The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/137378
success as a head coach at two other schools and now here at Michigan, the formula works. He has a lot of endearing qualities. You can't act it — you either have it or you don't. "The easiest way to put it is, he's just a very genuine person. People are attracted to genuine people." — John Borton Jeff Hecklinski Wide Receivers Sometimes the coaching life takes twists and turns stranger than an offensive lineman attempting to do an end zone dance. Jeff Hecklinski swears to it, with an amazed chuckle and a story to tell. Hecklinski got to know U-M head coach Brady Hoke by working the Michigan football camp down through the years. Mike Deal, the father of Hecklinski's wife, Tiffany, served as former Michigan coach Stan Parrish's offensive coordinator when Parrish was head coach at Wabash, Marshall and Kansas State. Tiffany's uncle also worked as offensive line coach at Rutgers when Parrish labored there as an assistant. "Stan and his wife, Ruth, are the godparents to our middle son, Mikey," Hecklinski noted. "There is obviously a very strong tie. When Stan and Brady were here together, Stan was quarterback coach and then became the offensive coordinator. Brady was the defensive line coach and then became the associate head coach. "For whatever reason, Coach [Hoke] and I hit it off. I like football, I like to work, I'd work all the Air Force football games, whatever was needed. I like being around the game and around the kids. We just stayed in touch." When Hoke got his first head coaching job, at Ball State, he invited Hecklinski on board. The new hire served a full month as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator in Muncie, Ind., before a tempting offer arose. By this time, Deal was working as offensive coordinator at Arizona, and head coach John Mackovic invited Hecklinski to join the staff. Ball State's newest coach had a tough decision to make. "There were some things going on there, but it was an opportunity for me to go work with my father-in-law, an opportunity for my wife," Hecklinski said. "We knew it was a high-risk job at the time. "I went in, sat down, talked to Coach, and we laid out everything. He was very patient with me through it. Some coaches would say, 'Get out.' He was very patient, which I really appreciated. Both he and Laura were very patient with Tiffany and I through that." So the Hecklinskis headed for the desert, and opportunity dried up in a hurry. Four games in, Mackovic got fired. In some ways, the experience proved valuable. It gave Hecklinski great insight into the business side of college football, and how it affects families involved. After serving out the season sans a head coach, though, there remained the small matter of employment necessity. That's where it really gets interesting. "I actually called Coach," Hecklinski recalled. "You talk about everything coming full circle. I'd called Coach one of those mornings in early December." Hecklinski asked Hoke to put in the good word for him regarding a job opening he'd heard about in the Midwest. Hoke noted it had already been filled, but that he knew of another. "Brady said, 'What I can tell you is, I have grateful for that, I can tell you that." Hecklinski laughed heartily, then turned serious. His daughter Riley was 4 when they returned to Ball State. Son Michael was less than 1 month old, and son J.R. still to come. They look at Brady and Laura Hoke as family, Hecklinski noted, having known no other head coach associated with their dad. When Hoke headed to San Diego State, they followed. When Michigan came calling, they came back to the Midwest. Tiffany Hecklinski has battled and beaten cancer just in their short stint in Ann Arbor. All along the way, the relationship with the head coach and his wife has grown. "I can tell you, being with him for 10 seasons, the best decisions we have made have been because of everything we've learned from him and from Laura," Hecklinski said. Hecklinski first got to know Hoke by working the Michigan football camp, and he was also part of the staff at Ball State and San Diego State. photo by per kjeldsen a receiver job open. Would you be interested in coming back to Ball State?' I said, 'Yes, in a heartbeat. Please.'" Of course, Hoke gave the prodigal son a good-natured hard time. "In the way only Coach can, and I say that with a smile on my face — he'll know what I'm talking about if he reads it, because he'll start laughing — he made things very clear through the whole process about me coming back to Ball State," Hecklinski said. "We talk about it all the time. "If this gets into the interview, Laura — yes, we did leave you once. We really appreciate you hiring us back. We're very "We've been fortunate enough that he's asked us to come each step of the way. Kids play hard because they trust their coach, because they believe in their coach. Coaches coach and recruit hard because they believe in their head coach, and they trust in their head coach. "I can tell you unequivocally, without a doubt, my full trust and belief is in him, and how we work. What we've been through, he and Laura have helped us through things in our lives that … I can't express it in words, what he and Laura mean to our family. The fact that I don't have words hopefully speaks to what he means." — John Borton The Wolverine 2013 Football Preview ■ 45