(ESPN RUMOR) Potential Coaching Moves
Following the Wolverines' loss to Iowa on Saturday in which it was outgained 407 yards to 158 by the Hawkeyes and blew a 21-7 halftime lead, Michigan is 7-4 and Brady Hoke is approaching hot-seat territory. Some coaches I spoke with this week said, at the very least, he will likely have to part ways with offensive coordinator Al Borges. (If Michigan does open again, either this year or next, one trusted college football source suggested that LSU coach Les Miles could finally head home to his alma mater. “I’ll bet that’s where he goes and retires,” the source said.)
Mods feel free to delete if you think it's too much info from a paywalled article.
November 24th, 2013 at 9:39 PM ^
He's already proven himself a champion. Could be a lifestyle choice. He grew up in Ann Arbor.
November 25th, 2013 at 1:16 AM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 7:10 PM ^
That rumor began on Chatsports, and as a rule, -1,000,000% credibility is given to anything which originates on Chatsports. It may very well be the case that the inspiration for this thread has zero legs, but ESPN is not on the list of persona non grata, if you will.
November 24th, 2013 at 8:24 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 9:37 PM ^
I wasn't aware that was where the high school kid writes.
November 25th, 2013 at 4:20 AM ^
John actually contacted DB about the job! May be he misses Mattison?
The only way Hoke may save his job is to do the impossible. Beat OSU!
November 24th, 2013 at 6:35 PM ^
Who would want an old Les Miles who is going to retire relatively soon? That would be an incredibly stupid hire.
November 24th, 2013 at 6:39 PM ^
Miles just turned 60 two weeks ago. Thinking very hypothetically, if he could put in five or six really solid years at Michigan, get an obvious successor in place, get some stability going, and retire well before he's 70, it's not a terribly far-fetched idea.
That said, it will never happen. But it won't be age that gets in the way.
November 24th, 2013 at 6:37 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 6:49 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 6:54 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 7:12 PM ^
TO say that he has done "near irreparable" damage is an over statement.He has tarnished his image, but if he gets UM back to where it should be in 2014 all the damage from this year will disappear.
November 24th, 2013 at 7:36 PM ^
I meant that in the sense that he will never repair his image to what it was going into the season. It was inevitable that the Hoke-poops-gold era would end, but I never imagined the pendalum could swing so far so soon.
November 24th, 2013 at 9:58 PM ^
National Title? NATIONAL TITLE?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Let's see Michigan beat Akron and UConn by more than one score before we even mention a National Title! God damn some of you are still living in the past. This is not a 1A program anymore. Look at the record against the powers in the lowly B1G the past 6 years! Maybe we should get so much of a sniff at the B1G Championship before mentioning a National Title.
November 24th, 2013 at 10:40 PM ^
Unless Hoke finds his Narduzzi on offense, that isn't going to happen. Next years schedule is not overwhelming, but you can feel pretty confident in at least 3 losses (@MSU, @ND, @OSU). I could see them losing to Penn State. I sure wouldn't feel good about a 3 or 4 loss season. If they lose more than that, he would most certainly need to be replaced. The rest of the schedule is horribly weak.
November 25th, 2013 at 4:24 AM ^
Hopefully, Hoke can keep the verbals!
November 24th, 2013 at 6:45 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 6:56 PM ^
- Entire coaching staff returns. Plausible.
- Entire coaching staff is fired. Not likely.
- Borges is fired, Hoke and Mattison are retained. Plausible.
- Hoke and Borges are fired, Mattison is promoted to Head Coach. Even less likely than #2, above, but I would love it.
The Mad Hatter is probably our best option if #2 occurs, even if Lloyd objects.
November 24th, 2013 at 7:04 PM ^
Approximately zero percent chance Mattison becomes the head coach in any other scenario than an interim basis if Brady is let go next Monday.
In other words, will never happen.
November 24th, 2013 at 6:56 PM ^
This was an article by Chantel Jennings on ESPN. She in no way said UM will fire Hoke or that Borges is being rumored to be fired either. All she said was that Hoke will be on the hot seat next year and that Borges is on the hot seat now. The other coaches she's referencing are only what would happen IF Hoke is fired...not that he will be. It's all based on the fan base complaining...that is all. We already know this because we are on here complaining ad nauseum. Nothing will happen to Hoke this year. We can only hope Borges gets canned, but the article is not saying he will, just that he's on the hot seat. Here's the link:
http://espn.go.com/ncf/notebook/_/page/gamedayFinal1124/week-13
November 24th, 2013 at 7:03 PM ^
The paywalled article is the one that's blockquoted in the OP and it was written by Travis Haney.
November 24th, 2013 at 7:21 PM ^
You're right. I read them both one after the other. But, the point is still valid. None of these coaches are saying there is a rumor that Hoke or Borges will be fired. They are just saying it is their opinion that they believe Hoke needs to fire Borges to stay off the hot seat. Hoke isn't going anywhere and there are no rumors on Borges yet either.
November 24th, 2013 at 6:56 PM ^
Les, besides the various issues he has with people here, is 60 years old. He's almost certainly going to retire from LSU.
I could definitely see Hoke making staff changes, though.
November 24th, 2013 at 7:02 PM ^
Dantonio to Texas!
Dantonio to Texas!!
Dantonio to Texas!!!
(just because I started the rumor doesn't make it not true)
November 24th, 2013 at 7:02 PM ^
Not that it would happen, but would anyone be happy if we threw 10 million at Saban and hired him?
November 24th, 2013 at 7:11 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 7:12 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 7:43 PM ^
Why stop there? Let's give him 50% of football profits.
November 24th, 2013 at 7:12 PM ^
I'd be ecstatic
November 24th, 2013 at 7:20 PM ^
that alone would be worth it. . .
November 24th, 2013 at 7:21 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 7:39 PM ^
Absofuckinglutely.
We coulda had Meyer if we let the RR debacle go one more year.
November 24th, 2013 at 10:02 PM ^
(dry heave)
November 24th, 2013 at 8:44 PM ^
I love Hoke as a person and a representative of our great university, but if Saban came out tomorrow and said he'd like to coach here, I'd be okay with showing Hoke the door. Yes, that's cold and maybe a horrible thing to say, but college football is a business, and if you want the top results, like we all claim to do, you have to pay top dollar for them.
Maybe Hoke can win a national championship one day. But Saban's already won 4, and is about to make it 5. I'll take the proven commodity and undisputed king of college football.
November 25th, 2013 at 12:54 AM ^
There's an exchange in a book I like that has one character offer a check for charity or something and says, "whatever number you write on this check is less than I would have written myself" or something to that effect.
In reality though, do you really think Saban would be able to stop writing zeros long enough to hand the check over?
November 24th, 2013 at 7:04 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 7:05 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 7:10 PM ^
Ace Williams is a deranged high school student. That's all you need to know.
November 24th, 2013 at 7:06 PM ^
Dantonio to Texas!
Dantonio to Texas!!
Dantonio to Texas!!!
(just because I started the rumor doesn't make it not true)
November 24th, 2013 at 7:06 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 7:10 PM ^
there is a young, tough coach at Vandy who knows how to recruit at a strong academic school, knows how to win big games (beat Georgia and Tenn. this year) and most of all, knows how to win on a BIG stage - the SEC.
He'd look pretty darn good in maize and blue............
November 24th, 2013 at 7:18 PM ^
Anyways, Hoke isn't going anywhere. You also cannot assume success here at UM. Hoke had a difficult rebuild at BSU and did it, yet you want him fired after two mediocre seasons. You and your fellow anti-Hokians lack of patience would make any coach hesitant to come here.
November 24th, 2013 at 7:27 PM ^
November 24th, 2013 at 7:55 PM ^
This isn't Ball State--or maybe it is, now. Would OSU or any top notch program accept two mediocre seasons? Remember John Cooper was two years removed from an 11-1 season. Two 4 loss seasons and he got the boot. Look how good of a decision that was...
November 24th, 2013 at 8:04 PM ^
Woody lost a third of his games the first three years, about the same as Hoke and in an era of unlimited scholarships when it was easier for the big schools to win big. They only finished ranked once, #17 his second year. And it's not like he had a stellar record coming in--he'd only coached two years at what would now be D1 level.
Then the fourth year they went undefeated, won a Rose Bowl. Hopalong won a Heisman the fifth year. They were probably pretty happy they held their nerve.
November 24th, 2013 at 8:06 PM ^
He only talks about the anecdotes that fit his narrative, ie. Dantonio going 6-7 in year three - because we all know the ultimate goal is to be like State, not the OSU's or USC's of the world.
November 25th, 2013 at 1:58 PM ^
"Hoke had a difficult rebuild at BSU and did it"
Ball St. under Bill Lynch (Hoke predecessor): 37-53, 41.1%
Ball St. under Brady Hoke: 30-39, 43.4%
Ball St. in 3 years prior to Brady Hoke:
2000: 5-6
2001: 5-6
2002: 6-6
Ball St. under Brady Hoke:
2003: 4-8
2004: 2-9
2005: 4-7
2006: 5-7
2007: 7-6
2008: 12-2
That doesn't look like a "difficult rebuild". That looks like a 5 year run of pretty much exactly what came before under the previous coach, and then one outlier.
November 24th, 2013 at 7:16 PM ^
Coach Franklin down at Vandy is a tough SEC coach who knows how to win. His price could be right. Read below:
From ESPN:
"Franklin's pay would place him in the bottom quarter of Southeastern Conference football head coaches. And for 2011, it was less than the amount Vanderbilt reported for Kevin Stalling, the men's basketball coach. "