Does Anyone Care Anymore? Hoke Does….

(This was penned around lunch time before Hoke was announced – then, after the announcement I have some thoughts on David Brandon and the hire. FWIW)

Where have the “loyal” Michigan Men gone? Why have they forsaken the school and fans that adored them while they were here? Is there something else going on that we don’t know about? What gives?

Have we slid down the mediocrity road and are we sitting in the gutter along sides the likes of Notre Dame? Really? My mind simply can’t process that as I try to make sense of it all.

Harbaugh – Thumbed his nose at his alma mater on the way to the pros. (Of course, Michigan kind of thumbed their nose at him, too, 3 years ago…) Harbaugh was jilted three years ago when Sailboat Boob Martin (& Lloyd Carr) went in search of a Head Coach to the Big East. Not just one, but two guys from the BEast were interviewed. And never a peep to Harbaugh. I get it.

Les Miles – Thumbed his nose at his alma mater Twice…To Hell With Les Miles…Actually, I get Miles and the Les Miles situation. He’s 57 and got a great gig. He really doesn’t need Michigan at this point. I guess the action and money of the SEC is simply too much to ignore. I’m not buying the family line and kids in school load of garbage that Les is handing everyone. What I do believe is that the timing, AGAIN, for landing Les was abysmal. Last year would have been so much better... You needed to catch Les after a 7-5 or 8-4 campaign that has the Tiger Nation Screaming for his head. THEN you make Les an offer. He's here 24 hours later and those kids are pulled out of school faster than a Sparty coed drops her panties on a Saturday night…

Brady Hoke – Word is Stanford is after him…Probably not the best school to get in a bidding war with for a head coach…(typed in the early afternoon). I guess Michigan won…

Brady Hoke wants the job, but does the job really want Brady Hoke? The Hoke situation is difficult. He’s not as proven as you’d like a Head Coach to be. He’s a Lloyd disciple. I’m really hoping at this point it develops like the girl next door thing: You know the story. DB swallows his pride and hires his “Security Coach” and the situation blossoms into something that Michigan Fans never knew we had because were were chasing all the hot chicks that all eventually spurned us and said no. And Hoke comes in and cures everything from Defense to Special Teams and somehow improves the Offense in the process. And he doesn’t cheat. And he goes on to win a National Title in 3 years…Oh, how sweet that would be...

But, to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure that’s what David or Michigan Fans will be getting. Lloyd’s heavy hand of steady offensive production, measured offensive cadence with manageable down and distance immediately comes to mind. That and a solid defense. All of that will be in the room with Hoke and I have this visual image of Hoke saying something like, “Well, that’s a clever offense and it looks eloquent when you’re playing a weak defense. But this is the Big 10 where its 3 yards and a cloud of dust, people. Now, let me show you this play we’ll entitle, “Off Tackle-Left.” See here? See how when you pull the guard and double up the line backer you can spring the tailback for 3 yards before the strong safety gets in there? And guess what? The safety might miss and we can get 6 yards or more!” I know, I’m being a little cynical here. But I really hope there’s something good that can come from everything that’s happened.

It has been drilled into me all my life and I tell my kids that every situation is a learning opportunity. I’m sure ole David must be thinking the same thing right about now. Which is, “What in the hell have I learned from all this?”

To start with:

1. Don’t pay any attention to NCAA rules and procedures. Talk to people. Get out there and figure out what your options are before you make any decisions.
2. Remember: Urban Meyer from Utah to Florida was a done deal when the Domers came knocking.
3. Don’t wait to correct a bad situation. If the situation is untenable, fix it quick. At least there would have been a few more guys on the list after you burnt through Harbaugh and Miles.
4. Michigan is not a dream job to a lot of coaches, obviously. Find the one guy that believes it’s his dream job and hire him. If that’s Hoke, so be it.
5. And sell your ass off telling people how lucky you were to get Hoke.
6. Money might be no object, but a weak 2011 recruiting class is.
7. What else besides Michigan in January can you offer to someone?
8. Don’t take an AD job at your alma mater that has been botched up in more ways than you can even count.
9. Make sure you have Plan D ready as it would appear that plans A, B, and C are non-feasible.
10. Timing is everything…Figure it out.

That list is no where near complete, but it’s a start.

Some questions:

Do you even fly the plane to San Diego or simply phone Hoke and tell him to get over here?
Will Harbaugh or Miles ever be welcome back in Ann Arbor with the exception for funerals?
Will David realize that you can’t be arrogant enough to think that selling the Michigan job is not necessary?

And just for the heck of it, I’ll ask it again: Do any Michigan Men that can make a difference care anymore?

I guess time will tell….

HOKE IS HIRED

Really? I mean – REALLY? No offense, but the timing of this hire sickens me. Not the hire itself. I want to make that clear. I don’t know Hoke that well and I will keep all comments and opinions to myself (sic) until we’ve seen him in action. But, we can certainly comment on Brandon.

First: If you knew you were going to can Rich Rod – and who didn’t know – Then do it in November and grab Hoke then. Give the man a chance. I mean, what opportunity does he have to grab anyone that hasn’t either already moved or been grabbed by someone else? If he had been looking for coordinators and assistants in November, he could then raid all of NCAA football and get the best of the best. Now, everyone has already finagled a position and no one is looking for a job.

Second: Did you HAVE to hire Brady Hoke today? He was your security guy. You could have hired him tomorrow or next week and still looked okay. What did you accomplish by hiring him today? I mean, Brady would have flown himself here for God’s sake. We didn’t need to send the jet. Couldn’t we have talked to a few more guys about the job? I mean, waiting to hire Hoke didn’t help or hurt the program later any more than it “perceptively” helped or hurt it today.

Third: David had better sincerely hope that Hoke is girl next door I alluded to above. David also better sincerely hope he doesn’t come in and try to “undo” everything Rich Rod did to move the offense in the positive direction. And David better hope that Hoke’s number one priority is finding an offensive coordinator that fits the personnel we have.

Hoke will make be making enough decisions in the very near future that will either convince everyone that he’s the right guy or he will convince everyone that we are in for another 3-4 years of pain….

David Brandon’s status has gone from “Yes, he’s doing the right thing” to “Jeez, I could have done that.” That’s not good. Because you all know that you MMQ is basically just that: A guy that picks on somebody else that had the courage to make a decision and move forward. What I do is easy. It’s what we all do. But in this case, I truly do believe, much like the Sailboat Boob fiasco, that this could have been handled so much better.

So, friends, let’s hold hands and play some Josh Groban as we navigate the new waters with Brady “Its no Joke” Hoke….