maizenbluenc

September 28th, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^

that Hoke is like a position coach with a head coach title. It's OK for D line coaches to watch the line play , coach his players up as they come off the field, and try to keep everyone's spirits up. Those things can be accomplished without wearing a headset or having to be aware of how many other players are on the field, etc. Heck, the players probably love that he does this. The problem is he is the head coach - not a position coach - and he needs to focus in the game management details and be a part of the in game adjustments, and decisions on both sides of the ball, etc. The funny thing is, I thought he was more tuned into that in 2011 and maybe 2012. He was catching game clocks about to expire, etc. It is now quite apparent that Brady Hoke is not playing to the expectations of the head coach position at the University of Michigan.

Bobby Boucher

September 28th, 2014 at 11:43 AM ^

Chances of that actually happening: zero to none.  But, still a good point about Hoke seemlingly not concerned about the safety of his players.  I wouldn't let my kids play for someone like that.

AA2Denver

September 28th, 2014 at 12:00 PM ^

If this story continues to escalate he could be gone by the end of the week. This is embarrassing for the University, not just the athletic department. There are crusty old rich people (my uncle, God rest his soul) that have a lot of influence over this program. They can handle a few losses, but are not comfortable with embarrassment (i.e. Moeller, RR at the end). 

 

Mazzy

September 28th, 2014 at 1:50 PM ^

I don't know about that. When you consider the lack of concern for athletics that the new President has, it seems to me that all the people touted as "having a lot of influence" just completely lost that influence when the new Pres stepped into power. I think those past "influential people" may find themselves in the same boat we're in - just fans expressing impotent rage at the situation.

MGoBlueFan90

September 28th, 2014 at 11:52 AM ^

Those who've seen my posts know I've defended Hoke a ton, but seeing that was really indefensible. I was very disappointed in seeing that. That said, really kudos to Morris for giving his all out there.

swan flu

September 28th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^

I couldn't disagree more with you. This is already a PR nightmare. Not firing hoke is even worse at this point of damage control. If he keeps his job the university is going to lose so much credibility Edit-this us supposed to be in response to the guy above who thinks hoke keeps his job

pearlw

September 28th, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^

Does anyone know who Shane was talking to when he came out of the game the first time after the hit? He was talking to a Michigan staffer for the couple minutes before he went back in. Was that one of the team doctors or a random staffer?

pearlw

September 28th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^

If it was the trainer, then there is relevant info that clears this up that will have to come out either way as this issue isnt going away. Did Schmidt try to diagnose for concussion? What was his conclusion? Did he communicate to coaches? Whether Hoke was at fault depends on this info. If you tell me that Schmidt ruled out concussion and communicated it, then I have a much different opinion than other possibilities. If Schmidt didnt even try to diagnose it or Schmidt failed to communicate it, then that is another issue.

Don

September 28th, 2014 at 12:33 PM ^

If Schmidt did indeed examine Morris, then why didn't Hoke specifically mention that during his post-game presser? He could have said "We had our medical guys look at Shane and they said he was OK, and that's why we sent him back out when Devin lost his helmet."

The fact that he didn't say any such thing (apparently) is damning. Whatever the reason, it's inexplicable.

991GT3

September 28th, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^

I have ever read on a college coach. The sad part is what was wriiten is true. The University cannot let this go without some comment or action. THIS IS NOT MICHIGAN!

MGO GSP

September 28th, 2014 at 12:02 PM ^

Predictions: David Brandon and the athletic department continue to duck and dodge the issue. They leave Hoke at the helm until the end of season and then make a move.

Mar

September 28th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^

Whether Shane was concussed. Until we know that we shouldn't be firing anyone (at least for that reason). What should have happened is the trainer should have given him a concussion test. Shane could have been totally fine though mentally, and I thought he wobbled because his ankle gave out on him. It wasn't clear at all that he was woozy. On the other hand, the ankle thing is a non-issue. It's a sprained ankle. People play on sprained ankles all the time. I would be disappointed if our starting QB DIDN'T stay in for a bit with a sprained ankle. Should Hoke have been more cautious? Yes. Was Shane "obviously" concussed? We don't know.

B-Nut-GoBlue

September 28th, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^

It was a concussion. Any hit like that to the brain will result in a concussion, the severity and symptoms varying from person to person and incident to incident, but a concussion nonetheless. Oh, and it was OBVIOUS as all hell, yesterday.

The2nd_JEH

September 28th, 2014 at 12:06 PM ^

What sucks about this is, this isn't just Hoke. The whole staff. Nuss couldn't see him wobbling? Team physician didn't see him? And the fact that when he finally was taken out, the doctor didn't take his helmet? All around failure.

WolverineHistorian

September 28th, 2014 at 12:07 PM ^

Over the last 7 years, I've watched Michigan football sink to points of futility that I never thought possible.  So at this point, few things shocked me anymore.  I was wrong. 

This whole Shane Morris saga seems unreal.  Either way, Hoke looks like a fool.  If he noticed it and still kept playing him, that's evil.  If he didn't notice it (though I don't know how he couldn't) he's a clueless moron.  How does a coach NOT miss the multiple instances of Shane's injury? 

SWBlue

September 28th, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^

Article was spot on.

In the day and age of finally ackowledging the abuse taken on the football field, Hoke and his staff leave a kid in the game who is clearly hurting (ankle & possible concussion).

Abhorent to say the least.  Ego got in Hoke's way and the School looks more than BAD.

Time for him to go.

(And I know this is piling on but a headset might have helped)

True Blue Grit

September 28th, 2014 at 12:36 PM ^

at the beginning of the 2nd half (vs. Gardner) considering how much he struggled in the first half.  That alone was a poor coaching decision.  But, then as the 2nd half went on and he struggled more, AND he was noticably limping, why the heck did the coaches not pull him?  The final straw was when he could barely stand and was left in the game.  

Up until this game, I was trying to find ways in my mind to justify supporting BH because I badly wanted him to succeed.  But, yesterday in the stadium ended my support of Hoke.  Now the Regents and President need to take action because Brandon will do what he usually does unless stopped by someone - stonewall and come up with spin-doctoring to try and stave off doing anything, hoping that the incident will blow over.  

Don

September 28th, 2014 at 1:06 PM ^

I dunno—what Brandon (or his minions) typically do after another one of their marketing fiascos is they blame somebody else. If Brandon is privately getting significant heat from important people for yesterday's debacle on top of the criticism he's been getting all along, I can see him dumping Hoke to save his own skin.

SysMark

September 28th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^

If it were just for team performance you would have a hard choice whether to fire him now or at the end of the season.  Leaving him in after the head hit is the reason they have to do it now - if nothing else use it as the excuse to pull the trigger and get it over with.  Let Nuss run the team for7-8 games and not have a weekly rehashing of Hoke looking clueless.

Sambojangles

September 28th, 2014 at 12:17 PM ^

FYI: This is on yahoo.com, yes, but it's an sbnation.com article from Michigan's blog there, maizenbrew. I don't know the exact relationship between sbnation and yahoo, but it seems that yahoo is now picking up some blogposts to post nationally. So it was written by a Michigan blogger, not a national reporter picking up the story. It doesn't change the message at all, but I think the fact that it's on yahoo.com changes the context a bit.

Link to original: http://www.maizenbrew.com/2014/9/28/6855989/2014-michigan-wolverines-football-fire-brady-hoke-hot-seat-shane-morris-concussion

LSAClassOf2000

September 28th, 2014 at 12:32 PM ^

Drew did a great job with this article, and like a few others have mentioned above, I think that was also the moment where I checked out on Brady Hoke as having a viable future at the University Of Michigan.

I was still sitting on the fence with this issue going into the game, but what looked like a lack of organization / lack of awareness / lack of caring (not in that order necessarily) just left me feeling bad for the players that have to endure this and particularly bad for Shane Morris who obviously was not 100% operational, if you will.

Another problem is that I think it shoots down the whole idea of a "family atmosphere" that his staff has tried to build since 2011. It might be just me, but if he meant that, then Shane doesn't go back out there in his state. 

Ryno2317

September 28th, 2014 at 12:20 PM ^

I hope Morris is o.k., but I think he won't recover from that hit for awhile.  If I were him, I would have lost all confidence in the staff and everything to do with Michigan.  Sad for a guuy who loves Michigan so much.  

ClearEyesFullH…

September 28th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^

ESPN announcers and the media diagnosed Morris with a concussion so we will ignore the facts.  Shane got up under his own power, limped over to the huddle (from a previous injury), waved off the coaches, received the playcall, directed his team presnap, made a good read, and delivered a catchable ball to his receiver.  He than was pulled and met my coaches and staff members.  He continued to talk with a staff member (probably going over concussion protocall) and was deemed well enough to spell Devin for an additional play.