Hoke Could Stay After All

Three dots on San Diego State football...

After a very strange Tuesday, I'm now betting that Brady Hoke will roam the Aztec sidelines this fall. Michigan's decision-making over whether to fire Rich Rodriguez is at a very delicate stage contractually with buyouts and cost factors to hire a new coach. The Michigan athletic department can afford a lot of money, but paying off Rodriguez and buying out Hoke's SDSU contract may not leave enough money left for salaries...It seems like the pressure is hot on the Michigan AD to make a splash with a really big name, and Hoke does not fill the bill. Stanford's Jim Harbaugh is going to the NFL if he goes anywhere, and LSU's Les Miles is going to be expensive. As good a fit as Hoke would be in Ann Arbor, he might end up staying...The outsiders at Michigan see Hoke as someone who has had only two good seasons, without taking a closer look at what the programs at Ball State and SDSU were like before he arrived. Those seasons were miraculous on his part. On the other hand, he has yet to win a big game. In that 12-1 season with the Cardinals, the 1 was in the MAC championship game, and he was already here for their bowl that year. He arguably has not won a big game here, either. Air Force and Navy were nice, but they were out-manned service academies. The Missouri loss was strictly a coaching blunder -- forget the non-call on the Tigers game-winning TD. He blew a lead of something like 28-10 against Utah. This was a nice season, but we're still waiting for the "big win"...It would be a huge loss for the Aztecs if Hoke left, of course, but a real tragedy for QB Ryan Lindley if offensive coordinator Al Borges left. Can you imagine the kid playing for three OC's in four years? Ouch...I do not understand defensive coordinator Rocky Long interviewing for the head job at Texas State. It makes you wonder what really went on at New Mexico when he left...If Hoke does leave, I think the best move is to hire someone who wants to stay here for a long time. I'd check out running backs coach Jeff Hecklinski, who is the assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator. If you're going to lose your head coach and maybe coordinators, you at least want to keep the recruiting intact, and Hecklinski probably has built up as many contacts with local high school coaches as Hoke has. He is relatively young and has done a good job with his ball-carriers.