Hackett's Decision on Hoke if we Had Made a Bowl
Was doing some thinking during this slow news time frame about how the coaching search would have went if UM had made a meaningless bowl by beating Maryland. I think in the end this would have been a disaster IF Hoke had not been fired immediately after the regular season. Shades of the end of RR regime stalk my head in this regard. We keep a lame duck coach around to save some buyout money and that extra month that could have been devoted to landing JH instead was spent on Josh Groban and preparing to get slaughted by cow bells.
Obviously we have a very large singular target A and from all indications, the Harbaughs and Hoke are quite close (esp John). Hackett said he would not make a decision on Hoke until "after the season". He might have been very tactical in his choice of words - or he may have really meant it and his end of season was the bowl. If literal there seems no way Harbaugh would even sniff negotiations with UM until after Hoke was released which probably would have happened after a bowl in the next few days. At which point the 49ers season would be ending and we'd be in a free for all with NFL teams starting from ground zero. Again this is from reading between the lines and from guys like Henson who say Harbaugh would not speak to UM in any manner about coaching (even back channel, agents, etc) as long as Hoke was employed.
Instead we've had (insert # of weeks based on what reports you believe) all to ourselves with the coaching position open and hence no roadblock.
My other thought is in a parallel universe if we made a bowl, and Hackett wanting the big fish he might have used the vague language of "after the season" as an excuse to fire Hoke after OSU. If that is what it took to go after Jim, I think that would be the logical thing to do but as we've seen the last 7 years a lot of illogical things have happened. In that scenario you just promote Nuss to interim for a month and then everything else works out as it otherwise is doing.
Obviously none of us are privy to Hackett's thoughts but what is your opinion on what would have unfolded if we had made a bowl?
December 26th, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 2:38 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 12:45 PM ^
I really think the only way he kept his job was with a big ten title (or Dave Brandon doesn't get canned)
December 26th, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^
Oh yeah he was gone either way. But this was setting up as a repeat of 2010-2011. You keep your coach around for another month because "Michigan doesnt fire coaches in the season". You lose a meaningless bowl on Dec 28th. At that point you save $1M for waiting 3 days. So you cant begin talking to Jim until Jan 1. He is at that point already negotiating with 3 NFL teams etc etc.
Obviously Hackett is not Brandon so we don't know what he would have done in this scenario but any situation that did not include firing Hoke immediately after the regular season would have been very punitive in quest for Harbaugh.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^
that would make anyone think he doesn't understand how to conduct this coaching search? It seems very clear that even Schlissel was aware of the importance of the timeframe we're dealing with. Why are we still thinking they might not know what they want and how to go about getting it?
December 26th, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^
If Michigan made a meaningless bowl and fired him after the bowl, I think it would of been a rushed process. Most likely Harbaugh would of stayed in the NFL and we would of had to go to plan C candidates.
December 26th, 2014 at 12:48 PM ^
And make a meaningless bowl? We still would be annoucing Hoke's departure and Harbaugh's coming! The time of freaking out on this Blog would have just been shorter!
Hackett knew why he was brought in -- Bring JH HOME!
December 26th, 2014 at 12:48 PM ^
happened. What didn't happen, didn't.
In other words, Harbaugh.
December 26th, 2014 at 12:48 PM ^
It's an interesting counterfactual, but I doubt it would have been RRod redux. I think that Hoke would have been given his walking papers, but also given the opportunity to coach the team through the bowl game. That would have given the program more stability and eased the transition. Not to mention extra practices, etc. [Insert comment here about dubious value of extra practices with a staff not know for player development.]
Given Hoke's humility (not to mention his contract), I think he would have done the job. So boo for not making a bowl.
(But yeah - if the cost of making a bowl would be no coaching change, a grudging "yay".)
December 26th, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^
That would have been another good scenario. The only issue with that is the company line of "we don't fire coaches until after the season at Michigan". Of course the bowl season creates a gray area in terms of what the definition of a season is. In basketball terms it would be like firing your coach before the NIT tournament but letting him coach through the tournament - obviously there is a lot more time gap in football post season than basketball.
Many actually were hoping to see that scenario you wrote play out before the OSU or Maryland games.
December 26th, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^
From 30,000 feet, Schlissel/Hackett were looking at a $60 million annual football profit that's is largely spoken for in other fixed commitments but at great risk of decline.
A fleabag bowl game doesn't change that characterization one bit.
December 26th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^
so as to keep M fans distracted through the holidays.
From all I have seen, Hoke was a dead man walking after the Minnesota game and he was going to be gone no matter what. The wheels have been turning to get Harbaugh here since September.
Jim seemed to have a concern about the transition, as he didn't want to be seen as shoving his old friend aside to take his job. Not making a bowl made that part easier, but it would have been managed in some other way if they had.
December 26th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^
(no monkey rodeo; didn't read)
December 26th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 26th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^
...business in business and losing revenue/season tix not viable in AA.
Thus:
December 26th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^
he was gone after Utah or MN, so the bowl thing is a bit of a red herring. Before the beginning of the season I kept hearing the seat would get hot if they didn't win at least 7 or 8 games, with a win at either EL or Columbus. Then it kept getting ratcheted down to finally we were hearing these bowl eligible scenarios at 6-6 with losses to all our major rivals. In the end, the prospect of large sections of the stadium being empty next year, and the lack of development in the team, made his removal almost a certainty.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:03 PM ^
Exactly the scenarios you posit had gone through my mind, Gator Bowl and all. It just seemed best all around to not go to a bowl this season. Looks like that might turn out...
December 26th, 2014 at 1:26 PM ^
I haven't yelled, cursed or thrown anything in years and that is a problem. My family used to give me a wide berth on Saturday. Now kittens and puppies sit in my lap during the game. Apathy is worse than the losing.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:35 PM ^
I just sit there expecting the team to suck. I came into this season with a ton of hope, but it was pretty much all gone by halftime of ND. Can't wait for this to change.
December 26th, 2014 at 4:25 PM ^
to tie the game at 16 after a TD nullifying penalty on Norfleet's return and a roughing the kicker penalty turned a MD FG into a Terrapin TD. We should have been up 11, but instead, we were tied in the very early 4th quarter.
Interesting, I thought. I should have been pissed, but it just wasn't there.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:07 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 1:12 PM ^
That's why Brandon had to go. Nothing good would have come from a coaching transition had he stayed in. He was too loyal to Hoke and too limited in his vision of who the next coach should be. Bottom line though, neither Brandon nor Hoke would have survived a catastrophic decline in program revenues. It's just that had Schlissel not acted when he did, the tire fire could have gone into next year before getting addressed.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^
He would have been fired at the same time and coached the bowl game. It would have given us something else to talk about.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 26th, 2014 at 3:54 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 5:38 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 1:11 PM ^
I went into this season sort of thinking that this was going to be a "make or break" year for Hoke in that a decent performance kicks the can down the road a bit but a dismal performance would likely make this year his last. Like other people, I think his position became irrevocably untenable after the Minnesota game and subsequent performances made it very clear to me that, even if we managed 6-6 and a shitty bowl, that Hoke would not have survived it - the evidence of needed development and improvement simply was not there. I do agree that Hackett, in that scenario, probably would have removed Hoke officially but let him coach a bowl and continued showing the respect and dignity that has been shown to Hoke despite this.
In short, I think we'd still be at this point in some form.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:15 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 26th, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 1:20 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 2:36 PM ^
Well, since Brandon was fired in late October and Michigan beat Indiana and Northwestern to start November, I'd imagine Hackett knew that Hoke was gone after the Maryland game barring a stomping on the road of Ohio State which may have given him pause.
December 26th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^
I think Schlissel made it, probably after the Minnesota game. Schlissel explicity said that Hackett had the authority as an interim to fire the coach. He's careful with his words. He's not likely to undermine a coach like that if he might be coming back. I think Hackett's here instead of a permanent AD because he of his perceived ability to make a big time hire.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:27 PM ^
everything that transpired in its own way including failure to make a bowl. The only way that all things considered this could happen is the way it happened. It's HAPPENING for a reason. Because we willed it. The universe called and the stars aligned and people made choices and decisions were made, and now it's just happening.
You can't sweat the details when fate holds sway. You just acknowledge that whatever will be, will be, the future is not ours to see, Que Sera, Sera.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:58 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 1:29 PM ^
Losing to Maryland may have saved Michigan football from the abyss.
December 26th, 2014 at 1:48 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 2:00 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 1:53 PM ^
With Bandon gone he needed at least Ohio, and probably Maryland AND Ohio to have a shot at coming back. I don't think just Maryland and 6-6 would have done it.
December 26th, 2014 at 4:32 PM ^
"The PSU game saw the triumphant return of Devin Gardner and a stellar performance by Greg Mattison’s defense. Pessimistic predictions of a 3-9 or 4-8 campaign have faded as Michigan looks forward to three very winnable games with Indiana, Northwestern, and Maryland, while there are whispers of Sparty and Ohio suddenly being on upset alert."
You know, technically you were right!
One of my all time favorite paragraphs.
December 26th, 2014 at 4:53 PM ^
Technically correct? How about just plain old correct? They did finish with a better record than 3-9 or 4-8 and won the Indiana and Northwestern games. Ohio was competitve as well.
December 26th, 2014 at 4:51 PM ^
double post
December 26th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
December 26th, 2014 at 2:28 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 2:35 PM ^
The moon & stars have aligned: for Hoke to suck (which most of us saw coming before the season), for the 49ers to suck/have all of the turmoil (most did not see this), & Brandon getting shit-canned? No one could have seen all three of those happening.
None of the "would he or wouldn't he have been fired" crap matters. A 6-6 bowl appearance would have been very underwhelming for me.
December 26th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^
I don't think most people thought we would suck before the season.
December 26th, 2014 at 3:32 PM ^
December 26th, 2014 at 3:36 PM ^
Well, we had a veteran defense, a RS SR QB, the offensive line would not be nearly as young and a first round pick at WR.
I think if you go back to the predictions thread, you'll struggle to find many people predicting anything worse than 8-4.
December 26th, 2014 at 4:30 PM ^
outside of the away ND, MSU, & OSU games.
December 26th, 2014 at 3:04 PM ^
honestly, i think hackett was looking for every reason to keep hoke due to his extremely high character and other intangible things. even after the psu win, people were buzzing that hoke has things heading in the right direction. hell, even people were saying after we lost to maryland that if he beats osu he stays. but in the end, he just couldn't get it done.