Brian Cook is widely regarded as one of the top contributors in the blogistan. If one is able & interested enough to get around his Michigan Man edges, one can get a lot out of his abundant offerings. I'm wondering if now might be such a time?

Cook on January 11, 2011:

This is a stupid hire. It will always be as stupid hire and David Brandon just led the worst coaching search in the history of Michigan football. He managed to chase off half of an already iffy recruiting class, hired a Plan C coach on January 11th, probably ensured the transfer of the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, and restricted his "national search" to people who'd spent at least five years in Ann Arbor. Michigan just gave themselves a year of USC-level scholarship reduction voluntarily.

Funny the similarities and opposites to the PSU search in that paragraph. I'm not quite sure how you would finish the sentence: 'Joyner/Lubert restricted their national search to people who'd....'

Anyway, a lot has happened for the Michigan program between then and this week, namely an 11-2 season and a Sugar Bowl victory, but here is Cook on January 4th, 2012:

I'm thinking of Martin and Koger and Hemingway and Molk and Van Bergen and how there is no thought of what could have been, no thought of opportunities missed or goals fallen short of. Just that they stayed, and they made a BCS bowl, and they were champions of it. In the end, the seniors of Team 132 got what they came for. Now they will break the last link on the chain and tell those who follow they can make it anew.

Anyway...