To have success, Goss will need to stand firm for Blue

NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA The Greek Speaks

There were times in 1968 when All-Big Ten defensive tackle Tom Goss would be sipping water on the Michigan Stadium sidelines, his energy drained from trying to stuff some opponent's drive, and the unexpected would happen. An interception. A fumble. An untimely offensive breakdown.

And suddenly, he'd be back to work. Goss, sore and unrested, would run out haphazardly with the defense, pulling on his winged helmet as he went. His cup of water would be left on the bench unfinished - half empty or half full, depending on his view, which often depended on how he played.

It was gut-check time, one of the brief moments on which the attitudes of entire teams, schools and departments rest. When a person has no time to think - in the case of an athletic director, no time to decide what will be politically popular - he is left to be himself. There can be no faking. And so when Goss is introduced as Michigan's new Athletic Director today, his prepared comments probably will mean little.

Performance in crisis situations showed us what kind of player Goss was decades ago, and they will tell us what kind of athletic director he will be, starting today.

The athletic department has fumbled, today's the turnover, and the only question now is whether Goss can make the recovery.

Joe Roberson, who preceded Goss, had his chances. Too many chances, really. But he and his staff often were beaten backward.

There was the Gary Moeller incident, of course. Moeller got drunk, said some things he shouldn't have, and everyone looked to Roberson for a reaction. Roberson took a firm stand on nothing.

He didn't stand behind Moeller like he could (should?) have and didn't even admit to firing him. As football coach, Moeller got to resign. Lloyd Carr was promoted from defensive coordinator to interim head coach.

Interim? For nearly an entire season? Unfair. To this day, Carr's credibility remains damaged because of that, as if he doesn't really belong where he is.

If Carr was to be the man, he should have been named head coach quickly. If not, they should have found someone else. Period.

One gut-check failed, more to come. (Too many season-ticket requests? Hey, screw the students instead of standing up for them. It's the easy, lucrative way out.)

Then, there is basketball. Roberson has been ready to defend coach Steve Fisher, but a hush-hush policy has been cast over the entire episode. The only strong stance taken has been a firm resistence to share information and little initiative to aid openly in any investigation.

No one has been truly honest, even if they haven't lied.

So it goes with nearly everything at Michigan when it comes to athletics. The department hides from the public. There is a code of silence on trivial matters and important matters both, as if no one there can tell the difference. Can't ask about the quarterbacks, can't ask about NCAA violations, can't ask anything. Practices are closed. Players are unavailable. (Someone might have a stubbed toe. They call that, as they do with ligament tears, being "banged up.")

The media is frustrated and therefore more curious than ever. Just two days ago, reporters from some of the highest-regarded newspapers in the nation vented in the Notre Dame press box about how rude and unaccomodating Michigan is to the media.

If Goss has the guts, he has the opportunity to change all that. He's a Michigan man, but being from California, he's enough of an outsider to have new ideas. He's got a business background. He's black, fitting a profile no Michigan athletic director has ever had, in a mostly white establishment. He was the first choice of a search committee, not a hand-picked presidential puppet like Roberson.

Goss seems a perfect person - solid and practical but not entirely of the old mold - to bring freshness to a grand tradition that has grown a bit musty. But he's also Michigan's fourth athletic director in nine years (five men served from 1898-1988). There have been several sudden changes at Michigan lately and too few quality responses to them. Goss needs to be willing to take a stand.

We'll see how solid Goss is when we - and he - least expect it. The ball isn't in Goss's hands now. It's on the turf, squibbling away, and Goss will have to make the recovery, fumble after fumble. He's on defense for Michigan once again, but this time, more is at stake than there was in 1968.

It's gut-check time.

- Nicholas J. Cotsonika can be reached via e-mail at cotsonik@umich.edu

09-08-97