Michigan Coaches try to make it about the family on the field and off (AA.com article)
There's a good article in AA.com about the families of the three major coaches in the Michigan Football Program-
http://annarbor.com/mi/wolverines/2012/08/michigan_football_brady_hoke_…
Well worth the look. Talks about how they all met, and the journey they have made together, and how their families interact. Plus you've always wanted to know what kind of music Hoke and Mattison listen to on the recruiting trail....
August 27th, 2012 at 9:27 AM ^
August 27th, 2012 at 10:59 AM ^
Change it if you want to... Suit Yourself...
August 27th, 2012 at 9:49 AM ^
Thanks for posting the link to this article. I greatly enjoyed the read. Thinking about family, and the demands of coaching, it is great to see that Hoke has made this a priority. I think this speaks to a deep need all of us have. For recruits coming from a strong family, it feels like home. For recruits with a bad situation, it provides them with the family they've never had.
Part of the essence of "team" is a family that works together. When a team becomes just a business, it may function on one level, but something has been lost. When a business or a team becomes an extended family, something is gained, and bonds are forged that aren't easily broken.
Without speaking directly to other coaching dynamics, it is clear that Hoke, Mattison, and Borges have the elusive "chemistry" that goes so much further than words. A unifed coaching staff, with healthy families, provides a template for the football players on how they can function as a team.
A group like this often overachieves, in a way not easily explainable or discernable to outsiders. I'm beginning to wonder if this explains part of why the Michigan defense did so well last year. Obviously, it takes talent, and coaching, and luck. But when a team really buys in and functions as a cohesive family, it is a beautiful thing to see.
August 27th, 2012 at 9:56 AM ^
I learn about this coaching staff makes me proud to have them at Michigan.
August 27th, 2012 at 10:11 AM ^
This is a good, compelling and touching piece by Meinke - thanks for sharing this.
It was the last line that I found rather moving somehow:
"When I became a head coach, I said I was going to try to do the best I could that other guys wouldn’t miss what I missed," Hoke said. "I think we do the best we can with it."
Since even recruits have mentioned the familial atmosphere, we can be pretty sure that Hoke has done a stellar job in this regard. Further, I think it speaks to the lack of ego on the part of Hoke which Borges mentioned as well - I don't know if a lot of coaches would go out of their way to involve family in various activities (including pressers, in the cause of Al's daughter) at the level that this staff does. Hoke has tried to make the program about everything but himself, and there's something to be said for the closeness and openness that creates among staff and players alike. There is perhaps no better way to underline the notion of "team" in the program, I would say.
August 27th, 2012 at 10:51 AM ^
Wow. Fantastic article here. I had no idea that Mattison and Hoke had a relationship that went back so far and how they are close friends. I also had no idea that Mattison had a son in the NFL!
August 27th, 2012 at 1:14 PM ^
But he played at Iowa.
August 27th, 2012 at 10:54 AM ^
I knew Mattison & Hoke coached together previously, but I had no idea they were that close for that long. Great article.
August 27th, 2012 at 11:00 AM ^
but dang, anybody who doesn't like Brady Hoke is either a sociopath or an alien replicant.
August 27th, 2012 at 11:32 AM ^
@Don: OSU fans also don't like Brady Hoke and I think you are being pretty unfair to alien replicants and sociopaths to lump them in with OSU fans.
August 27th, 2012 at 11:46 AM ^
Also, that's kinda funny that Brady Hoke jams out to funk. I do wonder if 1) that presaged the hiring of Coach Darrell Funk and if 2) Hoke busts a move to Rihanna like Greg Mattison does.
August 27th, 2012 at 12:48 PM ^
seems like a dream job