LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Take it from his brother.
The fiery passion Brady Hoke projected at his introductory press conference Wednesday as Michigan's new football coach was not an act.
"He is what you see," said Jon Hoke, an assistant coach with the Chicago Bears, who face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL divisional playoffs on Sunday. "What you see of him is what he is.
"He's going to have great passion for the University of Michigan. He loves that school."
Brady Hoke was born in Indiana and grew up in Ohio, but he was a fan of the Wolverines, not the Ohio State Buckeyes.
He spent eight seasons (1995-2002) as an assistant coach under Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr before moving on to become head coach at Ball State and then San Diego State.
"It started a long, long time ago," Jon Hoke said of Brady's love affair with the Wolverines.
"When he was a coach in the MAC (Mid-American Conference), coming up through the ranks, he used to work the Michigan camp. He'll do a great job. They got the right guy."
Jon Hoke said there was a period of anxiety about whether Brady would get the job, from the time Rich Rodriguez was fired until Brady was hired six days later.
"I was hopeful it would," Jon Hoke said. "I knew that he wanted it. I knew that was a job he really wanted and was passionate about. It's very rare in life that you get the job you always dreamed of.
"It couldn't have happened to a better guy."
Jon was asked what Michigan fans can expect to see from the Wolverines when they open the season against Western Michigan on Sept. 6.
"They'll see a team that plays hard," he said. "They'll be extremely disciplined. They'll be well prepared. And they will play with Michigan passion."
And regardless of record, what about in the last game, on Nov. 26 against Ohio State?
"They'll see the same thing they saw the first day," Jon Hoke said. "He'll be extremely consistent with his football team."
Jan. 13, 2011
