CC: Bacon: Hoke likely to stay until December, Brandon's status less certain
After talking with knowledgeable people, I am more convinced that Brady Hoke will survive the season, and less convinced Dave Brandon will.
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) October 1, 2014
Of course, there's always the Brandon Exception: He might decide to depart on his own. Still more questions than answers, however. We'll see
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) October 1, 2014
To clarify, as things now stand, I believe UM's Hoke will remain and be evaluated in December. Brandon's future less certain.
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) October 1, 2014October 1st, 2014 at 9:54 PM ^
October 1st, 2014 at 5:29 PM ^
Unfortunately, firing Brandon does nothing to improve the performance of our football team. I'm not so sure that firing Hoke mid-season would improve performance either, for the record, but it wouldn't hurt.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:32 PM ^
Really isn't one based on the record of the football team on the field, but about his (mis)handling of the fanbase, general, alum, and student, and ruining the experience of football Saturdays in Michigan Stadium. I'd say that the football team's performance is low on the long list of "Reasons Why Brandon Should Be Fired".
October 1st, 2014 at 6:55 PM ^
Exactly. I thought 2104 would be a good year and I still wanted Brandon gone in August.
Because he's poision for the program. He is alienating the future fanbase of Michigan. He treats us like inventory at best, like the enemy at worst.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:33 PM ^
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October 1st, 2014 at 5:29 PM ^
#Bacon4AD
October 1st, 2014 at 5:31 PM ^
I wonder if a HC search firm has been retained yet.
I know the AD does the hiring, but surely the process can start before that ???
October 1st, 2014 at 5:34 PM ^
October 1st, 2014 at 5:30 PM ^
I just told my mom today, when she asked me my thoughts on the situation, that if i had the choice and could only choose one of "Fire Brandon" or "Fire Hoke" right now, it'd be "Fire Brandon".
I'm okay with giving Hoke the rest of the season, even though the general public opinion (and my own opinion) is he's also going to be shipped out. Plus, firing an AD midseason is way better than firing a coach midseason, IMO.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:32 PM ^
Let's go kick ass and execute on RUTGERS.
GO BLUE and WIN!
October 1st, 2014 at 5:34 PM ^
I didn't say he was bad at Arizona. I said he was mediocre which he is. Do you even watch their games. They almost lost to UTSA and Cal. They went 8-5 the past two years.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:40 PM ^
8-5 in the pac 12 which is much harder conference than ours and beats our 2 year record. Also did it with a win over Oregon last year, a better team than any we've beaten in the past 4 years.
And how many 4* & 5* players do we have on our roster? What about Arizona?
They will have a bad year because of a FR QB but they are on track to be ahead of us 3 years running in a more difficult conference. So if he is mediocre, what are we?
October 1st, 2014 at 5:35 PM ^
We shouldn't fire Hoke until we're sure that we have someone who's better. When Jim H. is in the fold then go ahead.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:56 PM ^
longshots like Harbaugh. Hoke hasn't exactly set that bar very high.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^
would certainly like Brady gone today, but I think letting him play out the season is ultimately best for the program and (assuming no more major dangerous fuck-ups) best for the kids. Brandon sticking around after the shenanigans that ensued this week would be a major injustice to anybody who has ever given a dollar to the university. Glad to hear that we're making progress on ending that injustice.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:38 PM ^
Still, I could see a guy with his wealth and ego preferring resignation to a firing.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:38 PM ^
Resignation was my hope, I just don't see him leaving that way.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:42 PM ^
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October 1st, 2014 at 5:42 PM ^
Plus the all-hands meeting makes me hope that this is a "I'm resigning" meeting tomorrow. Brandon's ego could get into the way of that though.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:45 PM ^
This was a guy who had political aspirations before becoming AD. He might consider it better politically to have left on his own "to pursue other opportunities" than having been fired from his last gig, especially in such a high profile way.
With all the news coverage/rallies/etc this week, for him to be fired after that would be fertile ground for a political opponent. Whereas if he resigns, there's less to stick him with.
Now I'm probably just wishful thinking.
October 1st, 2014 at 7:04 PM ^
But he looks bad if he leaves right now . . . as if admitting we were right about the concussion and the lying about it (even though we are).
If he's smart, he makes a backroom deal to stay quietly behind the scenes for awhile, let the concussion thing die down a little, then announce he's moving on the greener pastures.
The worst thing for him to do if he ever wants a political career is to have a messy buyout fight in public with the University of Michigan. So of course, there's a really good chance that that is exactly what he will do.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:37 PM ^
October 1st, 2014 at 5:39 PM ^
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October 1st, 2014 at 5:42 PM ^
@mgoblog: Hear Brandon has called an all-hands meeting tomorrow morning. Feeling some heat?
October 1st, 2014 at 5:46 PM ^
Hoke is gone anyway, but losing him would cast this team into such turmoil it doesn't seem fair to the athletes during the season. Brandon could be gone tomorrow and nobody would lose a minute of sleep.
I do think Brandon will step down in some way as to not accept blame but just say he's exploring other opportunities. It'll be 100% PR spin, but I don't see why he'd want to stay at Michigan anyway. He's not going to win people back over, and he can get more money somewhere else where his name won't be in the news all the time.
October 1st, 2014 at 6:05 PM ^
Legitimate question: USC was fine after losing Kiffin midway through last season. Why would losing Brady Hoke, who has already caused such turmoil be so much worse?
October 1st, 2014 at 6:16 PM ^
Haden had the luxury of having Ed Orgeron on Kiffin's staff. Orgeron at least had been a head coach for 3 years at Ole Miss.
October 1st, 2014 at 7:01 PM ^
USC wasn't nearly as fractured as UM was (and that team had more talent), and Ed Orgeron was a guy who wanted to be a HC again after Ole Miss and the kids rallied around him. He didn't really have a great relationship with Kiffin by all accounts, unlike Mattison (I figure the most obvious successor in-house) and Hoke. Also, they weren't "that" good after Kiffin was gone - they lost to ND and UCLA in ugly games, had the upset over Stanford that felt as much as Stanford blowing it than USC being dominant, and otherwise held serve.
I also don't think the players are as against Hoke as USC players were against Kiffin. Lane seems like a huge douche who rubs people the wrong way; Hoke pisses off the media but his players seem to legitimately love him and, especially now, would probably rally more around him.
October 1st, 2014 at 7:19 PM ^
was on the hotset in all the pre-season college football previews.
Hell, this appeared in Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2013/09/19/usc-football-has-big-p…
USC was already a listing ship before last season began, Hayden pulled the plug before a lot of athletic directors would have.
October 1st, 2014 at 7:01 PM ^
It is a legit question, with an obvious answer. The players hated Kiffen (understanable) and told the AD as much. Or, at the very least, the AD knew/learned that if he wasn't hated, he wasn't liked very much, before pulling the plug.
October 1st, 2014 at 7:28 PM ^
The players clearly disliked Kiffin. There have been few signs of an analogous situation here.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:46 PM ^
There are reasonable arguments on either side of the when-to-fire-Hoke question. Either way, though, his departure would seem to be inevitable. What matters most is that a new AD is in place asap, so he can begin the coach-hunt sooner rather than later. Ideally, you want a new coach in place as soon as the season ends. You can't do that if you're still shopping for a new AD. So I'm guessing (or hoping) that Brandon goes now-ish. Give his replacement time to get the lay of the land, do his due diligence, and start making subtle inroads with coaching candidates (because we all know feelers can and will go out before the season ends). And, btw, Brandon's continued absence seems to confirm that he's on his way out.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:52 PM ^
His continued absence either indicates that, or that he is going into hiding with the desperate hope that this is going to blow over. The dude can't make a public appearance and he can't even make a press release during daylight hours right now. Unless something changes he won't be able to show up at a game or give a public speech without getting heckled and booed loudly.
October 1st, 2014 at 6:44 PM ^
Which is why he's likely on the way out the door. He can't stick around after this, no matter what. A guy like him will hate it, but will recognize the relative wisdom in leaving on his own while he still can. There are also probably negotiations going on between his lawyers and the U's lawyers regarding a settlement amount. My guess is he resign's tomorrow, Friday at latest.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:47 PM ^
October 1st, 2014 at 5:50 PM ^
At this point, I doubt DB wants to stay. What he does want, I'd imagine, is the best possible buyout and spin-control (and, perhaps, legal positioning) he and his attorneys can wangle. And, given DB's contract and CEO-ness, I'm sure they can wangle plenty. Which takes some time.
October 1st, 2014 at 7:07 PM ^
If I had to put money on the table, this is what I would bet on.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:52 PM ^
October 1st, 2014 at 6:20 PM ^
October 1st, 2014 at 7:11 PM ^
Don't discount the likelyhood of the players rallying strongly and passionately to try to save Hoke's job. They love him.
Do not be surprised if Michigan rolls the next two games and gives MSU a scare. Don't be surprised at all.
October 1st, 2014 at 7:39 PM ^
Why didn't they do so last weekend? Hoke's job was in jeopardy going into the Minnesota game and UM performed poorly. The team has quit on Hoke from what I saw last Saturday.
October 1st, 2014 at 8:29 PM ^
I agree with this.
October 1st, 2014 at 7:59 PM ^
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October 1st, 2014 at 5:53 PM ^
Hoke may survive the season, but if we take a 58-0 clubbing against MSU like I'm thinking we might, he might not even get out of the parking lot without getting his pink slip.
As long as Brandon is gone so we can get a competent AD in here to hire a good coach, then I'm more or less okay with Hoke finishing the season with some dignity.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:55 PM ^
has to issue a statement about athletics, the AD is trouble. If he specifically calls out things the AD did in his statement, the AD is (usually) toast.
October 1st, 2014 at 5:59 PM ^
October 1st, 2014 at 6:04 PM ^
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October 1st, 2014 at 6:08 PM ^
October 1st, 2014 at 6:01 PM ^
When he says "survive the season", he means be fired at the end of it, right?