U of M thread (in the Lions Forum) :)

[LionsWolverines]

But thats like saying Jim Schwartz is an awful coach, because his record is 8-24 ... not looking at the fact that the team was on the rise from the terrible situation that they were given.
Also Gene Chizek at Auburn ... same situation.
Hoke took Ball St. from AWFUL to 12-1, losing only because the QB fumbled 4 times.
Hoke took SD St. from AWFUL to 9-4, close losses to teams like TCU, Mizzu, BYU, Utah ...

He's a Michigan Man. He grew up as a child LOVING Michigan until he was a student at Ball St. Thats like if I became the Michigan Head coach. ... even though I'm at Purdue, I still LOVE U of M ... and it would be the greatest thing to be in charge of U of M football.
& he is bringing Pro Style Offense & defense back!

The fact that he is an acceptable hire, and that this is his dream job ... already has me sold that I like him.

Saying he intends to bring defense back is not going to change that JT floyd is terrible. It isn't going to make Obi Ezeh into brandon graham, and it isn't going to make cam gordon not suck either. (though another offseason is certain to make them better, and I have no doubt hoke is more defensively oriented than RR)

And really, the pro Style offense is a downside for me. We have the best spread QB (or at least the least expensive to bring in) in the country, and I just watched two spread teams play for the title. One of whom took down JIM HARBAUGH's pro style team, and I don't think anyone would take Hoke over Harbaugh. And lets not forget the rose bowl. As I said before, I don't get people who would rather have John Navarre than Denard Robinson. I just don't. Espescially when a spread quarterback just won the heisman and a national championship.

As for the "It's obvious you fire RR because it wasn't working and there's no need to go down that path anymore" thing, I just disagree. The team was getting better and I see no reason (barring, as I have said, a can't miss coach like harbaugh) that we shouldn't have brought in a new defensive staff. Then we'd still have a solid offense and would not have blown up our recruiting class so we could go through another painful transition in philosophy.

I said before I expect Hoke to win 9 or 10 games, but I would have expected the same out of RR (not greg robinson though). I guess the fundamental difference here is that I just never viewed RR as the worst coach to ever step onto a football field, like so many UM fans seem to, and I sure as hell never rooted against him.

God, I wrote a lot. All in all, I just hope Hoke is outstanding and wins us Titles, but I don't have much reason to expect it. Though I will come off my original "we are ND" thing, as Hoke has proven he can beat navy.

[jaadam4]

Is the press conf on?

[gjdodger]

Yes. He's not terribly articulate. In fact, he reminds me a lot of some of the guys I interview in my job. They're very good at what they do and that's why they've risen to leadership positions, but they aren't so good at the King's English.

[gjdodger]

And I have to say--I already love this guy. It's not that he gives the right answers; it's that he's obviously such a fanatic that he can't imagine any different answers. Someone asked him about "people" who say Michigan is no longer an elite program, and his response was, "Who says that?" demanding the reporter attribute the saying. His distilled answer can be seen in my new signature.

[nhwbrooklyn]

If he wins it will mean something. If not it will be mocked.

[gjdodger]

Yup. Remember Gerry Faust. But it's nice to have someone who stands for something. I mean, besides cheating and finangling his way to the top.

[Nick Pappageorgio]

Given a few days to reflect on this hire.....

I think Hoke was hired because of who he isn't more than who he is. There's a power struggle going on at UoM right now and hiring a big name coach would serve to create another powerful player in that struggle and probably offsetting the balance of power to one side or another.

Hoke is a threat to no one and will not change the balance of power in any way and maintains this ludicris and bastardized notion of what a "michigan man" should be. I wish Bo had never made that speech.

[jaadam4]

I love that speech. It's part of what made us great.

[DanO]

"Yes. He's not terribly articulate. In fact, he reminds me a lot of some of the guys I interview in my job. They're very good at what they do and that's why they've risen to leadership positions, but they aren't so good at the King's English."
--------------------I thought the same. Almost sounds "hillbillyish" at times.

There's a genuine LOVE FEST going for the guy right now on WXYT. There's some serious some masturbation going on. I just don't see it. Hope I'm wrong.

This was obviously a dog and pony show. Brandon was going to hire this guy all along and attempted to make it look like there was some "exhaustive" search and all he managed to do was make UM look like a joke and blown recruiting time. He should have just named the fucking guy the coach from the get go instead of playing these fucking games to make it look good. Hey Brandon. You, and UM, look like a fool and an idiot. Good job.

GO LIONS "11" !

[chemiclord]

I love that speech. It's part of what made us great.

Except that the U-M has completely raped the context of the speech and turned it into something that has nothing to do with what Bo meant.

[nhwbrooklyn]

"Yes. He's not terribly articulate. In fact, he reminds me a lot of some of the guys I interview in my job. They're very good at what they do and that's why they've risen to leadership positions, but they aren't so good at the King's English."
--------------------I thought the same. Almost sounds "hillbillyish" at times.

There's a genuine LOVE FEST going for the guy right now on WXYT. There's some serious some masturbation going on. I just don't see it. Hope I'm wrong.

This was obviously a dog and pony show. Brandon was going to hire this guy all along and attempted to make it look like there was some "exhaustive" search and all he managed to do was make UM look like a joke and blown recruiting time. He should have just named the fucking guy the coach from the get go instead of playing these fucking games to make it look good. Hey Brandon. You, and UM, look like a fool and an idiot. Good job.

GO LIONS "11" !

It's still nice the guy can apparently nail a speech (haven't heard it yet)... that will help in the locker room and beyond.

[Topweasel]

Except that the U-M has completely raped the context of the speech and turned it into something that has nothing to do with what Bo meant.

Exactly. It was supposed to mean a type of person, not their background. Like Suh vs. Harrington. Detroit/Michigan loves trench guys and hates can't touch me guys. It was about embodiment what Michigan wants, not about having some experience on the team.

Rich Rod wasn't a failure or hated because he wasn't a current day Michigan man. He was a failure and hated because he wasn't Bo's Michigan man.

[nhwbrooklyn]

He was a failure because he didn't win games.

[Topweasel]

He was a failure because he didn't win games.

But he wasn't winning games because he wasn't playing to the strengths of Michigan's recruiting ability, because he wasn't a Michigan man in Bo's sense of the word. Never ever ever should a defense and offensive line be as bad as RR let it get.

[nhwbrooklyn]

He got some highly rated guys.. there didn't seem to be much development on that side of the ball though. Or maybe the scheme was awful... something. The fact his offense holds the ball for like 30 seconds a possession didn't help.

The most inexcusable thing was how bad the special teams were.