From players mouths, Hoke was the man a week ago

Submitted by hailtothevictors08 on

Alright, I know this may get me a neg bang but i dont care.

My buddy has a sports management class this morning. After class this morning he went to talk with his prof when he heard two prominent members of the team talking to the prof about the search. Supposedly, Brandon told them Hoke was the number 1 (and only) option a week ago (cause Harbaugh was already out picture). Basically, this last week has been a farce to make it look to fans that he "searched." Les Miles was never offered. Finally, they say that denard is the 1 million dollar question.

Fwiw, I hate the Hoke hiring for all the obvious reasons, however I will support this team regardless. I hope I am wrong and it turns out great.

(EDIT: Since I didn't explain my obvious reasons, it seems to be pissing some off so i'll copy my response from below ... it takes him 6 years to build a program, he has a losing record as a head coach, ties to michigan dont mean anything to me, no big time expirence as an OC or DC, "no basketball on grass," denard, i feel we would have been better of with rich rod ...)

mGrowOld

January 12th, 2011 at 12:21 PM ^

AMEN.

Here's a question for the pro-Hoke crowd....

Name one...just ONE school in the top 25 he would even make the interview list for, much less get the head coaching gig.  Better yet...name ONE Big Ten school. 

This is ridiculous.  We need surgery and instead of getting the best qualified doctor we decided to have the plumber do it because he's been in our house before and knows where our sfuff is.

crazedmaize

January 12th, 2011 at 12:44 PM ^

....Urban Meyer, Gene Chizik, Jim Tressel, Pete Carroll to name a few. None of these guys had anything going for them except passion, work ethic and a belief. I wasn't sold on him either but the more and more I think about it.....I realize that this guy has passion and motivates his players.......something we haven't seen out of our teams since we carried LC off the field.

PurpleStuff

January 12th, 2011 at 12:51 PM ^

Urban Meyer had just won a BCS bowl game with Utah following an undefeated season.  Gene Chizik was a national championship caliber DC at two different schools whose poor coaching record resulted from only getting two seasons at one of the worst jobs in any AQ conference.  Jim Tressel won four 1-AA national titles at Youngstown State.  Pete Carroll was the head coach of two NFL teams where he had a winning record and made two playoff appearances in four seasons in addition to having been a successful defensive coordinator in the league.

Brady Hoke might work out great but every guy you mentioned had a much better resume when they got hired.

crazedmaize

January 12th, 2011 at 1:03 PM ^

...you're missing the point. I'm going years back before their hires at upper echelon schools. Before he was at Utah...Urban was at Bowling Green. Pete Carroll was considered a laughable hire at USC after awful stints in the NFL. Jim Tressel wasn't even initially considered to replace Cooper at OSU.  And come on, Chizik was a nationaly cailber DC...how many coaches can we say the same thing for? He went 6-19 at ISU. I work in college athletics and I will always say that coaches who perform miracles at crappy schools which lend no support are more suitable coaches to create jaggernauts at schools that "get it" and fully support athletics.

I have a much greater appreciation for what BH did at Ball State than what JH did at Stanford. Both are worthy turnarounds but Ball State doesn't support athletics anywhere near like Stanford does.

I wanted JH and LM more than anyone else but the more I thought about it....the more this leads me to believe that we can quickly turn this around and become a major player again. Jump on board.

TheTeamTheTeam…

January 12th, 2011 at 12:47 PM ^

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/20333/brady-hoke-meets-with-mi…

 

Minnesota pursued him and he turned them down.  Also allegedly turned down Pitt.  I was against this hire a week ago, but I'm coming around.  Sounds like he's able to adapt his style and system to the personnel he has.  He has recruiting ties in the Midwest and now California.  Look at their results from this past year at SDSU - almost beat Missouri, they beat Air Force, almost beat TCU and Utah (scored 35 against TCU!!) and easily handled a solid Navy team.

 

Give him a chance.

Old School

January 12th, 2011 at 12:08 PM ^

I'm peeved at MSC for abdicating her responsibility with regard to hiring a coach, ditto with DB who turned the whole thing into a charade, but number one on my mistrust list is LC, whose ego to name a successor has re-divided the fan base for years to come. Finally, someone owes RR an apology for the way that he has been treated.

Having said all that, BH hasn't nothing to do with my displeasure with the above three, and I will support him because rebuilding is going to take another couple of years and he will need our support. This isn't going to be a pretty.

FgoWolve

January 12th, 2011 at 12:24 PM ^

I never understand when people blame Mary Sue for football related problems. She's an academic whose primary job duty is handling academic issues at a premiere academic institution in the country. And she does it silly well. It's Dave Brandon's job to handle athletics and that's what he did here. Whether he did it effectively is another debate.

Don

January 12th, 2011 at 12:12 PM ^

I'm all for democracy in real life, but in the world of sports I'm a rabid authoritarian—every team is a benevolent dictatorship, or at least should be. True democracy in all but a tiny number of matters is just communist football.

Isaac Newton

January 12th, 2011 at 12:12 PM ^

I would gather that he has been so with the media.  He knows the media are manipulative and disingenuous themselves.  They use unnamed sources, like "my buddy", to spread a fire that probably shouldn't or didn't exist in the first place.

kkopp2005

January 12th, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^

But isn't there some type of policy with the university that the coaching search needed to last one week? Or maybe it was a new coach cannot be hired within a week of a firing?

VaUMWolverine

January 12th, 2011 at 12:15 PM ^

This football team is worse than it was 3 years ago. I'm ready for this change. We seen what happened to the vaunted Oregon/RR offense when it faced a good defense. UM's offense got hammered every time they played a team with a pulse. Hoke's gonna deserve some serious apology if he wins. I'm sick of the hatred and vitriol already! Go Hoke and Go Blue!!!!!!!

Michael

January 12th, 2011 at 12:15 PM ^

I think people are failing to make a couple of distinctions: 1)Nobody on here dislikes Brady Hoke, but a large portion of us are not convinced that he is/was the best possible person we could have hired for this job. This is a tall task and his resume speaks for itself. He's not a lock for failure, just as Rodriguez was not (apparently) a lock for success. Everyone here is hoping Hoke succeeds.

2) Even if there is an anti-Hoke (not anti-hire) contingent which persists, it will not be in the ranks of the power brokers that, in my opinion (which has been argued ad-nauseum so let's not even go there) had a disproportionate impact on the ability of Rodriguez to be successful. Heck, Brandon cited as a major reason for relieving Rodriguez of his responsibilites was the negativity surrounding the program.

There are no Hoke detractors here; only those of us who fear this is cronyism pure and simple. But maybe it's not. Hopefully Hoke will go on to be extremely successful here, but there are all ready signs that we're in for another painful transition back to a pro style offense. Let's hope we can build on what Rodriguez did, rather than tear it down completely.

cheesheadwolverine

January 12th, 2011 at 12:34 PM ^

I don't think reporting this rumor is any dumber than anything else we've clung to in the CC charade.  But in light of Woolfolk's twitter/facebook loving him some Les Miles, I don't think it's true.  Unless he were in on the elaborate charade.

M.I.Sicks

January 12th, 2011 at 12:40 PM ^

Brady Hoke brings an incredible passion and enthusiasm for the University of Michigan. He is an outstanding teacher, recruiter and motivator. He demands the best from his players, and he is one of those guys that players on both sides of the ball loved and respected. Brady will do a great job as a head coach at the University of Michigan.
Lloyd Carr, Retired Michigan Football Coach

I like what Brady has done as a coach and I know how he works. He has been magnificent at turning two programs around and that he won at San Diego State so quick is really outstanding. He has the demeanor and toughness Michigan fans will appreciate. He knows how to recruit and his players respond to him; you can see that in the way his teams play. I respect his attitude and his coaching expertise and I know the players he has coached respect him for that too.
Gary Moeller, Retired Michigan Football Coach

I believe that Michigan has made a solid hire with Coach Hoke. I've heard nothing but positive things about him, not only from former Michigan players he coached, but from others across the college football landscape. He's built successful programs at places where success hasn't been common. It will be great to see what he can build with the tools afforded him at the University of Michigan. Go Blue!
Desmond Howard, 1991 Heisman Trophy Winner

I'm excited for Brady Hoke and even more excited for Michigan. I'm glad this process is over and we can begin to restore the tradition and respect that was once Michigan.
Charles Woodson, 1997 Heisman Trophy Winner and Current Green Bay Packers Cornerback

Coach Hoke was instrumental to our success in 1997. He loves Michigan and understands what it means to be a Michigan man. Our program and student-athletes will be in very good hands.
Jon Jansen, Former U-M and NFL Offensive Lineman

Brady Hoke, to me, signifies character, integrity and hard work, and I believe these are the attributes upon which Michigan was built. Coach Hoke understands and respects the proud tradition of Michigan and will galvanize the Michigan family. I know that Coach Hoke believes that a renewed emphasis on the development of "Michigan Men" is what will ultimately lead to a more competitive team at Michigan Stadium.
Brian Griese, Former U-M and NFL Quarterback

He is a man of integrity. He is one of the finest people I've ever dealt with. He was like a father figure to me when I was at school and after graduation; I stayed close to Brady and I really got to know his family. He is a hard-working coach and has always expressed his love for Michigan football and the success of this program. As a coach, he turned two programs around that were not doing too well and he did it in a very short period of time with the players he had when he arrived and then added to it with his recruits. I am really excited for Brady and for Michigan.
James Hall, Former U-M Defensive Lineman and Current St. Louis Rams Defensive End

Brady was a father figure for me and many of the guys that played during my time at Michigan. He always looked out for his players and taught us to act with character. Brady is one of the reasons why I've had the success that I've had in my career. Learning how to do things the right way was a direct result of being around Brady. I'm real happy Brady was provided this opportunity and I know that he will do extremely well and represent this university with class and integrity.
Steve Hutchinson, Former U-M Offensive Lineman and Current Minnesota Vikings Offensive Lineman

I'm thrilled with the hiring of Brady Hoke. He loves Michigan and Michigan Football, and he's proven he can win. I know Brady from his time here as an assistant, and I can guarantee you nobody on earth is happier about this than Brady Hoke. Mark my words, this is his destination job, and he will win here for a long time, and do it the right way.
Jim Brandstatter, Michigan Football Radio Color Analyst

Ed Shuttlesworth

January 12th, 2011 at 12:45 PM ^

It must be reiterated here that Brady Hoke did far and away a better job than Rich Rod as a head coach from 2008-2010, so much so that the matter isn't even subject to debate.

Football stands still for no one.

Bixler

January 12th, 2011 at 12:45 PM ^

I have trouble understanding why people are calling the coaching search a charade.  I am not a human resources person, but if I was looking to hire and already had someone in mind, I would go through the process of interviewing other potential candidates to determine is someone else was a better hire.  I think DB owed it to the school and fans to be deliberative and interview other candidates to determine if anyone else would do a better job.  I suspect that he determined that based on the overall picture, that Hoke was the best choice.  I hope that Hoke does a good job in the coming years.  All Michigan fans should feel that way.

King Douche Ornery

January 12th, 2011 at 12:49 PM ^

Post Rodriguez I was looking for were these stupid posts where guys just "happen" to walk into someplace like the can at Arby's and Dave Brandon is in there telling Jim Brandstatter some secret info that no one else knows, and the super secret info then makes its way here through this chance encounter.

Seriously, I've never seen so many "insiders" or people who KNOW people, or people wo just run into someone connected with the team, and get THE GOODZ, which then makes its way here or over to Scout.

Then its taken as GOSPEL by a lot of folks--but of course, nearly EVERYTHING anyone in the media says is patently false crap put out by a "douchebag" with an anti-Michigan agenda.