Hoke presser: "I will not wear a headset"

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

In the newest Michigan press circus that was live on ESPN, here are our counts:

"It's in the statement": 4

"We're not gonna talk about injuries": 3

  • Peppers is hurt
  • Does not believe Brandon left him out to dry
  • Gardner will start at QB with Bellomy as his backup and Speight as the #3...
  • ESPN was there along with Joe Shad
  • Schad asks Hoke about headset, he says "no I won't. I have guy behind me that relays info to me"........

Oh and.....

 

Hoke: "I like our football mindset and where our team is at."

— Josh Newkirk (@JoshNewkirk7) October 1, 2014

I also think people like having root canals.

Mr. Yost

October 1st, 2014 at 12:50 PM ^

...because he's not going to change. Not for you, not for me, not for bettering his career.

So get ready, because if he hasn't been fired by now, he's not going to be fired until the end of the year. So he's going to keep giving the same responses over, and over, and over...

FreddieMercuryHayes

October 1st, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^

Hoke is being remarkably restrained.  It is clear that Brandon left Hoke out to dry, and I don't think anybody would hold it against Hoke to send it back at Brandon.  But maybe that's why Hoke is respected amoung the coaches and players because he doesn't air dirty laundry to the public.

Wu

October 1st, 2014 at 12:31 PM ^

I wonder if maybe at this point he just doesn't care. Giving it back to Brandon might be fun but it won't accomplish anything. Hoke is smart enough to understand that--based solely on the product on the field--he stands little chance of saving his job at this point. He doesn't strike me as a vindictive kind of guy. So he probably just doesn't see much point in calling out Brandon and making this into a bigger media shitstorm. He got fucked over but nothing can really change that.

Muttley

October 1st, 2014 at 3:16 PM ^

Q. "Brady, I was going to follow up: he has not been diagnosed with a concussion? Can you say that?"

A. "Everything that I know of, no.”

Which taken literally means, "No, I CANNOT SAY that he HAS NOT BEEN DIAGNOSED with a concussion."

Albatross

October 1st, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^

I saw a noticeable change in Hoke’s demeanor in Year 2 and it has been in steady decline since. All the Year 1 bluster was gone by the following year and he seemed to me to be a coach who began to understand that he was in over his head and was not going to succeed. And he basically stopped caring.

What you have since is a coach who accepts falling to his top rivals; accepts not completing for a conference championship and basically accepts losing. He will tell you his team is "special" because they work hard, not because they face and over come challenges. Not because they march onto the field with grit, determiantion and conviction.

It is not only losing, but the manner in which they are losing that is most alarming. This Michigan team isn't even competitive. It doesn't look like it knows how to or even wants to complete. And contrary to what Hoke is telling everyone, that is not the effort of team that works hard and believes in itself.

People are wondering why Hoke doesn't throw Brandon under the bus, like Brandon so quickly tossed him, The answer is simple, Hoke knows he owes Brandon more than he will ever be able to repay him. Brandon not only handed Hoke his dream job with an appallingly inadequate resume, but he set up Hoke and is family financially. Hoke is going to make anywhere from $15-$20 million on his contract. That is life changing money that he was never on track to earn. Brandon handed him a winning lottery ticket and secured his family's future. Now you tell me, how upset would you be with a guy that made sure you and your family didn't have to worry about making the mortgage payment the rest of your lives?

Hoke sold his soul to the Devil and neglected to read the fine print.

Red is Blue

October 1st, 2014 at 3:26 PM ^

I've been wondering whether something like this (Hoke's state of mind) didn't feed into the Morris situation.  Maybe Hoke really thought he had a chance to turn this thing around and stay here, even after Utah.  But when he went down by 23 to Minny, it finally hit him that it was over.  This realization (or him starting to mentally pack) stunned or distracted him causing him to lose focus on the situation and take the actions he should have with Morris.

 

Sam1863

October 1st, 2014 at 3:41 PM ^

I think he still cares - this was his dream job, after all. The fact that it hasn't played out like he'd hoped probably hurts like hell, but I don't think it's made him not care. But I think he's realistic enough to know that if the end isn't here, it's not far away. And then what's next for Brady Hoke?

If he wants another coaching job, he does himself no favors by getting into a shit-throwing contest with Brandon. Like you said, he just doesn't come across as a vindictive sort of guy. Besides, what would it accomplish? All it would do is make titillating media, and do more damage to his reputation - which I'm sure he knows is the last thing he needs.

I remember being told something very valuable long ago: Be careful of how you leave a job. It might affect your chances of getting another one.

LSAClassOf2000

October 1st, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^

I sort of thought the same thing, especially when he said he didn't felt that Brandon had "hung him out to dry", as he put it. I don't think he ever was the sort to at least publicly say anything that would show any sort of rift existed, and that probably is a reason he is respectd - there's no real reason to be quite that open in a presser even if there are issues. It really would become an even bigger circus then. 

saveferris

October 1st, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^

Because being open and candid with the media served our last head coach so well?  I agree that Hoke's presence at the podium could be more polished, but treating the media in an adversarial manner, especially in today's climate is completely understandable and probably desirable.  If we've learned anything the past 7 years, it should be that the media in this state is not here to be our advocate.  They'd just as soon tear us down as build us up, so keeping them at arms length seems reasonable to me.

Soulfire21

October 1st, 2014 at 12:28 PM ^

I asked in the coaching candidate article too, but what happens if Hoke finishes with a 7-1 or 6-2 conference record?

Certainly it seems laughable at this point, but does he stay?

Wolverine Devotee

October 1st, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^

LOL. They're going 2-10 if they play like last week. Or against any power 5 opponent they've faced so far.

The 2 teams Michigan beat are a combined 1-8 with that lone win coming from Appalachian State over Campbell from the FCS.

RJMAC

October 1st, 2014 at 1:02 PM ^

Winning changes everything. If the team wins out, then Hoke stays as coach. It is highly unlikely though UNLESS they decide to use heavy doses of read option. It's their only chance for a turnaround. If they stay with their current offense, they are done. The coaching staff will deserve to be fired for not adapting out of stubbornness. Nothing sucks the life out of your defense ( even other teams offenses) than your own offense's inability to sustain drives and score points.

MGolem

October 1st, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^

The shit they are running and go to the read option, or any offense that works for that matter, how angry are we all going to be knowing we could have beaten at least Utah, and probably Minnesota, with a different approach.

In my mind an improvement is appreciated but it makes me question prior decisions all the more. At this point no amount of wins changes what I have already seen over the past 2 plus years.

M-Dog

October 1st, 2014 at 8:02 PM ^

That really is his only hope.  Fuck the Manball future.  Go zone read and let Devin be Devin and hope he stays in one piece through OSU.
 
Devin's going to give away 10+ points a game on turnovers anyway, you might as well let him use his strengths to get many more points than that on his own.
 
(Devin = Devin + 2 TO) > (Devin != Devin + 1 TO)
 

CompleteLunacy

October 1st, 2014 at 3:14 PM ^

I hate when someone negs another poster for asking a legitimate question. This board has definitely gone a little crazy this week. I mean, some outrage is justified of course...but holy hell, some of y'all need to relax a little bit.

To answer your question...it depends. But there are only 7 regular season games left, and I think if Hoke will be fired you have to know after the OSU game. So if hegoes 5-2...probably not, especially if the two losses are to MSU and OSU. If he goes 6-1...maybe, because it means that he's beaten MSU or OSU. If he goes 7-0, then yes because Michigan will be in the Big Ten Championship game, though this is a laughable low possibility at this point..

UMfanKT

October 1st, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^

Because all successful coaches wear headsets and this is Michigan fergodsakes.

Seriously...at this point his ego is getting in the way and he is going out of his way to piss people off.

 

BlueFish

October 1st, 2014 at 1:07 PM ^

Wait...I'd swear I've seen this ego thing before from the Hoke staff.

"What about running a bubble screen?"

"No questions about bubble screens."

"Even if a cornerback is 10 yards off your receiver?"

"We don't take easy yards.  Next question."

/paraphrasing

APBlue

October 1st, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^

EXACTLY.  Why does he need someone to stand behind him and relay information.  PUT ON YOUR FUCKING HEADSET.

What else could that person be doing?  

This seems to be a pretty ineffective way of getting information.  

Sorry for yelling, everybody.  

2427_Couzens

October 1st, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^

On the one hand, the headset issue is definitely beaten to death.  But on the other, it's just this sort of stubbornness that is hurting him.  It almost seems like he's making a point to not wear a headset to spite everybody.

 

Seriously, all he's gotta do is just say "I'm not wearing a headset because..." and maybe it won't come up as much.

 

Or maybe win some games, because then, ya know, people won't mind as much.

MGoRob

October 1st, 2014 at 12:58 PM ^

I can understand not wearing a headset.  You could argue that "the headset constrains my hearing on the field, and I'd like to be able to hear what's going on around me and on the field in more clarity".  OR  "I like to move up and down the sidelines and with a headset I just can't do that".

But that makes me wonder, what exactly does Brady Hoke do? Presumably he doesn't call the offensive plays, Nuss does. Presumambly Mattison calls most of the defensive playcalls.  So what exactly does Hoke do?  I thought he was more of an 'interact with the players' type of coach and decision-making (when to go for it on 4th down, when to call a timeout).  But from everything we've seen that aspect of the game calling has FAILED miserably.  So many wrong choices.  And if he's not calling plays, then he how in the heck did he not see the Shane hit? Sure he could miss it live.  But it's not like he's calling in the next play, he MUST HAVE SEEN the replay on the jumbotron.  Everyone in the stands did.

/sighs heavily

aiglick

October 1st, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^

It's not just the team's performance. Hoke literally sent Morris back out on the field with a concussion at least in part because he doesn't seem to get enough information or pay close enough attention during games. The headset would be an advantage for him to get more information both strategic and injury related.

Nope he's going to persist as a stubborn mule that instead of hee hawing makes the following sound: "we will not talk about injuries".

Who will Hoke?

/rant for now