I'll say this, now that it's all said and done, looking back I am more disappointed with how Brandon handled the search than who he actually hired.

Is Hoke our plan C? Yes.

Is he a competent coach? Yes.

Will he lead us back to prominence? Who knows.

At first I was in meltdown mode not getting our top choices, but coming down from the cliff I'm a little more confident that maybe we'll be just fine. Looking around the blogosphere and the mediasphere there is nothing but positive buzz about this hire.

Maybe we have to take a step back and remove the emotion from an event such as this coaching hire and realize that maybe things will be good. Whatever the case, and regardless of what I think of Hoke, I will support the University of Michigan and will not waiver in support. He deserves all of our support after the last 3 years and knowing what no support can do to a team.

I like this hire.  I liken this to choosing substance (wins) over style (offensive yardage).  I complained up and down about Carr's predictable offense, but winning is better than yards as I now know. Everybody talks about how exciting RR's offense is.  I don't see it.  I see 17 points at MSU, 7 at OSU and 14 in the Gator Bowl.  We scored on 2 of the first 3 possessions in the bowl and never again.  We suffered the worst defeat in a bowl ever.  Do RR supporters ever get tired of worsts- worst defense 2009, TOPPED 2010, worst season record 2008, worst bowl loss?  Yea, that is exciting.  I will take wins anytime.  Players, co-workers, everyone who personally knows Hoke seems to love him.  I am all in.  Go Blue!

First off, It's not Hoke's fault. But good luck, cuz you're gonna need it.



If this hire is to somehow try to replicate the Carr years then we are fucked. What happened? When did we give up in being the leaders and best???!!



I just cant see this endung well. I just can't see us winning against MSU and OSU for the next three years.

Like this hire quite a bit, but think the timing is less than desirable.  

Hoke is not the rube we're making him out to be, and I certainly think the banner at the top of the page probably should be changed before the presser.

I don't understand Hoke saying he thinks teams that practice day in and day out against the spread get blown off the ball when they play pro set teams.  Best I can tell the whole damn Big Ten runs a variation of the spread, so it seams he would want to run the spread.

THE HOKE'S ON YOU, CUZ BROTHER, THE HOKESTER IS GONNA HAVE ALL HIS HOKEAMANIACS RUNNIN' WILD ALL OVER THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE!

Considering the circumstances (i.e. Rodriguez already gone, Harbaugh not coming), I like the move. 

He doesn't come with the baggage of a Les Miles, everyone who knows him seems to love the guy (which will help with recruiting), he was a few plays away from turning into a white hot coaching prospect this year, and he loves Michigan (which, fine, isn't the most important factor, but there are real benefits - no desire to leave, a visceral disgust for OSU, a sense of responsibility to preserve Michigan's image, etc.).

I also completely disagree that his ceiling is low.  If he can win here - and I think he will - he seems to have the personality to be fully embraced by Michigan fans.  He might even be one of those guys who is difficult for rival fans to hate.  In fact, it's going to help him in the long run that people are setting the bar low for him now. 

Time will tell, but I'm happy about it now.  Welcome back, Coach Hoke.

I will be all in for Hoke once he wins 8 games next year.  If 7 wins wasn't good enough for RR this year, the bar was clearly 8 wins.  Therefore I am expecting Hoke to be equal or better what we were expecting of RR.  Good luck Hoke! 

I see Michigan become the Oldsmobile of college football.  It was a good car in its day, and my dad bought one.  But what young person wants one?

I'll support Hoke because he's Michigan's coach now --he's our coach. But I'm furious that the search seems to have been bogus, that DB seems to have wasted time just to please people so he could say he talked to option X, and that this tiny faction of Carr era coaches and players, many of whom I think have been hurting the program with their hubris, got what they wanted (most recognize Hoke wouldn't have been even close to being in the picture if he hadn't coached here as an assistant). I'm terrified his comments about basketball on grass indicate that he's (1) dumb or (2) stubbornly inflexible to a fault.

But I've calmed down since earlier today and zm trying to be optimistic. I'm all in because I desperately want M to succeed. Go Blue!

Not my first choice, and I wish this was done in December, but I will always root for Michigan. 

as a gut reaction, we've been mislead and lied to. Brandon had an agenda all along, and the whole process was window-dressing. I think Brandon fumble-fucked a great opportunity away.  Goddammit, we're Michigan. He could have done a lot better.

That said, I believe we underestimate the talent in place already, and that they were shockingly under-coached by RR and Co.  

I'm good with any change at this point. 

to pull together a top Staff.  Spend some $ there to land some bigger anmes with the supporting track record.

OK, I get it.  RR's position here was tenuous at best. RR had somehow managed to alienate a group of former players.  Apparently some (Mark Bihl according to BCook) were going so far as to steer kids to MSU (which I find disgusting that supposed M-Men would turn on the program like that).

Also the NCAA sanctions pissed off a lot of people, myself included (which in hindsight are total BS in light of what has gone on in the SEC and OSU) .

HOWEVA ....

Dumping RR for Hoke doesn't make sense to me other than Hoke is a so-called Michigan Man.   3 winning seasons.  3.  That's Hoke's record as a HC.   I am not optimistic.  And I do not look forward to 3 yards and a cloud of dust offense.  Anyone notice the national championship game featured 2 spread teams? Anyway...

I honestly hope Hoke turns things around and makes Michigan a contender again.  I also honestly hope that RR lands on his feet and finds a place where he is a good fit.  Anyone questioning RR's integrity needs to revisit the Mealer family's opinion of the man.

I can see UM turning into ND, forever firing coach after coach to try to "return to glory",  demanding savior after savior.

Shoulda given RR 1 more year.   That is all.

needs to calm the f*ck down.  Hoke fits all the necessary requirements.  He is a good man, he grew up under Bo's guideance, he is a Michigan Man, and he "looks" tough.

Lets give him a year or so and see what he can or cant do.  This is simple, can he win the games he is supposed to win, split those he shouldnt win and steal a few that he cant win.  He wont know that until this December.

Anyone who hates Hoke can sell me their season tickets because I am ALL IN FOR MICHIGAN.  All Walmart Wolverines can go home and stay home.

I see Michigan as maxing out as a just below top teir. Like others are saying, it will be like carr's teams in the new millenium. Lots of 9-3's, some 8-4/7-5's, and once in a while 10-2.

Just feel like it is a blah hire. Solid I suppose, but blah.

that pisses me off.  Dave Brandon, LC's shill and the puppet of MSC intentionally misled the fanbase and all observers of this process.  He admitted he spoke to both Harbaugh and Miles and never offered either of them the job and sought their opinions on Hoke.  Hoke was plan A from the start.  If that was the case, why the fuck didn't they hire him weeks ago and have a chance to save this recruiting class.

Once again it looks fro the outside as if Michigan is clueless.  Harbaugh was the best choice available and apparently DB never went after him.  What does that say of the AD and the University's view of its former players and coaches.  Apparently, if LC doesn't think you're worthy, you have no shot.

Brady Hoke very well could be a great coach, only time will tell.  I will support him as coach, bacause he is the coach of my favorite program.  But I have lost all respect for LC and MSC.  They both need to be sent to Bolivian without cell phones.  Before all this I believed in DB, now I believe he is all about the $$ and low-balling the football program for the sake of satisfying the two-headed monster.   DB apparently has no mind of his own.

I will root for Brady Hoke to be the savior of the program, but he is starting from behind with a recruiting class that is shrinking by the day.  Hopefully he can land a few great assistants and can manage to keep Denard while adding a few quality recruits to this class.

Stay Classy DB

GO BLUE

My initial feeling is that I know nothing about Hoke.  I have not seen any of his team play on TV.  I will be leaning into this blog to learn about Hoke so I can be excited.  I really wanted to see Lesticles and after him Gruden.  Go Blue!

I just talked to a friend of mine, a Mizzou alum, who told me SDSU came within an inch of beating them this season at Missouri. 

I, for one, don't know anything about this guy. I wanted JH, then I wanted LM, and now I'm willing to give this untested coach a chance. I do know that our team under RR (whom I supported) couldn't compete in the Big Ten. Maybe he had his sights set on other things and mistakenly thought the Big Ten was an easy conference. But any of you who watched the games cannot deny that this team was not a well-coached team. I'm not getting down on RR - I wanted him to work out. But the proof was on the field.  

I'm not going to blindly support BH just because he's the Michigan coach. I'm going to support him because he's untested in this arena. I've seen too many instances of people in my line of work going into a new, more competitive job and kicking ass while others sat around, doubting. This guy might not take Michigan football to places it's never been before, like we were all hoping RR would do. But he has a good chance of making it respectable again. 

I'm equally livid that RichRod didn't receive the level of support from former players as he deserved.  It sucks, really, but we also don't really know all the details as to why this occurred, and it's entirely possible (not wholly probable) that RR simply misunderestimated (heh) the need to fully embrace former players and the traditions that were contained therein.

RR didn't have the luxury of Bo being just down the hall during the Lloyd era, so he had an extra degree of responsibility to serve as the figurehead of Michigan football.  Did he succeed in doing so?  Who knows.  This isn't a swipe at RR by any means, but it's clear that he didn't fully realize the level of influence the old guard would have on his coaching reputation.

But -- one thing we can say for certain: former players have an IMMENSE amount of influence on recruiting, something we may not be fully privy to.  When a recruit's watching Sunday Night Football, and guys like Harris, Edwards, etc. announce their high school of origin or "Lloyd Carr's University of Michigan", don't you think it brings them pause to consider why they don't find their college worthy of showcasing on stage?  Having those players at your disposal can reap tremendous rewards on the recruiting trail, and I find an extreme amount of optimism in former players showing their unequivocal support for Hoke.

His process sucked. I'm warming to the Hoke hire. I just hope he can get some real quality assistants.

I don't know for sure how I feel about Hoke, but that shouldn't affect my support now that he's the coach.

I'm worried, but only because there isn't a lot of evidence to suggest he'll do well or fail.

I'm all in for Michigan- it doesn't matter who the coach is, that will never change.

Hoke has all my support, but I'm nervous- which I think is ok to feel...it doesn't make me a hater or any less of a supporter.

I'm hoping with all my energy that this works and we can seriously compete for MNC's in the next 5-7 years (sooner would be nice, but I'm trying to be realistic in my expectations)...

The last thing this program needs is for Hoke to be treated the way RR was when he got into town.  If Hoke fails, and we keep up the infighting, the next coaching search will triple the number of 'Thanks, but no thanks' responses we get- and no matter what any writer/radio personality/fan/alum/administrator/former player says, we'll have ourselves to blame for it.

Here's to hoping Hoke can do it, fans will unite, and Michigan will be a national power for years to come.

GO BLUE.

I will admit that Harbaugh was my first choice,.  However, the more I read about Hoke, the more excited I get about the hire.  I never liked the Miles, or other "hot" or "big name" coaches.  Just because you won with one team it does not promise you can do it again. 

I think RR sort of proved this, although I think he would have won in the long run.  I just do not think he understood UM football.  Sure we have our "Michigan Man" thoughts, our hatred for OSU, ND and MSU, but understanding and embracing these is part of what makes a great coach.  Plus RR came with a lot of baggage, and continued to pile it on throughout his stay.

I like the fact that we have a coach that understands you HAVE to plan to beat OSU, ND and MSU every year, and that they are not "just another game."  I compared stats between UM and SDS from last year, and UM only topped them in Total yards (barely), Rushing Yards, and Total Offense (barely).  SDS was on top in Passing/Receptions, FG, Total Defense, and most other stats.  This is UM vs. SDS we are talking about here.  If he can do that at UM we'll be in good hands.

The big question is can he retain the talent he has, and make it work in some variation of his system.  My guess is that was in the contract this time.  We'll see if the "talent" believes him.  From what I have read, he can be convincing.

In summary, I am all in with the hire.  I feel better about this one then I did three years ago.

GO FREAKING BLUE!!!

During the supposed national search my wife delivers a future recruit and Dave Brandon delivers Brady fucking Hoke.

Today I feel better and am ready to support Hoke but have my doubts about Brandon and MSC doing what's best for the program.

I wasn't thrilled when Brady Hoke was hired, especially with all the big names being thrown around.  I found that I was extremely frustrated, however, when reading reactions from the traditional media outlets and former players.

It is great that these two factions are now once again "all in" for Michigan, but where were they during the RichRod era?  Why couldn't they give the same support?  Now, Braylon Edwards and Michael Rosenberg are telling me that I am supposed to be excited about this hire and "all in" for the team.  It's ridiculous. 

If the likes of Cato June and Aaron Shea really support Michigan, they should have done so through thick and thin, regardless of who the coach was.  Yet, because it was not Michigan football the way they wanted it to be, they decide who they should support, and I am supposed to blindly follow.

Whether alluded to or bluntly stated, I hear a lot of people saying that they want things back to the way they were with Coach Carr.  It seems people remember what he did differently from me because I recall a 1-5 record against Tressel, a traditional Rose Bowl demolishing, and an inability to stop a running quarterback.  I was excited Michigan decided to take a step in a new direction that would finally address these problems.

I do not necessarily think RichRod was the right person for the job given the on-field results and the numerous player transfers, but I continue to wonder "what if" when it comes to the support he should have received from these two factions that were so opposed to him from Day 1.  Maybe it would not have changed anything, but I would have liked to see what could have happened.

I want to support this hire, and I will in time, but everytime I see another former player or reporter telling me how much I should like this decision, I have a harder time doing so. 

NEXT SEASON'S GOALS: Proclaiming 9-3 as the target for next year is just dumb, chances UM losses only 3 games is very low.  The goal for next season should be another bowl game at any cost, where the team actually shows they're capable of playing against their opponent.  

RECRUITING: This recruiting year will be very hard to salvage, just getting bodies to fill out the class could become hard with the limited time table Hoke has to fill out his staff and then change/convince recruits to join him.  And likely in that order, recruits want to build relationships with their position coaches before agreeing to follow them for 4 years of their life.  This has the potential to leave the team with worse depth than the past season.

DEPTH: Already down one QB, and another on the fence.  Still have plenty of RBs though, maybe a wildcat-ish formation is in UM's future?  Oline could be the offense's best asset next season again.  Interested to see what Hoke will do with the TE's; a good amount of potential there that wasn't realized in the past 3 years.  Hard to say the defense wont get better with healthy players and a year of experience but there also isn't much worse they could do.  I have heard mixed reviews on Hoke's brother; I liked his resume but not a lot of big happy reviews.  Won't have any idea how capable he is till much later in the year, and maybe not until a few years from now after he actually has been given time to develop players.

KEY DATES: NSD (duh) how much depth can he add, it probably won't be a sparkly class but it also won't be a strong indicator of what Hoke will be capable of as a recruiter.  It would be really unfair to him to judge him on the next 3 weeks alone, so don't do it.  Spring game, don't look for a flashy offense or defense, look for competent units.  Good Signs: Low on penalties, players executing their assignments, strong tackling, and players showing a lot of effort and buying into the coach's philosophy. 

MY EXPECTATIONS: Most people won't take my advice and a lot of them will complain about everything Hoke does that they think Harbaugh or Miles or RR wouldn't have done.  The RR supporters will continue to ask why Hoke gets leeway on his win total (or whatever topic) this year when expectations of RR would-be/were different.  Expectations were set with Harbaugh becoming the HC, and again with Miles, those same expectations will be applied to Hoke when it is likely really unfair to do so.  At the end of this season Hoke won't have the full support of the UM fan base but I think he will have the program in a better place, how much better will be decided over the next 3 months.

I don't think that he is a bad guy or a bad coach but I was hoping for something more. I almost assume that he'll win 9 or 10 games next year with most of the 2-deep returning and a favorable schedule and everyone will declare him the savior. I'm just dreading some 'Bush Push' almost beat OSU type thing where he gets a fat extension and slowly burns this program to the ground like Charlie Weis did at Notre Dame. I really hope that's not the case and he gets us back to national prominence.

 so much has changed...yet nothing has changed.  The magnetic pole shift has occured and nothing really is that different. 

I was at Autzen when Braylon dropped the final pass and I realized we weren't going to get it done.  I resolved to travel back to Mecca for the redux of the ducks.  Apalachian State happened.  Belloti got his picture with the scoreboard in the background.  Carr was carried off the field after a truly great Capital One Bowl.  That season encapsulated the dichotomous nature of the modern Wolverine.

The division between Wolverines on this hire is disheartening...yet letting go of the spread is more troubling to me than any lack of coaching bona fides.  Remembering the horror and Dennis Dixon still resonates.  I don't see an answer for this deep wound in the salve of Brady Hoke. 

I need to take a break from what has been a multi-year obsesson with regaining Michigan pride and excellence.  I need to go back to my cave and sleep another couple hundred years.  I'll awake to find my religion in vogue instead of on the fringe.  

I've already put my thoughts into a lengthy post in another thread (before I even saw this one).

My disappointment level is still incredibly high. After all that transpired in that 2007 season, and seeing the landscape of college football as it is today. I really don't like the idea of "going back" to what we did (offensively) before. I really don't like that the (now ended) RR era is being looked at as a "failed experiment." Well, any experiment is bound to fail if the plug is pulled before it's given a chance to be completed.

RR deserved at least one more year. That's all we (his supporters) asked for. We, apparently, weren't really going after Harbaugh or Miles. Not like either actually seemed to want the job anyway. And I'm pretty sure that if Hoke was the guy from jump, he still would've been available next year if need be. So I honestly can't see a reason why this whole thing was scrapped prematurely.

I am really not feeling it with Hoke. Les had me a little concerned, I was on the Jim bandwagon, Hoke just seems like a step to the side instead of forward.

I hope I am wrong, we can get our first real clue at the spring game.

Give the guy a chance

I am interested in how the media fawns over the hire though, Dick Vitale's twitter was buzzing all over it

IT'S A GREAT HIRE BABY GOOD GUT FEELING ABOUT THIS GUY BABY

And of course all the former players very excited

I will reserve judgement until I see what happens in the season, you have to give the guy a chance

Still very early

of patience with people claiming it's not fair that current players and the media are supporting BH in ways that RR never was.  Newsflash: life's not fair.  Also done with people demanding that DB be fired, pilloried, etc. because, whah, the search could have been done in November if he was going to hire BH, and, whah, I want to know what was going on with the search every 15 freaking minutes. 

I wanted Harbaugh until it was clear he wasn't coming here.  It may not be the popular opinion but I think DB did an excellent job on the search and on the results he got. 

Thank God I'm posting these thoughts in this thread and won't have to bear the whithering insults of being a slappy, a pollyanna, or, worse, a Pangloss.

lol