Michigan Football: Hoke Saying All the Right Things, Will It Translate to Wins?

For a program with 884 wins, good enough for the most victories all-time in NCAA football, panic is an unfamiliar emotion.

The Michigan football program was churning out nine, ten and even eleven-win seasons during the 1990s and 2000s with Lloyd Carr at the helm. Carr, a "Michigan man", was an assistant coach under the late, great Bo Schembechler.

After his retirement following Michigan's 41–35 victory over No. 9 Florida on January 1, 2008 in the Capital One Bowl, the Wolverines needed to find a new head coach.

After trying to get LSU's head coach, Les Miles, who is also a "Michigan man," the U of M went in the direction of West Virginia head coach, and spread offense guru, Rich Rodriguez.

That experiment, obviously, faltered, as Rodriguez only managed to lead Michigan to one bowl game in three seasons. By the time this spring rolled around, David Brandon, the Athletic Director, chose to relieve Rodriguez of his duties.

After a relatively productive search, Michigan landed San Diego State Head Coach, Brady Hoke.

Hoke, who was an assistant coach under Lloyd Carr from 1995 through 2002, is hoping to instill the hard-nosed, power football attitude that made Michigan such a storied program for so many years.

With a top recruiting class for the 2012 season, Hoke and his staff have began to rebuild not only on offense, like Rodriguez did, but also on defense. But Hoke refuses to acknowledge the fact that he is leading Michigan's "rebuilding" project.

"We're Michigan. We have kids who know they're Michigan. So, I don't put any stock into (the notion we're rebuilding)."

This has both the Michigan players and faithful fired up. By bringing back the swagger that former Michigan teams have carried with them.

Senior defensive lineman Mark Martin said of Hoke, "He's very passionate about everything that is Michigan. He embodies it."

Was it this lack of passion and caring for the history and traditions of a place as hallowed as Michigan that doomed Rodriguez?

While Rodriguez tried to change a culture so steeped in tradition, a winning tradition, Hoke is catering to the wants of the huge Michigan fanbase—a fanbase that Rodriguez was never was able to win over. Hoke's contagious confidence has encapsulated the program, while leading it in a positive direction.

Can Hoke's leadership translate into wins for Michigan in Year 1?

When looking at Michigan's schedule, the Wolverines can easily duplicate the hot start that they had a season ago, with its first five contests in the Big House. After that stretch, the schedule sets up nicely for Michigan. Although they have to face Michigan State and Iowa in East Lansing and Iowa City respectively, both Nebraska and Ohio State have to pay visits to Ann Arbor.

Realistically, Hoke and Michigan should win close to eight games and go to a bowl game.

It is commonly said that teams take the personality of their head coach. With Hoke's confidence and moxie, Michigan can quickly regain a seat battling for Big Ten titles.

Josh Rosenblat is a high school student from Chicago looking to find a way to break into sports journalism. He often writes about the NBA (primarily the Chicago Bulls), as well as the MLB, college basketball, Tennis and the NFL. You can email him at [e-mail] or follow him on Twitter @JMRosenblat. Feel free to send him comments.

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