Hoke is a Winner for Michigan
The Michigan Wolverines have suffered an abysmal last few seasons under former Head Coach Richard Rodriquez. When the Wolverines decided to part ways with Lloyd Carr, they went after the popular, well-known, hottest coach on the market. Coach Rodriquez ran the ultra-popular spread offense to perfection at West Virginia, and was expected to change the culture of Michigan football and bring it back to the glory days. Michigan normally went after a so called “Michigan Man”. This coach would be dedicated, hard working, driven and loyal. His style would be a pro scheme, pounding the rock and playing great defense to win games. Richard Rodriquez and his spread offense certainly is not a “Michigan Man” but Michigan fell into the allure and excitement of having a big name head coach. Now after three seasons, and a miserable 15-22 record, the “Rich Rod” experiment is officially over in Michigan. The Wolverines coaching hunt starting immediately, and rumors swirled instantly. Many thought that Michigan was going to land former player, and the hottest head coach on the market, Jim Harbrough from Stanford. Although Harbrough did leave Stanford, he left it for the lure and lucrative contracts in the National Football league, not another college team. The next rumor that started was Les Miles leaving LSU to become the next Michigan Man. Obviously Les Miles realized he was in a much better situation in the SEC and chose to stay there. Michigan’s hunt continued and they finally landed on their man, Brady Hoke. Coach Hoke is coming off a brilliant job at San Diego State, and his tenure their ended with a masterful job in the Poinsettia Bowl, netting a 35-14 win over Navy. Now Hoke is bringing his talents to Ann Arbor, and is expected to turn the Wolverines around and return them back to prominence in the Big Ten.
Brady Hoke will take his pro-style offense to Michigan, and the first question that he has had to deal with is how that offense is going to fit the ultra-talented, spread quarterback in Denard Robinson. It remains a little unclear of how the offense will adapt to him, or Robinson to the offense. I am sure it will be a mix of both, as Hoke is smart enough to understand how talented and dangerous Robinson is. Regardless of what happens, one thing is for sure. Michigan will return to prominence the Big Ten once again, in time.
The first thing that Hoke will do is the toughest part. He needs to change the culture. He is turning the school from a spread style to a pro system, that hasn’t won a bowl game since Lloyd Carr led them to a victory in the Capital One bowl four seasons ago. That means just about every player on the Wolverines roster does not know what it feels like to win a bowl game. Coach Hoke will come into Ann Arbor and do the exact same thing he did for San Diego State, set the bar for expectations high, and accept nothing less. He expects enthusiasm and passion about football, Michigan, and winning.
On offense he expects and will demand perfection. No turnovers, just crisp efficient execution. On defense missed tackles will not be accepted. If you cannot tackle, you will not play. It is that simple. As coach Hoke starts to change the mindset of the Wolverines, he will be able to start to recruit his style of players. At San Diego State he was able to land some very good prospects and at Michigan, a pinnacle in college football, he should find it much easier to do so.
The Wolverines may have suffered lately, after trying out the “Rich Rod” experiment but now Michigan is ready to move on as they understand this experiment was a mistake. They clearly learned from their mistake and went back to getting a Michigan Man. They know they have a proven winner and a coach who has proven he can turn around small market teams. That works perfectly for Michigan, who needs to have a turnaround of their own. The Wolverines may not be turning the corner this year, but give Hoke a few seasons and you can bet Michigan will be of national relevance again, and college football will be restored to how it is supposed to be. Hoke may not have been the big time name that many fans were looking for, but give him time and he will prove he was the right hire. Michigan will be a national power and a perennial Big Ten title contender again.
Read the in-depth football preview for Michigan
