David Brandon has put his stamp on Michigan athletics, and not just the football program.
Anything Brandon said or did since he was hired as Michigan's athletics director last March was just a warm-up for his press conference Wednesday to announce the firing of Rich Rodriguez as head football coach.
Brandon's perspective on football's role at Michigan and his vision for its future was the over-riding theme Wednesday. His tone was sharp and decisive in describing what he wants from a head coach and the football program, and its importance to the university.
Brandon calling football "the front door" of the university in establishing its brand on a national level should be remembered. Any damage done to the brand, either by a quirky head coach, a losing record or sanctions for violating NCAA rules, hurt the brand.
Michigan is an upper-tier academic institution among schools with major athletic programs, but its public image is tied largely to its football program. And that image has a bearing on enrollment, endowments and donors to athletics.
The chaos and turmoil of the last three years under Rodriguez, and the back-biting in the Michigan fraternity, have lowered Michigan's image.
Brandon is operating from a different point on the balance beam than Bill Martin, his predecessor, did when he hired Rodriguez.
Martin knew his tenure was ending as athletics director. If the Rodriguez firing failed, someone else would have to clean up the mess.
Martin, who took the Michigan AD job in 2000, announced his retirement on Oct. 21, 2009, effective Sept. 4, 2010.
Although his detractors called him "Sailboat Willie" because of his sailing background, Martin was a skilled business man who pushed through massive upgrades in buildings and facilities and operated Michigan's athletic program at a financial surplus.
But Martin wasn't going to have to live with the Rodriguez hiring if it failed. And fail it did.
It's different for Brandon. It's one thing to have a failure at the end of your tenure. It's another to have it hanging over you every day of your working life.
As important as hiring the next football coach is to Michigan, it's equally important to Brandon, who qualifies as a "Michigan Man" and would be haunted by failure.
A former Michigan football player relayed this story about attending a party at Brandon's mansion. (I've never been there, but the way the Brandon digs were described to me qualifies as a mansion.)
The player was with his fiancee and told Brandon and his wife, Jan, that they'd set a wedding date. As the couple was leaving, Jan stopped them and produced two bottles of expensive champagne as an early wedding gift.
A neat touch.
Desmond Howard was on the mark with his comment that it isn't necessary to hire a "Michigan man." What's important is doing things the Michigan way.
Bo Schembechler is the greatest example of that. He was head coach at Miami (Ohio) when he was hired in 1969. Bo established the Michigan way template.
Jim Harbaugh had to get the word when Brandon said Michigan should up the ante to get in line with what major programs are paying top coaches. In that regard, Michigan has operated with a level of arrogance, thinking a coach should take less money for the privilege of coaching Michigan.
Brandon repeated often Wednesday how he and others have talked to Harbaugh, and that his personal opinion is that Harbaugh is headed to the NFL.
Making Harbaugh the highest-paid football coach in Michigan history
