October 12th, 2014 at 3:17 AM ^
I walked behind him today in the concourse. My cool story bro moment
October 12th, 2014 at 3:22 AM ^
He's a good dude.
October 12th, 2014 at 3:40 AM ^
Ignoring the pet viking, this picture makes me sad. God damn it I wish Hoke had worked out here.
October 12th, 2014 at 7:31 AM ^
...I REALLY wanted it to work.
But enough is enough.
And because of the Morris/Concussion/Lying...The coaching (on-field) blunder after coach blunder...and the way he's become so combative towards EVERYONE outside of Fort Schembechler...I don't care anymore. I don't feel bad for him even for a second.
-
He ALWAYS gave the impression that he cared about/loved his players more than anything - it was the one thing you could hang your hat on. He ALWAYS had their best interest at heart.
---That Morris situation was disturbing. Because I think they left him in when he was limping because they wanted to prove a point. They knew they had no chance of winning, it wasn't like the Gardner situation last night at ALL. He was in the 3rd quarter, he was cleary hurt and he'd done NOTHING all game. Felt like ego and stubborness to me. Obviously what happened next will haunt him forever. - Hoke pooped gold for 2 years. Remember that? He ALWAYS knew when to go for it in that "go for it"/"kick it" grey area. Brian would run all the charts and metrics and they always agreed with Hoke's decision. He was aggressive, but smart. He pulled all the right strings and seemed to stay in his lane. Which is why everyone blamed Borges, because we just KNEW Hoke had nothing to do with the poor offense. Now he makes one or two HORRIBLE coaching mistakes a game. That just can't happen.
- Lastly, I hate how he's gone from being a Lloyd Carr-esqe teddy bear. Even more progressive than Carr. To just mean. Certainly the media and fans have played a HUGE part, but still. He's just mean now. He's an asshole. Which completely goes against a main reason why so many people liked him before. It's not even in his personality and he's doing it wrong, if you're going to be a dick...be Tom Izzo or Nick Saban, be a dick win or lose from day 1. That's not Hoke. Hoke is trying to be something he's not...and it's annoying.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:23 AM ^
I was pretty certain Hoke wasn't ready for job when he was hired, but figured (hoped) he would develop into a fine, big time, Michigan coach. Given his current defensiveness and stubborness I'm guessing he's pretty much plateaued. He's just going to double down and do the same things he's always done - but harder.
My bosses have always played a big part - for better or worse - in my professional development. In what ways and to what effect do you suppose an AD could have helped out Hoke?
October 12th, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^
Your boss may have gotten to his/her position doing what you do now. It's part of the road map.
Hoke's boss, whether Brandon or almost every other AD, never coached.
There's nothing Brandon really could've done, Hoke is at the top of his profession.
Now that's to get Hoke to COACH better.
100% Brandon could've provided better resources, training, etc. in PR, media management, etc.
October 12th, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^
I don't think Hoke's personality has changed nor do I think he goes for it less on 4th down than before (he's always tended to go for it on 4th and short and not on 4th and long, regardless of field position). Fans just look at him through a different lens when we have a losing record. Mannerisms that we were fine with when his record was 24-7 now annoy us when he's lost 10 of 15 games.
I also wouldn't say he's 100% finished. It's very unlikely, but if he could somehow run the table, he'd be back, I'm sure. The next game's a tall order, but Sparty is not invincible. I could see MSU slip up at some point. If Hoke can pull a rabbit out of his hat, like Beilein in the 2011 game in Breslin, after that you never know.
October 12th, 2014 at 12:19 PM ^
Read the UFR's, Mathlete stuff, and the game wraps. He's had multiple coaching blunders just this season. And he's also been off on the go for it/kick it debates way more often in the past year.
Those things have nothing to do with his record. If the did, he'd just be Les Miles...because Miles has the SAME blunders and people notice them too. But he typically wins.
These things are the exact reason why I DON'T want Miles as the coach, he makes some of the same really bad, mind blowing mistakes Hoke does. I'm not confident we're good enough to overcome them like LSU has done in the past.
Just like that timeout at the end of the 2nd quarter last night. Call it with 20 seconds or don't call it at all.
If PSU throws a hail mary and gets a PI call, then kicks a FG...those 3 points would've been pretty damn big yesterday, RIGHT?
Just because we won doesn't excuse that he fucked up. But we won...and I'm still bringing it up. So again, it has nothing to do with wins and losses.
October 12th, 2014 at 12:24 PM ^
I didn't say he always gets it right, just that I don't think his tendencies have changed that much. He's never been likely to go for it on 4th and more than 3. It may be that we've simply had more 4th and 4+ instances this year than before.
I'm also not defending his clock management, which is definitely pretty iffy.
What I'm saying is that he's basically the same coach as in 2011, only we now view him differently because of the losing.
October 12th, 2014 at 12:30 PM ^
You can go against your tendencies.
But there are multiple instances recently where he's been in the FG/go for it grey area and he's gone with the FG...or he's been in the FG/punt grey area and he's gone with the punt (and Hagerup booms one into the end zone giving us like 13 yards).
In his first 2 years, he was money with these...even when they didn't work. Even when we'd get stoned. He by "common sense" made the right choice.
He's struggling with that as of late. Not always, but more frequently than he used to.
He used to be very sharp and decisive and generally they panned out, even when he elected to go conservative over aggressive.
I'm not saying it's the right/wrong move based on the result.
For example, if Mississippi St. gets the fake punt yesterday, it's still a dumb call. You're up 21 in your own territory.
They won the game, they're undefeated, they have the hottest coach in America. It was still a dumb call. And if it had worked, I'd say the same thing. That's where I use the Miles comparison, because he has a bunch of these...and when it works, people call it "gutsy"...not me, or yea, it can be gutsy and be dumb too, lol.
October 12th, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^
He does not feel like Beilein but yeah if he runs the table I agree he could be back.
At this point running the table would be decent and would get us back to the record many of us predicted pre season albeit in the weirdest way possible.
I think fundamentally this team would have to improve a lot and isn't that what a lot of us said we needed to see? A team that while flawed ended up a lot better at the end of the year than where it started.
I'm still deeply skeptical of this coaching staff but it is clear this team is still fighting for him. I'm willing to see if golden poop can come out although the margin for error is none at this point.
Brandon needs to absolutely go.
October 12th, 2014 at 3:17 PM ^
If he runs the table, meaning we beat MSU and OSU on the road, then he deserves to come back.
October 12th, 2014 at 6:19 PM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 9:50 AM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 2:32 PM ^
You should wish any coach works/worked out here.
October 12th, 2014 at 4:10 AM ^
Back? Brown Bear posts all the time.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:01 AM ^
Precisely, and what's more - I didn't relize he had field access on this level. I think he really needs to share some of the stories that he has undoubtedly been accumulating through the years, perhaps in a series of tell-all diaries about how he was mistaken for Everitt and granted unprecedented access.
October 12th, 2014 at 10:22 AM ^
Is "Brown Bear" actually Steve Everitt or just a guy who uses his photo as an avatar?
October 12th, 2014 at 10:25 AM ^
He's both. And neither.
October 12th, 2014 at 5:55 AM ^
I know he's been ID'd on this Board before, but I wanted to reiterate that he is one of the toughest SOB's and best Centers Michigan has ever seen. Played with a broken jaw. Broke his right hand and learned how to snap left handed before the next game! 1st rd pick of the Cleveland Browns. This is definately the type of former player we want around the program.
October 12th, 2014 at 8:18 AM ^
In a related cool story my freshman year I was trying to study during winter exams in SQuad and there was a huge racket in the room above me. Being a relative bad ass at the time I stormed into the room upstairs above mine and it was Everitt and another huge dude. I think they were wrestling so they were worked up already. For a second there I thought my life was over.
Quick about face and I out ran them down the stairwell and out a back door or I would have become a headline. I studied at the library from that point on.
Saw him at Dooleys sometime later and we had a good laugh about it.
Michigan should have the best head coach possible but we can still have some true like Everitt Michigan men in the lower ranks. It obviously helps.
October 12th, 2014 at 12:02 PM ^
I was trying to study during winter exams in SQuad
Serious lack of execution, son.
October 12th, 2014 at 9:43 AM ^
he pulled out his mouthpiece and was spitting blood. . . .baddest Art Major you ever saw!
October 12th, 2014 at 10:31 AM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 11:05 AM ^
Meaner than a junkyard dog.
October 12th, 2014 at 9:15 AM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 2:01 PM ^
I remember a story from the book Bo wrote with Mitch Albom where Everitt told Bo that Jimmy Johson had asked him during his visit to the U ''Why do you want to go to Michigan? They already have the best offensive line in the country and you'll have to wait behind them.''
The next time Bo talked to Jimmy he ask him ''Hey what did you tell Everitt all that crap for?'' And Jimmy said ''Well, honestly, I thought it was true.''
October 12th, 2014 at 9:53 AM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
October 12th, 2014 at 9:53 AM ^
October 12th, 2014 at 10:41 AM ^
In 20 years, are we going to have any alumni of note besides Denard Robinson? We always point back onto our proud football alumni, but over the last 7 years, not many players have left that will have name recongnition.
October 12th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^
Nailed it. This is one of the more depressing aspects of the past 7 years. We had a great tradition of producing (i.e., recruiting and developing) top NFL talent. That tradition is in real jeopardy of being lost.
October 12th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^
Not so at all . . .
Denard,
Devin,
Gallon,
Smith,
Odoms,
Minor,
Graham,
and so on.
Played their hearts out for this program.
There's more to it than just the NFL.
October 12th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
What? It's knee-jerk feelingsball responses like this that take discussion on this board down the drain. I specifically was talking about the tradition of producing top NFL talent. I said nothing about not having great college-level players. That tradition is still alive. But that was not my point. It is possible to see nuance if you try hard enough.
October 12th, 2014 at 11:41 AM ^
Go Eagles!
October 12th, 2014 at 5:10 PM ^
Can someone explain what this means? what do they mean pet viking?
October 12th, 2014 at 7:39 PM ^
You can find the first mention here, more stuff from that week here and relive some better times by clicking on the tag "Brady Hoke's pet viking".
October 12th, 2014 at 7:28 PM ^