They don't let you run
what you want to run. They just make life
very, very difficult for you."
The Aggies (4-1) return five impact
players from last year's Big 12 Conference
Championship team, four of whom started
20-plus games.
Texas A&M's physicality could give the
Wolverines trouble. Though Michigan (4-1)
can counter with center Krista Phillips, the
Aggies are faster and more athletic than the
Wolverines.
"We saw the things that they do on vid-
eotape," Btorseth said. "We have tobe able to
play at a very elevated pace for an extended
period of time against a very physical and
mature team."
Junior Jessica Minnfield will be a big
part of Michigan's plan to break down the
Aggie pressure.
As the team's primary ball-handler, Min-
nfield's decision making and court aware-
ness will be crucial.
The Aggie defense has forced its oppo-
nents to turn the ball over four .times to
every one assist - a startling ratio. Michi-
gan will be pleased if Minnfield can live up
to her 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
"They all better be on top of their game,"
Borseth said. "When she (Minnfield) gets
rid of it, they're not going to let her get it
back. The other kids have to be able to do
their share as well. All of us need tobe able
to share a little bit more of the responsibil-
ity of taking care of it and not just giving it
to one person."
If the Wolverines have a chance to set
their offense, Michigan's post players will
spend less time on the blocks and more time
setting screens.
"One of the big points against Texas A&M
is screening and getting our guards open,"
Phillips said.
In Michigan's lone loss, Iowa State's
Allison Lacey (13 points per game) scored a
career-high 35 against the Wolverines.
So Michigan will have to pay close atten-
tion to Texas A&M's top-scorer Takia
Starks, who is averaging15.2 ppg.
"I think we learned a big lesson," Phillips
said. "We're not going to let anyone get hot.
We're going to put a hand in someone's face
and protect the shot."
If Michigan keeps a leash on Starks and
takes care of the basketball, it has a shot to
come out of College Station with a win.
ri