Donny Hardknocks

Did you check out the first episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks?  Damn good.  Rex Ryan is a real beauty and I laughed out load every time they told Mark Sanchez this is "his" team – it’s clearly pretty far from that dude’s team.

If you’re like me, you’re also watching to check out David Harris and especially the travails of Donovan Warren.  They weren’t profiled in the first episode but I think that’ll change.  A sneak peak at next week’s show included this comment from a veteran coach:

Warren during a drill:  "Donny, that was a good tackle you made in that drill.  If you would have played like that last year Michigan would have won some damn games."

Ugh. 

ed 8/12: I originally posted that this was coach Bob Sutton, prompting this tweet from twitter user @NealParsons, this tweet:

FYI, Sutton has ties to UM. He got his start as a GA under Bo, and his son worked for Big Jon with me while at UM

Sure enough, Sutton was born in Ypsilanti, MI and this:

? In 1982 he served as RBs coach at North Carolina State under Monte Kiffin. He had a pair of turns at Western Michigan under Elliott Uzelac (1975-76 and 1980-81), serving first as defensive coordinator and later as offensive coordinator. He was defensive coordinator and LBs coach at Illinois (1977-79) under Gary Moeller. In 1974 he was LBs coach at Syracuse for Frank Maloney. In 1972-73 he had his first coaching job as a graduate assistant at Michigan for Bo Schembechler.

But, edit #2, via MVictors reader John it’s not Sutton in the clip.

All the comments about Bob Sutton are very true. He was a friend of friends in Ypsi growing up. Only one issue – the coach in the Jets video clip was not Bob Sutton.
John – Cincinnati
YHS 1970

I wasn’t 100% sure who the coach was, but Sutton was the only defensive coach on the Jets official site roster who looked like the guy in the HBO clip.   But it’s not Sutton, it’s actually..

Edit #3 – According to readers Jeff and "S.M.D" LSA Superstar who identified that sharp-tongued journeyman coach as Mike Westhoff.  There’s no direct ties to Michigan that I can see, only heavy Midwest ties (Indiana, Dayton, Indiana State).

Now I’m done.