Brady Hoke has had more than three years to turn around the slumbering Michigan football program but instead he is reeling from a tsunami of criticism in Ann Arbor and Detroit. The Wolverines are 17-13 in Hoke’s last 30 games including 2-2 this season and the coach’s seat is warm.
The Wolverines and Gophers (3-1) open their Big Ten seasons on Saturday in Ann Arbor. Gophers’ followers might wonder if different circumstances could have placed Hoke on the Minnesota sideline tomorrow. In the fall of 2010 Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi had Hoke on his candidates list to replace Tim Brewster. The two met in San Diego about the Minnesota head coaching job.
Hoke confirmed the conversation with the Gophers in a November 23, 2010 online story by the San Diego Union-Tribune. He described the encounter as “informational” and acknowledged other schools with coaching vacancies had contacted his agent.
At the time Hoke was one of the promising head coaches in college football. He was leading San Diego State to what would be an impressive record of 9-4 in 2010. That year was Hoke’s second in San Diego where he had landed after coaching Ball State to a surprising 12-1 record in 2008 that drew national attention.
In the fall of 2010 Rich Rodriguez was on his way out as Michigan head coach. It’s speculated Hoke didn’t have much interest in the Gophers job because Michigan was his target. He was an assistant coach for the Wolverines from 1996-2002. He not only had “Big Blue” blood in his veins but knew Michigan is historically the winningest college football program in the country and resources in Ann Arbor are far greater than at Minnesota where the Gophers glory days haven’t been seen since the 1960s.
The problem, however, is the Wolverines results have been more like the Gophers under Hoke. While Hoke is four games over .500 in his last 30 games so too is Jerry Kill, the coach Maturi hired to replace Brewster after the 2010 season. Kill’s record is also 17-13.
Hoke was a diappointing 7-6 last season including a blowout bowl game loss to Kansas State. “It was a low energy program a year ago,” Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo said back in August.
This season hasn’t gone so well either. The Wolverines were humiliated in a nationally televised 31-0 loss at Notre Dame on September 6. Last Saturday was a dark day at Michigan Stadium for more reasons than a storm that caused play to be suspended for more than two hours. During the long day Utah embarrassed the Wolverines with a 26-10 win in front of more than 100,000 unhappy fans.
Last Sunday an online story from the Detroit News was headlined: “UM Collapse Puts Hoke in Dire Straits.” Writer Bob Wojnowski was hardly impressed with what he saw on Saturday.
“This is as low as it goes, at least so far. This is the stuff that gets a coach fired. Not now, not Monday, but Brady Hoke is on the clock, and it’s ticking ominously.
“It wasn’t just the 26-10 loss to Utah, a wet mess halted for two-and-a-half hours by rain and lightning. It was the horrific offense, the downfall of (quarterback) Devin Gardner and all the other ugly images. It was Hoke and defensive coordinator Greg Mattison yelling at each other late in the first half after Michigan was penalized for a sideline infraction, which Hoke later brushed off as a ‘discussion’ between competitors who have known each other for 30 years.
“Whatever it was, it looked like a staff feeling the rising heat. Hoke has to know his job is in jeopardy, and athletic director Dave Brandon’s previous stance of public support seems outdated now. Of course Hoke should finish out the season, and the 2-2 Wolverines should try to salvage something in the Big Ten, but it will take a stirring turnaround for him to recover from this. …”
The Gophers, who once considered Hoke a candidate to come here, have to be hoping any turnaround doesn’t start until at least October.