Who says nice guys finish last?
Brady Hoke is a nice guy. His players like him, and he is a Michigan man through and through despite having been born in Ohio and having played football for Ball State University. According to Hoke’s 18 page contract signed on January 13, 2011, he earns a base salary of $300,000 plus additional compensation of $1,900,000 for television, radio, internet, shoe/apparel sponsorships. On December 31, 2013, he is eligible to receive the first three years of his “stay bonus,” a $500,000 payment for each year he “stays” in his job. In January 2014, he will receive over $1 million in deferred compensation. He gets a $4,000 clothing allowance each year to spend on duds provided by the football team’s athletic apparel supplier (Adidas).
Brady Hoke gets free tickets to any University of Michigan sporting event he feels like attending and his friends and family have use of a private coach’s viewing box at Michigan Stadium. Hoke can be fired with or without cause, and if he is fired in 2014, the University will pay him $3 million dollars.
Michigan fans want someone better than Carr (.753) and much better than Rodriguez, whose .405 winning percentage is the lowest of any coach in Michigan history. So far, Hoke’s record is 26-12 (.684), not terrible but still terrifying to a Michigan crowd not accustomed to regression. The Wolverines went 11-2 in Hoke’s first season, 8-5 last year and were 7-5 in 2013, with a loss to Ohio State.
After the loss to Ohio State, national sports writers guessed whether Brady Hoke would be sacked. On November 29th Michigan AD Dave Brandon posted this to his blog: “Brady Hoke is our coach and will be leading our football program well into the future. There is no question about it….”
Then again, in 2010 Brandon said this about Rich Rodriguez, “Rich Rodriguez is our football coach. And he’ll be our football coach next year. There’s nothing that I see in what has come out from the notice of NCAA allegations or our internal investigation that leads me to believe there should be any change in the status of our football coach.”
In 2011, Rodriguez was fired and Brady Hoke’s contract written up to include a clause which allows him to be fired with cause if, “The NCAA, the Conference or the University determines that the Head Coach has committed a violation of the Governing Rules….or that a major violation of the Governing Rules has occurred within the Football Program within the term of this Agreement.”
Michigan’s 2014 football season will be Brady Hoke’s personal Waterloo. Only time will tell whether he’ll be playing the role of the Duke of Wellington or Napoleon.
