October 22nd, 2015 at 11:16 AM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:18 AM ^
And hearing him talk about his time at Michigan has gone a long way towards helping me get over the MSU loss. Man, this program is in a better place now with JH.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
I only counted four "a little bits" in the article. Expected at least 10. SI obviously clipped off all of the "Wellllls" that he assuredly started every sentence with.
Like the guy, but shouldn't have ever been hired as our coach. Dave Brandon was such a dick and bumbled the RR firing so much that seems like Hoke was sadly the best option at the time.
All in all the only two things I thank Hoke for are being loyal to Michigan and being incompetent and getting fired at the perfect time when Harbaugh was available.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:28 AM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:31 AM ^
just keeping his name relevant. There are already 5 jobs openings in D1 with several more to come most likely. I'm sure he'd like to be a candidate.
The truth is, you don't fail at a major D1 power like Michigan and hop right back on the major program bicycle. You end up at second tier programs. Hoke is just trying desperately to land a top tier job, he won't but its a fine effort.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:33 AM ^
Think about riding quietly into the sunset?
With a pocketful of lots of dollars?
Don't bitter be happy?
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:34 AM ^
Was he, is he? I agree that he brought some excellent recruits to Michigan, when he was selling a "return to greatness" story that was pretty believable after his first year and still not greatly damaged after his second year. He continued to get some fine recruits but there were signs that recruiting was about to fall off the table in his last year.
The other point/question: How was his recuiting at SDSU or Ball State, where he did not have Michigan to sell? Did he recruit as well at Ball State as for instance Urban Meyer did at Bowling Green, or in a more recent example, PJ Fleck at Western Michigan?
I would not assume that he would be a great recuiter or even an above average recuiter at a hypothetical Maryland, or for a non power 5 conference job.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
He did end up getting the single best recruit we've had in decades, but I agree with you. Also he couldn't help any of his guys develop, so who cares if you have highly-ranked recruiting classes.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:50 AM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 3:04 PM ^
Ok, I'll give you he helped tremendously on D line recruiting and development. But there was little to no development (or recruiting success) everywhere else and especially at the most important position, QB. Our OL is still nowhere near acceptable against any team with a pulse and they've made massive strides this year.
All that says is he is an excellent D line coach but a really bad HC. His tenure here definetly proves that without a doubt.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:49 PM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
Was he, is he?
Hoke average recuiting ranking: #16
Michigan average recruiting ranking 2002-2010: #13.6
October 22nd, 2015 at 7:37 PM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 9:38 PM ^
Well... that does make him the worst recruiting coach we've had since they started keeping rankings.
Carr recruited better.
Rodriguez recruited better.
So far, Harbaugh has recruited better.
He was ok, but below average for Michigan. Michigan has only had 2 classes ranked outside the top 20 since Rivals started doing rankings in 2002... and Hoke had both of them.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:18 PM ^
Brady referred to his players as "sons." No. You were the coach and they were your players. There's a big difference between being a dad and a coach. Similarities, yes, but there's a tension good coaches establish with their players. It's due to competition amoungst other players, expectations for performance/behavior and consequences for the lack thereof. Sure, you care about your players but always have to be a coach. That's your job!
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:36 AM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^
best idea I've heard in a while....
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:39 AM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:40 AM ^
Other than his self-delusion (typical of a football coach), this really isn't that bad an interview. At least he's taken to learning some things for the future in case he does get hired as a head coach again.
I'm more in disbelief at some of the posts here than anything else.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:40 AM ^
Hoke's a good dude. In Bacon's book he paints a guy who cares a lot but it overwhelmed with the position, and this interview gave off the same vibe. I wish him nothing but success wherever he lands.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:42 AM ^
that he thinks some other teams are good at practice. We always practiced good when he was here.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^
I don't doubt he was still trying to rebuild the program. Everyone around here was saying 2015 and 2016 would be the years Michigan would finally be back to the talent level they should be at. His program wasn't going in the correct direction, mostly because of player development, and he was fired. And rightfully so, he wasn't performing at his job as well as he should have; Michigan wasn't winning enough games.
What that doesn't mean is that I need to read an interview and twist it so that everything he says is bad. I liked Hoke; I hope he does well at his next stop; I hope he learned and got better from his time at Michigan; and that's about it. I won't be worried about rooting for his next team, I won't be rooting against his next team; I won't make revisionist history to make him out to be worse or better than he was. What he says has some legitimacy, it's not black and white and 100% true or false. There are narratives and other perspectives that can be used to tell different stories. People trying to make it purely one thing or another are wrong, flat out.
Hoke was fired, rightfully. Why people want to pile on, I dunno, but that says more about those people.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
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October 23rd, 2015 at 11:08 AM ^
Space Coyote just attacked your A gap with a FB dive of truth and completely dominated your 3 technique of cognitive dissonance with a double team of "get the fuck" and "over yourselves" !
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^
I think Hoke's best bet would be to find a recruiting coordinator job at a Power 5. It is undeniable that he formed tremendous relationships with his players and was more of a life mentor than an effective Xs and Os head coach.
I think he would do very well on the recruting trail selling the program on the intangibles, staying far away from actual game strategy and Xs and Os.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:12 PM ^
to SC's last post, the piling on is sophmorish and unbecoming of the MGoFanBase IMO. I wish Coach Hoke the best, thrilled we have Harbaugh. Hoke did not have the capacity to bring Michigan back to excellence; but he acted with high integrity; he loves the school; and bashing him at this point makes us look bad. Harbaugh is obviously a vastly superior Coach, with a level of good judgment and high integrity to match. Thankful
October 22nd, 2015 at 1:53 PM ^
Especially when it comes from people who still want to fight the RichRod battle every damn day when he accomplished a small fraction of what Hoke did as our coach.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:14 PM ^
Wish he would have done his coaching internship/residency a year before clowning around on our sideline. Clearly his .500 record at MAC level schools wasn't enough preparation. At least he is still delusionally confident about his abilities, a quality that can help many of limited acumen reach greater success than they probably should. Also glad he discovered the modern technology (1970's) that is the headset.
His ceiling is MAC level head coach or Big 5 conference DC - although I wouldnt trust him with the secondary IMO. Couldn't be happier that he's gone and any big time program that takes a flyer on him will be mediocre at best. All that being said, it's Brandon's fault, not his, for needing a coach that would not outshine him.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:25 PM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
I really don't think his next job will be the head man at a Power 5 conference team like he is looking for. I think he'll end up at the next level down, MAC, Mountain West, etc.
October 22nd, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 1:36 PM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^
Future Purdue head coach Brady Hoke.
October 22nd, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 3:06 PM ^
I haven't read the article yet, just the Mlive bits. If its like the Mlive article suggests....Come on man. Seriously? This offense was a complete tire fire. 'We were building for 2015'. With what? Shane? Speight? Harbaugh and his O staff are provent talents and they took a look at our QB stable and went in a different direction.
I'm not a fan of this. I like Hoke, but that's starting to fade. If you loved UM as much as you profess, just move on with some class.
October 22nd, 2015 at 3:19 PM ^
Hoke wouldn't have punted because he would have been down 49-0 and MSU would have been taking a knee after intercepting some deperation throw from Shane Morris.
October 22nd, 2015 at 3:39 PM ^
of Brady Hoke, as described by John Bacon, is Brady twisting in the wind before a gaggle of inquiring reporters while Dave Brandon and his minions huddle in a conference room and attempt to cobble together some sort of meaningful press release to explain away "concussiongate." A dark, dark chapter in Michigan athletic history.
October 22nd, 2015 at 7:57 PM ^
to save his life, never mind his job.
If you aren't good at that part of the job, you won't be a success at the highest level of that profession unless you have a guy who is really good at it and whose career is joint at the hip to yours.
I tend to be skeptical of career position coaches who skip a career phase at coordinator to be head coaches because the 'big picture' difference between position coach and head coach at a major program is so big.
Position coaches tend to do a lot of the leg work in recruiting and probably spend more time than most on building relationships with players which is why I am not surprised Hoke was pretty good at those aspects of the job. But they also aren't really concerned with putting all the program's resources together in the mid to long term.
Many talk down on the CEO/head of state type aspect of being the HC at a place like Michigan but it's undeniable. It's a big operation and there's more strategy than tactics to that job.
I think it's comparable to how being a great master chief doesn't mean you'd make a great captain. Obviously some people have 'the stuff' to be captain even when they start out at the bottom and they show the people around them that they do but there's also many whose ceiling is much lower. I think Hoke maxed out his potential at a mid-major job where to be honest, his program-building ability even at that level was never truly tested due to the short duration of his stays.
October 22nd, 2015 at 8:12 PM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 8:32 PM ^
makes the point for me regarding his suitability as a program manager/builder.
October 22nd, 2015 at 8:30 PM ^
Brady Hoke talks about holding yourself accountable, just after and before he unloads a ton of excuses about the failures at Michigan, along with a unique summary of his coaching resume and experience.
Positioning himself, in hopes of ultimately convincing some athletic department to hire him for another Head Coaching job is his goal in that interview. He has made a career on doing just that.
Whatever he said in that interview is for pure personal promotion. Its sad that he keeps playing the Rich Rod card in interviews, as a misguided attempt to garner empathy and support.
October 22nd, 2015 at 9:52 PM ^
of the Hoke era. The gap between what he and by extension his program claimed to stand for and what they actually delivered. You kept hearing about accountability and toughness but the proof is in the pudding..The man spoke in cliches.
I also got the distinct impression that rather than being the loyal selfless footsoldier of Michigan that he made himself out to be, he has actually been quite self-serving both when he was at Michigan and since.
October 23rd, 2015 at 1:47 PM ^
I agree. Sadly, we are just calling it like it is and reading between all of the words, talk and bluster that come from the man.
October 22nd, 2015 at 9:40 PM ^
Not crazy really, but nice to see him enjoying life.
October 23rd, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
I will no longer acknowledge any game he had anything to do with, nor any championship, personal award and any former player who doesn't treat him with the same distain as I.
The worst thing that ever happen to UofM football was let Hoke anywhere near this program and since not one good thing ever happened while he was here, I agree, why can't he just go back to whatever program he came from where he had the most success and forget Michigan Football existed.