🏈 Michigan fires Hoke

[planomateo]

 

[UAgrad93]

Can we say that CNS "processed" Hoke as well? Michigan was coming off a Sugar Bowl win over Va Tech the year before we met them in Dallas.

 

[planomateo]

LOL

 

[PhillyGirl]

Welp, see ya later.

 

[Bamabww]

Brings to mind the LSU meltdown of a few weeks back:

Michigan, please help us out.

 

[PhillyGirl]

SABAN TO MICHIGAN!!!

 

[rick4bama]

SABAN TO MICHIGAN!!!

:tap:

 

[PhillyGirl]

You know some idiots are gonna come along and start clamoring, saying he is off to Ann Arbor! Just like they did with Texas haha.

 

[rocknthefreeworld]

BTW. Hoke fired on the same day Rich Rod named Pac12 Coach of the Year.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefoo...awards-rich-rodriguez-named-coach-of-the-year

 

[RollllTide!]

You wonder if Nussmeier will be in the hunt.

 

[bcracker]

@PhillyGirl Didn't Saban once say Michigan was the only program he would consider leaving Alabama for?

 

[BamaFan334]

You wonder if Nussmeier will be in the hunt.

Based on their offensive performance this year I would think he better count his lucky stars he ain't looking for a job.

 

[bama alum]

Granted, Saban was the clear favorite to go to Texas...

http://linemakers.sportingnews.com/...tes-vegas-les-miles-jim-harbaugh-greg-schiano

Les Miles clear favorite to become next Michigan coach
Harbaugh brothers near top of odds board
Follow The Linemakers on Twitter

Les Miles
By: Marcus DiNitto | More Experts
Published: Dec 02, 2014

With reports that Brady Hoke will not be back on the Michigan sidelines next year, here are mock odds for who’ll be hired as the new head coach of the Wolverines.
We stress the term “mock” because wagering on such things is not allowed in Las Vegas.
Still, The Linemakers on Sporting News’ picked the brains of SN’s college football editors and writers, who helped us come up with a list of odds for potential candidates.
Les Miles, who we open as the 5-to-1 chalk, “has to be the favorite,” SN’s Bill Bender tells The Linemakers. “This is his third chance. It’s time.” Miles played offensive line at Michigan under legendary coach Bo Schembechler.
Greg Schiano, who’s had head coaching gigs with Rutgers and the Tampa Bay Bucs, is the only other candidate we list at single-digit odds.
Next up is Stanford’s David Shaw, who would be Michigan’s first black head coach. Writes Bender, “That’s a solid spring-forward move for a program riddled with bad publicity.”
Meanwhile, it’s widely expected that Jim Harbaugh will not be back with 49ers next season, and his name always seems to be attached to his alma mater. “Some call it a pipe-dream,” Bender writes, “but do you really know what’s going on inside Harbaugh’s head? This might be the Wolverines’ last chance pull the prodigal son away from the West Coast. “
Mock odds to become next head coach of Michigan
Les Miles 5/1
Greg Schiano 8/1
David Shaw 10/1
Jim Harbaugh 15/1
John Harbaugh 20/1
P.J. Fleck 25/1
Butch Jones 25/1
Lane Kiffin 25/1
Gary Patterson 50/1
Bob Stoops 50/1
Kevin Sumlin 50/1
Bo Pelini 50/1
Jim McElwain 75/1
Greg Roman 100/1
Mike Gundy 150/1
Cam Cameron 200/1
Tyrone Wheatley 500/1
Dan Mullen 750-1
Mike Shanahan 1000-1
Field 12-1
Sign up for The Linemakers’ free newsletter and follow us on Twitter.

 

[RollllTide!]

Vegas doesn't think Saban is in the hunt.

 

[Bamabww]

Michigan must ditch crutch of tradition
December, 2, 2014
DEC 2
3:30
PM ET
By Adam Rittenberg | ESPN.com

Michigan has made the difficult but correct decision to part with one of its own, a man who took the Wolverines' head-coaching job without discussing salary, who said he would have walked to Ann Arbor from San Diego for the gig.

"Getting over the Rockies would have been a little tough," Brady Hoke said in January 2011, "but we would have figured that out."

Hoke delivered that and other memorable lines during an introductory news conference that he won by four touchdowns, mainly because he accentuated his love and appreciation for Michigan's traditions and history. His three-digit labels for his Wolverines teams nodded to the past -- Team 132, Team 133 and so on -- and his refusal to call Michigan's rival by its full name delighted the fan base.

This guy gets us, they said, unlike that last guy. Never mind those unremarkable head-coaching credentials (47-50 at Ball State and San Diego State).

As Michigan searches for Brady Hoke's replacement, winning should be the focus, not ties to the program.
"He doesn't have to learn the words to 'The Victors,'" then-athletic director Dave Brandon said at the time. "He has sung it many times in the locker room."

But Hoke didn't sing "The Victors" enough during his three-plus years at Michigan, and that's why he's out of a job. Appreciating and extolling Michigan's tradition isn't enough when you don't add to it. Dinging Ohio State isn't enough when you don't beat the Buckeyes very often. Defining successful seasons by Big Ten championships isn't enough when you don't deliver any. Wearing legends jerseys isn't enough when the current players aren't performing anywhere near legendary levels.

Hoke fit Michigan's culture better than Rich Rodriguez did. But neither man restored the glory. Michigan hired the opposite of Rodriguez in Hoke -- a defensive coach with deep roots in the program -- but got similarly underwhelming results.

As Michigan embarks on its third coaching search in seven years, it must truly look outward rather than inward. The school must cast a wide net and not eliminate candidates just because they've never set foot in Schembechler Hall and can't recite how many Big Ten championships the Wolverines have won.

It's 42, by the way. Michigan's top priority must be finding the guy who can win No. 43.

I'd be all for Michigan hiring Les Miles as its next coach or, as farfetched as it sounds, Jim Harbaugh (I don't consider John Harbaugh even a fringe candidate). But not because Miles and Harbaugh played at Michigan, or because Harbaugh grew up in Ann Arbor while his dad worked as a Michigan assistant coach.

Both are good hires because they win. Harbaugh transformed the Stanford program and has guided the San Francisco 49ers to a Super Bowl appearance and three NFC title games. Miles owns a national title and 103 wins at LSU.

Their Michigan connection is a nice bonus, but not the driving force.

If both men say no -- a likely possibility for Harbaugh, who will have other NFL opportunities if he parts ways with the 49ers; Miles, meanwhile, might want to stay with his damn fine football team in Baton Rouge -- Michigan must cast a wider net. Insular thinking will hurt Michigan in this search. So will arrogance.

Any coach interim athletic director Jim Hackett hires will have at least a decent knowledge of the program's tradition. Hackett, who, like Brandon, is a former Wolverines football player under Bo Schembechler, will make certain of it.

But celebrating what Michigan used to be ultimately isn't enough. Hoke showed that. It's about transforming what Michigan is -- a program that, despite every imaginable resource, has failed to win the Big Ten in a decade -- into something more successful.

Tradition is a great thing in college football. It also can be a crutch. Michigan's next coach should emphasize forging a new chapter in program history, while maintaining respect for the past.

If the right coach has no previous ties to Michigan, so be it. Alabama fell out of relevance when it made hiring its own -- Mike DuBose, Mike Shula -- a priority. Nick Saban was an outsider, and he's done OK in T-Town.

Former USC assistants Paul Hackett and Ted Tollner didn't work out as Trojans head coaches, but Pete Carroll, a first-timer at Heritage Hall, certainly did. Oklahoma has had more recent success hiring outside the Sooner family (Bob Stoops) than inside it (John Blake, Gary Gibbs).

College football history is filled with outsiders who pushed tradition-rich programs into the future, from Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame to Mack Brown at Texas to Schembechler at Michigan.

"I'm sure a job of that magnitude, that'll be a national search," an agent who represents college football coaches told me. "That'll be a big one."

During his introduction, Hoke bristled when told of the perception that Michigan is no longer an elite job.

"This is an elite job and will continue to be an elite job," Hoke said. "This is Michigan, for god sake."

He's right. But what Michigan is and what Michigan was are different things. Michigan fans hate the notion that the program is stuck in the past.

This hire is a chance to move Michigan forward. The right hire might happen to a Michigan Man, but it can't be the other way around.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/108901/michigan-must-ditch-crutch-of-tradition

 

[alabama mike]

UM would be crazy not to at least see what interest Miles may have in the job.

 

[Bamabww]

Jim Harbaugh is Bovada’s favorite for Michigan job
Posted by John Taylor on December 3, 2014, 1:42 PM EST

Getty Images
When it comes to the head football coaching job at Michigan. Jim Harbaugh‘s name has been on the lips of many a UM fan over they years. Not surprisingly, his name’s high on the betting slip of one wagering website as well.

One day after Brady Hoke was dismissed as the Wolverines head coach, Bovada.lvinstalled Harbaugh as a 2/1 favorite to replace him. Harbaugh, a former UM quarterback, was still the head coach of the Stanford Cardinal when his alma mater last opened up, but rejected overtures on multiple occasions before taking the job as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

While his squabbles with 49ers management are well-known, it’s believed that Harbaugh has no desire to return to the college game at this time.

Right on the heels of Harbaugh is another “Michigan Man” (whoops, forgot about that memo, Jim Hackett), LSU’s Les Miles, at 5/2 according to Bovada. Like Harbaugh, Miles has seen his name connected to his alma mater many times before.

In January of 2011, Miles met with UM officials in Baton Rouge about the job but ultimately decided to remain at LSU. Around that time, a member of LSU’s board was quoted as saying that Miles had turned down more money from the Wolverines to remain with the Tigers.

Also appearing on Bovada‘s list are Tennessee head coach Butch Jones and Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy at 7/2, while former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano is at 9/2. Gundy just doesn’t seem like a good fit at UM — if he leaves OSU, he seems more like a “Pac-12 Man” than a “Michigan Man” (dammit, there I go again) — while Jones has already reportedly turned down overtures from the school.

Out of the five listed by Bovada, Schiano would likely seem to be the most viable candidate; whether he’d be the best candidate is another discussion entirely. From FOXSports.com‘s Bruce Feldman:

A wildcard in the mix with Michigan is former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano, who was offered — and turned down — the Wolverines job days before Rodriguez accepted it. Schiano is sitting out after being let go in Tampa Bay. Schiano’s hard-nosed, detail-oriented ways can rub some the wrong way, but he deserves tons of credit for turning Rutgers football from a punchline into a consistent bowl team. His program also shined academically at Rutgers, placing in the top three in the nation in APR during each of Schiano’s last four years at the school.

Of those not listed, the name most mentioned and most recognizable is Baltimore Ravens’ head coach John Harbaugh. The brother-of-Jim was the subject of speculation regarding Michigan in late September, but was reportedly not interested in a job that wasn’t even open at the time; presumably, the non-interest holds even with it open. On top of the Harbaughs, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops was mentioned last month as a possi… sorry, couldn’t finish typing that one with a straight face.

Three names who might, to some degree, be more realistic possibilities? Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, Western Michigan’s P.J. Fleck and Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi. All three of those come with question marks too, though, from being willing to leave a job in the SEC (Mullen) to the perception of sleeping with the enemy (Narduzzi) to being similar to Hoke when he came to Ann Arbor (Fleck).

One thing about Narduzzi’s potential candidacy. Bo Schembechler was a former assistant at Ohio State, and his tenure as Michigan’s head coach wasn’t too shabby. Just saying is all.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/category/rumor-mill

 

[PhillyGirl]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/mi...LinkPreview:1:Default&recirc=fantasy-football

Michigan Fans Thankful Program No Longer Relevant Enough To Be Humiliated On National Stage

ANN ARBOR, MI—Following yesterday’s firing of head coach Brady Hoke, fans of the University of Michigan football team confirmed Wednesday that they are simply thankful the program is no longer relevant enough to be completely humiliated on a national stage. “It’s actually a relief to know that our years of total mediocrity basically preclude us from being crushed in front of millions of people during some sort of big-time game,” said 26-year-old Joseph Reilly, one of thousands of Michigan fans who admitted to taking some comfort in the program’s insignificance, as it virtually ensures they will not have to be thoroughly embarrassed during an ABC or ESPN primetime broadcast in the near future. “At this point, we’re so far removed from the national picture that we’re almost immune to being on the receiving end of a huge blowout during a major bowl game. Honestly, I’m just glad we’re so much of an afterthought that we’re at least free to disgrace ourselves in relative obscurity.” Reached for comment, members of the Michigan athletic department told reporters they are equally thankful the program’s fall from prominence has drastically lessened the pressure to get the next coaching hire right.

 

[Bamabww]

@PhillyGirl, don't you just love The Onion? I wish I could think of stuff like that to write.

 

[Bamabww]

Michigan: Man Up

Surely, few failed to appreciate the irony that the day Brady Hoke was officially fired from Michigan just happened to be the same day his beleaguered predecessor in Ann Arbor, Rich Rodriguez, was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year at Arizona. It’s the kind of coincidence that makes for a fleeting laugh line on Twitter. But the ongoing success of the guy who was once blamed for so many of Michigan’s failures — and with that success coming at a program with a fraction of Michigan’s resources, no less — actually sums up the situation quite succinctly: Like Nebraska, Michigan isn’t looking to solve a coaching problem so much as it’s looking to solve a Michigan problem.

Interim athletic director Jim Hackett, the man leading the search for Hoke’s successor, openly pined Wednesday for a swift death to the notion that the Wolverines must be overseen by a “Michigan Man” with long-standing ties to the program — if not directly to Bo Schembechler, the iconic coach who coined the term, then at least to Gary Moeller or Lloyd Carr, Michigan lifers who carried the Schembechler line into the new millennium. Rodriguez was an outsider who inherited a depleted roster, failed to win over the holdovers from the Carr administration, and found himself undermined at every turn; Hoke was an insider who won initially with a much stronger lineup and was later undermined by his own incompetence.

Hackett played for Schembechler, and he believes in the company line: “This place does not need to cut corners to win. You come here, you know you’re signing up to be the best in the world without any kind of shenanigans.” Clearly, though, he’s willing to take a more open-minded approach to determining who’s actually qualified to be the best in the world.

Perfect Fit: 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh. Do I really need to elaborate? He may be a known asshole who has succeeded in alienating his current boss past the point of no return, but Harbaugh has also overseen wildly successful turnarounds in both college and the NFL with stunning efficiency and without any notable ethical breach. He won a BCS game at Stanford, for heaven’s sake, which would have hardly seemed possible two years before, and two years later he came within five yards of winning a Super Bowl with a franchise that had been mired in mediocrity or worse for a decade prior to his arrival. In this case, Harbaugh’s “Michigan Man” pedigree under Schembechler7 is a footnote to his actual qualifications: If any other school with a vacancy thought it had a prayer at landing him, it would leap at the chance and brace itself to weather whatever tensions might arise later.

So hiring Harbaugh would be the opposite of cutting corners. At age 50, he can make a plausible argument that he’s already the best. Because of his history there, Michigan just happens to be the one school that might have more than an infinitesimal chance of landing him when the situation in San Francisco comes to its dramatic conclusion in the next few weeks.

If not, the field is wide open, with Mullen likely residing at the top of the list. If the “Michigan Man” barrier has truly been breached, there may be an opening for Narduzzi, whose MSU defenses have routinely obliterated the Wolverines, or even — perish the thought — Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman, whose offenses have done the same the past three years. Otherwise, the rumor mill is clogged with names ranging from the implausible (Les Miles, who is 61 years old and not about to abandon a decadelong tenure at LS-freaking-U for a rebuilding job) to the uninspired (Schiano, who reportedly turned Michigan down seven years ago to remain at Rutgers), to the perfunctory (John Harbaugh, whose name is also Harbaugh).

The Wolverines are able and willing to pay top dollar, which means they could wind up buying themselves a pleasant, expensive surprise. But it’s hard to come up with another plausible name beyond Mullen or one of the Harbaugh brothers who’d be worth the sticker shock.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/florida-michigan-nebraska-college-football-coaching-searches/