OK guys, rip into this.

http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2015/10/brady_hoke_to_si_jim_harbaughs.html#incart_most-commented_wolverines

Brady Hoke to SI: Jim Harbaugh's strong start 'validates' Hoke's performance at Michigan

By Nick Baumgardner | nbaumgardner@mlive.com
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on October 22, 2015 at 10:59 AM, updated October 22, 2015 at 11:27 AM

ANN ARBOR -- Michigan's on its bye week at the moment.

Which, apparently, means Brady Hoke has a few things he'd like you to know.

The former Michigan coach made headlines across the country Wednesday when he disagreed with current U-M coach Jim Harbaugh's decision to punt late in a stunning 27-23 loss to Michigan State.

Then, Thursday, Hoke gave his first extensive 1-on-1 interview since his firing last December, speaking with Sports Illustrated on a variety of topics. He says he wasn't trying to be critical of Harbaugh, and at the same time, says Harbaugh's strong start at Michigan "validates" the coaching job he did during his four years at Michigan.

"With the success that Michigan is having right now, it reassures you we had a plan. That validates you. Jimmy (Harbaugh) is a good coach. His staff is doing a good job. I think we did a nice job. It's never going to be a quick fix. I don't believe that," Hoke told the magazine. "We walked into a program in 2011 with 15 fifth-year seniors. We had a special young man in Denard Robinson. Even in 2012, we were 11 seconds from beating an 11-win South Carolina team to get nine wins. Those two years, we felt good about. We were recruiting for 2015 as much as anything.

"From the bottom up, we wanted long-term success and a great foundation established. From an academic standpoint, we graduated all 68 seniors who came through the program. The ARP rate is 1000. I feel like we did what we said we were going to do."

Hoke explained to the magazine that he'd like to get back into coaching at some point as a head coach at at a power five program.

Currently, he has a career 78-70 record during his 12 years as a head coach. At Michigan, he went 31-20 (18-14) during his four seasons. Six of Hoke's 12 seasons as a head coach have resulted in winning campaigns.

"The one thing I want to say is that Rich Rodriguez is a good football coach. He didn't forget football when he went to Michigan," Hoke said. "And obviously he hasn't forgotten it when he left. I haven't forgotten how to coach."

Other tidbits from the interview:

• Hoke admits he should've taken a quarterback in the 2012 class. Michigan took a commitment from Shane Morris (a 2013 quarterback) in 2012, and then did not take another signal-caller in the class. Hoke: "Not that we didn't believe in Shane. (We should've taken another) just for more numbers, more competition."

• Hoke says he'll be better with the media in his next job: "You still have to be who you are. At the same time, especially late at Michigan, there were times I was a little more guarded. But I came in that way, also. I think experience has helped me understand where guys or gals are coming from. They have a job to do and I respect that."

• Hoke says he "knew" that the 2013 and 2014 seasons would be "transitional years," claiming he and his staff were building for 2015 all along: "This may sound odd. I look at what we did at Michigan in the years we knew would be transitional—2013 and 2014. We knew those years were going to be a struggle. We recruited three classes in the top 10 and two in top five. We recruited families and student-athletes who fit the culture and the vision. Always based everything on commitment and being accountable to each other. The respect we have for everyone and the trust."

Story from October, and has some validity. Hoke was a strong recruiter, but then created a team of soft entitled players.

It's a strong atatement regarding how far over his head Hoke was as a big-time HC. Maybe he should satisfy himself as a top-level recruiting coordinator. No doubt he somehow is able to reach elite players, but once he got them all together on a team....Well, we all know he was an unmitigated disaster when it came to actual coaching. Not only did his teams not get better, they actually regressed as the seasons progressed. The Brandon legacy.

Brady's best year was with Rich Rod's players. Does that validate Rich Rod? Perhaps we should not give Brady credit for his first year.

Agree 100%. Denard made that team go.

I still remain unconvinced that Hoke is a great recruiter without "the Michigan difference." What did he do recruiting wise at Ball State (compare to Urban Meyer at Bowling Green)? He wasn't at San Diego State long enough to even play many of his recruits.

He also appeared to misevaluate several highly rated recruits at Michigan (Morris, Green) and as fish says he promoted softness.

agree with shoes ... without Michigan on his shirt Hoke would not be a great recruiter ....

to be fair, there were a few lower ranked kids that he found that turned out to be good. jake ryan comes to mind. also he found talent at sdsu that followed him to michigan. I know he actively recruited magnusson at sdsu.

brady was great at selling his vision for MICHIGAN.