Athletic director Dave Brandon's opening remarks:
- On the coaching search: "I traveled to five cities in six days. I interviewed several coaches face to face and several more via telephone."
- Brandon said he met coaches from several conferences in different regions of the country, with different philosophies and levels of interest in the Michigan job.
- "All that glitters is not gold when it comes to some coaches. Sometimes the hype or PR doesn't match the person."
- Brandon wasn’t sure if he’d met Brady Hoke before last year. He met him at a charity event this summer, they spoke for a few seconds. They had no prior relationship.
- "I believe I have done exactly what I set out to do in the selection of Brady Hoke as Michigan's head football coach."
- Brandon established 12 criteria that he used to rate every coach he interviewed. Two of them: 1) Love for the Michigan football program, desire to compete for the job. 2) Reputation as a coach who can take a program over, recruit great players and win because players want to play for him.
- "[Hoke] is clearly a players’ coach. Unlike some other coaches, it’s not about him, it’s about his players and about his team."
- "He doesn’t have to learn the words to ‘The Victors.’ He's sang it many times in the locker room."
- As the search progressed and Brandon's interest in Hoke grew, he talked to coaches Hoke worked for, coaches he worked with, players who played for him and coaches who coached against him.
- "Coaching defense is his love and passion."
Head football coach Brady Hoke:
- "It was a long night of travel flying here, but I promise you, we would’ve walked to the University of Michigan."
- "Coach Rodriguez and his staff gave three years of their lives and their commitment to Michigan football, and that’s not to be forgotten."
- Hoke thanked several coaches who influenced him, including Jack Harbaugh, Gary Moeller, Lloyd Carr and Bo Schembechler, who "for eight years told me we weren't tough enough in the defensive line."
- "We are going to be a team that competes with a high degree of effort every time we take the field."
- On the divisions in the Michigan football culture that have developed over the past three years: "It’s sad that this great university, this great program and the tradition has divisions. This is about the guys who play in this program, becoming husbands, fathers, and community leaders when they graduate."
- Asked about embracing Michigan's rivalries, Hoke said they were fortunate to have three rivalries, with Notre Dame, Michigan State and "that school in Ohio."
- Hoke spent 15 minutes earlier with Denard Robinson. "We understand one thing: We have a special guy in Denard."
- "When you have talented players, it’s your job as a coach to mold that into what’s best for the team."
- "The lifeblood of your recruiting has to be in the Midwest and has to be in the state of Michigan."
- "This is the ultimate place where I wanted to be as a football coach."
- On the idea that Michigan is no longer an elite job: "Who says that? This is an elite job. This will continue to be an elite job. This is Michigan, for God’s sake."
- "The expectation is to win the Big Ten championship."
- Asked about the Ohio State game, Hoke pounded the podium with emphasis: "That rivalry is special. It’s like none other in football. It is the most important game on our schedule… It’s almost personal."
- Should the objective be winning national championships over Big Ten championships? "Nope. Because if you don't win your conference championship, you don't have a chance to go after the next one."
- After saying "multipully," Hoke admitted "I made that word up," then said he was good at Scrabble.
- Hoke believes a 3-3-5 defense can work in the Big Ten. People have to be educated on multiple ways the 3-3-5 scheme can be used, depending on personnel.
- There will be no recruit visits this weekend. Hoke hopes to have his staff assembled in three to four days.
Brandon's Q&A following Hoke:
- "The only way to make the process legitimate and effective was not to turn it into a circus." Brandon said he wasn't going to meet with certain people if confidentiality couldn't be maintained.
- Brandon said he offered the job to Hoke, and he accepted it without even discussing salary. "The only other coach I've ever heard of who took a job without knowing what it paid was named Schembechler."
- "One of the most important things in judging a coach is, do players want to play for him."
- Brandon and Hoke talked scheme and philosophy, and how personnel was utilized. Doing things only one way is a hard way to run a football team. "Coaches have to adapt."
- Denard Robinson was discussed in every meeting with Hoke. The other quarterbacks, along with several other players, were also discussed.
- On the rumor that Mary Sue Coleman did not want a certain coach hired: "That theory is complete and unadulterated baloney. Capital letters, underscored. See me after class and I'll give you another word for that."
- Hoke has a six-year contract. It hasn't yet been signed because final details are still being worked out. When finalized, documents will be available for public record.
- Brandon confirms that Tate Forcier is not with the program. He said he couldn't elaborate because it concerned a student's academic status.
- A friend at another institution supplied Brandon with "objective data" on what constituted success and failure in coaches being hired over the past 35 years. Many "misfires" resulted from hiring coaches who had "no connection to the region, conference or area that they've been dropped into."
- "Michigan men create other Michigan men."
[Updated at 5:30 p.m.]