Brady Hoke
From 1997-2002, Brady Hoke was an assistant coach for the University of Michigan Wolverines football program and during his first year there he saw the school win the national championship. After going 15-22 in three seasons under head football coach Rich Rodriguez, Michigan hired Hoke in 2011 to restore pride to the maize and blue. In Hoke’s first season in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines went 11-2 and they were able to knock off their key rival Ohio State. But since then the magic has faded for Hoke at Michigan. In the past two seasons under Hoke, the Wolverines are just 13-11. Michigan began this season unranked and they currently find themselves with a record of 2-2. Michigan’s annual rivalry game with the Norte Dame Fighting Irish features the two winningest programs in college football history. But the Irish have decided to put the brakes on the rivalry with Michigan which made this year’s showdown the last contest between the schools for awhile. And on September 6, the Irish took the Wolverines behind the woodshed as they knocked them off 31-0. Things went from bad to worse this past Saturday when the Wolverines lost at home to Utah 26-10. Now the Wolverines must get set for Big Ten Conference play and being that Hoke has not instilled a ton of confidence in the Ann Arbor faithful this year, they are looking for blood.
Under Rodriguez, Michigan only had one winning season. Hoke was supposed to be the guy that would restore Michigan’s winning ways being that he was former assistant there and he understood the school’s proud football tradition. But Hoke had his best season at Michigan in 2011 with Rodriguez’s guys. Hoke now has three recruiting classes under his belt and the results have simply not been there.
This season Michigan is 8th in the nation in total defense, but they are only 81st in total offense. When Hoke first arrived at Michigan he made adjustments to his pro-style offense in favor of variations of the spread offense that would favor former quarterback Denard Robinson. Since 2013 senior quarterback Devin Gardner has been running the show under center for the Wolverines in Hoke’s pro-style offense, but as a whole the offense has been stagnant. Former Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges was seen as the problem and after three years he was let go and replaced this year by Doug Nussmeier. But the problems are still there on offense as in Michigan’s two losses this season they have only managed to score 10 points.
It isn’t helping Hoke situation in Ann Arbor either that under him Michigan is a combined 2-4 against Michigan State and Ohio State. Last season saw Michigan State and Ohio State meet for the Big Ten Championship with Michigan State advancing to and winning the Rose Bowl. Under Hoke, Michigan has struggled against Michigan State and Ohio State and now in the expanded Big Ten Conference, the Wolverines are in the same division as their two fiercest rivals which will make it even tougher for the Wolverines to win the conference. What has made matters worse is that Michigan State has taken Michigan’s place at the top of the Big Ten as far as being the fiercest competition for Ohio State as the Wolverines are simply becoming an afterthought. Now entering Big Ten play, Hoke will be coaching for his job at Michigan. The Wolverines were not expected to win the Big Ten this season and once you factor in their offensive struggles, the conference schedule looks real tough.
Michigan will begin conference play this Saturday against an improved Minnesota squad. Michigan’s game against Minnesota is just the beginning of a stretch in Big Ten play that includes games against Rutgers, Penn State, Michigan State, and Ohio State. Sandwiched in between those games for Michigan is a contest against Indiana who just picked up a huge road win last Saturday against Missouri out of the Southeastern Conference. This Saturday the fans at Michigan Stadium will be on pins and needles and if the Wolverines get off to a slow start you can expect to hear the boo birds around the Big House for Hoke. Three years ago Hoke was the best thing since sliced bread in Ann Arbor. But being the head football coach at Michigan is all about producing winning results. Michigan’s facilities in Ann Arbor are second to none in the nation so there shouldn’t be a struggle for Hoke to get the top high school players in the nation to put on the maize and blue. But if the non-conference season is any reflection of what Michigan’s season will be 2014, then Hoke might as well call Mayflower Transit to get him out of town before the fans in Ann Arbor break out the torches and pitchforks.
Source: Cfbstats.com
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