Pretty much everyone believes that Michigan Wolverines coach Brady Hoke is a dead man walking. The 26-10 home loss to Utah made that sentence the conventional wisdom and yesterday’s embarrassing blowout at the hands of Minnesota at home has only strengthened this belief. Three sources in the media, including one who covers the team every day, told The Sports Bank last night that Brady Hoke could be fired within two weeks.
So there’s both national and local media sources saying it’s not if, but when.
They’re also asking the question “Will Brady Hoke still have his job next month?” instead of “will Brady Hoke still be in Ann Arbor after the season ends?” These same sources reported the firing of former Offensive Coordinator Al Borges weeks before he was terminated.
Hoke is doing his part to make the case to dismiss him overwhelming. You can start with the fact that Michigan “achieved” something that no team ever has in 135 years of Wolverine football. UM has three losses in a season before October. Then there’s the attendance:
I guess Michigan is more of a Pepsi state. RT @chengelis: Michigan Stadium almost 5 before kickoff pic.twitter.com/Rp1nTQYRBX
— Adam Kramer (@KegsnEggs) September 27, 2014
That’s the scene from yesterday, but it’s been trending downward for quite some time. Not to mention how much of a public relations hit the program took from the cola promotion. Also, Brady Hoke left his new starting QB in for a play after he was clearly hurt, and showing concussion like symptoms. How Hoke explained it in the presser after the game made him look even worse.
Moving on to speculation regarding his replacement, as we’ve pointed out, Jim Harbaugh’s name tops every list. We’ve also discussed how his bitter divorce from the San Francisco 49ers seems imminent.
Of course, Ann Arbor would hire their Michigan Man without hesitation. But is Harbaugh interested in taking over the Wolverines program?
Grantland has a must-read piece on this topic.
They posed the theory that established NFL coaches return to college for one of two reasons: a.) the more fun-loving and less professional atmosphere and b.) the reduced workload. You got to love their explanation.
Harbaugh could not give less of a shit about having fun, and he seems biologically incapable of rest. For him, the allure of college football is total control, just as it was with Nick Saban.
Conveniently, Michigan is in no position to play hardball. Harbaugh could easily obtain all the power he wants in his contract “negotiation,” plus an FBS-leading salary and an endless supply of pleated khakis. When the winningest program in college football history is giving away $150 tickets for $3 worth of Coke, certain sacrifices need to be made, one of which is not following up the hires of Rich Rodriguez and Hoke with, say, Cam Cameron.
Harbaugh may or may not be a long shot. We don’t know at this point. We do know, pretty much, that Brady Hoke is gone though.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and very often writes The Sports Bank.net,which is partners with Fox Sports. Read his features stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him on 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks). His work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets including The Washington Post and ESPN 2