Bagheera

December 2nd, 2014 at 5:36 PM ^

Of all the nonsensical things Brady Hoke did as head coach, the decision to vote on captains at the end of the year might take the cake.

Mr. Yost

December 2nd, 2014 at 6:23 PM ^

He just got off 2013 UM Football...which was 2 wins better and 1 loss worse.

In that season he annointed Taylor Lewan a captain and it has been reported that many of the players didn't like Taylor and he wasn't a great leader. That they got together as a group and asked that less emphasis be put on the seniors and more on the team.

This year, he tried to promote leadership in each class.

IF this is all true...which I believe it is. Can you blame Hoke for trying something different...even if it didn't work?

Think about who your captains would've been this year.

Devin Gardner - CHECK

Jake Ryan - CHECK

Frank Clark - FAIL!!!

So while it didn't work, I don't fault Hoke, for listening to his players and trying to switch things up. It failed, but at least he was willing to listen and try. He could've kept on pushing the seniors out in front of everyone like he'd done in the past against his teams wishes...which may have lost his team and he would've likely ended up with a young man being charged for domestic assault (I believe that's the charge and apologize if it's not) as one of his captains.

It wasn't the right move, but it's not like it's the reason we suck. It's not like it lost games. This TEAM did that all on their own. Together.

CalifExile

December 2nd, 2014 at 6:40 PM ^

At least since Bo, the team has preached Senior leadership. This year Hoke says we need to throw that out the window and end the seniors' "sense of entitlement." Then he spends the year complaining about how few seniors we have.

Even if players were unhappy with Lewan, Hoke shouldn't have scrapped a system that served the team well for more than 40 years. A wise man wouldn't make that change based on a single negative result.

I wonder if Bolden would have planted the stake at MSU if there had been team captains around to point out that it was classless and would be likely to anger our opponents and fire them up (as if they needed that).

Mr. Yost

December 2nd, 2014 at 6:53 PM ^

First off...we've had other years where we didn't vote captains until the end of the year. Most recently, with Rich Rodriguez.

So I should stop responding now, but I'll continue.

Secondly. Just because you have a preseason team captain doesn't mean you have a leader.

You know Trey Burke was never a captain? And that's basketball. Less players. Better chances. Especially when you're 1 of 5 guys on the floor and happen to be the National Player of the Year.

Nik Stauskas...he wasn't either. Tim Hardaway Jr.? Nope.

All three were leaders and led helped lead us to heights we hadn't reached in 20 years.

Ryan Van Bergen...he wasn't a captain. Neither was Jeremy Gallon or Roy Roundtree. Those guys were leaders.

If you play sports, you immediately know who the leaders are. And they may be good leaders or bad leaders...but you know who they are.

 

CalifExile

December 2nd, 2014 at 7:03 PM ^

Obviously you can be a leader without being a captain. RR had captains for every game, based on performance during the week. I thought that was a bad approach too, it isn't evidence that you shouldn't have any captains.

HANCOCK

December 2nd, 2014 at 7:27 PM ^

absolutely. i agree completely. i really think the idea of "captains" is a bit out-dated anyway. you can have many leaders on a team. some verbal, some by example. you can have good leaders, bad leaders. you can have senior leaders, you canhave freshman leaders. there are no requirements to be a leader otherthan busting your ass everyday and setting a good example (well, those are the requirements for a good leader)

 

obviously, some leaders will be more prominent than others, and those are the guys who are typically named captains. 

 

none of the titles matter though. all that matters is that your team is doing the right things

Mr. Yost

December 2nd, 2014 at 6:58 PM ^

If this team won...no one would be complaining about this.

Some may not like it...like the clapping or the no headset. But no one would bitch about this.

People only cry, piss and moan because it didn't work and we weren't any good.

If Nick Saban did this, it would be innovation.

Some of you need to get a grip...everything doesn't have to be one certain way and equal success. And if you're mad that we're a losing team..be mad that we're a losing team. Don't worry about shit that you wouldn't care about if the circumstances were different.

Again, you may not like it...but there was far less, headset/clapping talking in 2011. Now it's all you hear. Before it was a gritty players coach, now it's a stubborn buffoon. Same guy, only thing that's changes is a the W's and L's.

This goes right along in that category. Some still wouldn't like it, but there isn't much of anything that 100% of people like, so that's understood. But it wouldn't be an issue or a problem.

Carcajou

December 2nd, 2014 at 8:45 PM ^

If the team had gone 11-1:



a) Naming captains at the end of the season:

would have been a brilliant move-  making players on a young team more accountable and allowing true leadership to assert itself, rather than holding some popularity contest at the beginning of the year.

b) Clapping:

Hoke would have been praised for always being positive and keeping players on track, reminding them of how good they can be.

c) No Headset:

Hoke would have been praised for how he is not a control freak and trusts his Coordinaters and doesn't interfere with their  calls and decisisons. How he instead keeps his ears open to the players around him, which is why so many players want to play for him, and coaches like to coach with him.

 

These were all conscious choices that have upsides and downsides.  They are up to a coach and a coaching staff to decide what suit their teams and programs and their own personalities in any particular year.  You can go 12-0 or 0-12 doing each of these things.  Had they done any of these things differently, there is no reason to believe that Michigan's record would be any better- and more probably, worse. 



They are just small details that can help or hurt, but at the end of the day, er, season, it is doubtful that any of these had any real effect on of the final results of any of the games this season.

Boom Goes the …

December 2nd, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^

Obviously his players were in his corner and have a right to be upset.  Gonna agree with Poggi there, Hoke preached TEAM, just didn't win enough games.

Captains I could see Kerridge (I see Gardner or Jack Miller), but I think Ryan will be Defensive captain

 

snarling wolverine

December 2nd, 2014 at 6:51 PM ^

This is the most impressive one to me.

 

Remember that Stonum never played for Hoke, because he was suspended for all of 2011 and then dismissed from the team. Still he considers Brady a father figure.

 It's sad to read those tweets.  But we'll have a new coach soon and hopefully he can form similar bonds with his players.

 

Everyone Murders

December 2nd, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^

This is a great group of young men, and they deserve to have captains for this season.  I'm not fully on-board with the "choose captains after conference season" approach, but in any event, I'm glad to see that this detail was not lost in the wash.

Wolverine Devotee

December 2nd, 2014 at 5:38 PM ^

OP, it's team captains for 2014. 

Hoke said back in August they were going to vote on them after the regular season.

I'm glad the tradition is going to continue. Was worried that there would be no official captains named for this year since there would be no HC around to conduct the voting.

Maizenblueball

December 2nd, 2014 at 5:44 PM ^

What good does it do to vote for captains for a season that has already been played?..they can't jump in a time-machine and "lead" us to victories over ND, Utah, etc.

I respect Hoke and think he's a good man, but I never understood the value of waiting until the season is over to announce captains.  I do wish Hoke nothing but the best in the future.

big10football

December 2nd, 2014 at 5:58 PM ^

I think the point is that you earn being a captain based on the leadership you display throughout the year.  The fact that you aren't named capitain before the season doesn't mean that you aren't allowed to display leadership or be a leader.  Or at least no one told Devin Gardner that. 

Maizenblueball

December 2nd, 2014 at 6:09 PM ^

I understand that point.  I agree that anybody on the team can be a leader, and that leadership doesn't have to come from only the "captains".  I still think they should be named before the season. 

Either way, I appreciate the classy gesture on Hoke's part, to fulfill this promise, when he very easily could've been more focused on his own feelings and his departure.

TrueLT

December 2nd, 2014 at 5:52 PM ^

I'll never be more sad to say goodbye to a losing coach, Hoke was a class act and a great man, I hope the next guy mirrors the things we've come to love about Brady

Blue Since B.C.

December 2nd, 2014 at 5:53 PM ^

Was Poggi right at the 140-character limit, or was that just the laziest-punctuated tweet in the history of Twitter?  Is that how kids write these days?

"Either way, we've got to do better, Henry."

- Coach Hoke

pearlw

December 2nd, 2014 at 9:06 PM ^

Spoken by the man too lazy to actually check if the tweet you reference was at the 140 character limit...the answer is yes but I guess its easier to not bother checking and criticize Poggi. I realize it seems like a waste of time to count the characters but maybe you should take the time if your alternative is ripping him.




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