Hoke Came Off Well, Brandon Not So Much

After watching that press conference, I am 100% more excited about Hoke. He brings and intensity and understanding of, not only big ten football, but MICHIGAN FOOTBALL, that RR was lacking.

ok admittedly I didn't catch all of it but I don't understand all the criticism of DB's performance at the pc.  If he was a dick, and I would describe him as having an edge, good.  Why should he bow down to the fools in the press.  The guy's smarter and more accomplished than probably anyone in the room.  More to the point, he's probably pissed at the media.  What people don't seem to understand is that its the media and to an extent people like us on the internet that portrayed the search in a particular way, that Hoke looks like plan C after JH and Miles said no with no one else even being considered.   I believe thats not how it went.  I may be wrong but none of us know.

I'm not thrilled with the the hire (although its growing on me), certainly not thrilled with the timing (RR should have been let go after the OSU game), and if the process was as it was portrayed to be, then obviously thats a nightmare.  But his performance at the PC?  Rock solid.

He took a shot at LM and JH coaches who everyone and there mother knows should have been the HC in AA.  However I liked how he said he went to 6 cities in 5 days.  Props to DB he researched this well.  Sure if I was DB this process could of been avoided after the OSU game.  Im not the AD.  So kudos to DB getting the right guy that wants to be here!

Though DB was in a tough spot on what he could say without calling Hoke a second or third option, he handled it very poorly. I turned off my radio after a while. 

What I came away with on Brandon in today's presser is that either he thinks we're all stupid or he is far more stupid than we all think.

As for Hoke, I am 100% on board with him after today. Some things need to shake out with the staff, etc. But he said and did all the right things and came off a little less "I'm here to fix what the last guy broke" than I expected.

Sorry about being a dick like allegedly DB was, but I was impressed with his handling of the presser, especially with all the work he's put in.

I guess most of you haven't been involved in management or in hiring managers, vice presidents, etc, but it's much different in the business world than in the athletic world. And it shows why so many athletic coach hires are absolute disasters. 

Usual coaching search goes something like this: AD gets all hot and bothered over coach du jour and puts all eggs in that basket. They get sloppy, media gets leaks, and either they pour out tons of money to get the hot coach, or the hot coach turns it in and gets a big pay increase to stay. Then said AD panics and starts reaching at straws for hires. Alumni get upset, boosters complain, and usually they end up with third or fourth choice that was never on the AD's radar and usually a panic hire.

Isn't that what happened here. NO, absolutely not. Brandon mentioned from the firing presser that as a CEO, you are always involved in succession planning. This was always a topic at work. Who were you grooming to take your position should you move to another company, get promoted, or get hit by a bus. Hey, it happens. So Brandon had a list all along, and from the initial press conference, it was obvious that he wasn't going after Harbaugh. So what exactly happened.

He did conduct a national search. We know for sure he talked to Miles - there was no way to keep that one quiet. Rumors are he did talk to Gruden - unconfirmed. We know he wanted to talk with Fitzgerald (who I believe was at the top of his list) and was rebuffed. A good hiring process involves interviewing ALL potential candidates until you either interviewed them all, or you happen to have that interview that you know you won't do better. 

Brandon comes from the corporate world. He mentioned he ran numbers and looked at the data. I thought it was interesting some of the tid bits he dropped about successful vs. unsuccessful coaches over the past 25 years or so. You can find a pattern and move on that. Recruiting is key and he pointed that out. 

Sorry we didn't get Harbaugh or Miles. But I'm not sure they were ever in the mold, or that they were ever offered. I'm sorry Brady Hoke isn't a sexy hire, but neither was Jim Tressel, or Pete Carroll at USC. Others included in non-sexy hires included Mike Price at Washington State, Les Miles at LSU, Gary Pinkel at Missouri, and others I'm sure. There have been sexy hires that have been fizzles like - Lane Kiffin at Tennessee, Howard Schnellenberger at Oklahoma, Butch Davis at UNC, Rick Neuhisal (take your pick anywhere, but lets focus on UCLA), Mike Stoops at Arizona, Dennis Erickson at ASU, Steve Kragthorpe at Louisville, Bill Callahan at Nebraska, and oh yeah, Rich Rodriguez at Michigan. 

David Brandon shouldn't be fired or even doubted. Lets see what Coach Hoke does first, and then he'll get his evaluation.

I was perfectly okay with his comments.  I think someone needs to absorb the heat that the entire athletic department has been receiving for a while, and I'm okay with the AD taking certain facets of the coaching search personally.