CoverZero

September 29th, 2014 at 3:52 AM ^

That is a well-written commentary by the Daily and they are absolutely spot-on.  Good on the students for demanding the firing of Hoke. 

Hoke lost me for good with this one.  I have long suspected that he was not as "nice" as his carefully crafted "aw shucks" personna has attempted to have us believe.  I wanted to give him the benefit of a doubt, but his actions always contradict his words and Ive had enough of that, its judgement time.

The man is ruthless and self-centered, in addition to being myopic with his viewpoint of what is 'right' and what is 'wrong'.  I liken him to some ill-conceived preacher on a pulpit spewing his message to his supports, while consistently acting in direct conflict of what comes out of his mouth.  You dont climb the ladder to a $4million plus "dream job" with paper-thin accomplishments to back it up, without knowing a thing or two about putting on a facade and manipulating the system.

Sure...Hoke is not screwing coeds or student manages (like other coaches out there) and as far as we know, he "recruits clean"....but his BS message bout his "115 sons" has time-and-time again been exposed.  He doesnt give a crap about them as people, and their individual well-being.  Yes he will tell you that he does, but when you see him repeatedly put his players in danger on the field (Gardner, Funchess...now Shane) you have to wonder what the man really is like inside, what/who does Brady Hoke care about??

His statements in the press conference and tonight show you what the man is truly about.  Win or lose, this guy and his type just turn my stomach. 

MichiganStudent

September 29th, 2014 at 4:09 AM ^

Woah there. Brady is neither an angel nor a devil. I think he truly does care about the kids, however, he's made some mistakes. He's human, but he's also going to be held accountable for his actions (or inactions).

CoverZero

September 29th, 2014 at 4:15 AM ^

2 visions stick with me: One of wobbly Shane, almost falling then being held up by Ben Braden... then waiving off the sideline because he knows that he doesnt want to be thought of as a coward and quit.  The kid is a competitor and wont quit.

The second vision is when they put Shane back in the game, the Referee recognized that the situation was not right.   He looked at Hoke and asked if the coach wanted a time out to get the situation under control and put Devin back in the game.  Hoke clearly refused and said "lets go roll it" and motioned for the clock to roll.

Hoke prostituted that kid's fighting spirit, and risked his health for what benefit??

I say there is plenty of Devil there.  Im just calling what I saw, and have seen.  I hate bringing up the RR past for comparison, however Hoke's actions on Saturday (and in the ND game) are 1000000x worse than anything RR was ever criticised for and eventually fired for.  We are talking lives here.  Plenty of college football and pro players suffer the effects long after their playing careers are over.  Meanwhile Hoke retires on his $20 million or whatever its up to now.  Sick man, just sick.

Firstbase

September 29th, 2014 at 7:08 AM ^

...I find it fascinating that our culture demands instantaneous accountability from our coaches and yet our politicians, celebrities and even athletes are often issued "get out of jail free" cards. 

I've always felt Hoke was an example of the Peter Principle and he best belongs in the more suitable role of a position coach. Certainly the University can't believe that he personifies the "leaders and best" credo.

This thing has gone viral. Even Warner Wolf on Imus' CATV show this morning featured a short segment on Hoke with the assessment that "he's gotta go."

Just wow. 

Think of the recruiting ramifications.

FormerlyBigBlue71

September 29th, 2014 at 6:58 AM ^

Brady Hoke should be fired because he is a terrible football coach.  What happened on the field with Morris was probably just a misunderstanding or mistake.  Football is a tough guy sport.  People play through horrendous injuries all the time.  Morris himself waived his hands saying he was fine and could play. It was not 100% clear he had a concussion. But to start calling Brady Hoke ruthless and self-centered makes me question your character.  You do not know this man.  You don't see how he treats the people around him on a daily basis.  People are trying to act holier than thou and use this as the final excuse why he "must be fired".  Bullshit, he is a terrible fucking football coach.  He should have been fired last year because of that.

Blue in Yarmouth

September 29th, 2014 at 9:48 AM ^

That it was a misunderstanding or a mistake. I would never believe that BH would intentionally put a person health at risk. The problem is the mistake (potentially) happened and that's his fault. As the coach you have to know these things, you can't guess or assume. If there is doubt you err of the side of caution and get the player out. Hell, for me it would just have been a good excuse to get Shane out of the game, he was playing terrible anyway. The fact that (at least it appears to me) no assessment took place to determine whether SM had a concussion or not is an indictment on this coaching staff. The fact that they didn't just come out and say right away that "we should have done so but weren't aware that a concussion was even a possibility" makes everything they have said since seem like a cover-up. 

1931

September 29th, 2014 at 10:13 AM ^

have known better. The entire stadium and everyone watching the game on TV knew that Morris was injured. I mean EVERYONE. Even the announcers were talking about how disgusting it was that Shane was still in the game. So that begs the question, either Hoke is extremely dumb and incompetent or he's beyond self-centered and doesn't care for the kids at all. Personally, I feel like it's a mix of the two, but either way, Hoke has to go

LSA Aught One

September 29th, 2014 at 8:44 AM ^

I upvoted both, because I feel that people are looking for any possible loose string they can pull to unravel Hoke.  I agree that his coaching has been sub-par and that he needs to be replaced.  I don't know that jumping on something like this is the answer.  Should Shane have been pulled?  Sure.  Is it a fireable offense? Not if you look at the precedent set since the rule was enacted.  Are we trying to make ourselves feel better about the team by demanding that Hoke be replaced so we can say that at least some action was taken to right the ship?  Yup.  Is this the right action?  Nope.  Would it be better to let him finish the season while actively/discreetly pursuing other candidates? Yup.

steve sharik

September 29th, 2014 at 9:12 AM ^

Do you know the man?  Have you even met him?  If not, shut the hell up with your personal judgments.

It's one thing to say that what happened Saturday seemed ruthless and self-centered, but to define the man's character as such is ignorant and inappropriate.  Shame on you.

I've talked to people who have played for and coached with him.  Their beliefs on his character completely contradict your wild character assassination.  So, please, share how well you know this man.  Again, if you don't know him, shut the hell up.

In case all of you haven't noticed, opining on things with zero knowledge is one of my pet peeves. And when it comes to judging people, it goes through the roof.

KBLOW

September 29th, 2014 at 9:18 AM ^

Weren't a ton of folks just as upset that Hoke wasn't ruthless or self centered enough to be a top coach? Now it's a trait that ought to get him fired? He should go b/c he isn't good enough at his job. Shane stayed in due to cluelessness not anything else.

ituralde

September 29th, 2014 at 10:21 AM ^

I'm not sure I buy that he's evil. 

 

I think he's just somewhat incompetent and not fully firm on what his responsibilities need to be as a coach.  I think he has some severely misguided views and priorities.  

 

I think what he said was 100% accurate - that he wasn't immediately aware of the situation with Shane Morris.  I think he's that incompetent and that disconnected.  He doesn't realize that snap decisions like this are why a Head Coach in a major college program needs a goddamn headset.  There's a quick decision process that I think is not properly established with this team, and in this instance, it reared its head in its ugliest way.  

 

Don't get me wrong, this is still a fireable offense, I'm just not sure I buy they he's deliberately evil. 

Tater

September 29th, 2014 at 4:04 AM ^

What is now being called the "Morris incident" is giving everyone a scapegoat for the sad performance of this year's team.  But they should really direct their anger toward David Brandon.  

Since it is Hoke who is having to pay for Brandon's meddling, they would actually be doing him a favor by firing him now. I hope Brady Hoke gets every penny remaining on his contract.  That might not be a bad idea.  Let Hoke be paid for doing nothing and see how long before the right person finally gets blamed for the dismantling of one of the proudest football programs in NCAA history.

AnthonyThomas

September 29th, 2014 at 4:08 AM ^

Everyone's just as pissed at Brandon. That's been obvious. They both absolutely have to go or the football program will continue on whatever fucking path it's on. I would say the program would continue to sink but I can't even imagine what's worse than this.

Hold me, TomVH

CoverZero

September 29th, 2014 at 4:09 AM ^

Tater, I know what you are saying...however one step at a time.  Both men have failed Michigan.  Take it one step at a time.  Hoke is directly responsible for the health of the players, he had the power to stop what happened and he did not.  He was not man enough to step up and take responsibility for the mistake in the press conference, nor Sunday night in the statement.  That is scary and alarming that he sees nothing that was done wrong.

Brandon is a whole other story, a whole other monster that has to be taken down another way...though this Hoke situation will certainly play in to it.  Be patient.

Bando Calrissian

September 29th, 2014 at 8:27 AM ^

The thing is, for three quarters before this incident, the students were consistently starting Fire Brandon chants. I mean, how often does a student section lead cheers against the athletic director?

The anger is out there and in the right places. I don't think you're going to find very many people who want Hoke gone who don't also want DB gone as well. Especially considering the Athletic Department's role in helping Brady double down on this incident. The whole thing is a mess.

CoverZero

September 29th, 2014 at 4:28 AM ^

Just watched the clip (again) of DG getting blown up by ND with the score 31-0.

Hoke's reckless disregard for his own player safety has now been documented at least twice on tape.  These events will be his downfall, his "Charlie Bauman".

Brady Hoke may never be a Head Coach again, after this all shakes out.  What college program would risk the liability of hiring this man?

snarling wolverine

September 29th, 2014 at 6:57 AM ^

I think you're going a little overboard here.  Simply playing a guy when a game is out of reach does not necessarily constitute "disregard for player safety" - or it if does, lots and lots of coaches are guilty of it.  How many times do starters play into the 4th quarter of a blowout win?

I think he's a good man overall but had a horrific brain fart at the time and doesn't know now how to own up to it.  (It's also possible he's being coached now to avoid mention of concussions.)

 

dnak438

September 29th, 2014 at 8:31 AM ^

...in 2004 at Ball State (LINK):

Ball State reprimanded two coaches after a football player suffered frostbite during a disciplinary workout in subzero temperatures. Ball State's athletic director issued letters of reprimand to head coach Brady Hoke and football strength and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman after the workout, associate athletics director Joe Hernandez said Friday. Redshirt freshman receiver Chris Jackson suffered frostbite to several fingers during the 40-minute workout Jan. 31, Hernandez said. Jackson recovered following medical treatment and has returned to workouts. During the Jan. 31 workout, Jackson and several teammates carried a 25-pound sandbag up and down steps at the school's stadium, athletic director Bubba Cunningham said. Cunningham said that the disciplinary workout used was acceptable, but not in severe weather conditions.Jackson's injuries and the resulting reprimands were first reported Friday in The Star Press.Hoke and Wellman could not be reached for comment. The Associated Press left phone messages Friday at the Ball State offices of the coaches. There are no home phone listings for each coach in Muncie. ``I have met with the coaching staff about appropriate judgments regarding training and conditioning,'' Cunningham said. ``We've talked about appropriate guidelines and expectations of the staff, and we will follow through on that.''The workout, which began about 6 a.m., was conducted on one of the coldest days of the winter. The temperature at the start of the workout was 7 degrees below zero and the wind chill was minus-12, said David Arnold, an associate professor of geography who monitors local weather.

 

UMDWolve

September 29th, 2014 at 4:31 AM ^

Brady Hoke is our Marty Mornhinweg while Dave Brandon is our Matt Millen.

 

They both need to be shown the door and replaced with a competent staff.

 

Please shoot me for comparing the team we all love to the Lions.

hazardc

September 29th, 2014 at 4:44 AM ^

About the Morris incident... How many of these has Devin taken since Hoke took over the reigns in Ann Arbor?  Yes, I took this pic from my other thread and posted it in here -- but  this game was 31-0 ...  Ever wonder why DG gets worse every year? Ever wonder why he goes from looking brilliant to like a dog that flinches when you move your arm?  Anyone have a count of how many times he's been hit at least this hard?  Why is he even in the game at this point?  

Did anyone really think Morris could fix this? Did they think he was less fragile than the guy getting blasted below who has taken dozens of those same hits? 

Hoke trying to save his own ass from being the first michigan coach in 30 years to not put a single point on the board. He already knew his job was gone when the few running records we have left start falling.  This is also about the exact same time funchess was injured. A time when there was no reason to take huge chances. 

 

To the people saying this whole shane thing is just a red meat topic for people who already want hoke fired. Maybe you're right, but maybe it's just because I've been watching this disregard for player safety go on for too fucking long. This is what happened to Denard after Hoke came into town as well. 

enlightenedbum

September 29th, 2014 at 5:09 AM ^

I think the sense in which this post is right is that given what's been going on, this kind of event seems almost inevitable.  To the best of our knowledge, Gardner somehow never suffered a head injury.  That he didn't is a god damn miracle.

The problem with that statement is "to the best of our knowledge" though.

joegeo

September 29th, 2014 at 5:30 AM ^

Most teams leave their starters in even when they're losing. And if Hoke just wanted the points here, he would've kicked a field goal earlier rather than go for it on 4th down.

It's pile-it-on comments like these that make me feel like a lot of the outrage is really coming from the fact that this team stinks. Why weren't people outraged that Devin played on a broken foot last year?

My thoughts: if a player has a possible head injury, you obviously must take him out... immediately, without question. I've played and coached rugby for 15 years now. I've seen coaches leave concussed players in and it's disgusting.

Blast from the past... when Dantonio played Gholston a couple of plays after this happened, I was absolutely disgusted and have never thought much of Dantonio since: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AZsok00Pio

I watched the Michigan game with no audio and I didn't think Morris was concussed. I really didn't. I saw the huge hit, but it wasn't head to head. The 'wobbly' everyone's talking about seemed like hurt-ankle-wobbly not concussed wobbly. I have a low 'might be a head injury' threshold. If I saw this kind of thing, I would probably talk with the player and have them talk to a trainer. Morris did talk to a trainer. They didn't mention anything to Hoke, so as far as the head goes, why should he think concussion? He did not take a shot to the head, the trainers didn't mention a concussion, and further he hasn't been diagnosed with a concussion since the game.

On the ankle point, it wasn't pretty. But again, I think we're mainly upset that Shane Morris, the future of Michigan football, stunk. It was a sign that not only do we stink now, but we're going to stink in the future too. Playing with a high ankle sprain isn't going to ruin someone like playing through a head injury can. I'm not disgusted by a guy playing through an ankle sprain. Nobody grilled Byron Leftwich's coach when Leftwich played through a broken leg, literally being carried to the line. The difference with Leftwich was success.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-jzYMSiNHQ

joegeo

September 29th, 2014 at 6:37 AM ^

Most of the outrage thus far is about him returning to play, not playing one more play before coming out. I agree that he should've come out immediately. I'm not massivley outragedly upset that there was one play before he was taken out after a non-helmet-to-helmet hit. Idiot.

FanNamedOzzy

September 29th, 2014 at 9:31 AM ^

I see what you're saying. This hit on Shane wasn't nearly as devastating as that Gholston hit. But, considering the circumstances: 1) Already hurt ankle. 2) Healthy QB that was your starter for the first 4 games. 3) He was falling over, regardless of the reason. With those 3 things in the equation, it's hard to say that keeping him in for even one play was acceptable. And then there's no excuse for the later play. 

If Michigan is 5-0, this isn't half of what it is right now, if anything at all. It's all about the product on the field, and we already looked like shit. This series of events simply takes the shittiness to a level many of us couldn't even imagine.

CompleteLunacy

September 29th, 2014 at 8:45 AM ^

20 seconds left in a 31-0 blowout...coaches are often leery of having the starter in there to protect him. Save him for the next game....the season is a war, you've already lost the battle, so cut your losses and move on. Unfortunately, not only was he left out there, but they called a pass play which opened him up to be hit. Obviously the hit only happened because of the INT, but he was just as likely to get sacked.



I think it's a fair criticism. It's not nearly as egregious as the Shane thing, but it's still relevant. Hoke needs to be better at protecting his players...being "tough" doesn't mean you have to be foolish.

2427_Couzens

September 29th, 2014 at 9:48 AM ^

This isn't retroactive outrage.  At the time, more than few people were questioning the wisdom of having Gardner still playing late in a blowout.  And more than a few people were angered about Funchess injuring his ankle, and then coming back out late in a blowout when he has clearly in pain.  And that took care of itself when he finally went down because of that ankle.

mjv

September 29th, 2014 at 4:56 AM ^

Well done article.  

At this point, there is no purpose in debating the various firable offenses of Brady Hoke.  The only question left is the timing.  The focus needs to be on having Brandon fired, not that there aren't already fires in this regard.

The rot in this organization starts from the top.  Brandon needs to be fired as soon as possible, hopefully today, so that we can start putting the pieces back together.  No high quality coach is going to go into a job with massive uncertainty swirling around the AD he would be working for. From everything we have seen, Brandon, either through arrogance or incompetence, is not capable of making a quality hire. And the lasting damage he has caused to the football program must stop or we will be on our way to being the next Minnesota, a walking shell of what was once a great program.

CoachBP6

September 29th, 2014 at 5:17 AM ^

The more I watch the Morris event, the more I feel the University should fire him tomorrow.  I know it is unlikely to happen, but IMO this is grounds for immediate termination.  Never in my life, at any level of football, have I ever witnessed a coach put a player in such jeopardy.  The worst part for me is undoubtedly him stating that he didn't witness any of it transpire... Really Brady?  That's the best you have?  What an absolute joke and disgrace to this great university, and what a terrible ambassador and leader of men by Brady Hoke. 

Mpfnfu Ford

September 29th, 2014 at 5:36 AM ^

A lot of people who have defended the stance of this coaching staff that they need not offer anything substantitve to the press or publish an injury report rethink their position. This is why injury reports exist: to force some measure of accountability for coaches when it comes to player injuries. A coach should not be in a position where he can lie about all injuries and then use the lack of public information as a cudgel to influence injured players to play.