Hoke's quick hiring raises messy questions
It wasn?t a betrayal of biblical measurement. Brady Hoke?s clandestine decision to leave San Diego State after two years to accept the head football coaching position at the University of Michigan didn?t involve 30 pieces of silver. He was taking his ?dream job,? if offered.
But Hoke was not Knute Rockne. He did a wonderful job turning around a moribund, stagnated Aztecs program, but he bolts for Michigan with an overall losing record as a head coach at SDSU and Ball State. At the helm here, he defeated two teams with winning records, both service academies.
All of which adds to the mystery of this serpentine caravan. Because other than being a former Wolverines assistant ? thus fulfilling the ritualistic ?Michigan Man? requirements ? Hoke, a man who displayed the right philosophy and attitude, hasn?t done much to warrant the attention of the winningest college football program in history.
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It?s doubtful anything will surpass the botched burlesque show directed by the Michigan pizza guy before he finally pulled a suddenly-hot Hoke out of SDSU?s oven. Wolverines Athletic Director Dave Brandon, former CEO of Domino?s Pizza, ran this process wearing clown shoes and blowing up balloon animals.
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Maybe we?d know more if anyone involved at San Diego State ? AD Jim Sterk, primarily ? would come out of hiding. That agreement was going to include a $1.5 million buyout if Hoke were to leave before its expiration. Now it reverts to the previous number, $1 million, which means the cash-strapped state university is out $500,000 it could have pocketed.
Brandon has to pick up the $1 million buyout and pay the coach he fired, Rich Rodriguez, $2.5 million in parting gifts. Three years ago, Michigan paid West Virginia $2.5 million to buy out Rodriguez?s contract there. That?s $6 million before they give Hoke a dime, and this is a public university in a fiscally deprived state.
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Entire article:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/jan/11/hokes-quick-hiring-raises-messy-questions/