Hoke predicts surprising season for Michigan, hints he got a raw deal

The first edition of Brady Hoke's new show on Sirius XM radio was not without its interesting nuggets. 

As recounted by the Detroit Free Press, the former Michigan coach told listeners he sees his successor, Jim Harbaugh, having a good team in Ann Arbor this fall -- thanks in part to the efforts of Hoke and his staff. 

"I know he's very comfortable there in Ann Arbor," Hoke said of Harbaugh, a former Wolverines quarterback. "It's a good staff he's assembled to put together and they're going to have a good year, a better year than people think. The recruiting our staff did really fits to the style of offense and style of defense. That's something that's going to help them. Jim's done a nice job at every spot he's been at, whether Stanford, University of San Diego or the 49ers."

While questions at quarterback and some of the skill positions have tempered some exceptions for the Wolverines, Hoke said, "I expect them to surprise some people this year." 

And if a good season for Michigan would not surprise Hoke, that might be because he figures it would merely be arriving on schedule. 

Asked what is a reasonable timetable for rebuilding a team, Hoke suggested five or six years. Of course, he only got four before being fired by Michigan. 

"You look at your team, you look at what you have philosophically you go out and start laying the foundation you start recruiting the kind of guys you need in the program, school-wise, academic-wise and the football end of it," said Hoke, who also referred to challenges such as changing offensive and defensive schemes and recruiting players to fit those schemes. 

Hoke was 31-20 as head coach of the Wolverines, who won 11 games in his first season but saw that total decline every successive season. 

(H/T Detroit Free Press)