Brady Hoke, Devin Gardner and the Decline of an NCAA Football Powerhouse

Navigating out of a downward spiral is tricky business. Michigan football has endured them before, most recently during the forlorn Rich Rodriguez era of 2008-2010.

Three down years is about all you get in Ann Arbor, and Brady Hoke is in the advent of his third after the listless goose egg Team 135 put up in South Bend. For the record, Rich Rod went 2-1 against Notre Dame (but just 0-1 against Toledo, at The Big House, no less).

Perhaps Hoke was the victim of too much, too soon, having slayed a few dragons in his 2011 debut campaign (11-2).

The Wolverines, behind junior quarterback Denard Robinson, had an inspired season: from an amazing comeback victory over Notre Dame in the first-ever night game at the Big House, to a 45-17 dismantling of Nebraska in the Cornhuskers' first season in the Big Ten, to Big Blue's first win over (an albeit-depleted) Ohio State since 2003.

Hoke and the Wolverines capped off that season with a BCS bowl win over Virginia Tech. Not too shabby.

The start of the 2012 season proved to be a bridge too far, as Hoke's preseason No. 8 Wolverines got their comeuppance at the hands of Nick Saban's Alabama, 41-14, in the Cowboys Classic. Robinson's duck performance (four INT, one fumble) in South Bend three weeks later seemed apropos. 

The wheels hadn't fallen off just yet for Michigan football, as the team responded by posting three consecutive wins to start the Big Ten season, including the squad's first victory over Michigan State since 2007.

The tipping point for the program came the following week in Michigan's first visit to Nebraska since 1911. Robinson's all-purpose style finally undid him in the first half of that game as he fell awkwardly to the turf after taking a hit on a run for first down.

Wolverines fans knew the reality of a Denard-less Michigan was coming, but the middle of his senior season seemed premature. With the coaching staff having converted touted backup quarterback Devin Gardner to wide receiver at the beginning of the 2012 season, Michigan fans were forced to endure 30-plus minutes of Russell Bellomy in that fateful Nebraska loss.

Despite having no reps at quarterback, surely Gardner could have done better than the embarrassing Bellomy. Hoke scrambled Gardner into place at QB for the next three games, and the team responded with three nice wins.

Michigan would close the season with losses to Ohio State and an Outback Bowl defeat to South Carolina. An 8-5 record to finish the season smacked of the Rich Rod era, but all hope was not lost as Hoke's recruiting efforts were cause for optimism. Furthermore, Hoke would finally have his system in place for the 2013 season and his hand-picked players would start to fill up the depth chart.

A 5-0 start, including a largely dominant performance over Notre Dame (41-30), proved to be misleading after Michigan dropped six out of its last eight games to finish the 2013 season at a virtually unacceptable 7-6. 

"

Remember Brady Hoke's "This is Michigan" saying after being hired in 2011? Well, 4 years later, this isn't Michigan. http://t.co/namaxcjgwC

— Ricky Lindsay (@RLindz35) September 8, 2014"

That brings us to the here and now. A starting quarterback that seems to have regressed, a head coach that continues to look befuddled on national TV and a program that has ended up No. 1 on USA Today's Misery Index.

The knives are on the table in Ann Arbor, and the program's ever-impatient fanbase and scribes are sharpening the cutlery. Reasonable ultimatums are flying in on the heels of the debacle in South Bend.

The Detroit News' Terry Foster makes a compelling argument for firing Hoke, and it's hard to make a case for his sustainability unless his team manages to beat Michigan State or Ohio State (preferably both) this season.

Ohio State is there for the taking without Braxton Miller, but both those aforementioned rivalry games will be on the road, where Michigan is just 7-12 under Hoke, including bowl games, as per Foster.

It's safe to say, Hokeamania has ceased to run wild in Maize and Blue Nation—Michigan will essentially need to run the table this season for the coach's tenure to not be permanently labeled the Brady Joke era. 3-8 against Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State will not be tolerated.

Maybe the good folks at Notre Dame were right, Michigan football is an empire in decline. A team that juggernauts need to take off their calendar to improve their strength of schedule. 

After watching Devin Gardner sputter his way through four quarters against Notre Dame and Hoke's dumbfounded expressions on the sideline throughout, it's fair to argue that Michigan isn't much of a football school at the moment.

The polar vortex continues to hover over Michigan's football program. If a warm front doesn't move in soon, it will be permanent winter for Brady Hoke as a Michigan Man. 

John Beilein's boys may have to pick up the slack once again. Apologies to Bo Schembechler, Michigan is more hardwood than gridiron in 2014.