The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/137378
administrator there and had a really good job," Borges began. "I had a couple opportunities come up. One was at Ole Miss, one at UCLA. I wanted to go back to UCLA but that didn't work, and by doing that I put off Ole Miss and it blew up on me, which was OK because if I didn't get a job I wanted, I was willing to take the year off. I was getting paid the last year of my contract, plus she was working and had a good job. "I knew I would get back into coaching and it was just a matter of when. I was decompressing for a year, crawling up the walls, and then I got a call from Brady's agent asking if I would be interested in working with him. I said, 'Where's the job?' but he couldn't tell me. "I was interested in working with Brady but I wanted to know where the job was. It turned out it was San Diego State. It's beautiful there and getting back to the West Coast … and I always thought that program as a sleeping giant. So that's how it all worked out for us." The Aztecs went 4-8 in 2009, but there was progress being made. A year later, they went 9-4 thanks in large part to an offense that ranked 16th nationally in total offense with 456.7 yards per game and 19th in scoring offense with 35.0 points per game. "The thing I appreciate about Brady is he gives you full autonomy, but he's an overseer," Borges said. "You get to run the offense. You're the captain, but Brady is going to inspect what he expects. There's going to be a philosophical agreement before you draw up a play. "We were on the same page at San Diego State, and we agreed to a few things before we came to Michigan, and that wasn't hard for me because it's my preferred strategy. We weren't going to be an up-tempo team because we wanted to improve our defense. We knew if we went too fast, the defense would suffer. "He wanted us to have a power offense even though we had to run some spread because of our quarterback. But that's what we wanted to be eventually." Working with Hoke the past five years, Borges has come to respect his friend and his boss even more, and he is hopeful he will stay put at Michigan for the duration of Hoke's career in Ann Arbor. "If I have my way, this will be the last job I ever have," Borges said. "You never know. But I don't really have any desire to coach in the NFL, though I did back in the 1990s. But what's better than this? Who is a better head coach? Where can you recruit better players? Where do you have a better fan following? I've coached at Auburn, UCLA — there's nothing better than here, and no head coach I'd rather work with." — Michael Spath Fred Jackson Running Backs Over the course of a few months in 199495, Fred Jackson and Brady Hoke, both assistant coaches at Michigan, worked in tandem to lure a 6-3, 245-pound defensive end from New Orleans out of the South. James Hall would decommit from Auburn and sign with the Wolverines. He occupied an integral role on the 1997 national championship defense, and became one of U-M's great pass rushers, currently ranking third in career sacks with 25. A recruiting lifer, Jackson always appreciated the zeal Hoke had for identifying and procuring top talent. "I remember going to Ohio with him, going to California — he sent me all over the place and I would go because I knew he had created a foundation, and if there was something I could do to finish the job, it was worth it because he had crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's," Jackson said. "Brady knows how to reach kids and the parents — he's extremely down to earth and personable and there's nothing fake about him — and that's why I've always been a successful recruiter. So we had that in common, and his energy for recruiting just drew me in." Though they would make a dynamic duo in Ann Arbor, the two began as adversaries on the recruiting trail. "He was recruiting for Western Michigan like he was recruiting for Michigan," said Jackson, who while at Wisconsin from 198286 found himself going head to head with Hoke for recruits the Broncos should have had no shot with. "That's when I knew he would be a hell of a recruiter, and he is. "His passion for recruiting was different than others you run into on the road. He wasn't recruiting MAC [Mid-American Conference] players; he was recruiting guys that could play in the Big Ten. Some coaches won't even try because they think there's a pecking order, but the fearless recruiters go after anyone because they believe in themselves and they believe in the school they're selling." Jackson landed at Michigan in 1992, and three years later the Wolverines hired Hoke away from Oregon State. Recruiting united them quickly, but they also enjoyed a little jawing in practice. "We'd be running drills or in scrimmage situations, and my backs would take a hit from one of his defensive linemen and he'd talk a little and I would shoot back at him," Jackson said, laughing. When Hoke left U-M to become the head coach at Ball State in 2003, Jackson remained in Ann Arbor. He always felt Hoke had it in him to be a great leader, and he even expected his friend to return to the sidelines with the Maize and Blue, but Jackson thought it likely he would be long gone by then. Jackson had survived coaching transitions before — from Gary Moeller to Lloyd Carr in 1995, and Carr to Rich Rodriguez in 2008. Yet, even with the past connection to Hoke, he couldn't be sure a job was his to be had. He visited with the Minnesota Vikings, spending time with All-Pro tailback Adrian Peterson, and made up his mind he would accept his first NFL post. Apparently, though, Hoke never considered anyone other than Jackson to be his running backs coach, and in his heart, Jackson wasn't ready to leave. Jackson has been at Michigan for more than two decades, and Hoke is the fourth different U-M head coach whose staff he has worked on. photo by lon horwedel "I wanted to work with Brady, and the other motivating factor for me was I didn't like how Michigan was at the time," he said. "During the majority of my career, we had been a Big Ten champion and a top-10 team, and I wanted to make sure that we got Michigan back to the powerhouse program that it should be. "I wanted to be here when it happened, and I knew Brady was the guy that could make that happen." Re-energized with the arrival of his friend and a return to a Michigan tradition that had been eroding away, Jackson has found himself putting in more hours at Schembechler Hall and with recruits. "He's a great football coach, a great person, and he works his tail off, and requires you to do the same thing," Jackson The Wolverine 2013 Football Preview ■ 47