How do we evaluate Hoke's first year?
So my housemate and I were having a conversation regarding the coaching change. I made it clear that i was a huge Rich Rod supporter, and wish he was still the head coach. My housemate stated that he couldn't wait until Hoke won 8 games this year, to show me that he was the right choice.
This is the exact attitude that I disagree with. I have 100% confidence that Rich would have won at least 8 games this year, followed by 9-10-11 win seasons every year after. With that said, now that Hoke is the coach, I obviously completely support him, and do indeed hope that he wins a NC here.
So my question is, what do we look for in this first year from Hoke in order to begin to evaluate his progress?
February 18th, 2011 at 11:11 PM ^
February 18th, 2011 at 8:27 PM ^
From the mouth of Great Leader himself: We win the B1G Championship or we have failed. That is all.
February 18th, 2011 at 8:32 PM ^
They are here with their commemorative red wristbands:
The hardcore "Rich Rod got screwed at the door-step of greatness " guys.
Their platform: Hoke has to win x (insert high number) because Rich definitely would have. Gotta love the ultra brave opinion mixed in that Rich would have beaten good teams like Michigan State that owned him like a toolbox hammer, so Hoke also has to.
We should admire the loyalty. Also, whose to say they are wrong? It is super hard to flash forward on things like this. My idea: We should pledge to all give Rodriguez all the credit if this is a 10-win team that is playing tough in all three phases. They will be his recruits doing it. That is an undeniable fact.
If we win 10, odds are it means we played in Indy against Ohio State. We'll all be so giddy, we won't care who gets the credit. The other cool thing is we currently have a coach that could care less about who gets the credit.
February 18th, 2011 at 9:12 PM ^
..is Nate, who can be proud that he was shoveling BS on RR before it was "cool."
RR doesn't even coach here anymore, but you still find a way to shit on him in almost every post you make. I get it. I understand. You hated RR from the start, you're happy he's gone, and you want your opinion heard. And heard. And heard. And heard.
As Groucho Marx once said to a "You Bet Your Life" contestent with something like nine kids:
"Lady, I love my cigar, but I take it out of my mouth once in awhile."
February 19th, 2011 at 12:08 AM ^
I know Nate more personally than most, if not all, on this board. And no, he did not hate RR from the start. In fact, he loved RR from the start and defended him to great lengths for nearly three years...as did I. He felt it was time for a change after the third consecutive OSU beat down. Can he be faulted for that? I don't think so but you are entitled to your opinions.
February 18th, 2011 at 11:12 PM ^
For someone who hates all the RR talk, you sure goad the supporters at every possible opportunity.
February 18th, 2011 at 11:14 PM ^
Double postin' like it's cool. Neg me; neg me and call me a dirty whore.
February 18th, 2011 at 11:14 PM ^
February 18th, 2011 at 11:15 PM ^
February 18th, 2011 at 8:43 PM ^
we do in the RED LETTER games. Thats why RR got fired. I thought we would win at least 10 games with RR next year. So at least 9 wins,going 5-3 in the big ten. We need to beat msu and osu and norte shame.GO BLUE!!!
February 18th, 2011 at 8:57 PM ^
Feels like only yesterday.
February 18th, 2011 at 9:04 PM ^
how about the number of position switches and non-injury-related shifts in the depth chart that occur midseason.
February 18th, 2011 at 9:22 PM ^
Wins vs loses he should at worst have an 8-4 record and beat MSU especially with Mattison on board. The best player on the team and respectively top 5 in the country is returning with 8 other players on offense along with a similar situation on defense with Martin. If they win less then 8 and loose to MSU once again I will be disappointed. This is my first year at U of M and I'm already sick of hearing shit from my MSU friends, and some of my OSU family members. GO BLUE
February 18th, 2011 at 9:30 PM ^
Results against ND, MSU, and OSU....
Win those...how bad can anyone bitch?
February 18th, 2011 at 9:34 PM ^
I'm going to evaluate him on the number of WWRRD posts that hit the board. The fewer of those the better he's doing. And God help us all if the ghost of Jimmy gets brought up EVER during the season.
February 18th, 2011 at 9:41 PM ^
February 18th, 2011 at 9:57 PM ^
February 18th, 2011 at 10:26 PM ^
We have had SUBPAR talent lately with the obvious hand-full of exceptions. To me, this hire will be decided in the next few years on the recruiting trail. As we all know, high-end talent makes coaches look really smart.
Unless of course you are Nick Saban, in which case it makes you look even slimier.
February 18th, 2011 at 10:57 PM ^
He should be evaluated by how many players he touches.
He should also be evaluated by how many times he touches each player.
And everyone in this program that touches players better be touching them well.
February 18th, 2011 at 11:08 PM ^
...good touches are better than bad touches?
February 18th, 2011 at 11:44 PM ^
In Soviet Russia, Hoke's first year evaluates YOU!
February 18th, 2011 at 11:45 PM ^
first to grade Hoke you have to take your expectations of what RR was giong to do and then compare your expectations to what actually happens under Hoke.
i saw us going 7-5 under RR next year.. everyone is stating that our schedual is so much easier next year, but i still think it is pretty tough. we get our tough games at home which is a plus kind of, but we still have to travel to Iowa, MSU, and ILL. Also NW is no joke. ND showed great progress last year and as excited as i am to play a night game, it is going to be a battle.
what i hope from Hoke is this
1st i want the defense to be able to stop the run
2nd i want the offense to win the TOP battle. A lot of people don't think TOP is relavant, but if you have a bad D then you can help them out by keeping them off the field.
3rd i want to be competative if we loose. if we loose 5 games by a total of lets say 30 points that shows progress to me.
4th i want to win a game or two we arn't supposed to win.
If we can do these things and have a good recruiting class next year i would say Hoke's first season would be a success.
February 19th, 2011 at 12:22 AM ^
With the talent Hoke has coming in, I see anything less than 7-5 as a disappointment. That being said, the more important thing will be to see steady improvement throughout the season. Yes, our team was young last year, but to show absolutely no improvement on defense and special teams was quite alarming.
February 19th, 2011 at 2:09 AM ^
But a few other items.
1. Can he take over his predecessor's team and transition them successfully to his scheme during his first year. That would win him a lot of points with the fan base and give a big bump to future recruiting.
2. Can he land a solid class of 4 star and some 5 stars--fast?
3. Can he start the pendulum swinging back in our favor over OSU in the way Tressel did to Carr? Winning there could crack OSU's recruiting stranglehold that has held solid through Carr's last years and RR's 3 years.
Together, these three would put Hoke in a great position to get us back on top of the Conference and into the NCS.
February 19th, 2011 at 7:56 AM ^
"I have 100% confidence that Rich would have won at least 8 games this year, followed by 9-10-11 win seasons every year after."
I think that is an unreasonable prediction of what RR was going to do. Now it "could" have happened, but did you see our defense last year? We won 6 b10 games in 3 years. Why would you be 100% sure that RR was going to win 8 games next year and at least 9 every year after that? If DB was that sure, RR would still be the coach. I think you're crazy.
February 19th, 2011 at 9:48 AM ^
I have an idea... Why don't you all stop giving your opinions on how Hoke is to be evaluated and use the same evaluation scale he is using for himself and Michigan Football. Brady Hoke's quoto when addressing football team before press conference: "If we don't win a B10 Championship...WE FAIL. And we will work hard to get it to where we are winning B10 Championships!" B10 Titles and Rose Bowl appearances have been how UM coaches have been evaluated since FIELD YOST, THERE IS NO REASON THINGS SHOULD CHANGE NOW!!!!!!!!!!