Maybe Hoke took advice from Joe Dumars?

I'm in basketball mode. Offensive lines are for the birds.

Dude, it's February. This has been rehashed a million times both during and after the season. Football season is a long ways a way and things aren't going to change. The offensive line will be somewhere between awful and maybe not so terrible. Adapt and deal with it.

About time someone addressed this I've been thinking the same thing because in my opinion you could justify the o line coach being let go and keeping the oc. I sure would like to know how nuss feels about funk still being on the staff as well. If last seasons o line problems aren't enough warrant a pink slip I just don't know what is.

w/ that line.  Lost 5 games to 4 teams - Bama, ND, OSU and SC - two that played in the champtionship game and another 2 that finished in the top 8 of the final poll.  We lost to SC w/ something like 10 seconds left on the clock  Only other loss was to Nebraska when Denard went out.  If I'm Brady, 2013 by itself doesn't describe a trend.

"Even more curious is why tell the new OC he cannot have a say on staffing decision concerning the offense?" I hadn't heard or seen this. Where did you as I would like to read it. Truly asking not questioning you.

mainly resulted from inexperience, youth, and constantly being put in a position to fail (e.g., lots of reshuffling/no time to gel, a variety of different blocking schemes, etc). If that is indeed the case...I presume a decent argument for maintaining Funk can be made. Moreover, iirc Funk is an inside zone guy, and of course that was a (the?) staple blocking scheme at Alabama.

You don't have to worry about getting anyone fired. Rest assured Brady Hoke will not come on here, read this post, and based on your comments decide it's time to fire Funk.

As long as Michigan's offensive line gets out of the funk that was the past 2 years, the OLine coach should be safe.

This hasn't been discussed yet.

Just maybe, Hoke actually sees Funk in practice and likes the job he is doing.  The perception that other schools around the country deal with this level of inexperience is just not true, it almost never happens. 

Also, as noted above, I don't know of anywhere that says Nuss had no choice in his position coaches and quite frankly even if this was true it would not be unusual. 

One thing many forget is that most of these great OL recruits we got also almost all came with the caveat they would need some time to develp into their potential.  Kalis being the only exception.  Look at the depth chart, this team is crazy young.  Also remember that Funk did help Develop Lewan and Schofield into great tackles, both of which will probably play on Sundays.  Maybe that was a factor in keeping him around.

I know if i were Brady Hoke, I'd make sure I wouldn't read any of threads or comments on Mgoblog.com.  

......accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don't mess with Mister In-Between

You've got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium's
Liable to walk upon the scene

Personally, I do not understand why you end posts with "Thoughts". Obviously when you post a thread, you're doing so to illicit responses. Posting "Thoughts" at the end is just redundant in my opinion

I'm sure Nussmeier and Hoke have discussed the O-line and one thing I think that hurt Borges was that his play selection seemed to lack consistency

I still can't believe they gave me this job.



Da dum dum

I would trademark the term "Hokemania" and parlay it into a vitamin empire and wrestling/MMA guest appearances. Then I would donate all of the proceeds to CS Mott Children's Hospital. Finally, I would put on sleeves just to see what it looked like. Then I would realize my pythons can't be caged, and Hokemania would run wild and rip the sleeves off. 

He has to let Nuss make that call so that Nuss can be fully accountable for the offense. Nuss has to decide who his OL coach is going to be for the entire offense is successful. There is little doubt that Nuss has full authority over any of his offensive coaching changes and that Hoke would not likely overide them. That kind of management mistake would be akin to a head coach hiring a DC and then dictating what kind of defense to run when that DC believes in a different scheme.

It's believed that what Nuss and Funk are more in synce with each other from a blocking scheme/play calling standpoint.

Perhaps Brady Hoke recognized that Funk was put in the nearly impossible position of teaching very young offensive lineman multiple offensive concepts instead of one base set of plays. Last year the majority of Auburn's offense was 4 plays from the same formation. Their O lineman only had to learn to do 4 things well and they improved all season. UM changed offensive styles and formations frequently and the offense didn't improve consistently through the season.

My hope is that Hoke has a better handle on how to run the team than we do . If not, he will soon be gone.

I don't like the defense either. But for Oline and offense as a whole, big Al was just too creative. There is no way players, let alone new players, would be able to master that many things.

Do something right, do it repeatedly, do it with confidence and authority, then we will see better results.

sorry, I tried to break your post down into multiple sections,

and you just endured two consecutives season which by many accounts had the worst offensive line in Division 1 football how do you justify keeping the offensive line coach?

Because Hoke's been coaching for quite some time and generally know what the hell he's doing

"We all agree that the offensive as a whole did not perform to expectations. Most of the blame for the failure is because of the offensive line. Hoke has used inexperience and injuries as reasons for poor line play. I suppose in part this is true yet many Division 1 schools have succeeded despite inexperience and injuries. "

He's right. I won't let that get in the way.

"Hoke decided to replace the Borges with Nussmier which in my opinion is an excellent move though somewhat puzzling since Hoke has stated that the problems with the offense was youth and injuries. If true, why was Borges let go and Funk retained? Even more curious is why tell the new OC he cannot have a say on staffing decision concerning the offense? If you are Nussmier and know you are inheriting a less than average offensive line and you cannot do anything about it would be like performing brain surgery wearing a catchers mitt."

Who said they can't improve? Guess they shouldn't suit up in 2014.

"By what logic does Hoke keep and protect Funk? I am not trying to get anyone fired here but I am flummoxed by the reasoning of letting Borges go and keeping Funk."

Because there's more to an offense than just an OL.

Not much that Hoke does seems to be rooted in logic. Like...

*Wasting Shane's redshirt.

*Potentially doing more than he already has to hurt his starting QBs confidence headed into the "season of truth" by saying out loud (while his QB is still healing) that he's in a fight for his job, whether that's true or not.

*After moving him to WR for almost a whole year in favor of a 6'0" QB who can't throw.

* And crippling said 6 foot QB who can't throw's future by failing to prepare him at all (aside from the Iowa and bowl game) for a position that the entire knowing football world could see that he would play in the league. Or one similar to it, ie WR.

*Blowing our chances at a B1G title game appearance in '12 by not praciticng Devin at QB at all prior to Lace going down in the Nebraska game. Instead Bellomy came in. And predictably shit the bed.

I sure hope Nuss can come in and do the job at a very high level right away, because I have zero confidence in Hoke as a motivator (maximizing a player's potential), time manager, and football tactician. To give the guy the benefit of the doubt, the jury is still deliberating on his leadership skills, and he seems like a really nice guy. But logic? Not so much.

Perhaps what Brady Hoke told Coach Nuss was that he could not come in and restaff the offensive coaches . . . . .

 until he had spent at least one season getting to know them and evaluate them.

Lol! Confused would've fit better. From what I gathered is Funk's blocking scheme goes well with Nussmeier's offensive scheme.

"If you are Nussmier and know you are inheriting a less than average offensive line and you cannot do anything about it would be like performing brain surgery wearing a catchers mitt."

This is not necessarily true, however, and indeed there are several examples - Nussmeier himself being one of them, as I recall - of being inserted into a role with no other personnel changes and having those same assistants and the same players performing much better with different schemes.

It seems to me that this is the thinking here - when we sat here during the fall and mulled over the statement that the offense "lacked identity", it seemed fairly clear that the identity has to come from the OC and their system. If that is not happening, then it seems like it would be difficult for someone like Funk in his position to fully overcome it, especially with a lot of players who just got here basically and are having elements of multiple schemes thrown at them to learn. Bring in someone who can develop a more coherent, simpler scheme and I can foresee a scenario where Funk, his coaching and the players he deals with almost daily look a lot better. 

Obviously Hoke doesn't think Funk is the problem, we shall see soon enough.

There are a lot of assumptions in your post that I am quite certain you do not have personal knowledge of whether or not they are true.

by placing "I am flummoxed" at the top and letting it stand alone.

I assume Hoke is keeping Funk because he thinks he can get the job done and didn't have similar confidence in Borges. Your assumption that Nussmeier will have no say in matters related to the OL is certainly way off base. Nussmeier is the offensive coordinator. He will call the plays as well as design plays and offensive schemes that directly impact what the OL does and how they do it. Funk will be expected to contour his teaching wihin that framework. And after the performance of the OL last year I assume Funk will be more than willing to listen to new ideas.

You either have not read the front page in six months or you are choosing to ignore the documented fact that Borges was constantly switching up the blocking schemes and they were shuffling guys around like it's a baseball lineup, and this could very well be the foundational cause of their inconsistencies.

I personally would like to see Funk gone, but I'm not adverse to playing devil's advocate on the subject:

The goal of the offensive line coach is to help develop the line by shoring up the linemen's blocking fundamentals and advanced techniques, help improve their overall football knowledge and get them to effectively block in the team's offensive scheme. Clearly this past year's OL group did not block sufficiently...in this particular offensive scheme. Maybe Hoke believes the group's base knowledge and skill improved enough over the course of the season, even if it didn't translate on the field. Maybe he believes the combination of our players skillsets and Funk's coaching style better fit with what Nuss is bringing to the table.

Then again, maybe Hoke is just irrationally attached to Funk and/or places the linemen's morale over bringing in someone who would possibly be more effective.

It's real simple.  If we lose a bunch of game in '14, replacing an O-line coach may be part of something larger. 

I like Hoke, but I am wondering if he has gone as far as he can as a coach. That's not a knock on him, as we all have our limits, but he may have reached as far as he can go. I appreciate family values and "This is Michigan" but that only takes you so far. He needs to start winning some games  against the teams that matter in the B1G.

Who knows, maybe Nuss wanted Funk retained.  It's impossible to say whether another OL coach could have come in and teach inexperienced guards to the point where they could make strides during the season.  

If was Brady Hoke I would not listen to moronic message board posters. Maybe that is just me.

Taylor Lewan spoke highly of Funk.

I am not trying to get anyone fired here..."

WTF? Do you not see the ridiculously vast contradiction in the two sentences you've written?

You're trying to have it both ways. Either you think Funk should be let go, or you don't. Choose one.

Please ban the OP

Just a wild guess, but maybe he thought Borgess was not doing a very good job, and that he could substatially upgrade the position. And maybe he thinks Funk is doing a good job and/or he cannot substantial upgrade the position.

1) I'd practice my public speaking

2) I'd find Urban's phone number and send him naught pics

3)

4) Profit

Goddamn it, you morons already got your sacrifical lamb in Borges. Wait till Nussemier installs his zone blocking scheme and the OL comes back onto the field with some seasoning under their young belts.

IMO Borges failed to find the ONE THING (See Billy Chrystal, et al) this offense could do well,  so he tried several things and had nothing.  I really saw that when we went for the exoctic 2-point conversion in the bowl game (successful) on a highly creative, complex play that, obviously, the offense had practiced to perfection.  IIRC, the commentators were all agog on that one.  Here's the problem:  when the heck did he have time to set that up when the whole damn house of cards was a burning train wreck?  Yeah i just metaphored the shizzle out of that.  Too much focus on the minor and not nearly enough on the major.  Get a running game the Oline can handle before you send out your quadrupple tight-end reverse screen!  Whew, i feel better, been holding that bitter pill since December 28th.

This is what you call beating a dead horse.

Blog posts usually don't lead to that...

Im going to down vote you or give you negative points or whatever because im 16 years old and I guess that shits important and then im going to say constructive criticism is not allowed on here, and if you dont believe me then look at the very important comments people leave about my post. 

You people. 

Funk has coached NFL talent. Offensive linemen don't become first round picks overnight. Yes, youth is an issue. Inexperience is an issue. But Molk, Lewan, and Schofield aren't good just because they stepped onto the field. They got coached. Let's see what happens this year.



As for Borges, if any head coach is willing to bash their offensive coordinator mid season, that shows a lack of respect, commitment, and is very divisive. I wouldn't think that head coach should even be a head coach if he is willing to throw his OC under the bus like that mid-season. That's not fair to the players, the coaches, the athletic department, the students, and the fans. Borges got his chance and Hoke decided he wasn't the best fit for the program after Borges put together a body of work that proved it.

If I was the head coach at Michigan, I'll tell you what I'd do. Two chicks at the same time, man.

I would order a pizza, call up John to bring the subs and allow shit to get crazy.

terrible thread title, you can do better than that 

Now STFU.

Hoke is everyone's best friend. He is very good friends with his entire staff, and moreso with Funk. Sometimes I think his loyalty is a hinderance.

A "Fire Funk" post on MGoBlog is being downvoted 4-39 and people are defending Funk. Is today Upside Down Day? Should I wear my pajamas to work and eat my dinner for  breakfast?

Borges was responsible for OL and not Funk

A program cannot be built quickly without stability. I believe Hoke is trying to keep most of the coaching staff, because he doesn't want so many different coaches. Cam Gordon made it public that it was hard because he has had 7 different position coaches. Also, I don't know many teams in the top 25 that had extremely young offensive lines with no leader. Lewan was a great player, but we can tell from this rape incident he is in no way a team leader.

Recall how Nebraska's defense said they could tell the plays Michigan was going to run...

Recall how many times we tried to jam it up into a loaded box...

Recall how the bubble screen as a solution to defensive aggressiveness was laughed off...

It was pretty obvious we didn't have the OL in '13 to actually run teams over.  So when we did run (and I think there were some cues...I can't tell what specifically, but I bet Mattison could figure it out) it was a numerical mismatch.

Bubble screens as a solution were laughed off.  I saw some lightning slants but those were rarely caught...the timing has to be too perfect imho.  Chesson never really got any deep balls thrown at him.

I think this fits with the "no identity" as there was really none to speak of.  It was serviceable, but it lacked balance, or otherwise said, the play variety to keep the defense off-balance and guessing.  Ohio seemed to be sort of a turning point, but that was a little too late.

Trying to ignite the torches and ferret out Funk doesn't seem to be the right idea....yet.  Lets see what Nuss can do, I bet its going to be greater than the season prior.

And if Hoke thinks a change would help, then my guess is he will do it.