OT-ish: SDSU OC Jeff Hecklinski fired by Brady Hoke
There was a staff shakeup at SDSU after this weekend. Head coach Brady Hoke fired offensive coordinator/QB coach Jeff Hecklinski. Both these guys were Michigan coaches from 2011-2014, so I found it noteworthy for that reason itself. But Hecklinski was also with Hoke at Ball State, Hoke's first stint at SDSU, and then Hoke's second stint at SDSU. I'm sure it's not easy to fire a guy you've been working with for the better part of the past 15 years.
SDSU is 2-3, #116 in scoring offense, and #122 in yards per play, so they've been pretty terrible on O.
I've never been a fan of Hecklinski's coaching, so I'm not too surprised that he did a poor enough job to get fired.
The new OC (Jeff Horton) was promoted from RB coach, and perhaps SDSU's most ballyhooed QB from the past 20 years or so, Ryan Lindley, was hired as the new QB coach.
October 4th, 2022 at 8:33 AM ^
Good the hear that he was aware there was a problem.
October 4th, 2022 at 8:40 AM ^
CLAP CLAP CLAP
October 4th, 2022 at 8:43 AM ^
Fully aware?
October 4th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
I know I'm in minority here but whenever Hoke's name appears on the board my first inclination isnt to mock him, it's to feel sorry for him. He's definitely a "Michigan Man" who get his dream job and failed at it. I can assure you there's no one in the world that wanted to deliver teams like we've seen these past two years more than he did, he just didnt know how to do it.
It's not his fault Brandon gave him a job he was incapable of succeeding at. I mean if we're being honest with ourselves who here wouldnt jump at the chance of doing something you've always aspired to do - even if down deep you knew it was a bit beyond your abilities. I think most everyone would convince themselves " I can do this, I can make it work" because we wanted it so badly.
And God-Bless his maize & blue heart that fucker DEFINITELY knew how to game plan for OSU. Beat them once, should've beat them twice (dont run the same 2 point conversion Borges for God's sake) almost beat them a third time with a one-armed Denard playing QB sort-of.
I dont make fun of that guy. He's one of us in my book.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:42 AM ^
Offered his dream job and a blank check. Brandon wanted the job agreed to before the contract and salary were in place for narrative reasons. So... Brady got to name is price.
You'd better believe I'd take my dream job and as much cash as I felt comfortable extracting.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:46 AM ^
I'm one of the more guilty people when it comes to poking fun at Hoke. It wasn't so much is incompetence as a coach, but his poor handling of the Morris fiasco and Gibbons situation.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:20 PM ^
John U. Bacon makes a convincing case in Endzone that the Morris situation really wasn't on Hoke. He and the staff didn't see the injury live, as it happened on the far side of the field, and the people who normally should have been there to inform him weren't in place that day (as Brandon had them doing other things). For his part, Shane said "It's my f***ing ankle!" when he came off the field, so the training staff looked at that. Hoke apparently didn't learn until the next day that Shane had gotten a concussion.
Brandon then compounded things by telling Hoke a press release would come soon, but only to take 48 hours to come up with something that didn't make himself look bad. In the meantime, Hoke had to face the press and didn't know what to say to them.
October 4th, 2022 at 3:39 PM ^
I was staring straight at Shane from 5 rows up. Brady wasn't in the area. Doug Nussmeier was motioning for Shane to take a knee because he was obviously wobbly (not apparent whether ankle or head at the time) and Shane was waiving him off.
IMO, given the rules setup at the time (no booth review targeting or game stoppage) there was no immediately obvious action beside calling a time out. That certainly should have happened, but you have a very split second to get that right and they didn't. It is easy to criticize post fact, but hard to do right. Is it reasonable to expect non medical staff to do take a timeout based on a 5 second diagnosis from 20 feet away?
Brandon simply tried to cover up an easy to make, but obvious to identify mistake. You screwed up, the deed is done, everyone saw it. Own that, learn, and move on.
October 4th, 2022 at 6:27 PM ^
Brandon's hanging Brady out to dry in that press conference was, and remains, inexcusable. Dave Brandon was, and remains, a gutless asshole.
October 4th, 2022 at 9:50 AM ^
Agree 100% old. He was not good enough, simple as that but it was not from lack of effort. I will always be thankful that he brought in Mattison at the time and stabilized the defense. The type of players Hoke recruited set up Harbaugh to atleast play the style he wanted (in comparison to Hoke inheriting a team set up for spread). Not to mention Hoke's first stint here working with Lloyd Carr's defense.
Hecklinski on the other hand....wasn't he the WR coach that said speed was overrated?? *face meet palm*
October 4th, 2022 at 9:54 AM ^
Hoke was not the best coach but he was not an abject failure at UM. He left the program in better shape than he found it and he also won a BCS Sugar Bowl during his (fairly) brief 4 year tenure.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:20 AM ^
One of my favorite images of Hoke is during the final minute of the 1997 OSU game. Players are hugging, some crying. Woodson had a rose in his mouth and Hoke picks Lloyd up off the ground in the biggest bear hug. Loved it.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:43 AM ^
Username checks out
October 4th, 2022 at 10:20 AM ^
I think it can be argued that he left the program worse than he found it. We were on the upswing between the RR and the first year of Hoke, then he tanked the program to not making a bowl, and mired in controversy.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
I think it was roughly the same. The record was different, but Hoke inherited a program that was ready to win 11 games (which they did in 2011). And he left a program that was ready to win 10 games (which Harbaugh did in 2015). And if you consider the players that Hoke recruited who went on to NFL success or at least draft worthiness, Hoke had guys in the pipeline that Rodriguez simply didn't have on the roster.
Rodriguez recruited a few guys with NFL potential (Lewan, Schofield, etc.), but Hoke recruited a bunch of guys who got drafted and/or have had solid NFL careers. The 2017 NFL Draft class had 11 players drafted, and none were recruited by Jim Harbaugh - they were all from Hoke's classes.
October 4th, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^
I think that is a fair take
October 4th, 2022 at 11:35 AM ^
Overall Hoke seemed to have a better eye for talent than RichRod. We have additional data from RR's years at Arizona. It's not *easy* to recruit there (location, tradition, etc.) but his many recruiting classes yielded only a handful of future NFLers. A comparison could be made to mid- and low-level Big Ten teams.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:21 PM ^
I would even argue that 2011 was one of the luckiest 11 win teams ever. Our defense switched to a basic 4-3, played a bunch of bad BiG10 QB’s, Ohio State had a year of program ineptitude, and somehow Denard didn’t get injured all year, or anyone for that matter.
2011 Michigan doesn’t win 11 games any other year, with or without Denard.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:30 AM ^
He took over a team that was 7-6 (that had increased it's win total every year of RR's 3 years), and ended his time at Michigan at 5-7 (that decreased in win totals every year of his 4 years).
That's "leaving the program in better shape than he found it"? Please, explain that logic. 🤔
A program that started 3-9 (because there was a mass exodus before the coach got there and the "cupboard was bare"), then went 5-7, and then went 7-6 (leaving the program with Denard Robinson, Devin Gardner, and a bunch of other good players).
vs
A program that went 11-2, then went 8-5, then went 7-6, and then went 5-7.
7-6 > 5-7
He was a nice guy and he recruited well, but his on the field results don't add up to your conclusion. 🤷♂️
October 4th, 2022 at 11:52 AM ^
I think what Magnus was alluding to was the cupboard wasn't bare when Harbaugh came in. Not necessarily win/loss record.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:27 PM ^
Denard and a huge dose of luck was what gave us 11 wins in 2011. A likely better team only won 8 games the next year and lost to 5 top 10 teams.
The offensive development ineptitude did Hoke in the next 2 seasons, which was no worse than the defensive malpractice and physicality depletion of the RichRod era. Hoke left Harbaugh a pretty solid roster overall.
October 4th, 2022 at 4:23 PM ^
I think by this point we all need to accept that different people have different memories/perceptions of those years, and there's no one objective take.
I personally was appalled by Rich Rod -- I thought his inattention to defense and the offensive line effectively trashed what had been decades of tradition in those areas, and while Denard was obviously fantastic, those teams continued to falter in the second half of the season when the level of competition increased.
Hoke was a welcome return of Michigan tradition and personality, restored sanity and stability to the program, before, bit by bit, finding the waters rising around his feet.
But ultimately, and if nothing else, I think Rich Rod was an unpleasant and unlikeable human being (as revealed by subsequent positions), and Brady Hoke is a profoundly decent and likable human being. That may not be what finally matters, but it's hardly insignificant, to me. I hope we can welcome Brady back to future home games with open arms.
Rich Rod does not, in my mind, deserve that same treatment.
October 4th, 2022 at 11:43 PM ^
Almost exactly my sentiments as well
October 4th, 2022 at 7:27 PM ^
Wins and losses do not equal what shape the program was in. It was pretty well agreed to that whoever took over for Hoke would have plenty of talent to work with.
The 2011 team had some talent as well but got the benefit of a pretty easy schedule, an OSU team that was without Tressel, Greg Mattison, and well, Denard. It was basically a perfect setup just like MSU last year.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:18 PM ^
Agreed, Harbaugh had a pretty loaded defense and a bunch of highly recruited offensive linemen who had not been developed when he first got here, also some solid receivers , and not to mention a bowling ball in Deveon Smith. The 2 things recruiting wise Hoke failed at was QB and speed at linebacker.
And obviously he had no idea how to develop a competent offense.
Brady Hoke was however step one of cleaning up the depletion of Michigan physicality that RichRod left. RicRod gave us 2 exciting QBs, Lewan, and really nothing else.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:55 PM ^
RR left us with a team ready to win 11 games. Idk what objective measure you can point at to say Hoke left the program in better shape than RR.
RR actually inherited a totally depleted roster and left a good one.
October 4th, 2022 at 4:07 PM ^
I have wondered a couple of times how things might have ended if RR somehow had Mallet, Manningham and Arrington on that 2008 roster. All had eligibility, but the clean break with the Carr regime basically meant that we ended with an offense that made 2022 Iowa look like a juggernaut.
October 5th, 2022 at 12:08 AM ^
Manningham was probably always going to leave.
Ryan Mallett would have been ultra frustrated with RRod as he was much more of a stand in the pocket QB, and he likely transfers once he sees the writing on the wall that RRod always wanted a QB who was more of an athlete than a passer.
Adrian Arrington would have admittedly been a plus, likely, but then again, RRod liked small slot receivers much more than the bigger guys on the outside. I feel like we barely heard from Junior Hemingway (great Carr recruit) until 2011 with Hoke.
October 5th, 2022 at 1:30 PM ^
That's not quite accurate regarding Hemingway. He caught 32 passes for 593 yards and 4 touchdowns under Rodriguez in 2010. Under Hoke in 2011, he caught 2 more passes (34) for the exact same number of touchdowns (4). The most significant difference is that he had 106 more receiving yards in 2011, but the catches and touchdowns were basically the same.
October 5th, 2022 at 10:53 PM ^
I stand corrected about Hemingway, however it still seemed like slot guys were the guys with RRod, not outside receivers. I recall Roundtree having lots of plays in the slot in 2009 and 2010, and then he sort of became an outside receiver under Hoke.
October 5th, 2022 at 12:03 AM ^
RichRod set Michigan back for several years and is the primary reason Michigan State was a vastly more physical team for years to come. His teams SUCKED against real BiG10 opponents because he coached absolutely zero defense and they were softer than Charmin against a real BiG10 opponent every single time (and not to mention the beating they took from Mississippi State).
Mattison had to fix that mess in 2011 which RRod would have never done. We would have seen another 6-6 type of year in 2011 with RRod. Also our best defenders on that team (Martin and Van Burgen) were recruited by Lloyd Carr.
Also, 2011 featured a very unlikely comeback against ND, zero injuries, an easy and favorable schedule similar to this year, and a total anomaly year for Ohio State.
Like someone said above, Hoke left a roster with tons of NFL talent, especially on defense for Harbaugh to come in and have success.
Yes, Hoke sucked at developing his offense, but he certainly didn’t leave the cupboard bare.
And RichRod was asking for a “bare cupboard” when he decided to force feed his offense with pro style players at every position on the roster. Carr or Harbaugh wins 7 or 8 games fairly easy with the same roster RichRod inherited. (Can you imagine Harbaugh with a running back like Brandon Minor? And teaching Threet to simply manage the game instead of trying to be a spread running QB? Or how about actually coaching the defense??)
All I can say to RichRod is good riddance forever from Michigan fans, but thanks for Denard.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:26 AM ^
Absolutely a great guy, loves the program as much as we do, he was just in over his head. Not his fault for taking the job.
Loved the hire at the time, wanted him to succeed for him, not just us, and felt bad for the guy when he was let go. It was a well deserved firing, unfortunately.
His boss on the other hand.... man, that guy can go kick rocks.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:32 AM ^
I'm right with you here. I don't hate him. I'm sorry it didn't work. I'm glad he was able to get back into head coaching.
He was done no favors by Brandon, and he never compiled the staff he needed to, among other problems. But he's a Michigan guy and I'll always treasure the memories of eating Wiards donuts while watching him yell the DL through pre-game drills on chilly fall Saturday mornings.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:34 AM ^
I agree. But I also make fun of my closest friends and family.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:43 AM ^
In the immortal words of Brady Hoke: "Well......"
October 4th, 2022 at 10:45 AM ^
I've been negged to hell for my opinion on this topic, but even though I think that the narratives of Hoke being a decent person, huge Michigan man, can't fault the guy for taking his dream job, one of Dave Brandon's biggest victims, etc, are all true...
Personally I don't think that I'd want him in charge of the wellbeing of football players. His tendency to ignore injuries is problematic, lest we forget how Denard and Gardner ended their college careers. His "hear football" is archaic. His refusal to name or have the team elect captains before the season started, and his benching of Gardner for 'motivational reasons', show a real lack of people leadership skills.
AND, and this is the thing which really gets me, is that even though his "not fully aware" quote from the Shane Morris Fiasco (TM) gets the most attention, does anyone remember his other quote? It went something like, "Shane is the starting quarterback at Michigan - if he didn't want to be the starting quarterback at Michigan he could have come out." I don't think I can overlook the implications there.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:15 PM ^
If you’ve coached with a guy for many years at multiple stops, and you hired him to be your OC, I imagine you’re friends. Firing a friend mid-season because you need a scapegoat doesn’t say much for a person’s character.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:34 PM ^
Given Hoke's track record of (often unwarranted) loyalty to his assistants, your assumption that the move was because he needed a scapegoat is totally unfair. Brady needs a better offense. Hecklinski seems like a nice guy, a good match for Hoke, but not a good coach at that level.
October 4th, 2022 at 12:44 PM ^
Isn’t the entire Iowa fan base calling for Ferentz to fire his offensive coordinator and SON!? And we would all be understanding of that. I would think firing your son would be a much greater “moral offense” as you allude to than firing your longtime buddy.
If Ferentz makes said decision, are you going to call him a bad guy for making an attempt at keeping his team together? I’m sure most of the Iowa offensive players know their coordinator is from the bargain basement variety, and it would be understandable as an act of respect towards your players to fire him, and I imagine Hoke was faced with a similar kind of quagmire.
Someone here has posted Heckslinki’s pretty abysmal offense ratings year in and year out, looks like he should have been fired sooner. Luckily for Hoke he does know defense a bit and had some Captain Falcon legged punter last year that led them to a lot of wins, as there is also no reason to fire a bad/mediocre coach in the midst of a good winning season.
October 5th, 2022 at 10:32 AM ^
The "not fully aware" quote was in relation to putting a stake in MSU's field - not the Shane Morris incident.
October 4th, 2022 at 1:04 PM ^
That 2pt try haunts me because it was so god damn close. Had, "there will be blood on the field Kalis" blocked properly, Devin (hurt, part of the reason for going for it) would've gotten the (literal) 1 more second he needed to give Gallon (who had separation) a chance at catching the ball.
October 5th, 2022 at 10:34 AM ^
If they had run the same play they utilized for their 2-point conversion attempt in the BWW Bowl the next month, they probably would have won the game. That was actually a clever and well-executed play.
October 4th, 2022 at 1:49 PM ^
Bravo. MGO.
He is a very good man. He loves Michigan.
Yeah, he failed as a coach here.
Many of us have failed at something.
In my case, many things.
October 4th, 2022 at 8:52 AM ^
First the headset, now firing good friends…impressive.
in 20 years or so he may evolve into a competent power 5 head coaching candidate.
October 4th, 2022 at 10:44 AM ^
Is he wearing jackets yet?
October 4th, 2022 at 8:40 AM ^
And in his parting press conference, Hecklinski was quoted.. "we game planned and practiced great. We just didn't execute"
October 4th, 2022 at 1:00 PM ^
Yeah execution is such a dumb cop out. The job of the coach is to lead effective practices so players execute.
October 4th, 2022 at 1:52 PM ^
A lot of the problem with Hoke is that he hired these guys in the first place, and, as in the case of Hecklinski, even rehired and promoted him. These are guys who often couldn't get otherwise hired in D1 after UM. To not parlay years at UM into at least a MAC job? An Idaho position coach? Hecklinski, after UM, went to Colorado State........Pueblo Campus. I'm from Colorado and have worked in Pueblo. We're talking about a program much smaller than most big city high schools. He went on for the following 5 years to bounce around and not distinguish himself in any way. For Hoke to hire him back is terrible judgment, not even considering making him the OC. This is a talent of great coaches, to find great assistants, one after another. With the exceptions of Rocky Long and Greg Mattison, Hoke's coaching tree is the smoldering skeleton of a burned up pine. And those two, were legit coaches before Hoke, he just convinced them to come over.