Colonel Kurtz will be running Hoke's offensein Ann Arbor.
San Diego State's Brady Hoke was announced as the University of Michigan's 19th head football coach1 yesterday and the Mitten State's corner of the blogosphere is less than thrilled.
Maybe it's his 47-50 career mark or perhaps it's the fact that in eight years as a head coach, he has as many conference titles as I do, but the feeling that AD Dave Brandon botched the search for Rich Rodriguez's replacement is universal amongst our pajama'd friends from up north.
This is a stupid hire. It will always be as stupid hire and David Brandon just led the worst coaching search in the history of Michigan football. He managed to chase off half of an already iffy recruiting class, hired a Plan C coach on January 11th, probably ensured the transfer of the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, and restricted his "national search" to people who'd spent at least five years in Ann Arbor. Michigan just gave themselves a year of USC-level scholarship reduction voluntarily.
I can't condone this one. Hoke is not a good football coach. He is, at best, a mediocre one and far beneath the standards of the office he would supposedly fill.
Pessimistic much?2
Hmm... Tressel wasn't announced until January 18th of 2001, later in the recruiting process than yesterday's Hoke announcement, and much like Hoke, there was a bit of head-scratching at the choice, what with the lack of perceived cachet. True, Tressel did have the 1AA championships to hang his hat on, but for everyone pointing that out at the time, there were three other fans screaming about the difference between running Youngstown State and a D1 blue blood like Ohio State. In hindsight, the hiring might have been AD Andy Geiger's signature accomplishment (and he has many to choose from: facilities, Matta, etc.).
I personally think Hoke will work out in Ann Arbor. A native Ohioan that later spent seven years on Michigan's defensive staff (during which the Wolverines went 5-3 against the Buckeyes), he certainly gets The Rivalry as well as what it means to play Big Ten football.
Hoke will be bringing respected offensive coordinator Al Borges with him, who is best known for helping Jason Campbell and Auburn to an undefeated season in 2004 as part of a 41-9 stint in four years as the Tigers' offensive coordinator. At San Diego State, Borges helped the Aztec offense improve from the 86th-best offense in 2009 to the 16th-best offense this past season. He is known for favoring a pro-style offense, which likely isn't good news if you're Denard Robinson (nor are things like this), but let's see where things go on that front. Ironically, the man with the most to benefit from a Borges offense, Tate Forcier, bailed on the team meeting yesterday and is rumored to be looking to transfer. Again.
I'm just excited to see the return of smash-mouth football to Ann Arbor. As God would want it.
Wither Barwis? Hoke is also expected to bring along strength and conditioning man Aaron Wellman, who is credited with beefing up the Aztec program. Current Wolverine S&T coach Mike Barwis is employed under a separate contract and was not cut loose with the rest of the staff when Rodriguez was terminated, so things could get interesting.
There are game signs and then there is this masterpiece:
Bravo, Ducks fan, bravo. You may not have won the game, but you won the internet today. (H/T The Wiz of Odds)
Etc: A Lego Ohio Stadium and it's as awesome as you'd imagine it to be (H/T @chiefbrutus02)... LSUFreek brings us Indiana Tressel, badass with a gun... Penn State's Rob Bolden is apparently sticking around -- must have been Mrs. Paterno's cookies... ESPN's Mark Schlabach has an early top 25 for 2011 and the Buckeyes check in 10th. Oklahoma, Alabama and Oregon are his top three.
- 1 Technically Hoke's is the 18th regime in UM's long and storied history but the 1891 season saw co-head coaches in Mike Murphy and Frank Crawford. The Wolverines finished 4-5 and that experiment ended.
- 2 FWIW, I received instant messages from MGoBlog's Brian Cook and Dave of Maize n Brew shortly after the announcement was made. I tried my best to be the voice of reason, but neither conversation is suitable for print. Er... hypertext.
