Hoke and Harbaugh talk on ESPN Radio
I know a couple of folks here listen to Colin Cowherd, so I expected to see this as a thread. In his final 15 minutes, he discussed the tension between the 49ers and Jim Harbaugh, and how JH could choose to leave at the end of the season. That combined with a season similar to last years (which I don't think will happen....of course i didn't think last year would happen either) then Hoke could be replaced. I love Brady Hoke, as a person, a coach, and a representative of the school. I have met him, talked to him on the phone (yes I was giggling the entire time), and heard his recruiting pitch. I would settle for Lloyd Carr numbers for 15 years as long as he is at the helm. However...I think it is unanimous that Jim Harbaugh is an upgrade. Personally, I would have mixed emotions about him as a coach. It's hard for me to picture anyone else being a better guy for Michigan, than Brady Hoke.
edit: MOD please move to Board
August 21st, 2014 at 3:15 PM ^
I can think of a better place for a mod to move this.
August 21st, 2014 at 3:22 PM ^
It's too bad if Harbaugh's having issues with his job but we already have a coach.
August 21st, 2014 at 5:33 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 11:57 PM ^
The nature of college football is such that coaching transistions are generally costly and take time to reach their potential. We're dealing with a double dose of whiplash right now. It's not something to jump into lightly just because some hot new name is available.
More importantly, I do *not* think Harbaugh would be an upgrade, nor do I think Hoke needs replacing. He's building something special here, I just hope Michigan fans don't Michigan fan their way into a coaching change before it has a chance to come to fruition. Jumping after a guy like Harbaugh would be exhibit 1A of this. You're entitled to your own opinion, obviously..
August 21st, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^
I was really disappointed that Harbaugh did not take the job after Rich Rod. However, I would rather have Brady Hoke as the coach going forward. Give me the guy who sees this as his "Dream Job". I would prefer that over the guy who settles for the job after chasing his "Dream Job" somewhere else.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:04 PM ^
But the train has sailed. We waited at the station for him and he never showed up. Never look back.
August 21st, 2014 at 7:18 PM ^
Are you sure that the train has sailed? Yes, I'm pretty sure Rick was standing there on the train, watching Paris recede into the distance, his beloved Ilsa somewhere, nowhere... as the train puffed up its sails into the French wind and, uh, tracked a course southward to Nice and the Med.
August 21st, 2014 at 11:39 PM ^
I laughed out loud at this one. Good catch.
August 22nd, 2014 at 3:24 AM ^
Don't be a dick. Make like a tree and get outta here.
August 22nd, 2014 at 9:07 AM ^
At least I think that's what he was trying to do.
August 21st, 2014 at 10:47 PM ^
Yep. I know I'll get negged by a few for saying this too, but I'd rather have the Mad Hatter than Harbaugh simply because we wants it more. Harbaugh's heart just isn't in it. You could visibly see the disappointment in MH's face when talking about how the last coach hunt happened. You just know he wants it.
I don't concern myself in the politics of what happened while he was an assistant. I've heard five different credible stories from five different credible people. That said, I couldn't be more hopeful of success for Brady Hoke. Damn, it's so easy to love that guy.
August 21st, 2014 at 11:57 PM ^
...was Gerry Faust's dream job.
I'm not comparing Hoke to Faust, but a lot of JAGs, and high performeres, have dream jobs in which they don't excel.
August 21st, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^
Jim Harbaugh is an NFL guy and seemingly couldn't get to the NFL fast enough. I can't forsee him going down to coach in college, anywhere.
August 21st, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^
I think many coaches who start in college take a "nice place to visit but I would not want to live there" approach to the NFL after seeing what it is about. Harbaugh came out of the gate hot in the pros but he did so with a team that was ready compete personel wise almost immediately. It also helped that Kaepernick was this badass Joe Montana-Michael Vick hybrid that Harbaugh got almost for free his first three years in the league. I don't expect it to be all that easy from here on out. I actually think Harbaugh would have taken the Michigan job if there was sufficient talent in reserve. He may be more likely to think about it now.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:09 PM ^
He coached a team in the Super Bowl.
Somehow, I think that Jimbo wouldn't like transitioning to Saturdays in exotic places like West Lafayette, East Lansing or Tuscaloosa. Unless he completely shits the bed in the NFL.
August 21st, 2014 at 7:07 PM ^
August 22nd, 2014 at 9:16 AM ^
JH and the misses seem to like the west coast. I suppose if he gets fired/quits he'll be looking for the Raider/Charger/LA team.
I'm in the shoulda took the job last time camp, I'd want his brother over him down the road if it comes to that.
August 22nd, 2014 at 9:30 AM ^
Exactly. With the Super Bowl gleam and intense genius label still strong, he'll find another NFL HC job in Cali. The only way he goes back to college (see Pete Carroll) is if he hangs a 2-14 season on his record.
The time for him to take a job in AA was right before or during his Stanford job.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:27 PM ^
3 points here:
1. I am guessing that Harbaugh didn't want to have an idiot like DB for a boss.
2. When Michigan is THE surprise team of the year, there won't be any more talk about Brady Hoke's "hot seat."
3. For those of you who want to replace Brady Hoke, the candidate pool will not be very impresslive as long as DB is at the helm. If Hoke were to be let go, DB would be seen as a petulant corporate hatchet man who fires people just before they get to see their vision for the team come to fruition, which is pretty much what he was seen as during the last search.
It's no accident that the candidate pool was so pathetic last time. Les Miles was never a serious candidate, nor was Jim Harbaugh. Both listened to what DB had to say and decided they would be better off elsewhere. These are two loyal Bo guys we are talking about here, and even they didn't want to take a chance and work for DB.
Brady Hoke is a high-quality human being and a very good coach who is working at his "dream job." DB is lucky to have hired him. If DB ever stopped meddling with the X's and O's, Michigan could become a perennial powerhouse again under Hoke.
Far be it from me to define a "real Michigan fan," but if I were to do so, I would say it is someone who supports the head coach for as long as he is with the program and believes that anything that is mathematically possible is attainable. Those who are already looking for his replacement are assuming that the team will fail this year.
I am not ready to make that assumption.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:50 PM ^
Not a DB hater, but I like the sentiment about Hoke. He seems to be a great human being - to his players, the fans, the community, etc. He has assembled a very good team - all of whom seem to be very loyal to him. He and his team have recruited top tier atheletes at an astounding rate. We have every reason to get behind him.
August 21st, 2014 at 7:10 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 10:57 PM ^
I like some of the points you make but you're seriously confused or misled about the Miles situation. Les Miles DID interview for the job and would have taken it acccording to himself. There is even video of him discussing the process. DB just chose Hoke (glad he did). Furthermore, there is wide spread speculation that his time as an assistant under Meoller was the main reason. Something happened there that has a million different versions.
August 21st, 2014 at 11:27 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 3:38 PM ^
I wouldn't settle for Lloyd Carr numbers unless it is late 90s Lloyd carr or 2006. As for BH, I think he'll get it done.
August 21st, 2014 at 6:53 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 3:43 PM ^
Is that something you seriously want? Have we really lowered the bar that far?
August 21st, 2014 at 4:01 PM ^
"Lloyd Carr numbers" (from Wikipedia):
- 122-40 overall (13 seasons)
- 1 national title
- 5 Big Ten titles
- 19-8 vs. top 10 teams
- 6-7 vs. OSU
- 10-3 vs. MSU
- 5-4 vs. ND
I'm fine with that bar, especially when you throw in that he ran a clean program and was a classy, great spokesman for the university.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:06 PM ^
Loyd subverted this program in his tantrum at not being able to decide his replacement. Class my ass.
Fuck him.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:09 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 5:46 PM ^
Hard to respond when you don't even say which word you're talking about.
August 21st, 2014 at 5:39 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 4:10 PM ^
Don't get me wrong, LC did a great job at the helm, but having a losing record against OSU in any capacity should not set the bar. Just my opinion, I have nothing against your opinion.
August 21st, 2014 at 5:06 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 5:48 PM ^
I just have slightly higher expectations than you. No big deal. And with our resources, tradition, etc my expectations aren't unrealistic. After all, we traditionally beat OSU more than they beat us. Why can't I expect that going forward? I understand that the dynamics of college football have changed and perhaps there are some competitive advantages driven my shaddy acts in which we refuse to partake. Regardless, my high level of expectation remains unchanged.
August 21st, 2014 at 6:19 PM ^
but Carr started off 5-1 vs OSU, producing some of Michigan's most exciting victories in the rivalry:
- '95 Biakabutuka game. OSU was undefeated and #2 in the nation
- '96 OSU was undefeated and #2 in the nation
- '97 OSU was 10-1 and #4 in the nation; UM to Rose Bowl for a shot at a national title
- '99 Brady-to-Walker for the win with 5 min left
Yes, Tressel owned him and that was frustrating. But Carr owned Cooper, and if you think that isn't saying a lot then I would assume you are too young to remember what those OSU teams were like. I don't know that any other coach in the B10 had a winning record vs Cooper, though I seriously doubt it.
August 21st, 2014 at 9:58 PM ^
Cooper was hired specifically because his former team, Arizona State, managed to be beat Michigan in the '88 Rose Bowl. And the irony, although Earl Bruce was told mid-way through the '87 season his contract would not be renewed his team managed to beat Michigan as well. It would be seven more years before OSU and the newly hired gun would once again beat Michigan.
August 21st, 2014 at 6:26 PM ^
If Carr had won one more of those OSU games (so that his record was 7-6), would you feel entirely differently about him?
August 21st, 2014 at 8:54 PM ^
I think highly of what LC did here, so having a winning record against OSU would entirely change my view of LC.
Probably our most proud accomplishment as a program is that we can claim to be the winningest college football program. We also like to tout our winning record against OSU. Maintaining these accomplishments requires a strict committment to winning, especially against our main rivals.
Something to think about: depending on how this year plays out, we are at risk of losing the title of "winningest big ten team" to OSU.
August 22nd, 2014 at 9:29 AM ^
You don't think he would negitive recruit the shit out of Urbz if he took the job? Dude negged UM and waited till Bo died to do it.
I'm not saying its a bad thing but I like how Hoke/Lloyd does/did it. Jim IMHO would be slinging arrows at everyone.
August 21st, 2014 at 7:01 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 9:33 PM ^
Hmmm, my recollection of that game is that Navarre was awful in the first half, committing something like four turnovers, and then was pulled only to have Jermaine Gonzales take his eyes off the shotgun snap for a safety. Ohio capitalized on the short fields to go up 23-0. Navarre and the rest of the team played much better in the second half but we just had dug too deep a hole. I don't think playcalling had much to do with it. If anything we maybe should have been more conservative and not put the game on Navarre's shoukders.
August 21st, 2014 at 4:23 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 5:55 PM ^
and I also remember that immediately after the game he gave an interview to the same reporter and comported himself politely and with class, probably about the closest he would have gotten to an actual apology. It was one bad moment, certainly not something to judge his career by
August 21st, 2014 at 6:00 PM ^
That was one of my proudest moments as a Michigan fan. Those interviews are absurd.
Honestly, I can't think of a better, more appropriate representative of UM. Carr was smart, classy, and cantankerous, but he was cantankerous when others weren't being smart and classy. Damn straight that's Michigan.
August 21st, 2014 at 7:03 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 5:57 PM ^
He really was at his best in the biggest games.
Also, 9-2 vs Penn State.
August 21st, 2014 at 3:45 PM ^
So if I'm understanding this correctly a know-nothing jerk-off talking head from ESPN with 15 minutes to kill before the end of his showl decided to troll Michigan fans for the umpteenth time with a topic that was tired and worn out in 2007 and you felt you just HAD to post it?
Got it.
August 21st, 2014 at 3:58 PM ^
August 21st, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^
Exactly what I thought. Misleading title for a tired topic.
Let's just not do this, mmmmk?