Manning Hired

Sorry I didn't see this posted so I thought I would. SIAP.

From ESPN Insider article...


Michigan needed to make the right hire after losing defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery to Oklahoma if for nothing more than the recruiting implications. It appears the coaching staff has done just that with newly minted assistant coach Roy Manning.

Manning, who played linebacker for Michigan, started out as a grad assistant for Cincinnati in 2010, then spent the 2011 season at Michigan under Brady Hoke before returning to Cincinnati and eventually landing at Northern Illinois.

Manning, 31, provides some youth to the coaching staff that will serve well on the recruiting trail. The ability to relate to prospects and their interests is a big deal that can't be faked and is something that will definitely help the Wolverines going forward.

Manning is also a Michigan native, and already understands what Hoke is looking for at Michigan from a recruiting perspective. There will be little transition for Manning since he is already familiar with the staff and how things work in Ann Arbor.

Now with ties to Michigan, Ohio and Illinois from his recent coaching stops, Manning can be useful in the Midwest almost immediately as well. Montgomery's main recruiting area was the South, so it will be interesting to see how the coaching staff structures the geographic recruiting areas. Regardless of where he recruits, Manning should be able to provide a dose of energy with the targets he is assigned.

On top of his youth and personality, Manning played in the NFL with the Packers, Texans and Jaguars as recently as 2007. That's another selling point that he'll have when out recruiting for Michigan. He has been to the league and knows what it takes to get there.

Montgomery was a young, energetic guy who could relate to recruits, families and players alike, and Manning should be a good replacement for Michigan going forward.

He seems like a good fit for recruiting.

fishgoblue22 wrote:

He seems like a good fit for recruiting.

One thing is that Montgomery had nice ties to Florida and some of the southeast. He was comfortable and successful down there. Manning admittedly doesn't have those ties but he is familiar with the Midwest so at least there is that.

The one thing this article failed to mention is that this should mean that Mattison will focus solely on the D Line which is great for recruiting because what recruit (with any amount of knowledge) wouldn't think twice if they had the chance to be coached by GM.

On the surface at least, I like the hire. Plus if there are slow recruits we could say that you could play for a relative of Peyton Manning....

2ndComingOfBo wrote:

On the surface at least, I like the hire. Plus if there are slow recruits we could say that you could play for a relative of Peyton Manning....

Yes but inversely they would also be playing for a relative of Eli.

Eli is one goofy looking dude.

I always thought Eli looked like the older brother from The Wonder Years.

sandyeggo_blue wrote:

2ndComingOfBo wrote:

On the surface at least, I like the hire. Plus if there are slow recruits we could say that you could play for a relative of Peyton Manning....

Yes but inversely they would also be playing for a relative of Eli.

Eli is one goofy looking dude.

A goofy looking TWO-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION dude....

They'd have to be really slow. I'm talking worse than Manningham slow. He's not exactly the correct pigmentation to be closely related to the Manning brothers...

http://www.mgoblue.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/030413aaa.html

Well, it was an idea. Just not a very good one.

Superbly-written article. The part that struck me most quickly and profoundly was this:

Manning, 31, provides some youth to the coaching staff that will serve well on the recruiting trail. The ability to relate to prospects and their interests is a big deal that can't be faked and is something that will definitely help the Wolverines going forward.

[Italics and emboldening are mine].

I speak from experience (damnit!) when I say you can kow-tow, ingratiate, etc. etc. all you want with young kids, but their first impression is still of that old man they see staring back at them. When you're 31, not mid-50s,
that counts for one helluva lot.

The remainder of the article's points are well-taken, too. Thanks for posting it, sandy.

Yea, I didn't comment on it, I was just joking with the Manning brother thing but oh well, yes the youth of Roy Manning wilkl serve us very well in recruiting as well as motivation for the players. Another thing that I just realized, he was on the last Michigan team to go to The Rose Bowl...