Dissecting Michigan AD Dave Brandon's Open Letter on Coach Brady Hoke

The first line left no room for speculation. There was no waffling, no sidestepping and no ambiguity. When Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon released his most recent blog post on mgoblue.com, he led by saying "Brady Hoke is our coach and will be leading our football program well into the future." 

It's easy to understand Brandon's motivations for penning this note to Michigan fans last week. The Wolverines regressed in Hoke's third year at the helm and finished just 2-5 in Big Ten play after Saturday's narrow loss to Ohio State. 

In his blog post, Brandon asked for patience, touching on Nick Saban's struggles in his fourth year at Alabama and Jim Harbaugh's three-year building period at Stanford prior to its Orange Bowl victory at the beginning of 2011. 

I'm not willing to let Brandon off the hook for these loose comparisons.

In Saban's fourth year at Alabama, he was coming off of a BCS National Championship in 2009. They certainly weren't in a rebuilding period and, somewhat ironically, the Tide capped off their2010 season with a 49-7 thrashing of Michigan State. Alabama went on to win two straight BCS National Championships in 2011 and 2012.

Can Hoke deliver results like this in the future? 

Comparisons between Hoke's three years at Michigan and Harbaugh's time at Stanford are also a stretch. Harbaugh inherited a Stanford team that had gone 1-11 in the previous year, earning recognition as one of the worst teams in the BCS era by Scout.com. They also improved every year under Harbaugh from a record standpoint, a clear sign of year-to-year progress that Hoke can't lay claim to. 

Pointing out the struggles of other schools' football programs shouldn't offer Michigan fans any solace. 

In addition, Hoke's sterling recruiting record has taken a few hits lately with Da'shawn Hand's commitment to Alabama and top recruit Jabrill Peppers' announcement that he'll visit other schools due to rumors around Hoke's job stability, as ESPN.com reported last week.

It was certainly a smart move on Brandon's part to nip these rumors in the bud before they cause any more residual effects.

Brandon fired Rich Rodriguez and hired Hoke just one year after assuming the role of Michigan's Athletic Director, and Hoke's success or failure is a direct reflection on Brandon's ability to lead. In a not-so-subtle dig at Rodriguez, Brandon said in his post that "The senior class was recruited by Coach Carr and had some terrific talent that had simply been underperforming."

There may be some accuracy to this statement, but scapegoating Rodriguez won't fly for much longer. 

It's not surprising that he'd stick with Hoke now, especially after Saturday's inspired effort, and I'd expect Hoke to be given a minimum of two more years regardless of performance.

However, while Brandon praised defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, offensive coordinator Al Borges' name was notably absent from the post. Michigan's 94th ranked offense sputtered this year, and while Nick Baumgarnder of Mlive.com quoted Hoke as saying that he didn't anticipate any staff shakeup, no one would be shocked to see Borges leave the program after the bowl game.  

But the ultimate responsibility falls on the head coach, and even with Michigan's strong performance against a superior Ohio State team, Brandon's firm endorsement of his head coach will be criticized by experts and fans alike. 

Brandon closed by saying, "I know that Brady Hoke will finish his career at Michigan as one of the most successful coaches in our program's storied history." Only time will tell if this confident statement will come to fruition, but one thing remains clear: The Wolverines have a long way to go.