Brady Hoke Is Better for Michigan Than Les Miles or Jim Harbaugh

The winningest program in the history of college football is no longer in need of a coach. Tuesday afternoon, the University of Michigan Athletic Director, Dave Brandon, announced San Diego State’s head coach Brady Hoke will be accepting the same position at Michigan.

“We are pleased to announce the hiring of Brady,” said Brandon. “He is a terrific coach and will be a great ambassador and leader for our football program. We look forward to having him build a championship program on the field and in the classroom.”

Hoke was believed to be one of the front runners for the Michigan coaching vacancy all along. However, Michigan attempted to talk to former Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh and current LSU head coach Les Miles.

Miles and Harbaugh both played for the Wolverines, and Miles was the offensive line coach from 1987-1994. 

Harbaugh was the popular name amongst Michigan fans because of his recent success at Stanford. This, along with the fact he played quarterback there from 1983-1986, made him the top candidate for the coaching vacancy.

In 2007, Harbaugh inherited a team that was coming off of a one win season. Harbaugh endured losing seasons in his first two years with the Cardinal, but turned the corner in his third season. 

Stanford went 8-5 in 2009 and finished tied for second in the Pacific 10 Conference. This season, Harbaugh guided the Cardinal to a school record 12 wins, a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Discover Orange Bowl and a top five ranking in the final Associated Press poll.  

Last Friday, Harbaugh was introduced as the new head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, which forced Brandon to begin searching elsewhere for the next head coach.

Miles was next in line to enter the Michigan rumor mill. He has a career coaching record of 90-38 in four seasons at Oklahoma State and six at LSU. Miles won the BCS National Championship with LSU in 2007 and has posted a record of 62-17 in Baton Rogue.

His success in non conference games has also been outstanding. Under Miles, LSU is 28-1 in non-conference games. LSU has only won 10 games six times in school history. Miles has coached four of those six teams. Miles is also 12-8 against coaches who have won a national championship.

Brandon met with Miles Monday night in Baton Rouge, but it was unclear if the meeting was simply an interview or if Miles was actually offered the job. Tuesday afternoon, LSU released a statement saying Miles was returning to coach LSU in 2011.

Although both Harbaugh and Miles’ records speak for themselves, they were not the best coaches for the job. 

Miles has at times proven to be a poor game manager and takes many mind boggling play calling risks. When they work, his teams win 11 or 12 games, but when they don’t, the number of wins declines, and it drives fans absolutely crazy.

Miles’ age was also a concern. Many of today’s coaches are not sticking around past their mid 60’s. Miles is already 57 years old compared to Hoke being only 52. 

Harbaugh’s 12-1 season at Stanford was an amazing story and a true testament to how good of a coach he is. Due to the school’s high academic standing, it can make recruiting very difficult. 

However, while sensational quarterback Andrew Luck was Harbaugh’s recruit, how often does a player like that really come around? Harbaugh also had his sights set on eventually coaching in the NFL, according to a lot of sources.

So, while Harbaugh could have been a great temporary solution to the Michigan downfall, in the long term, he was likely to have used the job as a stepping stone to the NFL.

Meanwhile, for Brady Hoke, this is his dream job. Hoke was the defensive line coach at Michigan from 1995-2002. Ever since leaving, he has dreamed at an opportunity to return to Michigan and become their head coach.

San Diego State president Steve Weber asked Hoke where SDSU fit in terms of his coaching arc. Weber told Sign On San Diego, “He said at the end of that arc was head coach at the University of Michigan.”

Hoke took his first head coaching job in 2003 at his alma matter Ball State. The Cardinals had not had a winning season since 1996. He was picked over Brett Bielema, who was a Kansas State assistant at the time. Bielema has since gone on to have great success at Wisconsin.

At Ball State, Hoke did not even have his own coaching office and according to Jason Whitlock, a sports writer who followed Hoke for much of his time at Ball State, “Made less money then the emotionally unstable women’s basketball coach.”

Hoke struggled early in his career with the Cardinals and did not post a winning season in any of his first four seasons. After that, the program took off.

In 2007, Ball State went 7-6 and played in only the fourth bowl game in the school’s history. Hoke took things a step further in 2008. 

The Cardinals defeated their first BCS conference opponent (Indiana), set a school record for wins with 12 and became ranked for the first time ever in the polls or BCS rankings. Ball State was ranked 12th in the BCS rankings with a 12-0 record prior to losing the MAC Conference Championship Game 42-24 to Buffalo.

Yet, despite the unthinkable success he achieved, Hoke was forced to resign so that his offensive coordinator, Stan Parrish, could take over the program. Parrish was run out of Ball State after going 6-18 in his two seasons as head coach.

Meanwhile, Hoke began rebuilding another one of college football’s perennial duds, the San Diego State Aztecs. Hoke signed a five year contract in 2009 with the school. The Aztecs had not had a winning season since 1998. 

Hoke’s first season was difficult, and the Aztecs stumbled to a 4-8 record, but in 2010, his team pulled a complete 180.

San Diego State went 9-4 this year, won the school’s first bowl game since 1969 (35-14 victory over Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl) and Hoke was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year. 

The Aztecs' four losses were to No. 18 Missouri, No. 23 Utah, No. 2 TCU and BYU by a combined 15 points. The rankings indicated are from the USA Today Poll. 

This, to me, is more impressive than what Harbaugh has been able to do at Stanford and what Miles has done at LSU. The program Miles inherited at LSU was coming off of a national championship season, and Harbaugh signed the quarterback of the decade in terms of NFL potential.

Hoke took programs that were nothing when he got there and turned them into winners. He put his heart into coaching his alma matter only to be forced out at the height of his success. 

Stanford and LSU have had past success. Ball State and San Diego State achieved success under Hoke they could have only dreamed about before he arrived.

Michigan hired the best “Michigan Man” in the country right now and his name is Brady Hoke. 

The terms of Hoke’s contract at Michigan have not yet been discussed, but he will have to pay San Diego State a $1.5 million buyout. Hoke was under contract with the Aztecs through the 2015 season.

Brandon will formally introduce Hoke at a press conference at 1 p.m. EST Wednesday in Ann Arbor.