Brady Hoke Out at BSU

[zipsbandman]

Obviously not Akron related but this says a lot about the conference we are stuck in. I can't help but shake my head on this one. Brady Hoke leaves Ball State for SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY. SDSU is terrible and has always been bad and plays in an empty nfl stadium every week yet BSU administration still fails to hold on to an alumnus after earning them unprecedented exposure. All he wanted was 400k and a raise for his assistants and the BSU administration pissed him off by being cheap. They thought they would save a whopping 50k and offer him 350k. SDU offered 700k but the cost of living in California makes it comparable to the 400k in Indiana. I feel bad for BSU fans. They have the season of a century and before they can blink it's back to mediocracy. It's pretty bad that the MAC is a stepping stone to every 1-A conference in the country. I sure hope an exodus from this conference is on Proenza's radar for the future. None of the schools in this conference seem to want to raise the bar.BSU message board (they're not happy):http://bsufans.com/modules.php?op=modload&...0&start=100

[Bleacher Bum]

Have you ever been to San Diego? I don't know much about the weather in Muncie, but I guarantee you that man will be getting paid in sunshine.

[skip-zip]

Ahhh....the realities of MAC football. When a school in our league has to lose a coach over budget issues that don't enable them to justify an extra $50,000, it just about tells the whole story. So, lets officially put an end to the "let's just fire JD and go out and find a proven winning coach and pay him" argument. Bleacher Bum...great point. San Diego probably has the most pleasing weather in the country. Consistent sunshine, no humidity, and little rain year round. I know people who live in that area who do no have either a furnace or an air conditioner in their homes. You don't need either of them. Can you imagine???

[GP1]

I've been to Muncie. I have been to San Diego. You all should feel confident this move has nothing to do with the MAC.

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

I've been to Muncie. I have been to San Diego. You all should feel confident this move has nothing to do with the MAC.

You're right in one sense GP1. It says what a chickensh__ idiot Hoke really is. I lived on the West Coast for many of the last 20 years, and yes the weather can be wonderful. Before I move on to Hoke though, for those of you who have never lived in a "one season" place, it can be great, but can also get tedious, boring, oppressive. I missed the seasons terribly while I lived out west, and other than February and March here, don't miss west coast weather at all.Now back to Hoke. There is no trading up in going to SDSU to be the head football coach. Of all of the college programs that came to mind for most football fans in that part of the country, SDSU is never mentioned, nobody cares about the program, it's a doormat, a running joke. Let's talk $$$ too. That 700K salary may not even buy him much of an increase in quality of life. It won't buy him much of an increase in exposure, it won't buy relevance to college football. Unless he's from California and just wanted to get closer to home, taking the "step up" (???) to SDSU is not a step up at all.Lastly, coaching is not a profession wherein the weather should dominate your decision-making. Many of the best coaching jobs in the country are in terrible places for weather. You tell me about a football coach who would run to a SDSU to take over the program because the weather is so beautiful, and I'll tell you about a complete d-bag. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

[Z.I.P.]

I've been to Muncie. I have been to San Diego. You all should feel confident this move has nothing to do with the MAC.

You're right in one sense GP1. It says what a chickensh__ idiot Hoke really is. I lived on the West Coast for many of the last 20 years, and yes the weather can be wonderful. Before I move on to Hoke though, for those of you who have never lived in a "one season" place, it can be great, but can also get tedious, boring, oppressive. I missed the seasons terribly while I lived out west, and other than February and March here, don't miss west coast weather at all.Now back to Hoke. There is no trading up in going to SDSU to be the head football coach. Of all of the college programs that came to mind for most football fans in that part of the country, SDSU is never mentioned, nobody cares about the program, it's a doormat, a running joke. Let's talk $$$ too. That 700K salary may not even buy him much of an increase in quality of life. It won't buy him much of an increase in exposure, it won't buy relevance to college football. Unless he's from California and just wanted to get closer to home, taking the "step up" (???) to SDSU is not a step up at all.Lastly, coaching is not a profession wherein the weather should dominate your decision-making. Many of the best coaching jobs in the country are in terrible places for weather. You tell me about a football coach who would run to a SDSU to take over the program because the weather is so beautiful, and I'll tell you about a complete d-bag. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip____________________________________________________Sorry, but I gotta side with GP1 on this one. SDSU may not come to mind among football powers to the residents of Akron. So, how about looking at it in reverse?!The city and SDSU are on the climb now, with excellent facilities (though still playing in the Chargers' stadium), with an excellent basketball program, and some football tradition. Does the name Marshall Faulk ring a bell?

[GP1]

I've been to Muncie. I have been to San Diego. You all should feel confident this move has nothing to do with the MAC.

You're right in one sense GP1. It says what a chickensh__ idiot Hoke really is. I lived on the West Coast for many of the last 20 years, and yes the weather can be wonderful. Before I move on to Hoke though, for those of you who have never lived in a "one season" place, it can be great, but can also get tedious, boring, oppressive. I missed the seasons terribly while I lived out west, and other than February and March here, don't miss west coast weather at all.Now back to Hoke. There is no trading up in going to SDSU to be the head football coach. Of all of the college programs that came to mind for most football fans in that part of the country, SDSU is never mentioned, nobody cares about the program, it's a doormat, a running joke. Let's talk $$$ too. That 700K salary may not even buy him much of an increase in quality of life. It won't buy him much of an increase in exposure, it won't buy relevance to college football. Unless he's from California and just wanted to get closer to home, taking the "step up" (???) to SDSU is not a step up at all.Lastly, coaching is not a profession wherein the weather should dominate your decision-making. Many of the best coaching jobs in the country are in terrible places for weather. You tell me about a football coach who would run to a SDSU to take over the program because the weather is so beautiful, and I'll tell you about a complete d-bag. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

Interesting note. I live in a state where I get 2 months of winter, 2 months of fall, 2 months of spring and 6 months of summer. The sun is out almost every day. Everyone is in a constantly good mood for the most part. Ohio is full of good people who are driven insane by the gloomy weather. When the Vitamin D level drops, so does the good mood.$700K is a ton of money anywhere. The guy is going to have a good living in a great place. I'm sure the weekend trips to the beach are probably going to be much more fun than the trips to the corn maze in Muncie during the county wide 4-H championships.Buying relevance in college football? What could be more irrelevant than coaching in the MAC? Could the media in California really pay less attention to SDSU than local media reports on MAC schools? He needs to leave now while the iron is hot.I don't know about "many of the best coaching jobs" being in cold weather states. It seems to me that the SEC, Big 12 and PAC 10 have the best coaching opportunities and almost off of the good schools in those conferences are in warm states like Florida, Texas, California, Georgia, Alabama, etc.This guy is making the right move. San Diego presents an opportunity that the Muncie does not. Kids want to play in warm weather. California is crawling full of good QBs that will fit well into his system. He really found a diamond in the rough with Davis. The midwest really does not product the type of throwing QBs that you see out west. With around 1 in 10 Americans living in California, he stands a better chance of finding another Davis than he does in Muncie.

[skip-zip]

GP1...I can't agree more. And really have nothing more to add. Accurate post.

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

I've been to Muncie. I have been to San Diego. You all should feel confident this move has nothing to do with the MAC.

You're right in one sense GP1. It says what a chickensh__ idiot Hoke really is. I lived on the West Coast for many of the last 20 years, and yes the weather can be wonderful. Before I move on to Hoke though, for those of you who have never lived in a "one season" place, it can be great, but can also get tedious, boring, oppressive. I missed the seasons terribly while I lived out west, and other than February and March here, don't miss west coast weather at all.Now back to Hoke. There is no trading up in going to SDSU to be the head football coach. Of all of the college programs that came to mind for most football fans in that part of the country, SDSU is never mentioned, nobody cares about the program, it's a doormat, a running joke. Let's talk $$$ too. That 700K salary may not even buy him much of an increase in quality of life. It won't buy him much of an increase in exposure, it won't buy relevance to college football. Unless he's from California and just wanted to get closer to home, taking the "step up" (???) to SDSU is not a step up at all.Lastly, coaching is not a profession wherein the weather should dominate your decision-making. Many of the best coaching jobs in the country are in terrible places for weather. You tell me about a football coach who would run to a SDSU to take over the program because the weather is so beautiful, and I'll tell you about a complete d-bag. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

Interesting note. I live in a state where I get 2 months of winter, 2 months of fall, 2 months of spring and 6 months of summer. The sun is out almost every day. Everyone is in a constantly good mood for the most part. Ohio is full of good people who are driven insane by the gloomy weather. When the Vitamin D level drops, so does the good mood.$700K is a ton of money anywhere. The guy is going to have a good living in a great place. I'm sure the weekend trips to the beach are probably going to be much more fun than the trips to the corn maze in Muncie during the county wide 4-H championships.Buying relevance in college football? What could be more irrelevant than coaching in the MAC? Could the media in California really pay less attention to SDSU than local media reports on MAC schools? He needs to leave now while the iron is hot.I don't know about "many of the best coaching jobs" being in cold weather states. It seems to me that the SEC, Big 12 and PAC 10 have the best coaching opportunities and almost off of the good schools in those conferences are in warm states like Florida, Texas, California, Georgia, Alabama, etc.This guy is making the right move. San Diego presents an opportunity that the Muncie does not. Kids want to play in warm weather. California is crawling full of good QBs that will fit well into his system. He really found a diamond in the rough with Davis. The midwest really does not product the type of throwing QBs that you see out west. With around 1 in 10 Americans living in California, he stands a better chance of finding another Davis than he does in Muncie.

"The sun is out almost every day. Everyone is in a constantly good mood for the most part. Ohio is full of good people who are driven insane by the gloomy weather. When the Vitamin D level drops, so does the good mood."Uh, yeah, sure. OK. Not that your assertion is anything more than an extremely GROSS generalization, like much of the rest of your post."Kids want to play in warm weather. California is crawling full of good QBs that will fit well into his system. He really found a diamond in the rough with Davis. The midwest really does not product the type of throwing QBs that you see out west."Wow. So I guess that all of those kids, and professionals, playing anywhere other than the Southwest and the South are deficient, as are those of us who love living in these parts of the country. Another GROSS generalization not backed up by ANY facts presented by you.Sorry fellas, but unless you've lived in California for any length of time (I have, in Northern Cali AND Southern Cali for many years) you just can't appreciate what a joke SDSU is to people out there. It's considered to be nothing more than a not-very-good party school. It's a classic "Surfer U" where parents dread that their kids will go there and become 50-year-old pot-smoking, pot-bellied surfer bums. Their football program is a door mat, and will continue to be. Hoke may get a little more sunshine in his eyes, but he sure as hell hasn't made the type of Urban Myer move many otherwise expected. And lastly, I get a little touchy about the loser mentality that we so often see and hear here. I made the very conscious decision a few years ago to move back here, from the West Coast by way of WDC. This area is hard hit economically. However, this region takes a back seat to nowhere else, in any substantive way. The not-so-subtle suggestion that a guy like Hoke has done well to essentially escape this part of the country, regardless of the details of the actual program he's headed for, simply does not ring true to anybody of any substance, and certainly not to people who love it here.GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

[you am i]

I actually see this as sort of an Urban-Meyer-to-Utah kind of move. I think Meyer's move to Utah from BGSU was an increase in salary to $500,000 per year, and Utah, although a respectable mid-major, was not thought of as a football power at the time. Realistically, Hoke might not have been able to do much better if he wanted to make a move this year. He's a hot name right now, so why wait. I think he would have gone anywhere for the same opportunity. I really don't think he factored the pleasant San Diego weather into his decision. Well, maybe a little.

[GP1]

I've been to Muncie. I have been to San Diego. You all should feel confident this move has nothing to do with the MAC.

You're right in one sense GP1. It says what a chickensh__ idiot Hoke really is. I lived on the West Coast for many of the last 20 years, and yes the weather can be wonderful. Before I move on to Hoke though, for those of you who have never lived in a "one season" place, it can be great, but can also get tedious, boring, oppressive. I missed the seasons terribly while I lived out west, and other than February and March here, don't miss west coast weather at all.Now back to Hoke. There is no trading up in going to SDSU to be the head football coach. Of all of the college programs that came to mind for most football fans in that part of the country, SDSU is never mentioned, nobody cares about the program, it's a doormat, a running joke. Let's talk $$$ too. That 700K salary may not even buy him much of an increase in quality of life. It won't buy him much of an increase in exposure, it won't buy relevance to college football. Unless he's from California and just wanted to get closer to home, taking the "step up" (???) to SDSU is not a step up at all.Lastly, coaching is not a profession wherein the weather should dominate your decision-making. Many of the best coaching jobs in the country are in terrible places for weather. You tell me about a football coach who would run to a SDSU to take over the program because the weather is so beautiful, and I'll tell you about a complete d-bag. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

Interesting note. I live in a state where I get 2 months of winter, 2 months of fall, 2 months of spring and 6 months of summer. The sun is out almost every day. Everyone is in a constantly good mood for the most part. Ohio is full of good people who are driven insane by the gloomy weather. When the Vitamin D level drops, so does the good mood.$700K is a ton of money anywhere. The guy is going to have a good living in a great place. I'm sure the weekend trips to the beach are probably going to be much more fun than the trips to the corn maze in Muncie during the county wide 4-H championships.Buying relevance in college football? What could be more irrelevant than coaching in the MAC? Could the media in California really pay less attention to SDSU than local media reports on MAC schools? He needs to leave now while the iron is hot.I don't know about "many of the best coaching jobs" being in cold weather states. It seems to me that the SEC, Big 12 and PAC 10 have the best coaching opportunities and almost off of the good schools in those conferences are in warm states like Florida, Texas, California, Georgia, Alabama, etc.This guy is making the right move. San Diego presents an opportunity that the Muncie does not. Kids want to play in warm weather. California is crawling full of good QBs that will fit well into his system. He really found a diamond in the rough with Davis. The midwest really does not product the type of throwing QBs that you see out west. With around 1 in 10 Americans living in California, he stands a better chance of finding another Davis than he does in Muncie.

"The sun is out almost every day. Everyone is in a constantly good mood for the most part. Ohio is full of good people who are driven insane by the gloomy weather. When the Vitamin D level drops, so does the good mood."Uh, yeah, sure. OK. Not that your assertion is anything more than an extremely GROSS generalization, like much of the rest of your post."Kids want to play in warm weather. California is crawling full of good QBs that will fit well into his system. He really found a diamond in the rough with Davis. The midwest really does not product the type of throwing QBs that you see out west."Wow. So I guess that all of those kids, and professionals, playing anywhere other than the Southwest and the South are deficient, as are those of us who love living in these parts of the country. Another GROSS generalization not backed up by ANY facts presented by you.Sorry fellas, but unless you've lived in California for any length of time (I have, in Northern Cali AND Southern Cali for many years) you just can't appreciate what a joke SDSU is to people out there. It's considered to be nothing more than a not-very-good party school. It's a classic "Surfer U" where parents dread that their kids will go there and become 50-year-old pot-smoking, pot-bellied surfer bums. Their football program is a door mat, and will continue to be. Hoke may get a little more sunshine in his eyes, but he sure as hell hasn't made the type of Urban Myer move many otherwise expected. And lastly, I get a little touchy about the loser mentality that we so often see and hear here. I made the very conscious decision a few years ago to move back here, from the West Coast by way of WDC. This area is hard hit economically. However, this region takes a back seat to nowhere else, in any substantive way. The not-so-subtle suggestion that a guy like Hoke has done well to essentially escape this part of the country, regardless of the details of the actual program he's headed for, simply does not ring true to anybody of any substance, and certainly not to people who love it here.GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

Did you come back to live in a mental institution? Get some sun and you won't be so angry.

[gozips19]

if it were any other coach i'd understand the move but hoke is a bsu alum. just a little surprised took a tough job like sdsu.

[johnnyzip84]

While the Aztecs have been horrid of late, that hasn't always been the case. I mean, how can you Brownie fans forget that Brian Sipe had quite a career as SDSU during their days dominating the old PCAA. After growing too big for that league, they managed a WAC title before that conference apparently took up residence too close to the power lines causing an odd mutation into a brief 16-team monstrosity. Then the MWC sprang forth from the behemoth taking the most promising schools, including SDSU, along with it. The Aztecs have struggled in this period, but many still look at it as a "sleeping giant". I "sort of" agree with this assertion, to a point. SDSU can, no question, become a bigger player in college football, due to points already cited (weather, population base, moderate tradition). BUT, it has always been a particular struggle in college football for a college that resides in an NFL city to become a BIG draw. Miami (Fla), for all of their success (which is fairly recent, in terms of college football history), has never been a huge draw. If you doubt me, take a look at all the empty Orange Bowl seats the next time ESPN classic plays either the Flutie Hail Mary game or Frank Reich's Terp Comeback. Pitt, UC, San Diego St., Houston, SMU, and Rice have all had attendance issues in their respective histories as compared to "Blank State" or "U of Blank" (where "Blank" is the name of a state). USC is a notable exception to this, although it can be argued that many of their attendance successes have come only after the NFL abandoned SoCal. Having said all of this, SDSU will still outdraw Ball St. with ease. Hoke is trying to awaken the sleeping giant. I can't blame him for that.

[Zippysgotagun]

Which is more likely?Going 12-0 in the MAC and making a BCS bowlOr...Going 12-0 in the MWC and making a BCS bowl?***EDIT***Ask Utah, they've done it twice now.

[Zippysgotagun]

Did a bit more digging.MAC teams ranked in top 25 at year's end: Ball State #22MWC teams ranked in top 25 at year's end: Utah #7, TCU #11, BYU #16Clearly at the very least there are more chances for exposure in the MWC. If Hoke is really as good as advertised, he will be able to turn around a bad program. If he can win at SDSU, the big boys will definitely notice.

[ZachTheZip]

Turner Gill just announced that he's staying at Buffalo until 2013 (at least, that's when his contract ends). I'm amazed he wasn't picked up by a bigger school, but he will now have his hands full at UB without Willy and Starks there to lead the offense.

[Zipmeister]

Turner Gill just announced that he's staying at Buffalo until 2013 (at least, that's when his contract ends). I'm amazed he wasn't picked up by a bigger school, but he will now have his hands full at UB without Willy and Starks there to lead the offense.

This is not good news for the start of the Akron dynasty next year. Gill will be back next year with personnel better than Willy and Starks.

[zipsbandman]

Surprisingly nobody offered Gill so the MAC keeps him, but we have the weather argument being thrown around in regard to Hoke. Then why doesn't San Diego State go for Boise State's head coach then? Major major credentials there and I mean Idaho..or California? What on earth is in Idaho besides potatoes and a blue football field? You can then say that Boise gets more BCS opportunities. Sure they do. They don't play in the MAC. The MAC is clearly making up the bottom of the food chain. So where does that put Akron football? If we can't pay our coaches then where do we or can we expect this program to be?

[Lee Adams]

I've been to Muncie. I have been to San Diego. You all should feel confident this move has nothing to do with the MAC.

You're right in one sense GP1. It says what a chickensh__ idiot Hoke really is. I lived on the West Coast for many of the last 20 years, and yes the weather can be wonderful. Before I move on to Hoke though, for those of you who have never lived in a "one season" place, it can be great, but can also get tedious, boring, oppressive. I missed the seasons terribly while I lived out west, and other than February and March here, don't miss west coast weather at all.Now back to Hoke. There is no trading up in going to SDSU to be the head football coach. Of all of the college programs that came to mind for most football fans in that part of the country, SDSU is never mentioned, nobody cares about the program, it's a doormat, a running joke. Let's talk $$$ too. That 700K salary may not even buy him much of an increase in quality of life. It won't buy him much of an increase in exposure, it won't buy relevance to college football. Unless he's from California and just wanted to get closer to home, taking the "step up" (???) to SDSU is not a step up at all.Lastly, coaching is not a profession wherein the weather should dominate your decision-making. Many of the best coaching jobs in the country are in terrible places for weather. You tell me about a football coach who would run to a SDSU to take over the program because the weather is so beautiful, and I'll tell you about a complete d-bag. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

Interesting note. I live in a state where I get 2 months of winter, 2 months of fall, 2 months of spring and 6 months of summer. The sun is out almost every day. Everyone is in a constantly good mood for the most part. Ohio is full of good people who are driven insane by the gloomy weather. When the Vitamin D level drops, so does the good mood.$700K is a ton of money anywhere. The guy is going to have a good living in a great place. I'm sure the weekend trips to the beach are probably going to be much more fun than the trips to the corn maze in Muncie during the county wide 4-H championships.Buying relevance in college football? What could be more irrelevant than coaching in the MAC? Could the media in California really pay less attention to SDSU than local media reports on MAC schools? He needs to leave now while the iron is hot.I don't know about "many of the best coaching jobs" being in cold weather states. It seems to me that the SEC, Big 12 and PAC 10 have the best coaching opportunities and almost off of the good schools in those conferences are in warm states like Florida, Texas, California, Georgia, Alabama, etc.This guy is making the right move. San Diego presents an opportunity that the Muncie does not. Kids want to play in warm weather. California is crawling full of good QBs that will fit well into his system. He really found a diamond in the rough with Davis. The midwest really does not product the type of throwing QBs that you see out west. With around 1 in 10 Americans living in California, he stands a better chance of finding another Davis than he does in Muncie.

"The sun is out almost every day. Everyone is in a constantly good mood for the most part. Ohio is full of good people who are driven insane by the gloomy weather. When the Vitamin D level drops, so does the good mood."Uh, yeah, sure. OK. Not that your assertion is anything more than an extremely GROSS generalization, like much of the rest of your post."Kids want to play in warm weather. California is crawling full of good QBs that will fit well into his system. He really found a diamond in the rough with Davis. The midwest really does not product the type of throwing QBs that you see out west."Wow. So I guess that all of those kids, and professionals, playing anywhere other than the Southwest and the South are deficient, as are those of us who love living in these parts of the country. Another GROSS generalization not backed up by ANY facts presented by you.Sorry fellas, but unless you've lived in California for any length of time (I have, in Northern Cali AND Southern Cali for many years) you just can't appreciate what a joke SDSU is to people out there. It's considered to be nothing more than a not-very-good party school. It's a classic "Surfer U" where parents dread that their kids will go there and become 50-year-old pot-smoking, pot-bellied surfer bums. Their football program is a door mat, and will continue to be. Hoke may get a little more sunshine in his eyes, but he sure as hell hasn't made the type of Urban Myer move many otherwise expected. And lastly, I get a little touchy about the loser mentality that we so often see and hear here. I made the very conscious decision a few years ago to move back here, from the West Coast by way of WDC. This area is hard hit economically. However, this region takes a back seat to nowhere else, in any substantive way. The not-so-subtle suggestion that a guy like Hoke has done well to essentially escape this part of the country, regardless of the details of the actual program he's headed for, simply does not ring true to anybody of any substance, and certainly not to people who love it here.GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

Did you come back to live in a mental institution? Get some sun and you won't be so angry.

like your comment...i was born here but lived in texas and arizona for a number of years...came back only for family reasons otherwise would be in AZ...if you like it here thats fine..but there are more opportunities of every type southwest and west...the weather is the icing(so to speak)...read that Hoke was miffed that bsu didn't want to pay his asissitants what they deserved...good for him...he gets a raise AND all that potential with those cailfornia athletes...oh did someone mention the weather?

[johnnyzip84]

I've got bad news for everyone. Both Starks and Roosevelt are only Juniors. It just SEEMS like they've been there forever.I, for one, like it that Gill is staying at UB for a while longer (although I think it's shame and a mistake that he didn't get offers from other places this year). I hope UB continues to build. I want the MAC itself to gradually, yet continually improve. If UA can't keep up, then we should make a coaching change.

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

....and off goes some nobody named Hoke, to coach a team that nobody cares about, at a university that nobody living there (even right in San Diego) cares about, never to be heard from again. He'll make a little more money at SDSU, most of which will be eaten up in a place where a nice home in a nice neighborhood can't be had for less than 800k-1m. He'll earn much less national exposure than he had this year at Testicle Tech, and will be mired in mediocrity for several years, after which he will be forced out and have to take a job at a tiny school to rehabilitate his career.Check in on some of the Aztec boards, check in on what fans are saying at espn.com. SDSU cannot recruit to save its life. They don't draw worth a damn. San Diego is not a place that generates interest in, well much of anything for locals, beyond partying and going to the beach, maybe running and other individual sports. San Diego is the universal home of ME. What is some crappy college football team going to do for ME? Apathy reigns in San Diego. If you've ever lived there or near there, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you just don't get it. It's the kind of place where any of us (rabid fans of some hard-luck program) would be considered flat-out losers. It's a cultural thing. It's a different world in SoCal, and San Diego is the center of the universe for those who will run 10 ultramarathons a year, but wouldn't be caught dead paying to watch college football, unless it's USC or UCLA. For those of you talking about Marshall Faulk, he was not the next anything when he went to SDSU. Every program gets lucky, and Faulk was a particularly lucky pick up for SDSU. Hoke was clearly not treated with respect at Sad Sack State, which I find satisfying because I didn't like that team, loved it when they lost to UB. He jumped too early. He should have sucked it up for another year or two when a better program would have come calling, waited at least for a Utah, a Boise, a program that would stand a good chance of success going forward. There is zero reason to assume he'll succeed at SDSU. Think about it. Why would there be ANY assumption that he will magically be able to recruit the blue chippers from SoCal when NONE of the previous coaches who have coached there were able to do so? Is he some sort of long-lost and loved SDSU guy? Nope. Is he familiar with SoCal in a way that others aren't? Nope. To us he is another example of a guy who proved in MAC football that he can get the job done. If you're a blue-chip HS recruit in SoCal, or anywhere out west for that matter, who the eff is Brady Hoke to you? Nobody, that's what. Say again Brady Hoke, what can you do for ME?

[skip-zip]

Ok...think about this for a minute....because it applies to both the Hoke and Gill situations....If any of us were the head of a major athletic program, wouldn't you consider it a risk to take a mid-major coach after only a short run of success? Gill's name was thrown around last year as the next Nebraska coach...after what amounted to Buffalo's first "decent" season in years. It never happened. And it's not as if Hoke got offered the world's best college job, after taking the Cardinals to a level that I have not seen a MAC team reach in years. And what about JD after he won the overall MAC title? Something Hoke never accomplished.I think for the most part, major programs would like to hire coaches with sustained success. And I don't think either Hoke or Gill were quite to that point yet, if either of them desired to get offered a marquee job. They are both MAC coaches who had good years, and got their teams into bowl games. I don't think that should automatically grant them a ticket to a top-level coaching position.

[g-mann17]

...I don't think that should automatically grant them a ticket to a top-level coaching position.

It shouldn't, but in a world of what have you done lately, it does. I mean look at Tennessee. They had a tenured coach that has had a bad year this season against the SEC. He coached for 17 years compiled a 152-52 record and appeared in over 16 bowl games. As recently as 07 he had them in the SEC championship game. But it wasn't good enough, so that get an NFL reject that benefitted from being on the best coached team in the nation under Pete Carroll. Kiffin has accomplished nothing collegiately other then being a good coordinator with excellent athletes. What I'm pointing out is schools go with the hot ticket, they don't look at continued success they want that instant gratification (much like we all do). Gill didn't leave because a school he liked didn't offer. He could have taken the Iowa State job, but he didn't see a benefit to himself. Hoke took the SDSU job because he wanted to do what was best for his friends and fellow coaches. Gill is the better coach, and next year when Georgia doesn't meet expectations and A&M plays subpar there will be more big coaching openings, and Gill will get one. (though it won't be because he won a second MAC title, that belongs to JD).

[BirdZip]

....and off goes some nobody named Hoke, to coach a team that nobody cares about, at a university that nobody living there (even right in San Diego) cares about, never to be heard from again. He'll make a little more money at SDSU, most of which will be eaten up in a place where a nice home in a nice neighborhood can't be had for less than 800k-1m. He'll earn much less national exposure than he had this year at Testicle Tech, and will be mired in mediocrity for several years, after which he will be forced out and have to take a job at a tiny school to rehabilitate his career.Check in on some of the Aztec boards, check in on what fans are saying at espn.com. SDSU cannot recruit to save its life. They don't draw worth a damn. San Diego is not a place that generates interest in, well much of anything for locals, beyond partying and going to the beach, maybe running and other individual sports. San Diego is the universal home of ME. What is some crappy college football team going to do for ME? Apathy reigns in San Diego. If you've ever lived there or near there, you know what I'm talking about. If not, you just don't get it. It's the kind of place where any of us (rabid fans of some hard-luck program) would be considered flat-out losers. It's a cultural thing. It's a different world in SoCal, and San Diego is the center of the universe for those who will run 10 ultramarathons a year, but wouldn't be caught dead paying to watch college football, unless it's USC or UCLA. For those of you talking about Marshall Faulk, he was not the next anything when he went to SDSU. Every program gets lucky, and Faulk was a particularly lucky pick up for SDSU.

Hoke was clearly not treated with respect at Sad Sack State, which I find satisfying because I didn't like that team, loved it when they lost to UB. He jumped too early. He should have sucked it up for another year or two when a better program would have come calling, waited at least for a Utah, a Boise, a program that would stand a good chance of success going forward. There is zero reason to assume he'll succeed at SDSU. Think about it. Why would there be ANY assumption that he will magically be able to recruit the blue chippers from SoCal when NONE of the previous coaches who have coached there were able to do so? Is he some sort of long-lost and loved SDSU guy? Nope. Is he familiar with SoCal in a way that others aren't? Nope. To us he is another example of a guy who proved in MAC football that he can get the job done. If you're a blue-chip HS recruit in SoCal, or anywhere out west for that matter, who the eff is Brady Hoke to you? Nobody, that's what. Say again Brady Hoke, what can you do for ME?

Hmm, actually seems to have worked out OK for Brady Hoke after all.

[Dave in Green]

Yep, turning two previously bad teams around did a lot more for Hoke's resume than just staying at the first one he turned around. If ever a major program needed a coach with double proof of being able to turn mediocre teams around, it's the University of Michigan.