It's rare for a coach to have to interact with his predecessor (and vice versa), but yesterday during CBS Sports Network's live recruiting coverage that very awkward moment happened for former Michigan coach Brady Hoke and Jim Harbaugh. Hoke was in studio with CBS as an analyst — and was actually pretty good — as they discussed National Signing Day. CBS had an interview set up over the phone with Jim Harbaugh — who took the Michigan job after Hoke was fired — and had Hoke talking with Harbaugh over the phone.
The two were very friendly and cordial, but it felt incredibly forced and awkward for everyone involved, including the viewer. Harbaugh complimented Hoke multiple times on the state of the Michigan program and how everything there is in good shape, while Hoke sat there trying to figure out the appropriate way to respond to those compliments. They joked about Hoke doing the heavy lifting in the recruiting class, and even talked about a kicker who was also a really good baseball player. The interview lasted about five minutes, and the entire thing (which you can watch above) is incredibly strange.
The weirdest part of all of this is that it's the second straight time this has happened with Michigan coaches on CBS! When Rich Rodriguez was fired from Michigan and Hoke took the job, the roles were reversed and it was Rodriguez in studio interviewing Hoke and it was just as awkward.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7zhw5rqfJw%5D
