Former U-M assistant builds tough defenses, known as strong recruiter
Other names were bigger, other candidates more enticing to fans. Michigan's new football coach is Brady Hoke, and if you're puzzled, that's reasonable.
Hoke doesn't possess the gaudiest record, but when he's introduced today at 1 p.m. by athletic director Dave Brandon, you'll begin to understand why he's here. He's here because he's been here before, he knows the terrain, and he's a good, solid coach who preaches defense and unity.
Brandon got a "Michigan Man," as predicted, and while Hoke wasn't the most coveted one (that'd be Jim Harbaugh), or the most intriguing one (that'd be Les Miles), he was the one most eager to return and most driven to fit, at a time when Michigan needs stability more than ever.
Hoke, 52, hasn't coached in a major conference and has a 47-50 career record at San Diego State and Ball State, and that will give people pause. Fine. They also should give him a chance.
"When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives." Winter is Coming Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky; And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die. As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk, the Law runneth forward and back; For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.
