Michigan Football Coach: The Brady Hoke Factor

This hire is starting to sink in and I'm trying to make the best out of it. 

For example, I am trying to figure out how David Brandon just hired a coach with a career record of 47-50.  I guess the only requirement for the Michigan job was to either have coached or played for the Wolverines.

• Brady's OC has a good reputation: Al Borges is a two-time nominee for Frank Boyles Assistant Coach of the Year who most recently helped lead Auburn to a 42-9 record and four bowl game appearances from 2004-07. 
  
  The SDSU defensive coordinator is expected to replace Brady at the head coach. Al is expected to come to Michigan with Brady.

• Calvin Magee and Tony Gibson have already gotten jobs at Pitt, so they are out as options for the new Michigan staff.

• RR is expected to take at least a year off.
  

• I would expect that Mike Barwis will be retained, which will help keep the current players happy, but that is just my opinion.

• I would also expect that Fred Jackson will be retained.  Since they both coached together at  Michigan.

• The players seem excited about Brady.

• It seems Tom Brady, Charles Woodson and Steve Hutchinson recommended Hoke.

• Overall, former players seem happy at the Hoke hire.  Which clearly was not the case in the RR hire.

• Keeping the recruiting class together is job No. 1 (maybe job No. 2 after keeping Denard happy).
  
  Here is what Tom Lemming had to say about Brady: "Most people don't know that Hoke is a great recruiter," Lemming said. "Hoke has more ties than someone like Les Miles in the Midwest. I would imagine (he) would keep Fred Jackson.

• Brandon said that Miles and Harbaugh weren't offered the head coaching job at Michigan. 

I have to admit, after researching and writing this post, I feel better about the hire.  I would prefer a big-name hire as Michigan's defensive coordinator—someone like Randy Shannon, as an example. 

It's also very key that he does a good job at keeping players from transferring, mostly Denard.

The next priority is to work non-stop these next three weeks on trying to keep the 2011 recruiting class together while adding some missing pieces as well.

If he can do those things, I think the Michigan faithful will go a long way in accepting him as the new leader of our historic program.