With Les Miles deciding to stay at LSU (and Jim Harbaugh taking a job with the San Francisco 49ers last week), Michigan’s search for a new football coach appears to be down to San Diego State’s Brady Hoke.
Michigan athletic director is apparently already en route to California to speak with Hoke. And the San Diego Union Tribune is reporting that Hoke and Michigan have been in discussions about the Wolverines’ head coaching vacancy.
Hoke is scheduled to be in the Los Angeles area on a recruiting visit. And Brandon’s plane is headed for Orange County.
It is widely believed that Hoke will accept the Michigan job if offered to him. San Diego State announced that Hoke had agreed to a contract extension in early December, but the coach has yet to sign it.
To get out of the remaining three years on his current contract at SDSU, Hoke would have to pay the school a $1.5 million buyout.
Hoke was an assistant at Michigan from 1995 to 2002. He was the team’s defensive line coach and eventually promoted to associate head coach.
In two seasons at SDSU, Hoke has a record of 13-12. This season, the Aztecs finished 9-4, capped off by a Poinsettia Bowl victory over Navy. Previously, he was the head coach at Ball State, where he compiled a 34-38 record. In his last season there, the Cardinals won the Mid-American Conference West title before losing in the conference championship game and GMAC Bowl.
UPDATE: The plane Brandon has been using to fly around during this coaching search actually belongs to Domino's Pizza. And it turns out that the plane may be in California solely on Domino's business, as the company is making a presentation at an investor's conference. It's not known if Brandon was along for the ride to do some Michigan business, however. (via MGoBlog)