David Brandon's Address to the Players
[Ed-M: Diary bump for usefulness.]
Interesting tidbits from David Brandon’s meeting with the team yesterday – this was conveyed to me by a contact of mine (can’t say who it is and can’t say whether it is a player/coach/manager) etc., but much of this was rehashed on the rivals forum yesterday.
I was always a Harbaugh or RichRod gets a 4th year guy, but hearing stuff like this is very encouraging. I’ll try to keep this concise:
- I refuse to believe that Dave Brandon let his ego get in the way of this coaching search.
He said he interviewed big names from every conference and found that some "big names" clearly have themselves as their first priority, not their players or the program. This made his search a little easier.
- He knows exactly what's been said on blogs and such. Said he wasn't on either plane that we were tracking (hahahaha.) He knows some will love the hire, others will hate it. It's his job not to care.
- He did interview Harbaugh and Miles. Harbaugh told him straight up that he was NFL bound and gave him advice. Didn't offer the job to Les Miles.
- Everyone he spoke to referred him to Brady Hoke. Opposing coaches, former players, former coaches all said he should consider Hoke.
Michigan alumni really supported Hoke (Steve Hutchinson called unsolicited to say that "Brady Hoke was the best coach I ever had")
- Only offered the job to one man -- Brady Hoke. Called Brady yesterday morning and offered, Brady accepted immediately. Didn't even ask about money.
- Money isn't an issue. We'll pour as much money as it takes into this program to win. Football is the heart of our athletic department. Whether it's $200 million to the stadium or new video boards.
- Brady is very familiar with our team and the special athletes we have at certain positions. "He knows you very well by number, and he'll learn your names starting tomorrow"
- The team was overwhelmingly happy when he announced it. I don't know that you could expect differently though. Morale is high.
- Even Denard looked happy. Especially when they were prepping them for interviews and mentioned that Hoke will incorporate spread aspects in his offense. At this point I don't think attrition will be high.
- Team started chanting "Nike" towards the end. Dave Brandon laughed and said he doesn't break contracts.
Sounds like Michigan is on its way back.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:08 AM ^
Huh, I think RR would beg to differ.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:32 AM ^
Yes, this is the first thing I thought of when I read the statement. Kind of like Terrelle Pryor doesn't get illegal benefits, he was just test driving the car to Pennsylvania.
EDIT: I hate spelling Terrelle Pryor's name. I can't ever remember what is correct. Fuck him.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:42 AM ^
he didn't break a contract. the contract had a buy-out clause and db exercised his right. frankly, db did the honroable thing and had made it clear earlier in the year that he was not going to use the major violations against rrod and save the entire buy-out- he said the violations were bs and he stood by rr in not making him literally pay for them.
I was a rrod supporter until the end, but let's not start making lame claims like this.
January 12th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^
Thank you for this. If the contract was indeed broken, there'd be legal ramifications. There won't be as Michigan will pay the buy-out. There won't be any lawsuits or anything like this. There has been no talk of bad blood between Brandon and RR. Sounds to me like they ended the relationship as many business relationships end...with both parties walking away understanding that the decision was appropriate.
January 13th, 2011 at 8:06 AM ^
There were "legal ramifications", 2.5 million of them.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:08 AM ^
Stuff like this is helping me ease my mind on the transition. The 2 bottles of wine I had last night definitely help as well. Get ready for Hokeamania...
January 12th, 2011 at 9:09 AM ^
January 12th, 2011 at 9:12 AM ^
Rumor has it, he will create a smear campaign against his old product (Rich Rod), just like when he was selling pizzas.
He'll also pump up his new product (Hoke) until you're forced to buy it. Then you will eat it, and realize it still tastes like shit.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:12 AM ^
If this is all true then I will admit my knee-jerk reaction to tar and feather DB was inaccurate. If anything else, morale being high among players and their enthusiasm for Hoke is more than enough to win me over. If this hire was about choosing a coach that was there for the university and players, then DB hit a home run (I almost can't believe I'm writing that).
January 12th, 2011 at 9:13 AM ^
Sounds like Michigan is on its way back
We'll see. I'm still not certain that Coach Rodriguez didn't have us on the way back when he got fired. We'll never know.
It's great that the team, on the surface, seems to embrace the hire for the time being. It's also good that Hoke's name kept coming up in coaching circles as the best candidate. We'll see how the team reacts once he assembles a staff and begins constructing the team to his vision. I hope we found a diamond in the rough in Hoke, I really, really do.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:37 AM ^
Maybe he had us on the way back but how long could we get killed like that? Ready to move on and ready to start winning more games. Go Blue!
January 12th, 2011 at 9:14 AM ^
I wonder what other advice opposing coaches gave Dave Brandon.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:22 AM ^
Wouldn't you think that Brandon was savvy enough to discuss the talent at hand and to see if Hoke or any other potential coach would be willing to utilize Denard, etc. Brandon, like the rest of us, is painfully aware of what went down the last time someone came here with a new system. From my lips to god's ears.
Like the rest of you, still don't know why it took a month+, unless DB really wanted to see how we did Jan. 1 against MSU.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:27 AM ^
Apparently the search for a new coach was a disaster to everyone except the man performing the search (Dave Brandon). Outside of JH he may have got the best guy for the job. I could see Miles being more into himself vs. Hoke being more into the TEAM.
Go Blue!
January 12th, 2011 at 9:34 AM ^
Raback, thanks for this report. I have a major sense of relief.
As someone earlier mentioned, it could be that Brandon is just really good at selling things. However, if the players are happy and they produce wins come fall, then I don't know what else a coach can do to build a program back up.
The comment about other guys he intereviewed only seeming concerned with themselves is intriguing and if it is true, then that is an important factor in this entire thing. I think we all agree that we want a clean program that doesn't screw over our players.
I guess all we can do now is wait to see how recruiting and coordinator hiring goes.
Regarding Nike, I am very aware that I'm in the minority, but I actually liked some of the Pro-Combat jersey's this past season. I thought the little touches regarding a team's history were fantastic and I would love to see what Nike would do for us.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:43 AM ^
Nike! Nike! Nike!
January 17th, 2011 at 1:23 AM ^
Our adidas deal runs through 2017.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:37 AM ^
I am ready for Fall!
January 12th, 2011 at 10:28 AM ^
Is only a few months away.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:45 AM ^
What other choice does DB have? Is he going to tell the players he hired an idiot? (I'm NOT saying Hoke is one) Let's not get carried away with a bit of a pep talk to the team. Results will be seen on the field...or not.
January 12th, 2011 at 10:01 AM ^
I think Hoke will be fine, but the work starts NOW. We need recruits and coaches, bitch.
Anyhow, I watched the clips of Hoke on the sidelines and he sure seems energetic and well liked by the players...greeting & high-fiving them on the sidelines, etc. 100% in for the new coach for sure.
January 12th, 2011 at 10:01 AM ^
First of all, if Hoke was so high on DB's list, why even interview Miles?
Second, DB telling players that Hoke will implement the spread sounds more like a desperate attempt to keep people from transferring rather than actual plans.
Third, "morale is high"? The team just lost a coach who a lot of players were very loyal to. Its hard to imagine the team being "overwhelmingly happy" about the Hoke hire. They are smart kids, they know which coaches they would like to play for, and I don't think many of them had Hoke in their top ten. More likely the happiness was relief.
Make no mistake Michigan fans, we aren't out of the woods yet.
January 12th, 2011 at 10:07 AM ^
your name is a perfect description of your post. Not even worth responding to point by point.
January 12th, 2011 at 10:21 AM ^
Thank goodness points are back. The amount of ludicrous comments (such as Nothing clever's) got out of control.
January 12th, 2011 at 10:28 AM ^
....the overwhelming consensus was that everyone thought RR was a good guy but an average coach who couldn't inspire his players or put any faith into them doing their job with consistency and success. It doesn't take a genius to see that these kids are ECSTATIC that RR is gone. Not one player came to his defense and if you recall, DB even stated that speaking with current players immensely helped him in his decision to let go of RR.
January 19th, 2011 at 10:19 PM ^
January 12th, 2011 at 10:24 AM ^
If he didn't at least talk to Harbaugh or Miles, he would have been strung up by his thumbs. He could have wanted Hoke all along but done those interviews out of courtesy and to satisfy boosters.
January 12th, 2011 at 10:27 AM ^
The top choice was clearly Harbaugh and he obviously came right out and said, "thanks, but I'm gunning for the pros."
After that, what makes an "up and coming coordinator" or a successful head coach at a smaller school any more appealing than Hoke?
It's done. Over. The kid's are enthusiastic. Our defense will improve. Our kicking game will improve. If we finish 7-6 next season with NO BLOWOUTS, it's a step in the right direction. Personally, I think 8 wins+ is the threshold.
January 12th, 2011 at 10:52 AM ^
Great to hear details behind the scenes. Please keep sharing info.
January 12th, 2011 at 12:08 PM ^
If DB doesnt break contracts (re: Addidas) then how does he fire RR. RR had 3 years to go. But DB is a spinless jellyfish so I am not surprised by some of his comments. Lets go Brady Hoke.
January 12th, 2011 at 9:08 PM ^
He did not break the contract. The contract had a buy-out provision and db exercised his right. That is the way contracts work. I right contracts all the time with "out " clauses. Db actually did an honorable thing earlier in the year when he said he would not use the major violations michigan to reduce the buy-out to 0. He said the violations were bs and is paying $2.5 million backing that statement up.
January 17th, 2011 at 1:14 AM ^
We NEED Nike....name one good team that has adidas. ND, wisco, and tennessee all suck. the only team that is decent that has adidas is nebraska. Bring Back Nike Please!!!
January 17th, 2011 at 1:20 AM ^
Wisconsin (12-1 this year) sucks, but Nebraska (10-4) doesn't? You're going to have to explain that one.
January 19th, 2011 at 2:55 PM ^
both are decent squads and will never capitalize and take over their conferences.
January 19th, 2011 at 3:23 PM ^
But he is NOW our coach and I WILL support him. If we only learn one thing from the richrod era it should be, we cannot be divided.
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