Conspiracy theories abound....

Since the blog is called "tinfoil hat sports blog," let's examine the various conspiracy theories and rate them on a one to five tinfoil hat scale.

1. David Brandon thought he had a deal with Jim Harbaugh and Harbaugh backed out.

This is almost etched in stone. John Harbaugh said something to the effect of "the Michigan thing is over now" the day of RR's firing. That, of course, would mean that there had been previous discussion. It also explains why RR and the players were left "twisting in the wind" for as long as they were. This is solid, and I will rate it FIVE tinfoil hats.

This leads to....

2. David Brandon lied to the media, players, and staff for at least a month.

Once again, if number one is true, then number two is also true. It was obvious after the OSU game that Brandon was not going to support RR. I actually thought RR had a chance to keep his job if Michigan won their bowl game, but it is obvious that the choice was made from the beginning.

I will also give this one FIVE tinfoil hats.

3. The "Lloyd Carr-tel" has undermined RR's position on a daily basis for three years, including "leaking" damaging information to Michael Rosenberg.

There isn't much to dispute this, either. Carr gave no support to RR during his tenure, when his voice could have stopped a lot of the drama surrounding RR. Lloyd Carr did not do what Bo taught him to do. Neither has David Brandon. But the Carr-tel has invoked Bo's name on numerous occasions to further their agenda.

Lloyd Carr is still angry that he was not allowed to name his successor and have him come from the IMCT (Inbred Michigan Coaching Tree.) Apparently, Carr thinks his one National Championship season entitles him to treatment reserved for coaches named Schembechler or Crisler. He conveniently forgets how the game passed him by and how terrible he looked against elite teams the last three years of his tenure at Michigan. He also forgets how bare he left the cupboard for RR.

Can there be any doubt that the attrition RR faced can be at least partially attributed to Lloyd Carr encouraging players to leave?

I will also give this FIVE tinfoil hats.

4. Michigan's next coach will be a "money hire" to further the financial health of the Big Ten Network and help extend its reach into the NY/NJ area.

This was suggested by a poster on mgoblog. If it is true, there will be no Brady Hoke hiring. It would pretty much mean that Jon Gruden or Les Miles will be the coach at the University of Michigan. This may or may not be true, and is even more cynical than I normally am. For now, I will give it a solid THREE POINT FIVE tinfoil hats.

5. David Brandon wanted Jim Harbaugh, but Mary Sue Coleman wants Brady Hoke becuase she adores Lloyd Carr and the Carr-tel is in her ear every day.

This seems pretty solid also, and would really be funny considering her statement that she has no idea who the next coach will be. Apparently, the Carr-tel doesn't want Harbaugh because he is a Bo guy, and they feel threatened by his presence. If it is true, it definitely is NOT what Bo would do.

I will give this one FOUR tinfoil hats.

Summing up:

It's sorta sad that all of the conspiracy theories coming out of Ann Arbor probably have some truth to them. I guess it just means that "things are complicated," but I miss the old days when people were more on the "up and up" about things like this.

If anything comes out of this, I hope the Carr-tel is neutralized and put in their place for good. They have sabotaged the head coach at "their" school to further their own agenda, and their current carping is a power play to try and get themselves "restored" to power at Michigan.

They may have a few good points, but it was Lloyd Carr who was repsonsible for the first FOUR losses in the current seven-game losing streak to OSU. It was Lloyd Carr's upperclassmen who should have led the way for the Wolverines the last two years, but there weren't many because he encouraged most of them to leave.

Until those who constitute the Carr-tel are capable of accepting the fact that the game has evolved and that Michigan should be leaders and best instead of being anachronistic fucks whining about where the "good old days" went, they should be told that their feedback is no longer encouraged nor appreciated.

The new head coach should NOT be a member of the Carr-tel, and any of their members who continue to fight progress or engage in carping, whining, and sniping, should be told they are no longer welcome to visit the team or the facilities.

Let the new coach do his job and let him turn Michigan into the leaders and best again. Hopefully, it will be someone who is not a part of the Carr-tel, and is strong enough to ignore their carping, whining, and manipulations behind the scenes.