There is growing excitement not only in Ann Arbor but with Michigan football fans everywhere as the 2011 season grows closer. And there should be excitement since the Michigan program finally got rid of their very own Matt Millen in former head coach Rich Rodriguez. Furthermore Michigan AD David Brandon was able to get a true Michigan Man in Brady Hoke to take over the team, a coach that truly understands what the tradition of Michigan football is all about and a man who knows how to take a struggling program and turn it around.
So far we’ve seen Brady Hoke take two different struggling programs in Ball State and San Diego State University and turn them into winners. We’ve seen him come into Ann Arbor, say all the right things, do a very good job recruiting in a short period of time for 2011 and do an extremely good job recruiting for 2012.
One thing we haven’t seen from Brady Hoke however is him coach a single game for Michigan. And this is where that cautious optimism comes in.
Angelique S. Chengelis of the Detroit News recently wrote a column where she believes that Michigan fans need to have a reality check regarding the upcoming season. She presents some very valid questions supporting her reasoning for that reality check. Those questions include…
Can Robinson make a smooth transition to a pro-style offense that won’t completely ignore his ability to run? Is it at all concerning that heading into camp, not one running back distinguished himself in the spring to be considered the favorite? And about that kicking game. Can a freshman come in and handle the job?
Again, all valid questions that all Michigan fans need to ask of their program. However one thing that really disappointed me with a lot of Michigan fans was the growing acceptance of mediocrity. It seems like you consistently heard fans saying that Rich Rod was getting better and the program only need a couple more years to turn this around. Now Michigan fans weren’t only saying that in the first or second year of the Rich Rod era, they were saying that in the third year which was totally unacceptable, especially for Michigan fans.
So I guess you can say that the excitement and confidence coming from the Michigan fans heading into 2011 was sort of a welcomed change back to the way things should be.
But I do agree with Chengelis, just not in her choice of words. I think the reality check for Michigan fans happened the past three season. Cautious optimism is needed because again, Brady Hoke hasn’t coached a game yet for Michigan but more so because even with some of his other turnarounds it took more than one season to become successful. While at Ball State it took Hoke 5 seasons to turn that program around before they finally saw a winning season. At San Diego State in his first season Hoke was 4-8 before going 9-4 his second season.
I’m not suggesting it’s going to the Michigan turn around as long as the Ball State one or as short as the San Diego State one, the Big Ten is a different animal with much more talented teams. But because of what Hoke is bringing to the table as far as recruits, his philosophy and the 2011 schedule that cautious optimism should look for a 7-5 season for Michigan in 2011.
Now last month I wrote an article that was responding to Adam Rittenberg of ESPN in which he asked the question whether or not Brady Hoke was on the hot seat. Many Michigan fans took that as me saying Brady Hoke was on the hot seat and that Adam Rittenberg was suggesting if Brady Hoke didn’t perform his first season that he would be fired.
This wasn’t the case. Rittenberg was saying that Hoke may be on the hot seat in terms of keeping a positive image with the fans. This was taking into the account all the losing that took place prior to Hoke coming to Michigan, the favorable schedule Michigan has in 2011 and the very difficult schedule the team has in 2012.
So, Michigan fans take plenty of optimism into the 2011 season. Just be cautious considering the team is coming off a tough three years in which more regression was accomplished than progression. But better days are certainly ahead.
Source: Detroit News, ESPN
