Dave Brandon Resigning as Michigan AD Spells Bad News for Brady Hoke

Michigan's long national nightmare—on Halloween, of all days—is finally over. Well, half over. 

In a press conference on Friday afternoon, Michigan president Mark Schlissel announced that embattled athletic director Dave Brandon had resigned. "This morning I accepted resignation of AD David Brandon," Schlissel said. "I agree with this decision." 

The second shoe to drop in this mess—or "Domino," if you will—would be the termination/resignation of Michigan football coach Brady Hoke.

News of Brandon's resignation was first reported by ESPN's Brett McMurphy. Former Wolverines player James Hackett will take over as the interim AD, as The Detroit News first reported. 

Though Michigan did not elaborate on Brandon's resignation—details are reportedly going to be released later—Adam Rittenberg of ESPN tweeted that recent scathing emails from Brandon to Wolverine fans unearthed by mgoblog.com may have been the nail in the proverbial coffin. 

Brandon was loathed by the Michigan fanbase long before that for his incompetence and attitude. As David Jesse and Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press wrote, the Brandon hire was initially lauded. However, marketing and tradition blunders over the years led to growing resentment. 

In the end, though, Brandon's worst decision was his biggest hire: Hoke. That's all it really came down to. 

If Hoke's days weren't numbered before, they probably are now. Whomever Michigan hires to replace Brandon—Schlissel didn't make it sound like having Michigan ties is a prerequisite—Hoke will have to prove he's capable of getting things turned around. Michigan needs a house cleaning, and Hoke's job performance will be under review. 

"I don’t have a particular time frame," Schlissel said about hiring his next AD. "I have excellence in mind."

Hoke was Brandon's guy, but it won't matter going forward. That may not count for everything in terms of job security, but it counts for something. 

Unlike Brandon, Hoke has been classified as a great guy who is merely in over his head. Even in the national fury of the Shane Morris concussion situation, the general vibe was that Hoke was more negligent than malicious. 

What the Morris outrage came down to was that a faction—probably large—of Wolverine fans wanted Hoke gone anyway, and player safety was a topic through which they could vent their frustrations.

Tony Ding/Associated Press

But what Hoke's tenure at Michigan comes down to is wins, something he hasn't had nearly enough of lately. Hoke is 18-16 since going 11-2 in his first season in 2011, with win totals declining every year. The Wolverines are 3-5 this year heading into November.

The decision to remove Al Borges as offensive coordinator and bring in Doug Nussmeier hasn't paid off, but only because there are far too many problems for Nussmeier to fix in one season. The offensive line remains a mess, and there are no answers at quarterback. 

In that vein, there's been nothing to indicate that Michigan is close to turning a corner. The Wolverines need to win three of their final four games—against Indiana, Northwestern, Maryland and Ohio State—just to make a bowl game. 

All are certainly winnable if you are of the "throw out the record book in rivalry games" persuasion. However, one can realistically see Michigan losing two more games, which would effectively keep this team home for bowl season. 

The question is still whether Hoke makes it to the end of the season at all. Hackett definitely has the power to make a decision on his own at the end of the season, so the lack of a permanent AD might not be a factor in Hoke's job security. All the same, the outlook isn't promising. 

Will Hoke keep his job? Just know that if he's re-applying for the position, his resume isn't shining. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football.