Brady Hoke
Last Role: Head coach at the University of Michigan (2014)
The connection: Hoke is friends with Butch Jones, has spent time with him in Knoxville and both have many ties to the state of Michigan
Pros: Hoke is a well-known name with a Sugar Bowl win under his name as a head coach and respectable 31-20 mark during his time with the Wolverines, which came to an end following the 2014 season. The Wolverines were top five in the Big 10 in total defense every year that Hoke was the head coach in Ann Arbor. He’s a good recruiter, has a fantastic reputation as a person and seems to be very comfortable with Jones already. He’s also very available and perhaps affordable after not coaching in 2015.
Cons/Questions: While Hoke certainly did some good things at Michigan, his teams also regressed every year in terms of the total record and the Wolverines got instantly better when Jim Harbaugh arrived on the scene this season. Hoke has never coached in this region of the country, though he does currently live in North Carolina. His late failures at Michigan combined with his year off might take some of the “splash” hire factor away, but Jones showed last year in hiring Mike DeBord that he’s not afraid to take somebody who hasn’t been actively coaching in the last year.
