Monday, April 2, 2007

My pick for a new coach....

Not that it matters in the slightest. I really don't have any problem with the known candidates (Merchant, Miller, Borseth & Balcomb). Initially, Melanie Balcomb was my first choice, simply because of her experience as a head coach in a "power" conference. I'm inclined to believe that one of the things that caused problems for Cheryl Burnett was underestimating the athleticism of the Big 10 and what that meant for 16 games in conference play. That wouldn't be an issue for Balcomb, though it might not for any of the others either.

Unfortunately, Michigan needs more than a winning coach, though that would be an excellent start. This is a program that really needs to be built almost from the ground up. There is a rather limited tradition of success, and not exactly a large fan base. Competition for entertainment dollars (and even people's attention) is much greater in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti/metro Detroit than it is in Green Bay or Bowling Green. There is no doubt some of the support (new practice facility?) has to come from the Athletic Department, but the coach plays a role too.

To be honest, I don't know that much about Balcomb's history at Xavier or the state of the program while she was there. She might still be the best candidate. Borseth appears to have had some success at Green Bay, as Miller has at BG. Merchant and Eastern Michigan have struggled with attendance, despite having the new convocation center.

In other words, this is a really long way of saying "I don't know".

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