In January 2011, in his opening remarks after being named Michigan head coach, Brady Hoke stressed how much he wanted the job: "I promise you we (his family) would have walked to the University of Michigan."
So, could something have changed in the past 2 years to cause his eye to wander to potential NFL head coaching gigs? According to one 5-star recruit, the word on the street is that Hoke has had multiple NFL offers and is mulling the possibility to make the jump in the future.
Rivals.com #2 overall player in America in the 2014 recruiting class (currently a HS junior) CB Jabrill Peppers from New Jersey named Michigan a top-5 team for his services today, but mentioned that uncertainty of the coaching staff was one reason he wasn't ranking them at the very top of his list:
"I grew up a Michigan fan," Peppers said. "I always liked the tradition from Mario Manningham to Mike Hart and all of those guys. The only thing that hurts Michigan at the moment is the coaching stability. I heard Coach Hoke has a lot of offers from the NFL on the table. I know I'm not going to go to a college because of a coach but if a head coach leaves they go into a whole new system and there is a new group of guys I would have to get used to and it just makes the process much more difficult."
Say it ain't so, Brady. Where could these rumors be surfacing from? Is there any validity to Peppers concerns on Hoke leaving? According to one source in Ann Arbor, the source of the rumors may be the red rival from the south.
"Ohio State coaches have been subtly mentioning to recruits that Hoke is a top target of several NFL teams and is going to be the coach that the NFL pursues heavily next season, a source in Ann Arbor told us. "More than one recruit has mentioned to Hoke that OSU coaches are the source of the rumor and Brady has emphatically told the players that he will be at Michigan for as long as they will have him, hopefully for 20+ years. The guy is living his dream job and is as genuine as they come."
So, is Urban Meyer using negative recruiting tactics and arguably making up lies about Hoke and staff to gain an edge in recruiting? Maybe, but maybe he is just playing the game that Michigan started...
A few months back, we were told off the record that Michigan coaches had been telling recruits that they would be in Ann Arbor for years after Meyer in Columbus and to only expect the 2X National Championship winning coach to only be the head man at OSU for 3 more seasons until he gets bored.
This means war.
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