Thank you Brady Hoke for an unforgettable football season
What a difference 11 months make. In hindsight Brandon could not have made a better hire for Michigan football.
Brady Hoke won me over at his initial presser. How about you?
Brady Hoke has made Michigan football funner than it has been in a long time. Thanks be to Brady.
December 13th, 2011 at 6:59 PM ^
Hindsight. Yup, shoulda had hindsight.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:04 PM ^
Fergodsakes.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:10 PM ^
but never a duplicate thread....pretty cool
December 13th, 2011 at 2:15 PM ^
....and we've even had quintuple and sextuple posts, proof that phones are becoming sapient.
In reference to the OP, however, agreed. Thank you, Brady Hoke!
December 13th, 2011 at 2:39 PM ^
/thinks back nostagically to a certain sextuple post, commenting on how hoke has changed the rivalry with jersey sales...
December 13th, 2011 at 6:42 PM ^
sigh...the good old days, when Hoke changed the tide of the rivalry. Oh, god...NO! Must restrain myself...
December 13th, 2011 at 2:19 PM ^
hind sight is 50-50 (no joke, and to add to the humour his father is an optomitrist).
When Hoke was hired I wasn't running around jumping for joy and honestly felt we could have done better. Having said that, he was the coach and would get my complete support. It didn't take long for him to win me over. It started at his first press confernece and continued as he filled out last years recruiting class.
I kept trying to guard against disappointment as the months went on. He started off on fire on the recruiting trail and I was thrilled but kept getting pulled back by posters who would say "lets wait until he coaches a game" (a reasonable thought).
Well, we now have a season with which to judge the man and I am 100% thrilled. Give me BH over JH anyday. He has impressed me at every turn and if I met the man face to face I would tell him straight up that I was sorry for my initial skepticism and how much I look forward to seeing him walk the sidelines for UM.
Well done coach, keep it up!
December 13th, 2011 at 2:58 PM ^
50-50 vision is just as good, if not slightly better than 20-20 vision. 20-50 would be bad. But to be fair, hindsight is 50-50.
December 13th, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^
When people praise Coach Hoke in person and tell him that Michigan is lucky to have him as HC he gives all the credit to the players and other coaches. Whether he takes credit or not we are lucky to have him.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:22 PM ^
Sometimes you swing and you miss. this is one of those times for me. Alls I'm trying to do is embed Hoke's initial presser and I can't do it.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:38 PM ^
Sometimes you hit for the cycle, like Brady Hoke did in his first press conference.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:27 PM ^
He had me at Greg Mattison.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:36 PM ^
Lost me at Funner
December 13th, 2011 at 2:44 PM ^
I was disappointed about the hire at the time, but he won me over in his first press conference like he did a lot of people. I didn't really know much about him other than he wasn't Harbaugh. It's funny to watch it again and listen to Dave Brandon justify his choice. At the time I'm sure he felt like he needed to because most people, like me, were slightly disappointed. Now he can sit back and see everyone else see what he was talking about, and he was right. I also think it's funny that he says something about maybe Hoke hasn't spent as much time with a PR guy and may not be dressed up or polished. Brady Hoke doesn't need a PR guy, he is a damn classy and awesome individual on his own.
Side note, I think it's funny that in his press conference when addressing Drew Sharp (of course) he said "if you don't win your conference championship there's no way in heck you're gonna win the national championship." The BCS doesn't think the same way apparently.
Anyway, I agree on all counts. Thank you, Brady Hoke. You led the football team to my generation's version of the 1969 season (I get that they aren't the exact same), and you will hopefully be my generation's Bo. Beating Sparty can wait until next year.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:42 PM ^
The season isn't even over yet. The possibility of 11-2 after the last 2 years just makes me salivate.
To Mr Hoke:
"Impressive. Most impressive"
December 13th, 2011 at 5:27 PM ^
I would tack another year on.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:42 PM ^
Tremendous year, Tremendous Coach, Tremendous future. I am so glad Hoke is Michigan's coach, along with his ENTIRE coaching staff. Hoke has done a tremendous job of assembling a team, both on the field and off.
While I feel that RR got a raw deal, I simultaneously believe that Hoke is the right man and right fit for Michigan. I look forward to Hoke serving as Michigan's coach for the next 20 years.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:53 PM ^
was that he has made it more funner.
All grammar police work aside, I do agree. It was a thouroughly enjoyable to watch FULL season of Michigan football.
GO BLUE!
December 13th, 2011 at 2:56 PM ^
wants to be Brady. Did you hear him say in his presser that he wouldn't wear purple and would only refer to Northwestern as the "team up north"?
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
December 13th, 2011 at 7:12 PM ^
That sounds like an Onion parody.
Don't they pretend the NW rivalry doesn't exist and claim to be rivals with us?
December 13th, 2011 at 6:42 PM ^
If he wants to invigorate his fan base it is good for the school, and good for ratings, and good for the B1G.
December 13th, 2011 at 7:19 PM ^
You MUST be kidding. This guy is trying to gin up a rivalry with Northwestern? Who in America thinks that Northwestern football is anyones hated rival? The Wildcats are one of Americas afterthoughts.
December 13th, 2011 at 2:58 PM ^
December 13th, 2011 at 3:25 PM ^
Who the fuck downvotes this?
December 13th, 2011 at 3:32 PM ^
I could think of a few names...
December 13th, 2011 at 5:25 PM ^
You can actually see who voted by clicking on "Voting details" at the top of the thread.
December 13th, 2011 at 9:06 PM ^
Me. It's pandering.
a) Brady Hoke's not going to read this and b) I'd eat my shoe if there were a rational poster on here that didn't approve of his performance to date.
But I'm in a shitty mood today.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:34 PM ^
as much as the next guy (I was actually optimistic about the hire but, wow, dude has exceeded expectations) but let's also give props to the players and other coaches. Plenty of love to go around to everyone who made this season happen!
December 13th, 2011 at 5:03 PM ^
...he would have been 10-2 or better this year (as interviewed on the Huge radio show). So there.
December 13th, 2011 at 5:55 PM ^
If Hoke had been coaching WV in 2007 they would have never lost to Pitt.
December 13th, 2011 at 7:22 PM ^
Bruce Tall???? I like RR but if he believes he would have been 10-2 he is delusional. I seriously believe there is only one Greg Mattison. And he WAS NOT leaving the Ravens to join RichRod.
December 13th, 2011 at 5:32 PM ^
than anyone had a reason to think it would be. Hoke gets it. He recruits like crazy. He puts a good defense on the field with less than superb athletes. And he beat that bunch of puffed up, cheating, tattooed mercenaries from tsio--and gave us a great new name for them too. Thanks, Brady, for making Saturdays something to look forward to once again!
December 13th, 2011 at 5:37 PM ^
At this same point in his tenure at Notre Dame, Charlie Weis had won three more games than his predecessor did a year earlier and had the #6 team in the nation preparing for a BCS bowl game while he put the finishing touches on what would be a top-10 recruiting class. He had also received a huge, ill-advised contract extension.
Coach Hoke is obviously a more impressive figure on the job than Weis was, but both were the beneficiaries of walking into a situation that was a lot nicer than people did/should've realized. Both got all the credit for the "turnaround" from a success starved fanbase. Hopefully our ending is a lot nicer, but at this point the stories are still exactly the same.
December 13th, 2011 at 7:16 PM ^
This is pretty interesting. I guess Weis did start exactly the same way that Hoke did. What happened to Weis in 2007? I remember being at that game, a freshman in college, after The Horror and Oregon, and rooting for negative rushing yards, which Notre Dame had for most of the game.
On another note, is there any more unsatisfying school to be a fan of than Notre Dame? I can't think of one. I mean, the expectation is to win the national championship, and those hopes are often encouraged by top recruiting classes, marquee coaching names, and a rich history and tradition. Yet Notre Dame always finds some way to be mediocre, and always seems to find some way to lose to Michigan (and this year, they had to get awfully creative with it). It's like they're in the Rich Rod era, except it's lasted 20 years.
I'm actually hoping to get some discussion going. Is there any fanbase that has it worse than Notre Dame's?
December 13th, 2011 at 7:49 PM ^
I'll ask this one: is there a fan base that deserves to have it worse more than Notre Dame's?
December 13th, 2011 at 8:17 PM ^
Perhaps a better question to be asking. I think few people were as deserving of a 3-9 season than Charlie Weis.
December 13th, 2011 at 9:36 PM ^
Ty Willingham followed up a 2003 class that produced 8 future NFL draft picks plus Jeff Samarzjida (encouraging since his recruiting coordinator was one Greg Mattison) with a 2004 class that featured just two 4-star recruits and a whopping six 2-star recruits in a small 16 man class (discouraging since you know who was still the recruiting coordinator). The awful class and his poor recruiting the next year were big factors in his getting axed. That transitional class between Willingham and Weis netted just 15 guys, only 2 of whom were 4-star recruits.
Then Weis brought in a highly touted 28 man class in his first full year on the job that was rated in everybody's top ten. In the end that class produced just two NFL draft picks.
So basically you had three shitty recruiting years in a row following a big loss in experienced talent who played for a coach who was notorious for running practice like an NFL team (giving limited reps to non-starters). The ticking time bomb that Willingham left behind was exacerbated when Weis did such a poor job scouting/recruiting in his first year on the job.
December 13th, 2011 at 5:54 PM ^
in the Anti- Hoke camp when Brandon originally hired him. He won me over in his first press conference, ill admit I was very skeptical through the first few weeks of the season. My doubts started to go away then Iowa happened....and two weeks later the 45-17 dismantling of Nebraska and my reservations about Hoke/Mattison/Borges were gone. Coming into this season my best case scenario was 8-4 with losses to ND, Sparty, Nebraska, and Ohio. I did not expect the defensive turn around that we witnessed throughout the course of the season. I am looking forward to many many more years of the Hoke Era. It is a great time to be a Wolverine fan. GO BLUE!!!
December 13th, 2011 at 6:02 PM ^
For leading this team to 10 wins, while simultaneously piercing my soul with your epic double-points and changing the tide in this rivalry. Hell people in Ohio are starting to believe you. Never in a million years I would have thought that. Selling Michigan jerseys is a good start.
December 13th, 2011 at 6:05 PM ^
I think like most people I initially wanted Harbaugh. I loved his attitude, his toughness, and his charisma. He gave me chills every time he talked about Bo, still referring to him as "coach". Then Hoke was hired and I was like, wait...who's he again? I'd almost always rather assume the worst and be surprised instead of assume the best and be disappointed. So, with that in mind, despite early wins, I remained pesimistic because I saw obvious flaws in our team....interceptions from the QB, no clear RB, blown coverages by the DBs, bad angles from our LBs, no dominate pass rusher up front, etc. I didn't want to get excited again only to be disappointed at the end of the year. I didn't think we were "there" yet. I thought we got completely lucky against ND and lost to the only solid defense we had seen in MSU. Knowing better opponents were in our future like Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska & OSU I was concerned how we'd fare and worried we could potentially drop 3 of our last 4 (and 4 of our last 6 splitting with MSU and Purdue). We split with Illinois and Iowa, which I expected, although I kinda thought we'd beat Iowa and lose to Illinois. But, I wasn't finally sold until we came out and blew the doors off Nebraska. At that point I finally said to myself our players are playing at the top of their ability, they have really good team chemistry, we make few mistakes and penalities compared to our opponents, we often win the turnover margin, and we always play well in the second half. That all tells me one thing, it's not that we are super talented, but we are well coached. I realezed we have a good team, it's been a good season, and it can only go up from here. I finally began talking the smack to my hated Ohio fans that I'd been waiting to unleash for hmmm, maybe 4 years. It feels great to be a Michigan fan again! HOKEAMANIA!
December 13th, 2011 at 10:41 PM ^
For what it's worth (nothing), I always thought Hoke was the right hire.
I based this not on any inside info, schematic dogma, or psychic power.
He was the only one who wanted to coach here. That desire to be a part of Michigan is worth exactly one shitload. And now we are reaping the rewards of having a coach who's career goal was being the head coach of the University of Michigan football program.