R-Rod completely tore the foundation down which led to some struggles. Hoke inherited a GREAT situation as Michigan was about to reap the rewards of R-Rod's rebuild (which was always going to be a 3-4 year fix and they shouldn't have hired him if they didn't want to give him the time).

Hoke was a terrible hire who caught lightning in a bottle at Ball State after an unspectacular first 6 years or so. He (smartly) moved on to SDSU which was primed for success when he got there and Michigan hired him before anyone could see how he did sustaining their success.

Michigan eroded under his leadership.