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Coaches will always be remembered by how many football games they've won. Hoke will certainly be remembered in Ann Arbor as a solid football coach, leading Michigan to streak-ending victories of Michigan State and Ohio State while assembling an extremely talented roster. He'll be remembered for being one hell of a guy, too.
Look around the country and try to find a more likeable coach than Brady Hoke. Sure, you'll find quite a few thinner coaches who don't suffer from countless cheap, unintelligent fat jokes, but you probably won't find someone who is as easy to like.
But don't take my word for it. Instead, ask Troy Reed, father of cancer patient Grant Reed:
"It's getting hard to keep my dislike for them, because they've been so classy and unbelievable to us," said Troy, who played in the OSU marching band along with his wife, Denise.
Grant was suffering from cancer, something no one could ever wish on a young child. Being the son of two Ohio State Buckeyes naturally turned him into a diehard Ohio State fan, and he eventually used his hate for Michigan to beat his brain tumor – a tumor that he had named "Michigan".
Brady Hoke, the leader of this young man's sworn enemy, loved the young man's fighting spirit, reaching out to him and his family by offering up tickets to this year's contest with Michigan in Ann Arbor. Grant and Hoke still hold the occasional phone conversation, and something tells me Grant won't be forgetting them any time soon.
This wasn't the first time Hoke reached out to young individuals suffering from terrible illnesses. Hoke makes annual visits with current and former players to the C.S. Mott Children's hospital in Ann Arbor, and the money raised at the annual Michigan spring game is give to the hospital as well.
The charity doesn't have to stop there. You can help Hoke give a $50,000 gift to the charity of his choice by voting for him as Liberty Mutual's Coach of the Year. You'll be hard-pressed to find a coach like Hoke who works just as hard giving back as he does winning games on the field.