More Fun with Bill Martin and the Detroit Press

Well, actually, this time it's the Ann Arbor News. Jim Carty, the longtime Michigan Football beat reporter, a solid writer and far from the homer he could be, followed up on what Michael Rosenberg reported in the Detroit News (see blog below from yesterday). He goes ever deeper and makes Michigan AD Bill Martin look that much worse.

According to Carty:

Forget all you've heard about secret deals using third-party intermediaries between Michigan and Miles. (Miles' Agent George) Bass said it's just not true.

Miles had no idea if Michigan really wanted him.

So Bass decided to ask.

He said he called Martin's cell phone on Friday and left a message. He just wanted to know where Miles stood.

Then, when he didn't hear back, the agent said he called Martin again.

"The (LSU) deal was so good that we couldn't just wait," Bass said via phone Tuesday. "I didn't know if we were one of the candidates in the pool at that time. There was just no communication."

Where was Martin? One source places him in Florida, at the Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo. Wherever he was, he didn't call back.

This was a botch job of epic proportions. To recap: Everyone in the free world knew Les Miles was a Michigan grad, coached under Bo, and openly loves the school. This was the layup hire of all layup hires. Miles never denied interest in the job once Lloyd Carr retired, and he was asked about it every single day in the media. Evidently, Miles' agent and Michigan had some contact. The parameters may have been figured out n a five year deal, but when Miles needed assurances, Martin could not be reached or found. Word leaked from ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit that Miles would become the next head coach at Michigan the day of the SEC championship game. An incensed Miles, who hadn't agree to anything at that point, was angered enough to hold an impromptu press conference before the game saying he wasn't going anywhere. Martin still has yet to comment on any of this.

This begs the question, after hiring Tommy Amaker for his basketball program and watching him run it into the ground for eight years before finally pulling the trigger, watching his Football program be owned for the last six years by Ohio State (now three title games in six years), and now screwing up the Les Miles situation, how does this man keep his job?

Why Wouldn't Martin Call? - Jim Carty, Ann Arbor News