Friends, family excited for new Michigan coach Hoke

Brady Hoke’s head coaching record

Jeff Long and Brady Hoke grew up within a deep post pattern of each other in Kettering. Long was the quarterback at Fairmont East High School in the mid-1970s, Hoke his center.

It turns out Hoke did more than deliver the ball to Long. He also delivered the news.

“He was our paper boy,” Long recalled. “He loves to tell people that when we’re together, and it’s true. He delivered the Dayton Journal-Herald.”

The high school friends have remained close, so it was no surprise when Long, now the athletic director at Arkansas, made time Wednesday to watch the Big Ten Network’s coverage of Hoke being introduced as the 19th head football coach at the University of Michigan.

“For my friend and former high school teammate to ascend to that job is thrilling for me,” Long said. “He knows the kind of football they need to play to be successful and will surround himself with the kind of talent it takes to win.”

In addition to wife Laura and daughter Kelly, Hoke’s parents, sisters Terre Manning and Heidi Thomas and their families made the trip to Ann Arbor to hear him say what they already knew — that this had been his dream job from the day he entered coaching and that a stint as a Michigan defensive assistant from 1995-2002 only heightened the allure of returning one day.

Of rival Ohio State, which he made a point of not naming during the press conference, Hoke said, “I had a lot of respect for Coach (Woody) Hayes and loved Coach Hayes, but I was not a fan of that university because my buddies were, and I had to be different. I became a Michigan fan.”

A relative unknown

Athletic Director David Brandon insisted the 52-year-old Hoke was Michigan’s first choice, but this hardly mattered to those closest to him.

“The mystique of Michigan is something special,” Long said. “Everything that Bo (Schembechler) and others built there is what he stands for — developing student-athletes, competing and winning championships. It’s everything he aspires to do.”

On Monday, the night before receiving the Michigan offer, Hoke phoned his parents, who live in Dayton.

“He was very up and positive,” said John Hoke, 79, who played for Hayes at Miami University and reveres him. “But he couldn’t tell us anything.”

The Hokes did not officially learn their son had landed the job until mid-afternoon Tuesday when he clued them in about an hour before the news broke. They were soon besieged with phone calls from friends and strangers alike. One was from a Detroit newspaper reporter who was on her way to their house but running late, perhaps due to the weather.

“I don’t know what they want to know,” John said. “But it’s neat.”

Compared to other candidates rumored to be in line for the Michigan job, Hoke was a relative unknown despite turning around programs as the head coach at Ball State (his alma mater) and San Diego State. Brandon said he traveled to five cities in six days to interview several coaches face-to-face and spoke to others on the phone before deciding.

“I learned that all that glitters is not gold with some coaches,” Brandon said. “Sometimes the hype and PR does not match the real person.”

‘Grass-roots values’

Hoke, who fidgets while speaking publicly and said his wife made sure his tie was straight for the press conference, is perhaps less polished than some.

“What difference does it make if you win?” his dad said. “You can dress like a bum, sound like a bum. All they want to do is win — and beat Ohio State.”

That game is already “personal” to him, Hoke said. OSU has dominated the series in recent years. “I can tell you, the last Saturday in November at 12 o’clock, that ball being kicked off, there’s nothing like it,” Hoke said. “When I say personal, take it how you want. I really don’t care, but it is. When you’re wearing the maize and blue, it’s personal.”

Hoke showed humor and passion in his first appearance before the Michigan media. He joked that he “didn’t get beat up too much” for being a Michigan fan growing up. He pounded the podium to emphasize the importance of the Ohio State rivalry. He also paused briefly, a bit choked up, when reflecting on how many lives he’s touched as a football coach.

“Brady Hoke will project grass-roots Midwestern values, which is very positive,” Long said. “I applaud Michigan for hiring a football coach and not somebody who’s going to rival the chancellor or the university president at the podium (as a speaker).”

For his part, John Hoke said he wants to see how the Wolverine players react. He recalls more than a few San Diego State players quitting after Brady took over, apparently not willing to pay the price.

“Oh, he’ll drive them off,” John said. “He doesn’t put up with b.s. I was kidding him, saying a lot of guys quit at San Diego State. He said, ‘Great, if they’re going to quit, they’re not going to help me win anyway.’ ”