Michigan Football Just Can't Have A Quiet Offseason
I love college football. I think most people reading this blog love college football in some capacity. During the season, I'm all in. College football season is easily one of the best seasons there is. Everyone seems invested. Everyone seems engaged. But college football offseason? That annoys me to no end, and a big reason for that is because I'm a Michigan fan.
Michigan football is simply allergic to having a quiet offseason. They're incapable of it. And sometimes, that's a good thing. I'll deal with a hectic offseason if it means that you're signing the best recruits or hiring the best coordinators. Recently, star running back Blake Corum announced that he's returning for his senior season. That's fantastic news. If my calculations are correct, Michigan will have 15 of their 22 starters returning next season. That's amazing. I'd love to discuss that, but Michigan just can't seem to avoid offseason nonsense. It's like they're addicted to it. I'm willing to accept that as long as Jim Harbaugh is at Michigan (and as long as he keeps winning at Michigan), he's going to flirt with the idea of going back to the NFL. It's just in his nature. I don't think he can avoid it. Every member of the Michigan media can circle those first two weeks of January every year as "Harbaugh watch." It's practically a national holiday at this point. Some like that drama. I'm not one of those people but to each their own.
Last night, the university put Michigan's co-offensive coordinator Matt Weiss on leave. He is currently under investigation for a "report of computer access crimes." I'm not even going to speculate on what that is. The report says it's not a federal offense, meaning it rules out all the REALLY bad stuff that one can do on a computer. At the same time, why? WHY? Can't everybody just chill out for 5 seconds and let us breathe? If this was a program in the midst of tremendous tumult the way it was in the Rich Rod/Hoke eras, I could understand it, but that's far from the case right now. I know the TCU loss was miserable and inexcusable. However, Michigan is still one of the top programs in the country, and they're going to come into next season with National Championship aspirations. I'd love for that to be the central focus, yet the circus continues.
From a football standpoint, I don't think there are any Michigan fans who are sweating out the possibility of losing Matt Weiss. He and Sherrone Moore did a fine job last season, but the offensive scheme is going to remain the same, and ultimately, while he may deny it, it's Harbaugh who has the final say in what gets called and what doesn't. The whole thing is just a nusance because by the time next season rolls around, everyone will have cleaned their hands of all of the nonsense. Michigan will once again take the field ready to defend their Big Ten Championship. Moments like this have little long-term impact on the program, but it's annoying. It'd be nice if they could lay low for a while.