CC 2011 Redux: Who was MGoBlog's 3rd Choice for UM HC?

Submitted by alum96 on

Just curious as I was not around at the time and it is impossible to use the search to find the coaching search threads of 2011 as there are a bazillion Harbaugh and Miles threads in the interim 3 years but who was the board's consensus #3 choice in 2011?  I know it wasn't Hoke from reading what Brian has written about the era. 

And if there was no consensus who were the "Gary Patterson, Todd Graham, Dan Mullen" type candidates that the MGo Community was hot and heavy for in January 2011?   I'd be curious to know to see how those coaches panned out.  It would be like re-analyzing a NFL draft 3 years after the fact.

Also if any admin can unearth and link to some front page threads from January 2011 CC I'd love to read the comments section to see what the ideas were. 

Other 2011 hires of P5 conferences for perspective:

  • Miami (YTM): Al Golden
  • WVA:  Dana Holgorsen
  • Indiana:  Kevin Wilson
  • Maryland:  Randy Edsall
  • Minnesota:  Jerry Kill
  • Stanford:  David Shaw
  • Florida:  Will Muschamp

Obviously the 2 big schools on that list got it wrong and Miami FL more or less wrong (edit: folks say Miami has a lot of sanctions so unfair to throw Golden under the bus yet - fair enough).  Kill was a mid major coach at NIU so would not have been on people's radar except for a fringe group.  Shaw was an OC promoted from within.

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Bergs

December 1st, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^

I remember Brian wanted to keep RR if there wasn't a hand-wavingly better option (Brady Hoke didn't qualify). If I recall it was more or less Harbaugh or bust.

Joined: 09/09/2011

MGoPoints: 2867

Tulip Time

December 1st, 2014 at 1:46 PM ^

Things Brian Said About Brady Hoke:

In 2007

 

Overall Attractiveness: Awful. Awful, awful, awful. The worst possible candidate. The mere idea this guy -- who's never even been a coordinator anywhere and has his MAC team performing at a level well below the program's historical baseline -- could get the job is infuriating. Only at Michigan could this happen, and if it does I guarantee you that Bo is going to haunt the mofo that signs the contract.

In 2011

 

Brady Hoke is not a serious candidate for the Michigan job. He is not any sort of candidate. If Dave Brandon was willing to hire Hoke to coach Michigan, Rodriguez would already be out the door because there would be a dozen people he'd rather have coaching Michigan than Rodriguez. Unless meteors hit both Jim Harbaugh and Rich Rodriguez, the chance Brady Hoke is Michigan's coach in 2011 is zero point zero percent.

Joined: 01/05/2012

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The Baughz

December 1st, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^

Mine was Gary Patterson. I remember texting a buddy of mine regarding who we'd want to be the next coach. We each threw out different names. The only thing we agreed on is that we wanted anyone but Brady Hoke. Turns out we were right. Hoke punked us in 2011 winning 11 games, then it was all downhill from there. 

I guess in 2014 I will say the same thing: Please, anyone but Brady Hoke, oh and Greg Schiano.

Joined: 10/08/2010

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Maddogrdt

December 1st, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^

Calling him a flop/failure means you did not follow Canes at all, he came in under horrible circumstances (you think Michigan has unrealistic expectations for Football, Canes actually won a few NC's in last 20 years and expect atleast 1 per 5 years!).

He recruited well, especially when his president (this might sound familiar) 100% detests athletics and took every $ they made in Sports back into educational side (namely medical).

Al is doing great when you take all of that and throw in the laughable 3 years NCAA spent on sanctions.

 

Joined: 05/15/2014

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alum96

December 1st, 2014 at 1:38 PM ^

I dont know that much about Miami FL football - just looking at the records:  6-6, 7-5, 9-4, and now back to 6-6.  At Notre Dame thats good enough for a 10 year extension I guess. :)  Up through end of last year it was actually a pretty good progression, but this year has been a regression back to where he started in year 1.  28-21 overall.   The ACC is a bad conference and Miami was 3-5 in conf, not something you'd expect in year 4.

Not a total failure or anything and it sounds like they have circumstances that Florida and Michigan did not have.

Joined: 04/28/2012

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Brodie

December 1st, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^

the candidates popular here in 2011 were, in no particular order, Harbaugh, Miles, Patterson and Pat Fitzgerald. Miles started out being very disliked in the community but he emerged as a lot of people's favorite after Harbaugh went off the table. A lot of us who wanted no part of Les came around quickly on Hoke as a compromosie candidate after Jason Whitlock wrote an article selling him for the job.

I also would not say that Al Golden was "wrong". Miami got hit by the SI Nevin Shapiro bomb 8 months into his tenure and after showing life inyear 3 are now entering a period of sanctions.

Joined: 11/19/2008

MGoPoints: 10713

bronxblue

December 1st, 2014 at 1:34 PM ^

If memory serves me right, it was guys like Chris Peterson at Boise St. and, maybe, Fitzgerald at NW.  Also, maybe Schiano from Rutgers.  The discussion seemed to be focused heavily on big-name HCs or guys from programs on the rise.

There was also this survey that popped up my google search that tried to distill a least a bit of the peanut gallery's feelings.

 

Joined: 11/22/2008

MGoPoints: 171843

alum96

December 1st, 2014 at 1:55 PM ^

Damn!  The survey had 7% for Malzahn?  Fascinating.  5% for Hoke.  We should have crowdsourced it.

For those who didnt click on the survey from 2011 here is how it looked - this was after Harbaugh was off the board - Patterson or Malzahn would have been fantastic in retrospect:

  1. Gruden 31%
  2. Patterson 23%
  3. Miles 16%
  4. Mullen 11%
  5. Mahlzahn 7%
  6. Hoke 5%
  7. Peterson 2%
  8. Others 5%

Fascinating link - just what I was looking for, thanks.

Joined: 04/28/2012

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alum96

December 1st, 2014 at 1:53 PM ^

Survey and comments also interesting in how Les Miles was viewed.  Back then he was a dirty man with lots of warts but at this point he is a cute and cuddly 60+ year old plan B behnd Harbaugh and things we would not overlook in 2011 now are generally (not with everyone but most) ok.

Joined: 04/28/2012

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TheMadGrasser

December 1st, 2014 at 2:58 PM ^

Suffice to say RR's offense doing "well" is up for debate, especially if you look at the production against teams with a heart beat.

And if you're going by that standard, Hoke's defense's were on the same level as RR's offense. Played lights out against terrible teams, and ehhh against good competition. In fact, I might venture to say that Hoke's defenses played more solid against the good teams.

Joined: 11/11/2009

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Mich OC

December 1st, 2014 at 3:17 PM ^

If I'm looking at the stats correctly, the 2010 team was #2 in FEI rankings and #18 in S&P. I would consider that doing "well". And this was without the benefit of an upperclassman/returning starter at QB. Almost all teams perform worse against better defenses. I never quite understand that argument. The special teams and defense were awful, but the offense was very good and on the verge of great with more red zone consistency.

Joined: 10/09/2014

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Mr. Yost

December 1st, 2014 at 1:39 PM ^

 

 

  1. Jim Harbaugh
  2. Les Miles
  3. Brady Hoke
  4. John Harbaugh
  5. Randy Edsall

Obviously that isn't "Bible" because it's based on opinion...but I think if you were to do some kind of MGoRanking. That is what you would've ended up with.

Charlie Strong would've gotten votes, Pat Fitzgerald, Kirk Ferentz and Greg Schiano would've as well.

I removed Patterson and Petersen because they were never a candidate so people mentioned them (along with Gruden, Dungy and Cowher), but there was never any real report or speculation on any of those guys. They were just "wish list" type guys.

Joined: 07/25/2011

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Steve in PA

December 1st, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^

No consensus. Harbaughs, Miles, doom. We got doom. Pinkel had too much baggage and Peterson wasn't interested. Fitzgerald and Ferentz got hype too but I put them in with doom.

Joined: 08/10/2009

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TSWC

December 1st, 2014 at 4:21 PM ^

(1) Jim H. (2)/(3) Les M. or John H.

 

The rest in something of an order: Patterson, Peterson, Gruden, Cowher, Dungy, Fitzgerald, Ferentz, Edsall, Mullen.

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