This thread is not 200 long yet; continue arguing here
Come on...you know you want to.
I'll start: Glen Steele likes Brady Hoke more than you do-
"Coach Hoke has a defensive mind-set, he's a defensive guy, and he loves to coach — he loves what he's doing and being around the guys," said Glen Steele, a defensive end on Carr's 1997 national championship team, which had Hoke as its defensive line coach.
"I'm a huge supporter of Coach Hoke. When you're looking for someone to come in and address where this team is and where it could be, I don't think there's any better guy."
"It's hard to characterize him because he's such an overall good guy," Steele said. "But he knows when to kick it up, and he also knows when to say to a player: 'Hey, we've got to re-focus and get this done.'
"With coaches, there's always a point where screaming and yelling and getting guys fired up is important, and then there's the time when you say: 'Hey, we're all in this together and we've gotta pick it up.' With a coach like him, you don't have to throw fuel on the fire. Players wantto play for him."
(From the dreaded Henning article that Brian linked from the DetNews)
Don't feel you have to talk about Hoke. Open CC/Brandon/everything ever other thread is.
Anyone subjecting themselves to the GoDaddy.com Bowl with (nt)Miami and MTS?
January 6th, 2011 at 9:46 PM ^
...and not based on anything other than trying to read the tea leaves of Brandon's press conference. But actually well-reasoned:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/564983-michigan-coaching-using-ad-da…
The guy concludes that it's either Miles or Whittingham. Not putting too much stock in that, but it's worth thinking about.
I can't say I'm the biggest Les Miles fan in the world, but he does have a proven track record of success, albeit one propped up by tactical fumes, grass consumption and Nick Saban's pre-existing program. Seeing as how we're bailing water from the ship at the moment, I'll take it, as there's a significant chance Miles could get us back to Big 10 competition, though I probably would have preferred giving RR a fourth year had I thought this was the choice.
Whittingham is intriguing. He also inherited a strong program (from Meyer), but has in some ways improved on what he got. Again, I'd be happy with this one, though I might have preferred giving RR a fourth year had I thought this was the alternative. BUT, I'd prefer Whittingham over Miles scheme-wise, and he doesn't have the baggage. I think he could adapt our offense and add discipline to our defense.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:51 PM ^
Les Miles is not going to happen. DB hates him and there is about to be a shit storm surrounding him in regards to his grey shirting guys he over signs. This man is toxic and should be avoided.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:04 PM ^
How do we know DB hates Les Miles?
January 6th, 2011 at 10:07 PM ^
Don't get me wrong, I'd be thrilled to hear that, because I believe point 2 and more, but I'd like to hear more.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:11 PM ^
It was discussed on this board before that rumor was DB hates Les Miles for the Lloyd Carr remarks as well as some of the other shit he pulled while at Michigan. This was talked about long before the CC talk as well, if that gives it any more credibility
January 6th, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
There's this oldie-but-goodie one of my friends dug up...
http://blog.mlive.com/
So Brandon either was, or by no means was, responsible for Michigan blocking Miles the first time around. (Methinks the gentleman doth protest too much.)
January 6th, 2011 at 10:27 PM ^
IIRC, Brando was asked if he would form a committee, and he said, "No." But he said that he would seek advice from trusted persons and named only Lloyd Carr. Or my head was still buzzing after hearing "we will begin a national search . . . ."
January 6th, 2011 at 10:31 PM ^
Exactly right. Brandon is a micro-manager, to say the least. He had weekly film meetings with RR, was on the sidelines, came through the tunnel with the team, and has now taken on this struggle without a committee.
January 6th, 2011 at 11:07 PM ^
Brandon had weekly film meetings with RR? How do you know this? If this is true, it should radically change the opinion of every DB supporter out there.
January 6th, 2011 at 11:36 PM ^
He attended the team's weekly film sessions.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:32 PM ^
I watched the webcast for another two hours waiting for Brandon to hop back to the podium with a "Just kidding. We've got a coach and are finalizing details. Presser tomorrow at noon with the introduction."
January 6th, 2011 at 10:34 PM ^
Which is exactly why Les Miles isn't going to happen. He has pissed a lot of the inner circle off and above all he is a douche. If an article was released tomorrow that said he sodomized puppies would you even be shocked? He is not all there.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:12 PM ^
Didn't you watch the press conference?
January 6th, 2011 at 9:59 PM ^
Whoever the next coach is I'll be 100% behind...unless that coach is Miles. He's just too douchey for my tastes
January 6th, 2011 at 11:03 PM ^
Sorry, but that's ridiculous. I don't care it Mickey Mouse is the coach, I will not have the same shit happen this time as with RR. No sir.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:47 PM ^
After two days of agonizing over who the coach will be I've come to accept that if Brady Hoke is our future coach that will be my worst case scenario. However, I will still feel good about the hire because of the money DB will likely spend on coordinators.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:47 PM ^
We need a coach who will uphold the Tradition and Values of Catholopistemiad Foote-Balle; yea, the Harbaugh, the Hoke, the Carr, and verily, even the young Pretender Sheridan haveth the Balls to ascend to the Highest Levels of the Throne of Bo.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:18 PM ^
I feel right now like JH represents more than our salvation, but fundamentally carries the torch of the Michigan Man. My enthusiasm for him may be enhanced because I was a 13-15 year old kid during his playing years, but those were damn fine years. Arguably Bo's finest. It was mostly domination excepting the #1 vs. #2 loss to Iowa and some irritation with Illinois and Minnesota. We beat the buckeyes and lost the Rose Bowl. I remember toilet paper and being taught an unequivocal yet somehow acceptable hatred for OSU. For my heart, it was traditional Michigan football.
JH was the hero, the leader. The local. The dude went to Tappan, never mind Pioneer! Both on Stadium Blvd! He is Ann Arbor. He is Michigan. Obviously he hasn't had a lovefest with the program in his adult years, but he, as much as anybody, has a potentially innate and deep connection to our tradition and city that surely still burns somewhere down there. For me, he holds continuity in his hands. The Michigan Man meme will not break should he pass on this fairytale opportunity, but my goodness is this ever a chance for it to be strengthened.
Come on JH...we need your miracle! Remember reviving us from the '84 season? Do it again!
COME ON PLEEEEASSSSEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!
If not, whatever. Damn. GO BLUE always!
January 6th, 2011 at 10:46 PM ^
Your salvation will be in Miami which I view as nothing more than a money grab. The Dolphins are in a loaded division and surrounded by a fan base who could give a shit. Their stadium sucks but it won't be hard to get tickets for family members, which is a perk.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:47 PM ^
I mistakenly listened to 97.1 while stuck in traffic and heard a caller actually suggest:
1: Fred Jackson
and
2: Gary Moeller
Did anyone else hear this? Or was it the extra "oregano" on the Domino's I ordered?
January 6th, 2011 at 9:51 PM ^
You probably got extra "shrooms" on your pizza.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:52 PM ^
That was my second mistake of the day
January 6th, 2011 at 9:54 PM ^
Gary Moeller... lol. I mean he wasn't that bad before he pissed on a cop car.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:15 PM ^
Pretty sure you are conflating acts of Red Berenson, Mo, and Brian Griese...
January 6th, 2011 at 9:52 PM ^
twin of Rex, defensive minded, midwestern roots, coached at tOSU, young, and is tough as hell. Something to ponder.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:02 PM ^
dude locks is just what Michigan needs in a head FB coach.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
Dude locks can become dreads pretty easily, no?
January 6th, 2011 at 10:15 PM ^
GERG's do would turn into a pile of ash at the sight of Ryan's mane. I am now, more than ever, convinced Michigan just needs better hair and the wins will come raining from the sky.
Big Rob is the man to bring that to us.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:59 PM ^
I was listening to BIG last night because brandon was being interviewed and someone called in and seriously suggested marty mornhinweg. Who the hell are these people?
January 6th, 2011 at 9:53 PM ^
This one will have 200 in no time. Lot's of pent up posting demand after a 3 day drought! Go Blue and Stay Denard!
January 6th, 2011 at 10:10 PM ^
Stem the chaos, and give people a reason to keep giving Brian hits.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:53 PM ^
I thought Gruden was insane talk show call in talk, but Purplestuff made such a good case, I've warmed to the idea substantially (even if I think it's about a 0.00001% chance of happening; which I'm sure he agrees on).
<br>
<br>Also, at the end of the last one 1201SouthMain has a great plan if we bring in an older coach (say Miles or Hoke) have a Loeffler (or a Bedford) in place as a line of succession so we're not doing this again in 5 years. This doesn't have to be with just those head coaches, but should be a plan with any good coach that we worry is "just a little bit too old". (If our new guy is 42, it doesn't matter).
January 6th, 2011 at 10:15 PM ^
I'm much more concerned with getting back to Ws than worrying about line of succession...
January 6th, 2011 at 10:18 PM ^
I'm now officially on the Rob Ryan bandwagon. Tressel will cower in fear of those luscious locks!
January 6th, 2011 at 9:53 PM ^
Brian may revoke my MGoBlog card here but I don't have a lot of trepidation about Brady Hoke. Hoke's major shortcoming appears to be he's not Jim Harbaugh, the sexiest coaching candidate of the year.
He's accomplished two impressive turnarounds, just like Harbaugh. His defensive mindset is badly needed. He's got a GREAT offensive coordinator in Al Borges. He's qualified for a major D-I job. He knows Michigan and respects the program (not arguing for the UM connection per se but somebody who knows what he's getting into, like Bo did.)
Given that JH is not walking through that door, I don't have a problem with Hoke.
Is he a perfect candidate? Absolutely not, he's a risk. I think the anxiety is that he'll be Carr-style, striving for stability and conservatism at the expense of reaching for the top. But there are no perfect candidates, and certainly no slam-dunk successes we can lure to Ann Arbor, so the program is going to have to take some kind of risk in one direction or the other.
January 6th, 2011 at 9:59 PM ^
Bringing Hoke in to play smash mouth football sets us back another 3 years at best. We are not set up for this and from what Hoke has said in interviews, he isn't changing. We need a blend of some one who runs something similiar to our offense coupled with a solid defensive staff. Sorry I am not jumping off the RR train onto the Hoke train.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:03 PM ^
His stats don't indicate that he is a smash mouth football guy in the mold of Lloyd. Look at his teams stats last year. Maybe his quarterback didn't have any rushing yards, but they pass the hell out of the ball.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:21 PM ^
Lloyd Carr's stats don't indicate he is a smash mouth football guy in the mold of Lloyd. We threw the ball quite a bit under Carr. He may have had a conservative attitude, but especially in the latter half of his career we were a better passing team than a rushing team.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:28 PM ^
"Bringing Hoke in to play smash mouth football sets us back another 3 years at best."
Wait a minute, isn't Jim Harbaugh - the guy everybody wants - a "smashmouth" guy? He runs plenty of schemes, but he's not exactly a spread option guy and he hangs his offense's hat on running with power.
With that in mind, I don't see why this is objectionable with Hoke. SDSU's bowl game and Ball State both looked to have plenty of spread elements going on.
January 6th, 2011 at 11:13 PM ^
if Hoke is the answer, but geez, I'm really sick of people talking about him like they know anything. Did you watch any SDSU games this year? I watched about 5 of them b/c my roomate is an alum. The team overacheived and had a real shot at beating every team on the schedule. They came out against TCU and punched them in the mouth for the first few quarters of play. And to address the smash mouth talk...again, if you had watched any of the games, SDSU ran a ton of different offensive looks!
January 6th, 2011 at 10:01 PM ^
I agree. The more I've read about Hoke, the more I've started warming up to him. Brian seems to think he's a 3 yards and a cloud of dust coach, but in the Bowl game highlights, he seemed to run a decent amount of shot-gun and 5-wide. Last year he had 2 receivers with over 1,200 yards - that's impressive.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:02 PM ^
although another offensive shift would be a problem.
It's that there's scant evidence in his past to suggest he's actually a particularly good coach.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:07 PM ^
He had Ball State ranked in the top 25. Thats certainly some evidence. He had a lot of firsts for Ball State.
"During the 2008 season, Hoke led the Cardinals to the most wins in school history, finishing a 12-0 regular season before falling to the Buffalo Bulls in the MAC Championship. The season featured Ball State's first victory over a BCS conference opponent, the school's first appearance in the Top 25 polls, and their first appearance in the BCS standings."
January 6th, 2011 at 10:10 PM ^
then okay for one year, then very good for one year.
If you wanna hang your hat on that, that's fine, but from here that looks like a bad hire (even if Hoke ends up being great here).
January 6th, 2011 at 10:22 PM ^
Also SDSU's best year ever (at the the very least since they beat BC in something called the Pasadena Bowl in 1969).
Then again, Hoke's comments in that article that's linked on the front page do him no favors. Isn't a large part of the "problem" with RR that he failed to adjust his offense to the roster (such as it was) he was given?
January 6th, 2011 at 10:25 PM ^
But that 'best year ever" included wins over Nicholls State, a 2-10 New Mexico State team, a 4-8 Utah State team, Air Force (a legit win), a 1-11 New Mexico team, a 3-9 Wyoming team, a 3-9 Colorado State team, a 2-10 UNLV team, and an 8-4 Navy team.
I mean, I'm supposed to be impressed by that?
January 6th, 2011 at 10:34 PM ^
In absolute terms, no. In relative terms, I think so. (FWIW, he had a bunch of 'close losses', or what I used to call "Spartan victories").
January 6th, 2011 at 10:38 PM ^
San Diego State played the 91st toughest schedule in the country according to Sagarin. And that's with TCU, Utah and Air Force on the schedule.
If they hadn't gone 9-4 it would have been a disaster.
January 6th, 2011 at 10:55 PM ^
January 6th, 2011 at 10:14 PM ^
Coaching style, or age, or certainly "we're Michigan, we should be able to do better". But to say he's not a good coach at this point just sounds either ignorant, or like you have you fingers in your ears during a tantrum. I mean, if someone said "Rich only had 3 really good years as a head coach, and was dicky in the rest, how do we know he's a good coach" you'd rightfully shoot that down as stupid.