Brady Hoke Retiring
https://x.com/chrisvannini/status/1724081373978275946?s=46&t=XkWAKdcheS-H4uqZ-PnX5g
Has been rumored for a bit as SDSU is not playing well and is not filling their new stadium, and this has been talked about as maybe a shout the door.
I do wonder if this might be a Jay gig, especially since he grew up there. It’d be weird to be replaced by a father and a son in different jobs.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:13 AM ^
Full press release from SDSU (so it's not a rumor, it's actually real):
https://goaztecs.com/news/2023/11/13/brady-hoke-retires-as-aztec-football-head-coach.aspx
November 13th, 2023 at 10:15 AM ^
Despite his shortcomings as a coach, he loves the hell out of the school and the football program.
I hope he’s invited back as an honorary captain at a game someday soon.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:30 AM ^
He was 1 two-point conversion away from beating Urban. That was a hell of a game.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:38 AM ^
I try really hard to forget about that game. I was yelling at my TV like a mad man when I saw them going for 2. A Franklin-esque type of call.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
And then they ran a brilliant 2 point conversion in their bowl game.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:46 AM ^
That's false. It was just a blown call, a repeat from earlier in the game. Devin Gardner had a (or multiple) broken rib...the chance of winning the game there on a 2-pt was higher than going to OT.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:55 AM ^
sadly that injury probably also a contributor to the failure of the 2-pt play. Can't fault anyone for losing that game - if you tried your hardest there's nothing to do but applaud.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:20 AM ^
I would say the failure was showing OSU a formation, OSU calls time out, then coming right back out in the same exact formation and OSU knew for certain the ball was going to Dileo. Borges blew that one by making an elementary level tactical error, especially when they apparently had a killer 2-pt play they used in the bowl game. Coaching malpractice on that call.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:25 AM ^
Wasn't it a broken foot?
November 13th, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
It was. He gutted it out on the bad foot for a full quarter or so, but we probably didn't want him to have to go multiple OTs. That injury was bad enough that he missed the bowl game a month later.
A shame that his monster effort that day gets forgotten.
November 13th, 2023 at 1:07 PM ^
The bigger shame is that DG never had the coaching to nurture his talents.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
It was definitely the right decision, just not the right play call or execution. The way that game was going, Michigan would have lost in OT. It's always better to play to win the game instead of playing not to lose. Dan Campbell shows us that on a consistent basis in the NFL.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:10 AM ^
I had a plane to catch later that afternoon so I was rooting for them to go for two because I wouldn't be able to watch OT. I wish they had converted, of course, but I think it was the right decision even if I was biased.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:39 AM ^
LOLWUT
Was absolutely the right call to go for the win at home as a vast underdog. We can quibble about the playcall but the decision to go for 2 was absolutely the right one.
November 14th, 2023 at 12:09 AM ^
It was the right call--and the most right thing Hoke did at Michgan.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:03 AM ^
Great game … sitting high above the end zone at that end … what could have been. !!!
November 13th, 2023 at 2:51 PM ^
I only get mad at Borges for having a play called and then coming out in the same formation and same play after OSU seemingly called timeout and adjusted to.
The Devin Gardner warrior game.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:47 AM ^
He recruited some really phenomenal players to Michigan. On top of everything you said, if you love Jake Butt, Jabrill, Jourdan Lewis, Taco, Wormley, Darboh, Chesson, etc, thank Brady!
November 13th, 2023 at 11:05 AM ^
As a retirement gift, somebody should buy him a headset.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:14 AM ^
Too soon. :-)
November 13th, 2023 at 11:33 AM ^
A nice mention, Cousin Larry about Hoke maybe coming back to be an honorary captain. I'd love to see that happen.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:16 AM ^
Well, I wish him the very best. He's about a year older than me, so while he's 'of retirement age,' he's not really that old. If he's healthy and otherwise still interested in coaching, he'd make a fine defensive line coach for some program ... all the pressures of HC gone, and just be a recruiter (which he's good at) and focus on the positioning coaching area he seems to really like.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:30 AM ^
Not speaking for your income level, but if I had made the money he has I'd retire at that age too.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:56 AM ^
Hoke wouldn't have to move for retirement. He's already living in paradise.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:19 AM ^
Retirement is overrated. If you do it you need a plan for what you are going to do with all this time suddenly on your hands. Unless you’re a total obsessive, there is only so much golf you can play. And the wife will get tired of you hanging around real quick.
November 13th, 2023 at 2:55 PM ^
I like my wife. Those first few months of Covid when they closed the schools (she's a teacher) were great. I have hobbies, could add some back I have quit, and have never had enough time in the day to do all the stuff I want to do, plus do those damn work and sleep things.
I look forward to retirement and it cannot get here soon enough. I'd quit working now if I didn't enjoy vacations that don't involve sitting in my back yard watching the rabbits graze.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:16 AM ^
I suspect this is "retired".
I remain dumbfounded to this day that we actually hired him to be head coach here. Nice guy, good recruiter, good position coach, not a good head coach
November 13th, 2023 at 10:35 AM ^
Counterpoint: who here would be optimally positioned for success while being excessively micromanaged by a Dave Brandon type boss?
I still believe that, while Brady Hoke wasn't the best choice to be Michigan's head coach, he would have been much more successful if he had been able to forge his own path.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
I agree with you...
November 13th, 2023 at 10:45 AM ^
Dave Brandon, you gotta be kidding me!!! I wouldn't trust this guy with making or delivering a pizza. Oh, wait!!!!
November 13th, 2023 at 11:16 AM ^
Their pizza was edible before Brandon. Now it's garlic flavored cardboard.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:27 AM ^
hot take: their pizza has actually improved. I agree with the garlic flavored cardboard thing, but cover anything in garlic and I'll eat it though
November 13th, 2023 at 10:56 AM ^
Fact: RichRod and Brady Hoke were put in terrible situations and basically set up to fail.
Fact: It wouldn't have worked out anyway.
Not that you said it but just to head off the twits who keep insisting it's one or the other, they're not mutually exclusive.
One of the issues I've noticed over the years is that you can't hire just any coach because Michigan doesn't get the same treatment as a SDSU or West Virginia. Whether you have a conventional approach (Hoke) or a gimmick (RichRod), you can have success if no one looks your way. You can take the world by surprise. You can have a flaw or two and get away with it. The minute you arrive at Michigan, every B1G program has already pumped an entire team of grad assistants full of meth and had them spend two weeks without a break going over every single thing you did for the last ten years. You're not even off the plane and over a dozen head coaches have already got life-size photos of you in their office doing those horror movie things where they cut out the head and stick a knife into the wall at your chest or something. As we've seen beyond a shadow of doubt over the last few weeks, everyone HATES Michigan, to deranged extremes. That don't happen at Ball State or Glenville State.
You can be a B+ HC somewhere else but not here. Unfortunately for these coaches, the ghost follows you out the door, so even after they leave, they don't have success elsewhere. Those books by those meth-addled assistants have been written, and now haunt them everywhere.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:50 AM ^
Counter-counterpoint: Not being able to buck that micromanagement is a symptom of his shortcomings as a leader for a program like Michigan's. He didn't have it. That's fine: the vast majority of FBS head coaches don't.
November 13th, 2023 at 6:50 PM ^
Been thinking about the Peter Principle a lot recently. Brady is an excellent example. Among football coaches there are many. A truncated list:
Frames
Matt Patricia. Runner up: Josh McDaniels. Second runner up: Charlie Weis.
Scott Frost
Mario Cristobol
Josh Gattis
Brian Ferentz, though he’s been promoted two levels too high
7 L Mel
Darrell Hazell. Or was it Jim Colletto?
Bobby Williams
November 13th, 2023 at 10:45 AM ^
This is who Lloyd Carr wanted. I still blame micromanager extraordinaire Dave Brandon for his poor performance here. His records at SDSU and Ball State were strong. He took his last 2 teams at Ball State to bowls and finished 12-1 in 2008. Then, came back to rebuild SDSU from 4-8 to finish with a ranked team the following season and back to a bowl again last year.
Best of luck to Brady!
November 13th, 2023 at 11:29 AM ^
I mean, Hoke seems nice enough, but blaming Brandon for this failures is weak. Hoke was not great here because he's not a great coach. The B+ opinion above captures the thing nicely.
November 13th, 2023 at 5:57 PM ^
What I see throughout the Hoke story he does well if he has a good QB but doesn't seem to be terribly good at recruiting or developing QBs. Denard was an RB good enough to play QB while Devin was a WR. Many forget how many times RichRod benched Devin while trying to develop him.
There are a lot coaches perceived as successful only had a few outstanding years while maintaining an average record except for years with a phenomenal QB or the occasional senior heavy team. If RichRod left Chad Henne #2 as a freshman recruit for Hoke, I suspect Hoke could be retiring from UofM today.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:16 AM ^
Just saw an article about Manny Diaz looking for a head coaching gig. Seems like a Miss St or SDSU is about right considering his resume. Would love to see Franklin have to replace both coordinators in one season.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:19 AM ^
He’s been at that MSU twice as DC. I could totally see that, even if it’s probably the second hardest job in the SEC.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:37 AM ^
I think Manny knows its the hardest job in the SEC and knows MSU cannot compete for kids in this new NIL environment with Tex, Okl coming into the league.
Manny's next gig will be someone like Auburn or Florida or Tennessee. Hell, he should seriously consider Michigan State really.
November 13th, 2023 at 1:04 PM ^
As soon as the weather the online Urban fever dream, he’s absolutely someone they should consider
November 13th, 2023 at 10:18 AM ^
So many mixed feelings.
In any case, best of luck and congrats on your accomplishments, Coach Hoke.
November 13th, 2023 at 10:18 AM ^
Congrats to Coach Hoke. He struggled at Michigan, but I always liked him and rooted for him.
I think Jay has been a great coach for us by all accounts, but doesn't he need to be a coordinator for a couple of years?
November 13th, 2023 at 10:23 AM ^
Well.. we'll always have 2011
November 13th, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
Are we not counting his 7 years as Special Teams Coordinator? Or is this a winking effort to hopefully prevent his departure from U-M's sidelines.
November 13th, 2023 at 11:26 AM ^
Needing to be a coordinator is a bit overblown. Harbaugh was never a coordinator. Urban wasn’t. Dabo wasn’t.
November 13th, 2023 at 12:15 PM ^
Beilein wasn’t…or so I’ve been told
November 13th, 2023 at 10:18 AM ^
He's 65, which is like 50 in Head Coach Years. Just hitting his stride.
$1 says this was a mutually-agreed-upon graceful exit for guy who just isn't getting it done. $1 also says that he ends up in a coaching gig next year somewhere.