It's Not a Hoax, it's Brady Hoke

The Michigan football coaching search is finally over with the official, not reported, hiring of Brady Hoke yesterday, a week after Rich Rod was supposedly fired and six days after he was actually fired.

The search for a head coach seemed like it took longer than it did, probably because we had to sit and wait for Harbaugh to decide, then wait for LSU to play, then wait for Les Miles to decide... There was a lot of waiting, and even more speculation.

Names were thrown from left to right, to the obvious Jim Harbaugh, to the unlikely John Gruden, to the are you serious?? like Todd Graham and Ron English. But our man was finally found, and that was Brady Hoke... supposedly...

Brady Hoke, according to David Brandon, is the only guy that was offered the job, and the only guy that David Brandon wanted... supposedly. I don't buy it, but here we find ourselves, a new coach, not Harbaugh, not Miles, it's Brady Hoke.

Honestly, when I first heard it, I was upset. It's not the sexy hire, it's not the big name hire, it's Brady Hoke... Who? Well I'll tell ya who he is. He was an assistant under Carr, a defensive line coach, He coached at Ball State, and turned them around, had a 12-0 season with Ball State. He then took over a bad San Diego State team, and turned them around. Overal he has a losing record, but he's taken over terrible football teams, and made them solid. He'll have to do the same thing here at Michigan.

I was expecting to write a blog about how Michigan failed in finding a coach, again. But I like to give people a chance, so I tuned into his press conference... And you can now chalk me up as a Brady Hoke fan.

I was very much impressed with what he had to say today. He talked about the importance of recruiting in state and in the midwest, something Rich Rod neglected. He talked about how everyone needed to be tougher, and talked about the importance of the rivalry games, something that Rich Rod downplayed, saying that "Ohio State is just another game, they're all just as important. Hoke came out and said it, "(Ohio State) is the most important game in the schedule." He said it was personal. That's something Rich failed at, the rivalries are key for bragging rights and most importantly recruiting.

Brady Hoke seems to be a very popular higher, and he addressed the divide and factions of Michigan supporters created by Rich Rod, calling it "sad." He seems like the right guy to unify the factions... If he can win.

A big thing for me was when he said this was his dream job. Unlike a Harbaugh, who wanted to go pro, Hoke is here to stay for as long as we let him coach. We don't have to worry about him jumping ship to the NFL. He's going to be a Michigan Man for life. And that is the most important thing about this hire.

It will be interesting to see how Brady Hoke turns the program around, but I think David Brandon absolutely found the right guy, and I will be the first to apologize for doubting and questioning him for failing to get Harbaugh.

And so begins... The Brady Hoke Era of Michigan Football.