First Look: 2011

In honor of the voting poll I’ve run over the past week and a half I figure it might be time to take an altogether way too early look at a projection for the 2011 season.  Here are the results of the poll:

The majority of people who responded said that Michigan would be looking at an 8-4 regular season in 2011.

Despite having absolutely no clue how the new offense will look under Al Borges, or how much improvement the defense will see under Greg Mattison, here are my game-by-game predictions for Coach Brady Hoke and his Wolverines going into 2011:

Game 1 – Western Michigan – Home

Michigan trounced Western two years ago despite having a true freshman quarterback and the talent of a 5-7 squad.  Michigan will have way more talent than the Broncos coming into this game and the offense will get to work out the kinks while the defense uses this early season game as a confidence builder.  Couple those factors with a season-opening atmosphere in the Big House and you should see an easy Wolverine win.

Record: 1-0

Game 2 – Notre Dame – Home

With the announcement from Michael Floyd that he will return to South Bend, a returning starter at quarterback, and one heck of a recruiting class coming in, the Fighting Irish are going to be a chic pick to have a big year in 2011.  Notre Dame closed out 2010 in very strong fashion and their offense will really start to hit its’ stride in Brian Kelly’s second season.  The Notre Dame defense will also return a ton of talent from a unit that also dramatically improved over the course of the season.  Mantei Teo will be back for one more season of domination.  Despite this being the first night game in the Big House, and what will surely be a raucous crowd, I think Michigan won’t be as lucky against the Fighting Irish as they have been the past two years.

Record: 1-1

Game 3- Eastern Michigan – Home

Eastern has won just one game in the past two years.  Michigan has Denard Robinson.  There is absolutely no chance that Michigan doesn’t win this game in a rout. 

Record: 2-1

Game 4 – San Diego State – Home

A very intriguing matchup at the end of the non-conference slate will see Brady Hoke’s former Aztec squad make their way to visit their old coach in Ann Arbor.  The Aztecs will return Ryan Lindley at quarterback.  Lindley had an excellent 2010 and will be joined again in the backfield by Ronnie Hillman.  Hillman had a great freshman campaign and is a very shifty runner with speed to burn.  The Aztecs had a solid 8-4 record in 2010 and will be looking to make an early season statement with a big road win in Ann Arbor.  I suspect that Coach Borges will know exactly how to attack Coach Rocky Long’s 3-3-5 defense and the Michigan offense will have no trouble racking up the points.  The Aztecs lost their two leading receivers to graduation, which might make it a bit tougher for Lindley to keep them in the game.  Michigan wins a close one.

Record: 3-1

Game 5 – Minnesota – Home

Simply put, the Golden Gophers are more than likely the least talented team in the Big Ten.  They will be much more fundamentally sound under new head coach Jerry Kill but I do not see them having enough firepower to keep up with Michigan in Ann Arbor.  This should be a nice Big Ten opener for Michigan in the sense that they should be able to work on things both offensively and defensively that they’d like to implement during league play.

Record: 4-1

Game 6 – Northwestern – Away

Michigan’s first road test in 2011 will come in Evanston against the Wildcats and what will more than likely be a half pro-Michigan crowd.  Michigan will have a definite speed advantage over the Cats, but it is very tough to overlook a Pat Fitzgerald coached team.  The difficulty level of this game will more than likely come down to Dan Persa.  Persa suffered an Achilles injury that prematurely ended his 2010, but was having an All-Conference caliber season prior to the injury while leading the Wildcats to a host of big victories.  Again, I think Denard Robinson makes it tough for Michigan to lose this game and ultimately Michigan wins more comfortably than predicted.

Record: 5-1

Game 7 – Michigan State – Away

 I have no doubt that Brady Hoke will have Michigan ready to play this game.  The Spartans lose some key players on defense from 2010, but will be fully loaded and ready to compete on the offensive side of the ball.  Kirk Cousins will return for his third season as the starting quarterback and he’ll have a trio of great Big Ten running backs to hand the ball off to.  Michigan will have a bunch to prove in this game after another hot-start boosted by a favorable schedule.  Robinson and the offense will have to have a big day as I expect that Michigan State will field one of the most complete offenses in the Big Ten in 2011.  Michigan, unfortunately, will drop a close one to the Spartans and extend their losing streak in the rivalry to four games.

Record: 5-2

Game 8 – Purdue – Home

The Boilermakers were absolutely decimated by injuries in 2010.  They had lost their starting quarterback, running back , and All Big-Ten wide receiver.  The offense should get a boost in 2011 with the return of Robert Marve.  Marve should be able to man a more impressive offense than the one we last saw when Michigan visited West Lafayette this fall.  I think if the weather conditions are better than they were this fall Michigan will have no trouble putting up big-time points on a defense that will be without Ryan Kerrigan.  Michigan, playing on Homecoming day in the Big House, will take care of business and get to 3-1 in the Big Ten.

Record: 6-2

Game 9 – Iowa – Away

Iowa will finally lose Ricky Stanzi, after what seemed like a decade, along with a number of starters from one of the Big Ten’s best defenses.  The Hawkeyes will have a bunch of injured running backs returning along with a few key returnees on the offensive line that will make it easier for a young quarterback to transition in.  Despite losses to graduation and the NFL, I’d be shocked if Kirk Ferentz doesn’t field a good defense in Iowa City.  For some reason, Michigan just has not matched up well at all with this Iowa team for the past few years.  Kinnick Stadium is one of the toughest places in the conference to win a road game and I just don’t think Michigan will have what it takes to go out to Iowa and get a win.

Record: 6-3

Game 10 – Illinois – Away

Illinois has been hit very hard by early defections to the NFL.  Defensive studs Cory Liegit and Martez Wilson, along with running back Mikel Leshoure will all be playing on Sundays in 2011.  Illinois has not recruited well the past few seasons and it will be tough for the Zooker to replace such great players off an already mediocre team.  Nathan Scheelhasse will be back as the starting quarterback, but by this point in the year I suspect that Greg Mattison and the Michigan defense will be finally starting to put it all together.  I think this game, for the defense, will show the big difference between the 2010 and 2011 Michigan teams.  Michigan goes on the road and gets a big conference victory.

Record: 7-3

Game 11 – Nebraska – Home

The Michigan Wolverines will finally welcome the Nebraska Cornhuskers to Ann Arbor.  Nebraska got great news this week when stud defensive tackle Jared Crick opted to forgo the NFL draft to have one more season leading the Black-shirt defense.  Nebraska had a hot start to 2010, but really sputtered down the stretch.  Taylor Martinez is definitely a gifted runner but has shown that he is nowhere near ready to be a big-time quarterback in the passing game.  If Martinez gets injured at all in 2011, Nebrasaka’s offense will struggle again.  The defense will be plenty good enough to keep Nebraska in almost every game but I think that Denard Robinson and Al Borges will have a solid game plan in place for the first conference game between these two perennial powers.  Michigan gets a big late season win.

Record: 8-3

Game 12 – Ohio State – Home

There is no doubt in my mind that Brady Hoke, unlike both Rich Rodriguez and Lloyd Carr, will pull out all of the stops to win this game.  Everything that Michigan does all year will be about winning THIS game.  Unfortunately for Michigan, Ohio State is shaping up to potentially be a national championship contender if the suspensions to Pryor and crew are reduced from 5 games down to 3.  I just don’t think Michigan is quite talented enough yet to beat the Buckeyes.  Even with that said, I would be shocked if we don’t see a much better version of the rivalry than the embarrassments that we’ve had to endure over the past few years.  Pryor leads OSU to a victory in Ann Arbor in his last Big-Ten game.

Record: 8-4 (5-3)

Summary:

This would not be a bad season for Coach Hoke and his squad, but the glaring issue would be losses to all three of the program’s key rivals.  If Borges can find the right system to utilize all of Denard Robinson’s talents than I could honestly see Michigan pushing this record up to a 9-3 or 10-2 type season.  Mattison has his work cut out for him but having a stalwart in the middle like Mike Martin won’t hurt. 8-4 would more than likely put Michigan in the Outback Bowl on New Years Day.

2011 Recruiting: The Home Stretch

With just a few short weeks to go before National Signing Day, it is time to start taking a look at where Michigan’s recruiting class currently stands.  One thing that seems almost certain at this point is that this will more than likely be the lowest rated recruiting class that Michigan has put together since the time that recruiting service rankings came into existence.

David Brandon’s “process” effectively killed recruiting for Michigan in December and the first part of January and there is no doubt that Brady Hoke has a ton of work to do in order to salvage any remnants of a decent class.  I am hopeful that Hoke will have a new staff in place by end of today/tomorrow so that he can get his assistant’s out on the trail and into prospect’s homes.

Hoke’s number one priority needs to be to retain the currently committed kids in this class.  As it stands now, the Wolverines have 11 commitments and have room to accept up to 18-20 in this class.  I think at this point getting to 15 or 16 quality players by Signing Day would be a victory for Hoke.  Rather than reach for lower-tier players to get to a higher number of commits in this class, Hoke would be better served to bank the extra scholarships for what is shaping up to be a banner year for Midwestern talent in 2012.

Out of the 11 existing commitments, there are some who are considered very likely to remain committed and others who are potentially looking around as Signing Day approaches.

Here is the group of solidly committed kids (All Rankings are Scout Rankings):

1.     Delonte Hollowell – 3-Star CB

2.     Brennen Beyer – 4-Star DE

3.     Greg Brown – 3-Star CB (Early Enrollee)

4.     Chris Rock – 3-Star DE/DT

5.     Jack Miller – 3-Star C

6.     Justice Hayes – 4-Star RB

7.     Desmond Morgan – 3- Star MLB

Here are the kids that are currently taking visits to other programs and cannot be considered sure-fire commitments:

1.     Jake Fisher – 4-Star OT

2.     Blake Countess – 4-Star CB

3.     Tony Posada – 3-Star OT

4.     Kellen Jones – 4-Star MLB

Hoke’s first priority must be retaining the commitments of the four prospects listed above.  Three of the players listed above, along with Beyer and Hayes, make up the top-tier talent in this class.  Countess is currently visiting Penn State but I think that once he is able to have some contact with Hoke and his staff that they will be able to retain him due to his strong desire to attend Michigan.  Posada will remain committed so long as the staff proves to him that they want him.  Jones is currently visiting Colorado and will also be visiting Miami prior to Signing Day.  Jones is a self- professed life-long Michigan fan and I would be very surprised if he doesn’t stick with his commitment to his dream school.

The number one concern on that list has to be Jake Fisher who is from Traverse City, Michigan.  Fisher is currently visiting MSU and is also considering using official visits to Oregon and Florida in the next two weeks.  With the schools that are hot on his trail it seems pretty clear that Fisher is stock-on-the-rise at this point.  Hoke will find himself in a battle to retain this commitment and it might give us a brief preview of how well Hoke will be able to recruit offensive lineman for the new system he is bringing to Michigan.

Hoke will also be looking to add commits to this class over the next few weeks and the five most likely names that could be Wolverines by Signing Day will probably come from the following list:

1.     Chris Bryant – 3-Star OG

2.     Kris Frost – 4-Star LB

3.     Devin Lucien – 4-Star WR

4.     Hakeem Flowers – 3-Star WR

5.     Ramon Taylor – 3-Star CB

Bryant will be visiting Hoke in Ann Arbor today and he has been favoring Michigan for a long time.  He is a massive offensive guard and hopefully a good visit with Coach Hoke today will convince Bryant that Ann Arbor is the right place to spend his next four years.

Two weeks ago Frost was a near lock to Michigan, but when his announcement date rolled around and he was looking at the possibility of committing to a school with no coach he quickly changed his mind and decided to commit to Auburn.  Unfortunately for Frost, Auburn has not accepted his commitment and he has yet to hear back from the Auburn coaching staff.  If Auburn doesn’t pick up the phone soon expect Michigan to have a great shot to bring Frost into the fold.  Michigan could desperately use a prospect of Frost’s caliber at the OLB position.

Lucien is a 4-star WR from California.  Lucien has professed a desire to visit Michigan for a long time now and it certainly doesn’t hurt the Wolverines that Lucien has an existing relationship with Coach Hoke and his staff since they were recruiting him to come to San Diego State.  Look for Lucien to take an official visit to Michigan in the next two weeks and more than likely commit to the Wolverines.

Flowers is a 3-star wide receiver from South California.  He has already taken an official visit to Michigan and really enjoyed his time in Ann Arbor. Flowers has an impressive offer list that includes the likes of powerhouse programs such as LSU and Oregon.  It will be interesting to see if Lucien and Flowers are both recruited hard by the new staff or if the new staff will focus on Lucien and drop Flowers.

Taylor is from Highland Park, Michigan and is a de-commit from Indiana.  He has excellent speed and could develop into a solid Division 1 corner.  I would be shocked if he doesn’t end up a Wolverine come Signing Day.

One wild card that I didn’t mention above is Thomas Rawls.  Rawls is a back from the Flint area who has drawn numerous comparisons to Heisman trophy winning Flint running back Marc Ingram.  Rawls is built similar to Ingram at 5’10” and 220 pounds but possesses breakaway speed unlike what you’d normally see from a kid who is 220 pounds.  Rawls put up insane numbers this year and Michigan wants him badly.  The problem with Rawls is that he still is not academically qualified and cannot receive his Michigan offer until he meets the appropriate NCAA standards.  If Rawls hits these marks it is all but guaranteed he’ll don the Maize and Blue.

I’ll keep track of who will be in town for Official Visits over the final two official visit weekends.  Hoke and his staff have a ton of work to do in the next two to three weeks and it will be interesting to see how well they are able to sell their vision for the University of Michigan.

Introduction: Brady Hoke

Twenty-four hours ago a majority of the fan base, myself included, was apprehensive and somewhat angry that Brady Hoke had been tabbed as the new head football coach at the University of Michigan.    

Today, however, Brady Hoke won over hordes of skeptical maize and blue faithful across the nation. 

Between the gushing alumni support that rolled in from past Wolverine greats like Brady, Woodson, and Howard combined with Hoke’s passionate introductory press conference, I think it is safe to say that Brady’s approval rating is significantly higher today than it was just one short day ago.  In my post yesterday I explained that it was crucial for Brady to have a solid introductory press conference and provide fans and alum’s alike with the answers they needed to hear and boy did Hoke not disappoint.

Here are five of my favorite quotes from Brady Hoke’s introductory press conference:

1.     “For God’s sake… it’s MICHIGAN”

One of the first questions Hoke was asked was whether or not he thought that the Michigan football coaching job and the program itself was still amongst the nation’s elite.  Hoke literally looked like someone had stuck dog crap under his nose at the notion that Michigan was not one of the elite programs in college football.  Hoke sounded like he wanted to go find whoever said that and knock them senseless until they realize that the University of Michigan football program that he knows and loves IS most definitely one of the elite programs in the country.  Loved seeing how highly he regards U of M and this is exactly the type of mindset you want in your head coach when they are on the road recruiting their heart out for the program.

2.     “That school down in Ohio”

Hoke’s attitude towards Ohio State couldn’t be more different than the disappointingly passive stance that Rich Rod took towards the Buckeyes.  Hoke channeled some old-school Bo and refused to mention Ohio State by their actual name.  Hoke grew up a Michigan fan in Ohio and coached in some of the most important games in the rivalry.  He stressed how much that THE GAME means to both himself and the program and that everything that they do all year long will help prepare them to beat the Buckeyes in late November.  This is an attitude that needed to be brought back to Michigan football and I was damn glad to see how much Hoke hates the Bucks.  Hoke also made sure to mention that both Michigan State and Notre Dame are rivalry games that will define the successes and failures of the program.

3.     “I would have walked here”

Hoke’s love for Michigan was out in the open for all to see today.  He frequently mentioned how his ultimate goal as a football coach has been to get to the spot where he stood today.  He recounted how wonderful his years were here as the defensive line coach and referenced program greats and players alike.  Hoke will do anything and everything he can to make this University proud.  Once again this is a trait that you need to have as a coach when you are on the road recruiting.  You need someone who can express and describe just how great of an experience it is to be a Wolverine and I have no doubt that Hoke will be able to convey that quite well.  The support Hoke’s received from former players just goes to show how much the man loved Michigan and all of the guys that played here under him.

4.     “Every year the goal is a Big Ten Championship”

Hoke, like Rodriguez before him, understands that at the end of every season he will ultimately be judged by whether or not his team won the Big Ten conference.  Hoke won five Big Ten titles in his previous stint in Ann Arbor and he wants to keep adding to that number because he realizes the type of impact that those championships can have on the players and the University.  It was great to see Hoke’s defiant response to Drew Sharp’s question asking why Hoke’s stated goal was not to win National Championships.  Hoke emphatically stated to Sharp that he never said that was not one of his goals and that the only way they could be in the National Title picture would be to win the Big Ten. 

5.     “It will never be about Brady Hoke, it will always be about Michigan”

It seems like Hoke truly has no ego.  He stated multiple times how humbled and grateful he is to be working at one of the premiere educational institutions in the country.  He has nothing to say but good things about the University and it is blatantly obvious that he wants nothing more than to see players come here and have success.  Hoke made a great point in talking about how his coaching staff will always coach their hearts out for their seniors to reward the four years of sweat and blood that they give to the program.  Comments like these should help Hoke win over his new team.

It was great to see all of the support rolling in from alumni across the country and I can only hope that Brady Hoke can retain this recruiting class in the coming weeks while convincing Denard Robinson that he can build an offense to make him into an even bigger star.  He has a ton of challenges ahead and he will have to produce results on the field this fall to totally win over the faithful.

Yes, today was just talk, but for the first time in a long time it sure sounded like Michigan again.

Al Borges: Offensive Coordinator

Brady Hoke's offensive coordinator Al Borges reportedly will follow Hoke to Ann Arbor.  Borges did an amazing job with the San Diego State offense this past year while producing a quarterback who threw the ball for over 3,000 yards, a running back who rushed for more than 1,000 yards, and two receivers who had over 1,200 yards receiving.

I will have more details on Borges including his preferred schemes and past coaching jobs in hte next few days.  He has shown a propensity to use all sorts of different schemes over the course of his career and he should have no trouble adapting to the personnel that is currently present at Michigan.

The first task for Borges is to work with Brady Hoke to tell Denard Robinson what their plan is for him as the University of Michigan's starting quarterback.

A New Hoke

Now that Dave Brandon has concluded with his “process” that he coined a “national search”, Michigan has hired their 19^th Head Football Coach in school history.  Brady Hoke, who had an eight-year run as the defensive line coach under Lloyd Carr (1995-2002), is the new headman in Ann Arbor and will be introduced at 1 PM tomorrow. 

I could sit here and whine and moan about how terrible Brandon made the University look and how he has hired a candidate whose name would not have surfaced for this job if he hadn’t been able to put Michigan on his resume.  I could tell you the world is coming to an end and that Michigan is never going to be good again as long as you and I are alive.  Well, I’m not going to do either of those things. 

This is obviously not a sexy hire and we all held out hope that a big-time name would be destined for Ann Arbor, but I know I’m going to support Brady Hoke the same way I supported Rich Rodriguez and I will root like hell for him to succeed and restore Michigan to national prominence.

Coach Hoke has a laundry list of things that he must accomplish prior to National Signing Day and I’ll walk you through what I hope to see from Coach Hoke in the coming weeks.

1.     Introductory Press Conference

This will be Hoke’s first opportunity to prove that he is the consummate “Michigan Man” that so many fans have been pining for.  Hoke needs to step to the podium tomorrow and declare that this program is about beating Ohio State, winning the Big Ten Title, and going to the Rose Bowl.  That is Michigan football and the failure of the program to get these things done is the reason that Hoke will be standing at the podium tomorrow.  Rodriguez failed to stress the importance of rivalry games and I’m hoping to see Hoke show that he is ready to do everything he has to do to win these  “red-letter games”.

I would not mind seeing Hoke acknowledge the trepidations that some have about him getting the job.  I would like to see him put it out there that he is going to work his tail off for Michigan and put a product on the field that all fans and alumni of the University can be proud of.

2.     Meet the Team

Hoke must go in and make his presence felt.  He must encourage an open door policy between himself and his new team.  He needs to gain the players trust as quickly as possible.  Hoke must meet individually with his core senior leaders like David Molk, Ryan Van Bergen, and Mike Martin as these are the guys that will be crucially important in holding the program together during a time of transition. 

Personally, if I am Brady Hoke and I’m in Ann Arbor tonight I think I would be camping outside of wherever Denard Robinson lives and trying to convince him that he will be properly utilized and remain a star at the quarterback position.

3.     Hire a Staff

After Brandon flat out lied when he declared that Michigan was ready to pay top-dollar salary to bring in a big-time coach, I’m hoping that Brandon will give Hoke a very large budget that he can use to recruit some high-profile assistants to join his staff in Ann Arbor. 

If Hoke is hoping to have early success in his tenure, he needs to hire an offensive coordinator that has some spread offense tendencies.  The offense doesn’t need to be as run-spread extreme as we saw under Rodriguez, but it can’t be a switch to straight Power-I football.  Hoke must make sure that he doesn’t return straight to Power-I football and reduce the existing talent to a non-factor.

Hoke is a defensive guy and he must find the right defensive coordinator to mold this young group that he will inherit at Michigan.  It is very very important on both the offensive and defensive sides of the football that Hoke brings in guys who are not only known for their coaching skills but also for their recruiting prowess.  A lack of talent got Michigan in this mess, and an influx of talent via recruiting is the only thing that will get them out.

4.     Retain the recruiting class

This is Hoke’s single biggest assignment in the next three weeks.  This is currently the worst Michigan class in decades and Hoke must do everything he can to retain the 12 players that are currently committed while beating down the doors of any other big-time prospects that might have an interest in playing for Michigan.

Hoke’s success or failure in this area will be all on him and his staff and it will be very interesting to see what he can do walking into living rooms as the head coach wearing the Block M.

I will make sure to stay on top of each of these things as they happen.  I will have a full breakdown of my thoughts on the introductory press conference tomorrow and I will also break down the strengths and weaknesses of all members of Hoke’s new coaching staff here at Michigan as they are announced.  Recruiting coverage will ramp up down the stretch here as we enter a crucial three-week stretch for the future of Michigan football.

Coaching Conundrum

After his inexplicable month-long exercise of allowing Rich Rodriguez to twist in the wind, we all couldn’t help but think that David Brandon had some sort of master plan and that the plan in his head was to simply hold off on firing Rich Rodriguez until the day he could let Jim Harbaugh sail in and declare to the Maize and Blue nation that all will be right again.  Newsflash folks, Brandon got played.  I have no doubt that throughout December Brandon had some sort of behind the scenes agreement with Harbaugh that he would become the next head coach at the University of Michigan following the Orange Bowl.  However, business savvy Mr. Brandon failed to have the foresight to see the NFL vultures lurking and Michigan’s decision to not apply more pressure to Harbaugh to skip coaching his bowl game arguably lost them the hottest coach on the market in years. 

In my personal opinion there is no doubt that Harbaugh could have been a great fit at Michigan and restored the program to the once proud place it held amongst the nation’s elite.  That said, I think it is ludicrous how NFL teams chased after a man who has had one truly great season as a head coach.  At least guys like Spurrier and Saban had won national titles prior to the NFL taking a huge interest in them.  However, Harbaugh is no longer important now.  The important thing today is the University of Michigan.

David Brandon said in his press conference on Wednesday that Michigan is bigger than 1 player (see: Denard Robinson) and 1 recruit (see: Demetrius Hart).  Brandon continues to try to sell us all on the fact that Michigan will recruit itself and that great players are still banging down the door to come to Michigan.  Sorry Dave, the Michigan you once knew is dead.  Michigan may be bigger than one individual recruit and player but NO program can withstand the loss of virtually an entire recruiting class.  After failing to secure a replacement prior to Rodriguez’s firing, Brandon has left the recruiting class to hang out to dry.  In the past week alone Michigan has seen an already below-average recruiting class become absolutely decimated.  Decommitments and players re-opening their recruitment have been a very common theme for the Michigan recruiting class over the past week.

Brandon needs to find his man and it needs to be soon.  We are less than one month from signing day and the new head coach will need to do a years worth of work over the next month trying to retain existing players and get new players to jump on board with their program.  Also, there is that pesky little problem that a new head coach will need to assemble a full staff before he can truly hit the recruiting trail.  I will jump into a breakdown of this past week’s recruiting disaster sometime over the course of this week but for now the important thing is who is going to be the next head coach at Michigan?

Brandon has declared the following three criteria as paramount to his search:

1.     Michigan Man – Most misused term in sports.  Bo did not mean for the Michigan Man term to exclusively describe those who played for or coached at Michigan.

2.     Head Coaching Experience – This more than likely eliminates any of the hotshot coordinators such as Gus Malzahn.

3.     Midwest Ties – This is crucial, as Michigan needs to be able to go door-to-door against Brian Kelly and Jim Tressel in the Midwest to recruit the high quality talent that exists throughout the region. 

The only two currently available head coaches on the market that meet these criteria are the two suspects that the media has covered extensively: Brady Hoke and Les Miles.  Lets take a look at each of these men and the pros and cons that they could bring to the University of Michigan.

Brady Hoke

Background:  Hoke started his coaching career with the University of Michigan as the defensive line coach form 1995-2002.  He was a part of the staff for Michigan’s only national title in the last 40 years.  He left Michigan in 2002 to take over his alma mater, Ball State.   Ball State had been a program in shambles prior to Hoke’s arrival.  Hoke took the Ball State program back to the top in his sixth year while going 12-0 over the course of the regular season before finishing the season with losses in the MAC championship and his bowl game.  It was the most wins in school history.  Following his sixth year at Ball State, Hoke made the move out west to take over a struggling San Diego State program.  Hoke went 4-8 in his first year with the Aztecs but righted the ship this year while compiling a 9-4 record and leading the school to its first bowl game since 1997.

Pros:  Hoke has obviously shown that he is able to rebuild a program.  Being the head coach at the Ball State or San Diego State football programs would not be considered anything close to a premier job.  One could even argue that winning at Ball State might be one of the most difficult jobs in the country with all the other regional programs that Ball State has to compete with for talent.  Hoke has constantly been praised by his former players as a man who can get people to “run through a wall” for him.  His former players, along with many different analysts, consistently praise him as a fundamentally sound football coach who preaches on doing the little things right in order to win football games.  Hoke is only 52 and the Michigan job is his dream job so we know that if he were to be successful the program would be set at minimum for the next decade.

Cons: My primary concern with Hoke revolves around his ability to recruit.  In an area of the country where you have to compete with Notre Dame and Ohio State you cannot fail to be dynamite on the recruiting trail and maintain an elite program.  Hoke also has only had 3 winning seasons in eight years as a head coach and even at programs as down as Ball State and San Diego State it concerns me that he has not had more success.  One other concern with Hoke is his public personality.  Hoke is undoubtedly a “players coach” but we all know that the head coach at the University of Michigan must be extremely comfortable in public and willing to rub shoulders with big-money donors.  Lets just say previous live interviews I have seen with Hoke have not led me to believe that he could be the “face” and personality of the Michigan football program.  

Les Miles

Background:  Four-year offensive lineman at the University of Michigan under Bo.  Miles coached offensive lineman under both Bo and Gary Moeller at U of M from 1987-1994 before getting his shot to be the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State from 1995-1997.  Miles had a brief stint (1998-2000) as the tight ends coach for the Dallas Cowboys before returning back to Stillwater and serving as the school’s head coach from 2001-2004.  Despite taking over a program that was 13-20 in the three years prior to his arrival, Miles racked up a 28-21 record in his four years while also achieving two big-time upset wins over Top-Ten Oklahoma teams.  In 2005, Miles moved on to LSU to replace departing head coach Nick Saban.  At LSU he has compiled a 62-17 career record.  During his tenure on the Bayou, he has won a national championship (2007) along with two SEC-West division crowns (2005, 2007).

Pros:  Les Miles is a winner. As the head coach at LSU, he has led the Tigers to four 11-win seasons in six years and is also the fastest coach in team history to reach 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 victories.  He is doing this all while playing in the toughest conference in the country.  Miles is an absolutely dynamic recruiter.  While being in charge of a program in the talent-rich south, Miles has consistently pulled in Top-5 recruiting classes.  Even more importantly, Miles has consistently pulled in absolute studs on the defensive side of the ball based on the fact that over the past few years you have seen LSU Tiger defenders going off the board in the first round on an annual basis.  Miles has also proven that he is able to surround himself with a great supporting staff as evidenced by men like Bo Pelini who have been hired by other schools to be a head coach after successful stints under Miles.

Cons:  CLOCK MANAGEMENT (no more needs to be said).  Miles and LSU have recently admitted to multiple recruiting violations that could not happen if he were to become the coach at Michigan due to the programs current NCAA probation.  Miles has also indulged in the common over-signing process in SEC country and this is something that he will not be allowed to do at Michigan.  Some of Miles’ biggest detractors point to his age, currently 57, as being a huge obstacle to him becoming the head coach at Michigan.

What should Dave Brandon do?

No matter what the Detroit media will have you believe the Michigan football job is still one of the best jobs in the country.   The school has the best facilities in the Midwest and has the big-money donors and far reaching fan and alumni base that will always make Michigan a national story whether they are winning or losing. 

When comparing the two candidates above it is obvious that if David Brandon wants to restore Michigan football to its’ place amongst the elite in the country that he will pull the trigger on a deal that should have been done three years ago.  Hoke simply hasn’t proven himself on a big enough stage yet to justify a job of Michigan’s magnitude.

Miles has won a national title and put together an astonishing record despite competing in one of the most talent-rich conferences in the country.  Miles will play by the rules at Michigan because it will be both his and his alma mater’s reputation at stake and the man simply loves Michigan too much to let hard times fall on his beloved school. 

Miles age is not nearly as relevant as people are making it out to be.  Miles is 57 and could easily coach for 8 more years.  In this day and age of college football getting 8 years out of a head coach is not bad at all.  If Miles stays in place at Michigan until the end of his coaching career it likely means that Michigan will be back at the top of the Big Ten year in and year out.  Given Michigan’s reluctant track record for leaving the Michigan coaching family to find a new head coach, Miles excellent track record of developing hot-commodity assistants makes it virtually certain that Miles could develop a big-time head coach in waiting on his staff to carry on once he ultimately decides to retire.

Get this done now Dave and bring the Mad Hatter home where he belongs.

Welcome to the Circus

What an emotional roller coaster of a day to be a Michigan fan…

- Last night, the consensus top potential replacement for Rich Rodriguez, Jim Harbaugh, put on a clinic in the Orange Bowl and showed the nation why exactly NFL teams and Michigan are going to be throwing insane dollars at him in the coming days

-This morning started with the emphatic 180 degree turn of Michael Rosenberg who went from saying Harbaugh was all but a sure thing to end up at Michigan to saying that there was basically no shot in hell Jim Harbaugh would be bringing his talents to Ann Arbor.

- Late morning we get word that Rich Rodriguez and David Brandon will be meeting at 2:00 and most expect the result of this meeting to be Rich Rodriguez being booted from town.

- The Free Press and multiple other news outlets jumped the gun and report that Rich Rodriguez is fired.

- Michigan fans start to cry as they realize that Brady Hoke will probably be the next head coach is Rodriguez is actually let go.

- David Brandon releases statement saying that this will not be resolved until tomorrow as the talking heads continue to wildly debate what is going on with this situation.

So the question is, what the HELL is going on in Ann Arbor??

For the past month I’ve tried to trust in the “process” of David Brandon and relied on the fact that the man knows what he is doing.  The whole point of this process was to avoid the circus that occurred precisely three years ago.

However, as of today, I am no longer sure what in the world is going on in David Brandon’s mind.   It seems like this mess is garnering way more negative media attention then David Brandon ever intended.

In my mind this is an absolute botched job by Brandon if Michigan ends up with anyone at Harbaugh at the end of this whole mess.  Sorry folks, Brady Hoke will not have me very excited about the future of our once proud football program.

Hold on tight because tomorrow is sure to be an extremely wild ride…

Lets hear your thoughts on how you hope this goes down tomorrow.. feel free to leave comments below!