Why is Brady Hoke the answer for the revival of Michigan football? Are you ready? Open your brain tank brah cuz here comes some premium high octane knowledge.........
The 2011 defense will employ a 4-3 scheme. Blogged.
Oh that's not enough for you? It should be, but whatever... here's some more for the impatient, sense of entitlement having, instant gratification seeking lot of Michigan fans.
First let me say that I've been an advocate for Brady Hoke since before he got hired so I'm not just some "support whoever the coach is" crybaby like a lot of Michigan slappies. Although I will say, once a coach is hired he does deserve our full support because that's the only chance our team has of being successful and as fans we can't do anything about it anyway. Our entire reason of being is support, so get on board. Here a couple of my facebook posts with dates (roughly a week before Hoke was hired.)
Bo Schembechler didn't have big program experience as a head coach, neither did Lloyd Carr, Hoke was an assistant at UM and turned around two programs that were in the dumps. Other coaches without big time experience include Jim Tressel - Youngstown St, Urban Meyer - Miami(OH)/Utah, Jim Harbaugh - San Diego St, Bob Stoops (asst coach), Gene Chizik, Chip Kelly, Gary Patterson, Chris Peterson are all doing well and did not come from big programs. If Brandon likes Hoke... I like Hoke.January 5 at 2:00pm
Brady Hoke certainly satisfies everything Brandon laid out in that press conference ( I agree, DB is polished, decisive, first class, and direct... he will not stop until UM Football is back at the pinnacle). I am also sick of the "Michigan... Man" mantra and Hoke will even satisfy those turkeys who still chant it. Hoke has midwestern recruiting ties as well and can flash a National Championship Michigan ring to recruits. I don't think there is a snowball's chance in hell that Les Miles gets more than a sniff. I'd be surprised if it is anyone but Hoke at this point and the only others I'd welcome would be Harbaugh, Meyer or steal Stoops or someone. I want a coach who does what Brandon said, gets what being the Michigan Coach is all about and knows the pressure, wants the pressure and can handle the pressure. I want a Tressel like declaration, a Harbaugh like guarantee, something that gets the blood of everyone Buckeye fan to boil and the skin of every Wolverine to tingle. Bring back the tradition, the swagger and with it the success. GO BLUE!!
January 5 at 3:23pmAnyone who questions the Brady Hoke hire by David Brandon clearly has not done their homework. Not only is Brady Hoke the best man for the job; this is the best move by Brandon since he became AD (other highlights include scheduling the first night game in Michigan Stadium history, installing permanent lights for Michigan Stadium and promising new scoreboards for the 2011 season, deciding to catch up with the times in basketball facilities and build a practice facility along with Crisler Arena renovations to come). I will be the first to say that I wanted Jim Harbaugh with a passion. He was the quick fix to everything wrong with Michigan football in its current state. As soon as I heard he was likely headed to the NFL and that Brady Hoke was probably going to be the guy (a few weeks before he was announced), I started researching. Shame on you if you have an opinion on Brady Hoke and it is not educated. A quick glance at his coaching stops and his overall record as a head coach makes the hire seem like a head scratcher. Dig a little deeper and you will realize what a 'diamond in the rough' hire this really is. The more I learned and continue to learn about Coach Hoke the more I feel he is the absolute best man for the job. Better than Harbaugh, better than Miles, better than Urban Meyer or any other pipe dream you had in mind. If you like Michigan football get ready to be excited about the future....
Laundry list of reasons Brady Hoke is the perfect fit for U of M
-Born in Ohio, father played for Woody Hayes at Miami of OH and has great respect for Coach Hayes. Grew up cheering against Coach Hayes at OSU, however.... Brady Hoke grew up a fan of the Maize n Blue while all his friends cheered for the home school. Understands the tradition and the rivalry. Calls OSU "that school in Ohio." The guy just gets it.
-Played college ball and was on both ends of the totem pole. Walked on as a freshman, Captain and MVP as a senior. Went through a coaching change. This guy can relate with ANY recruit and any player on his team. He's been there.
-He has recruiting ties to the Midwest and California. From what I hear the guy has the best personality of anyone to step foot in a prospect's home. People gravitate toward him and his players will do anything for him. Stories keep flooding out about well regarded this man is by players who played for him, coaches who coached with him, and people who have been someway associated with Brady Hoke.
-Coached on Michigan's staff from 1995-2002, coached DEFENSE (D-Line specifically), has 5 Big Ten rings and 1 National Championship ring. I think recruits will like those.
-Brady Hoke has turned around TWO putrid programs. He took Ball State to the brink of a BCS bowl berth and in just two seasons turned SDSU into a contender in the Mountain West against former conference titans, TCU and Utah (now of the Big East and Pac Ten respectively). SDSU won just 2 games in 2008, in 2010 they won 9 games and lost 4 by margins of 3 to Mizzou, 3 to BYU, 5 to #2 TCU (oh yeah they scored more points against TCU than anyone else all season (35 points) including Wisconsin who averaged 41.5) and 4 to #19 Utah.
-The best coaches in NCAA history didn't go from one Big Time program to another Big Time program. Granted, anyone who comes to Michigan to coach is getting a promotion (in my eyes), but all of the best coaches did great things and made names for themselves at small schools and then hit the big time and went on to great success there as well. Good coaches are good coaches and it doesn't matter where they coach they will be successful... unless of course their team wears Honolulu blue.
-Coach Hoke won Mountain West Coach of the Year for 2010, his team was 19th in scoring offense with 35 points per game 36th in points against on defense at 22.1. Sounds a little better than our 25th(32.8ppg) and 108th (35.2ppg) doesn't it? The only category that Hoke's team wasn't better than ours in 2010... rushing ypg. Thanks to Big Ten Offensive POY and MVP Denard Robinson.
-Speaking of Robinson, coach Hoke has already solidified his best recruit for 2011 in retaining the star QB for the Wolverines and plans to adapt his offense around Robinson's skill set. Imagine that.
-If you watched the press conference I shouldn't even need to sell you on Hoke to be honest but if you happened to miss it you missed the best advertisement for his hire. The guy bleeds maize and blue. He oozes character, charisma, pride and just has the IT factor that we needed. He put Drew Sharp in his place.... need I go on? He is determined to restore Michigan to greatness and BELIEVES that Michigan is Michigan and always will be. Anyone who thinks differently is stupid.
-The guy WANTS to be at Michigan. It is his dream job and it is his family. Said he would have walked from San Diego and would coach for FREE. The guy accepted the job without discussing money, absolutely unheard of.
David Brandon conducted a national search as promised and despite people's thoughts otherwise, he wanted Harbaugh first but Harbaugh wanted the NFL. He talked to many other coaches and was shocked and how arrogant and self serving they all were. Brady Hoke was the only man who wanted the job desperately because of his love for the University. He didn't want it to build his resume or to boost his ego. He wanted it because he truly loves this place with every fiber of his soul, just like I do and just like most fans and alums do.
Looking for more proof? Look no further than Hoke's most recent staff hire. Greg Mattison who has spent the last two seasons as the Baltimore Ravens Defensive Coordinator decided to make a lateral move and become Michigan's DC. How many NFL coaches would do this? Not many. This speaks to two things. Michigan is a special place to coach and more significantly, Brady Hoke is one helluva human being. The head coach of the Baltimore Ravens John Harbaugh told Greg Mattison before he accepted the job, "The job you've done here is unbelievable, but I would understand if you went to Michigan because it's Michigan. I would understand because it's Brady Hoke."
If that doesn't get you fired up as a Michigan fan, check your pulse. Here's a quote from the coach that ought to get the blood flowing.
"I think there's a toughness level (required in college football). I still believe you win with defense. That's been beaten into my head a long time, but I really believe that. The toughness of your team has to be the offensive front and your defensive front." -Brady Hoke
This is from a former player who I email with frequently. A little Hoke joke.
A very good friend of mine called me today. He has a buddy who coached under Tom Osborne at Nebraska - our new Big Ten foe. When my buddy asked him what he thought about the coaching change from Rich Rod to Brady, he stated the following:
Coach Rich Rod is like the gorgeous girl friend you take to the senior prom. She flirts with you, makes all the moves but she will never get you off. Coach Hoak is like the fat chick that might not be all that attractive but gives you great head.
I have never coached in the Big Ten but I think I know what he was trying to say! We'll see where this takes us!
If you want more evidence I've got plenty of it, with references. I believe in Brady Hoke and so does everyone who meets him. If you don't, tell me why and I'll tell you you're stupid.
I could have done without the disturbing Brady Hoke/Oral sex metaphor.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. This guy may be the next great Michigan coach, I have no problem with his hire. I just hate the way Brandon handled the whole thing. I also hate how much Greg Robinson and Governor Rick Snyder look alike. The important thing will be how does Hoke utilize Robinson. If he uses him in a spread the field but also toss in some multiple te and fullback pro style sets, I think that it could open up our playbook. Imagine Denard lining up in the I and then running a speed option and then we go no huddle and shift out into a two te set and roll him out. The possibilities are endless. The defense should be much, much better. Even if that is average, if our offense can continue to build upon the growth from last season, then we will be back in the top tier of the conference.
ReplyDeleteI think you will see a lot of pass/run option with Denard rolling out and making defenders commit to one thing or another. I clamored for this last year but all we ever saw was read option or the fake run, slant pass which was wildly effective and not used nearly enough. If Denard rolls out on every pass play he is a threat to run and is better in space than anyone possibly ever.(when healthy) If they can teach him to look for those opportunities he will break even more records than last year I think. How many times this past year did he actually scramble and run on a passing play? I can't recall one time. For someone with feet as special as his he needs to learn how to do this.
ReplyDeleteNice exhaustive case for Hoke. Now, a week and change later, I am becoming more and more pleased by the hire.
ReplyDeleteI'm just worried about one thing:
1) Borges: This guy has had a very average career, and he has not proven himself to be a particularly good innovator. If you end up at SDSU from a previous perches at Auburn and UCLA, chances are you're doing something wrong. Unless you really like going from the Pac-10/SEC to a bottom-feeding MW school. Anybody care to refute?