October 22nd, 2015 at 1:17 PM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 2:02 PM ^
I like the way you said this.
I believe absolutely he would have punted, but your points are well taken, and true.
It is moot, and I am grateful he is gone, because he lost me for good PSU 2013, and I truthfully do not care much what he says.
But he is showing me some he may not be the man he professed to be, and I care about that because whenever that happens, my spirit hurts some.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:43 AM ^
SI: What did you learn from your time at Michigan?
Hoke: "When you look at it, one of the things is that I may have to wear a headset again."
Welp, at least he learned that lesson...
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:46 AM ^
I never thought Hoke was a bad guy. We have all bitten off more than we can chew before and it doesn't always end well. He always keeps things professional (Shane Morris concussion fiasco aside) and even if he thought he got a "raw deal", he is the type of guy that would never mention it (at least to the press). I actually admire Hoke for being real and doing the interview and not trying to dodge any questions. I hope he ends up somewhere coaching, it's not like he doesn't deserve to ever coach again. Best of luck to you sir!
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
Heard through the grapevine that Dave Brandon was hiring Hoke as the next head coach for Toys R Us University Fightin' Elmo's. Tough first matchup next year vs Wal-Mart College Tramp Stamps.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
1. While technically a "victory formation" style snap is probably the easiest, least fumble probability type snap, or even a shotgun snap, there's a reason why punting is "generally regarded as safe", so I have absolutely no issue punting, esp. when O'Neill is such a good punter
2. When you refuse to use a spread punt, you forfeit any opinion on punting forever
3. When you only send 10 men on the field for a punt, you forfeit any opinion on punting forever
4. If we were able to go back in time and ask every coach in the nation what you do in that situation, I guarantee you they all punt
5. There's no point in talking about this anymore. The one in a million happened. You flipped a coin and it landed on its side. I lost a tennis match in high school double faulting on match point cause a raquet string broke. Shit happens. You move on.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:17 AM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 11:58 AM ^
And to be clear, that was 10 men on the field in at least one game this year beginning with the loss at Utah.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:49 AM ^
One, I like Brady Hoke as a person from what I can see. He's a bit defensive, etc., but he seems like a good guy.
Two, I'm really glad he's not our coach any more. I hope he thrives, a la RichRod, somewhere else.
TOTH to the OP for posting this. Interesting read.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:55 AM ^
Came here to post exactly this. He's a good guy and I'll be pulling for him wherever he lands, just like I do with RR.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:52 AM ^
This is the first interview of his where I didn't feel he was actively sabotaging his chances of getting another HC job. He admitted to some mistakes. Didn't claim it takes five or six years to build a program. No AD or hiring committee wants to hear that
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:10 AM ^
And if what happens in almost all punt snaps (99%), the punter catches the ball, O'Neill punts and we win, Hoke would have said the same thing, right?
He says it is not a criticism, but really, it just is. I cannot believe that even Hoke would have been foolish enough to not take the 99% chance at almost certain victory.
He is being disengenous, and I don't like being lied to.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:18 PM ^
You run a play and get the first down and you win. If not, short of a turnover/runback, MSU has to complete a 50+ yard pass. I have seen coaches go for it in those situations.
Now in our case, O'Neill has been so solid, I think it was the best option. He had punted 45 times previously this year for us and I dont think he ever dropped the ball. Harbaugh probably figured we would struggle to get a 1st down running the ball had more confidence in O'Neill punting than Rudock passing.
Hoke, on the other hand, had some struggles with special teams. He might have had less confidence there.
October 22nd, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^
Well, of course if you get the first down, great.
But the real reason not to go is that from where they are, if they get the stop, MSU can get a throw all the way to the end zone. A hail mary would not be possible even 20 more yards down the field. It is virtually certain victory if you get any punt off. Unfortumately, he dropped the ball, which was a little off to the side and a bit low.
I cannot think of one NFL coach, or P5 coach, who would go for it, though of course I cannot say for sure.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
Love the question about whether success this year is a compliment or an indictment. Both, really. They definitely recruited some good players... which brings out the well-beaten drum of player development. Can he land a Power 5 spot on that record? I want to say no, but then I think of all the Indiana's and Purdue's and Rutger's (and Arkansas', Kentucky's and Vanderbilt's) of the world, and have to admit that he probably will.
October 22nd, 2015 at 3:32 PM ^
@atticusb - let's play a game. You're the AD of one the schools you just mentioned. Your options for HC are Brady Hoke who is 56 years old (57 next month) and his career .527 record or a younger up and coming assistant coach from a prominent program.
Which do you choose?
After seeing what he did at Michigan, Michigan fergodsakes!, how can anyone want him as a HC.
October 22nd, 2015 at 4:42 PM ^
I would hire Durkin over Hoke.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
Maybe this time off will do him some good. He was a pretty good recruiter. And after yesterday's thread I don't think we need anymore Hoke bashing, but I just have to say if he thinks this would have been a turn around year he is simply delusional.
Special teams would have been horrid as usual, the defense would have been solid but probably still bad against the spread, the OL would likely be a step below what it is now along with the running game, and lastly Shane Morris would be the QB. He'd probably have 4 losses at this point and this last one would have been a curb stomping at home.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
He was a good DL coach. The DL was good last year too.
And a good recruiter (except QB)
Problem was he brought in the wrong people to coach special teams, OL and offense and he could not game management at all.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
A good recruiter on defense - what players do we have on offense that would start for MSU on offense? About 2.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
Last year, we started out trying to play man coverage. Didn't work too well. This year, with the same guys (adding a healthy Peppers for the entire season and subtracting Countess), it seems to be working out kind of great.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:56 AM ^
I wish nothing but happiness and success for him, but the man is just not fit to coach Michigan football.
Thank you, Jim, for coming back to coach the best football program in the country.
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:57 AM ^
I don't understand why the staff would view 2014 as a transition year. Maybe a tough year to win the Big Ten given the schedule, but an out and out transition year? That was year 4. He had three full recruiting classes at his disposal. His system was in place. As he famously said, "this is Michigan, fergodsakes," there's no reason a coach entering the program should view year 4 as a transition year. No excuse not to at least be competitive with the top of the conference.
I imagine that they never truly viewed 2014 that way until the season started to go bad, and it wa easier to rationalize the year that way than admit that the coaching sucked.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:41 AM ^
I see where you're coming from but they did have a brand new offensive coordinator. It is plausible that the staff could have anticipated some challenges in implementing a new system.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:09 PM ^
But he said they always viewed 2014 as a transition year. I'm sure they didn't always anticipate having to fire Borges.
If he meant transition years as in "tough to compete for a national title in 2013 and 2014," fine. If he meant transition years like "6-6 is understandable in year 4" then his standards clearly weren't high enough.
October 22nd, 2015 at 1:59 PM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^
BEST QUOTE FROM ARTICLE:
"Had some ham and cheese sandwiches and a couple of Labatts. It was weird."
October 22nd, 2015 at 10:59 AM ^
the more I wonder how he ever became our head coach.
With all of his befuddled mutterings, it is unreasonable to believe he's become any smarter or wiser since his firing.
Wish he would have laid low, enjoyed his mega-money golden parachute, and moved on.
Brady Joke, indeed (still looking to "stake" his claim, and now doing so against the hand that fed/feeds him).
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
Dave Brandon was the one leading the search process.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:00 AM ^
I'm honestly surprised at how he addressed many of the issues he had at Michigan. Wearing a headset, check. Recruiting more QBs, check. Going to successful program and learning from them is a great idea. I'm glad he's still using this time well and has a positive outlook for the future.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^
I guess that's the silver lining for him. I just wish he hadn't used the team I root for to learn those very basic lessons.
Most coaches seem to figure out the headset thing well before they're 55. I'm also not really sure what Hoke's plan was this year with Shane Morris who, despite Harbaugh coaching him, can't even sniff getting past Rudock. Needless to say we would be lucky to be 2-5.
It also would have been nice if he had taken the time to learn about spread offenses when he took a job with Denard Robinson and Devin Gardner on the roster. If JH inherited a Denard he would have been studying his ass off to find ways to maximize his talent.
And I don't really care that he's a nice guy. That's a strawman argument. No one has argued he's not nice. Unfortunately, he's kind of an idiot.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:00 AM ^
Being the optimist, always, I would say being a program-builder. You have to remember; maturity is something that happens at all different times. I truly believe as head coach, it's my job to nurture the leaders and help them mature.
This was in reference to the question where Hoke is asked if 2015 serves more as a compliment to him as a program-builder or an indictment of his coaching, and part of me wants to say that it a bit of both. He always seemed like the sort of guy you wanted on your staff somewhere if you were going to build a program, but it became rather clear as time elapsed that he was not the person to lead that same program, not at this level anyway. Perhaps with a staff that develops players, you can hide some of your shortcomings as a head coach at the P5 level, but we will never know in Hoke's case and I am fine with that personally.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:00 AM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^
but I'd ignore pretty much anything he has to say about football.
October 22nd, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^
He wasn't a great head coach, but I'm willing to bet he's forgotten far more about football than you can ever expect to learn. The game was his life from college on, I really can't imagine you'd tell me you wouldn't want to sit down and hear what he has to say, at the very least, about defensive line techinique.
October 22nd, 2015 at 4:51 PM ^
Doesn't matter, he was hired as a head coach of a historied football team. He may know a lot, but he just doesn't put it together. Some VP's or C-suite people don't work well as CEO's. Some doctors who supposedly have a lot of education, aren't very good. It's how you apply your knowledge and training and how you delegate to and deal with your subordinates that's important. Me, I like Alaskan King Crab. Do I want to know from a crab boat captain how he prepares his traps, fixes his gear, and hauls in his catch? Not really.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
I thought it was a great, honest interview. It's hard to see someone get their dream job and not have it work out.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
I'd love to 'have it not work out' to the tune of $4 million a year for a couple years.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
Hindsight being 20/20 and all, if I were Brady Hoke, I would have kept my mouth shut and stayed out of the media for an entire football season. Commenting on "what I would have done" just reminds people of what he did do, and gosh darn it, people here are trying to keep liking him and wishing him well. Second-guessing the coach who is saving the program is an unwise move.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
I hope he lands on his feet. I personally think he would be a pretty good fit at a place like Illinois or Rutgers. He would bring recruiting to the B1G and name recognition to those programs and wouldn't have an insufferable amount of pressure like he did at U-M.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:04 AM ^
At a B1G school he'd have to face Michigan eventually (and even once a year if he was in the same division).
I'm not sure that's something Brady will ever want to do given the history here.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:22 AM ^
Not sure he would want to get shitstomped by Michigan on the regular.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:57 AM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 11:01 AM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 11:04 AM ^
Hoke: I think we all grow. If you are a competitor, you always want to evaluate and self-evaluate. This may sound odd. I look at what we did at Michigan in the years we knew would be transitional—2013 and 2014. We knew those years were going to be a struggle. We recruited three classes in the top 10 and two in top five. We recruited families and student-athletes who fit the culture and the vision. Always based everything on commitment and being accountable to each other. The respect we have for everyone and the trust.I'm not sure I agree with the accountable part because I don't think that Hoke nor his players' performance under him displayed an accountability to one another so much as an unraveling.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^
For some reason, Harbaugh's "transitional" year hasn't proven to be much of a struggle. Thank God for Harbaugh.
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
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October 22nd, 2015 at 1:26 PM ^
October 22nd, 2015 at 11:52 AM ^
Guy just talks. The words he says have no meaning to him. He's a buffoon.