Brady Hoke comments on Harbaugh, Brandon & tenure at Michigan
"The former Michigan head coach appeared on Detroit Sports 105.1-FM Friday with host Matt Dery, touching on a variety of topics. And, of course, he was asked about the man who replaced him -- Jim Harbaugh."
Source: Mlive.com, 8/14/15, Nick Baumgardner
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2015/08/brady_hoke_talks_jim_harbaugh.html
August 18th, 2015 at 6:48 PM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 5:37 PM ^
Hoke is anything but an inspirational figure standing on some type of high moral ground. From what we know of him he:
- Didn't and still doesn't take any real responsibility for the Morris incident
- Has blatantly lied even when there was better ways to handle situations
- Came in to Michigan saying anything but a Big Ten champsionship is a failure, yet when he started producing worse and wrose results all of a sudden tried to shift the discussion to graduation rates. Where did the bravado go? A person with character doesn't change the narrative to fit his situtation. A man of character stands behind his beliefs and principles.
- Instead of sticking up for his players when they plungged the spike at MSU, he pretty much distance himself from the players and instead apologized to the rival coach, who by the way said he wanted to shove it down your team's throat at the end of the game.
Fine examples Hoke set for everyone.
August 14th, 2015 at 6:06 PM ^
I said that none of us really know the man.
As for your points.
Point A: I think the blame for that lies as much with the medical staff as with Hoke. But I won't disagree with you on this point.
Point B: Like what? Examples?
Point C:Really? All coaches who are failing do the same damn thing. This is hardly a character flaw. It's a natural defensive reaction to intense criticism. You are being completely unrealistic in expecting a coach to be openly self-critical.
Point D:He actually did the correct thing. It was mindbogglingly stupid to plant that spike. It's a tactic of braggarts and losers who lacking the swagger that comes with winning have to resort to contrived acts of boastfulness to make themselves look confident to the world. The Michigan of old never would have done such a thing. They didn't need to.
The spike damns Hoke because it showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was a man who had not brought back the old Michigan swagger. His program had resorted to the same cheap tactics of Darryl Rogers, George Perles, and John L Smith.UM looked like MSU and MSU looked like UM. It was a bizarro world.
Dantonio's response, while infuriating to us Michigan fans,was understandable. If Bo, Mo,or Carr was in a similar circumstance they'd have done the same thing. Do recall the 49-3 ass whipping Carr put on Sparty in 2002. That was a message. A curbstomping delivered in righteous indignation over the theft of the previous year's game.
August 14th, 2015 at 11:46 PM ^
And let's keep in mind we are talking about character, not what everyone else would do or wouldn't do. A man's character is always on display.
Point A: Regardless of how you split up the blame (and I agree you can split it up among many of the principles), a man of character assumes the responsibility and doesn't deflect, excuse or otherwise avoid it, as Hoke did and still does. Did anything that Hoke do in the fiasco in any way inspire you or showed him a man of character?
Point B: The Gibbons fiasco when he blatantly lied on a subject that was going to come to light. The Morris press conference when he claimed he didn't talk to Brandon about the situation. The MSU spike when he lied about not knowing what happened.
Point C: Yes really. If we are talking about character, you can't dismiss that by saying other coaches would do the same thing. I agree and all those coaches that would do it do not display character. When you fail is when your character really shows, and if you start finding excuses and blaming fan expectations that is not character.
Point D: I couldn't disagree with you more. If you want to take Dantonio's interpretation of the spike then yes your comments have merit. What the spike was really about was Bolden trying to rally his team and he brought it out cause it had been the symbol for the week and spiked it surrounded by a group of UM players and not at the feet of Dantonio, as he would have you believe. And for the record I have no issue with how Dantonio responded, that is a way you respond to any perceived slight by a rival. But regardless if it was a slight or not, that was Hoke's player that did it, and if that was Bolden throwing down the gauntlet then it was Hoke and the team's job to have his back. I recall Harbaugh guaranteeing a win against OSU and when Bo was asked, he said well he and the team will have to back it up. The coaches that have left their mark on rivalries all have the same quality, complete disdain for their rival. Woody had it, Bo had it, Tressel had it and yes Dantonio has it. Hoke didn't have it and it showed. Hoke should have tried to find less reasons to apologize to Dantonio and found more ways to shove it down his throat and yes that would include a spike to the ground, followed by a good ass beating. But the only one taken to the woodshed was Hoke and the UM program he continued to emasculate.
August 14th, 2015 at 6:35 PM ^
This is exactly why colleges and employers accept letters of recommendation from family and close friends!!!
Oh wait, they don't.
Your actions and record speak louder than the biased words of loved ones.
August 14th, 2015 at 5:03 PM ^
“The Shane Morris incident, whatever you want to call it, it was one you’re coaching guys on the field, you’re not the one diagnosing, assessing and all that,” Hoke said.
That's the one quote that bothers me the most in this interview. Whether you know he has a concussion or not, the fact that you don't notice your quarterback can hardly stand shows how unfit you are as a coach.
Show atleast a morsel of accountability Brady, don't blame it all on the trainers.
August 14th, 2015 at 5:08 PM ^
August 15th, 2015 at 12:25 AM ^
Sorry he can't and won't. Would be tough to get that next Power 5 coaching gig.
/smh
August 15th, 2015 at 12:58 AM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 6:05 PM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 6:33 PM ^
Holy shit, you're even more clueless than Brady Hoke. Everyone in that stadium knew he was hurt except for the coaches and training staff. And then they showed the replay on the scoreboard while the penalty was called. Hayes was waving the med staff on the field.
Hell, Bellomy should've been put in after he tweaked his ankle in a 30-7 massacre. The med staff does get most of the blame, but Hoke isn't innocent at all.
August 14th, 2015 at 5:04 PM ^
Most coaches never accept the reasons for their dismissal. They can't because to so would be to question oneself that could potentially cause them to doubt their abilities. Any lack of confidence is seen as fatal in any perspective leader. Leaders have to have a strong sense of their own superior ability in order to get others to follow them.
This comes with the territory of being a leader whether in politics, business, or any other field. Often this develops into hubris which can and does lead to a spectacular downfall like we saw with Dave Brandon.
August 14th, 2015 at 11:17 PM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 5:01 PM ^
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August 14th, 2015 at 5:18 PM ^
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August 14th, 2015 at 5:26 PM ^
For those of you not verse in Hoke-coach speak, here is the interpretation of his comments:
"I owe a lot to Dave Brandon" = "Thank God for Dave Brandon cause otherwise where else would a mediocre MAC-Level head coach ever get paid like he was Bill Belichick"
August 14th, 2015 at 5:30 PM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 5:39 PM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 5:42 PM ^
He's gone. He tried his best, was a good guy, and did some good things for the program. Let's wish him well.
August 14th, 2015 at 6:12 PM ^
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August 14th, 2015 at 6:23 PM ^
You're a guy I almost ALWAYS agree with but not on this. The board didn't make Hoke do the interview and the board sure as hell didn't make him bitter and aggrandizing towards the Harbaugh hire.
I don't blame people for taking shots at him. He brought it on himself.
August 14th, 2015 at 7:01 PM ^
I suppose my own discounting of him is that I don't care at all what he says in an interview. His relevance to Michigan football was totally eclipsed in my mind the moment Harbaugh arrived in AA.
August 14th, 2015 at 9:58 PM ^
The more I read it the more irked I get. I liked the bit about how Dantonio was given a chance to stay and build a program. For a guy who loves the program He never wishes Harbaugh luck, never unequivocally throws his support behind the team or regime...
Come on Brady. Harbaugh didn't get you fired. A fourth year of frustration and turmoil did.
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August 15th, 2015 at 12:33 AM ^
What good things did he do for the program? And given what he was being paid he didn't do enough and should have done more.
I will not be giving him the credit for APR as IIRC, it was on the upswing whenn RR was here and this is what the AD support staff does. Brady was not helping Taylor with his Calculus homework every night!
August 14th, 2015 at 5:44 PM ^
People donate to cancer research because they want to see cancer cured. They donate to the Red Cross because they want to see people get help in times of crisis and calamity. They donate to UM athletics because they love the University of Michigan and its sports teams.
Nobody donates a fucking cent because of Dave Brandon. He might be better or more persistent at asking for cash than others, but him taking credit for and idiots like Hoke giving him credit for the fact that people are more than happy to donate loads of cash to the school they love is still infuriating.
Guess what, that dipshit is gone and people are still writing checks. What a miracle!
August 14th, 2015 at 5:54 PM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 5:47 PM ^
I like Brady but he owes Michigan about $15MM.
August 14th, 2015 at 5:59 PM ^
$14.4 million to be exact. I suppose the other $600K is for pain & suffering.
August 14th, 2015 at 6:13 PM ^
I wonder if he'll wear a headset.
August 14th, 2015 at 6:14 PM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 6:18 PM ^
I didn't listen to it, I read quotes so the tone could be different from how it comes across in text form but Hoke sounds real bitter. His quote about Harbaugh, "But he's obviously a guy who loves his school, seems to love it. That's all you can ask for." Seems to love it? Interesting. Hoke is not sure if Harbaugh is the home run hire? Without the advantage of 20/20 hindsight years down the road, when Harbaugh was hired who else would have been more of a home run hire, Brady?
Hoke is still toting water for Brandon even after Brandon left him to twist in the wind during the concussiongate saga. I guess several million dollars in Hoke's pocket from Brandon hiring him will do that.
Seems like Hoke is already taking credit for any success the team has under Harbaugh using players Hoke recruited. "You look at the young kids we left in Ann Arbor and the recruiting classes -- they'll have a lot of success."
Hoke uses Lewan and Schofield as examples of how he developed players. He uses the lack of seniors as an excuse for poor results.
I'll use my favorite Hoke quote to sum up his mentality, "aware, but not fully aware".
August 14th, 2015 at 7:00 PM ^
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August 14th, 2015 at 7:28 PM ^
If this team wins 10+ games Brady would deserve a huge thank you and I would be the first person to give it to him. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening considering where we were last year, what we lost, and Coach Hoke's track record so far in terms of recruiting results.
August 14th, 2015 at 7:47 PM ^
I agree the guy that brought in the players deserves some credit.
August 14th, 2015 at 6:21 PM ^
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August 14th, 2015 at 6:36 PM ^
I'm not sure I've EVER seen a greater example of total coaching incompetence on the Div 1-A level in my lifetime. Even BEFORE Morris got clocked into concussion-ville it was so obvious that he was injured beyond any level of effectiveness that only a total gibbering idiot would have left him on the field to continue taking shots. ANY coach worth anything would have pulled him long before he got clobbered. He was obviously hurt and completely ineffective. There was NO POINT to leaving him out there to get more injured. But that is what Brady Hoke did. And then once he almost got him killed and he couldn't even stand up on his own, he STILL left him out there.
Say what you will about Hoke being a good guy or whatever. I don't care. He was incompetent and dangerous. And I'm glad he's gone.
August 14th, 2015 at 7:14 PM ^
I was sitting in row 14 behind the UM bench that day, I said on several occassions prior to the shot that knocked Morris silly that he was hurt and should have been taken out. He had been limping noticably from the second quarter on.
I find it amazing that my son and I clearly seen Morris try to stand up and could not do so on his own, but nobody on the UM side lines could see it, we were located behind them and we were able to see it!!
Then when he was sent back in, I told my son, this is unbelieveable, Hoke has to be held accountable and he should be fired immediately after the game.
The interview did not surprise me, he never said anything other than they needed to coach better and the players needed to play better. Problem is he or his staff had any clue how to make that happen.
Hope he does better talking about football than he did coaching it
August 14th, 2015 at 7:46 PM ^
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August 14th, 2015 at 7:51 PM ^
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August 15th, 2015 at 12:37 AM ^
Well if he wore a headset maybe someone upstairs would have told him he was concussed.
August 14th, 2015 at 9:33 PM ^
For that incident, Hoke had better hope that it is forgotten...if he ever plans to be a HC again. Most ADs who saw that incident, will refrain from hiring Hoke out of pure liability reasons. Gotta protect those "115 sons"
August 14th, 2015 at 9:40 PM ^
To me the refs are a close second for what happened. They are on the field and talking to the players, stop the effing game when you know a guy has a concussion. I watched a MAC game a few weeks later when a similar incident happened, and those guys did it right and stopped the game, called UT's medical staff on the field and got their QB off.
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August 14th, 2015 at 10:24 PM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 11:54 PM ^
August 14th, 2015 at 6:42 PM ^
I cannot comprehend how Hoke is so incompentent that he can't accept he was justly fired.
August 14th, 2015 at 6:51 PM ^
My God, he is saying his greatest achievement was the graduation rate.
He is Ty WIllingham.
August 14th, 2015 at 6:55 PM ^
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August 14th, 2015 at 7:25 PM ^
Instead of being so tepid.
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August 14th, 2015 at 7:33 PM ^
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August 14th, 2015 at 7:21 PM ^
If you listen to the interview, the bitterness does come through clearly when they are talking about his firing/harbaugh. That is to be expected. Most people are a bit bitter after a firing.
I feel bad for Hoke and RR. Both had to change the type of player recruited and they never made it to see them as seniors/5th year seniors. I think both coaches would have been at least a bit more succesful with more time.
IMHO all coaches should get a minimum of 5 years but in the money driven CFB world of today that will no longer happen at a big school.