Brady Hoke Running out of Excuses as Pressure Mounts at Michigan

Brady Hoke's most fireable offense Saturday had nothing to do with a scoreboard. It was totally unrelated to the 183 yards the Wolverine defense allowed to David Cobb on the ground or the pitiful 171 yards Hoke's hapless attack put up. It didn't even have anything to do with Hoke's postgame comments, in which he told reporters, via ESPN, his insipid team can still win a Big Ten championship.

No, Hoke's most fireable offense came early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Shane Morris took a hard hit from Minnesota defensive end Thieren Cockran. Anyone with working eyes could see Morris was hurt—possibly with a concussion. He remained in the game for a subsequent play before being taken out for Devin Gardner, which wouldn't be so bad if for not what came after.

Later in the drive Gardner lost his helmet on an 11-yard run. By rule, he'd have to sit out a play. Rather than putting in third-stringer Russell Bellomy, who everyone (including Bellomy himself) thought would enter the game, Hoke re-inserted the obviously shaken up Morris for a handoff to Justice Hayes.

Morris would later leave the stadium on a cart, according to Nick Baumgardner of MLive. There has been no official word on Morris' condition, but Hoke, like any responsible adult, took responsibility and said he was wrong to have put a kid in that situation, right?

Nope!

"I don't know if he had a concussion or not; I don't know that," Hoke told reporters. "Shane's a pretty competitive, tough kid. And Shane wanted to be the quarterback, and so, believe me, if he didn't want to be, he would've come to the sideline or stayed down."

Never mind all of the information we have at our disposal about concussions. Never mind the fact that two years ago Michigan was being praised for being on the "cutting edge" of concussion research and treatment. Never mind that Morris sat out only three plays—barely long enough for a doctor to shine that little light in your ear canals, let alone perform a full concussion exam.

That quote is problematic on every single level. First, there is a 55-year-old football coach putting a decision in the hands of his (possibly concussed) 20-year-old quarterback. Shane Morris might have said he was good to go, but who wouldn't have? Morris is a struggling sophomore in his second start and was about to give way to a senior in his third season as a regular contributor under center. Plus there's the whole possibly concussed thing. 

Coaches and, by proxy, their schools/franchises far too often put the onus on a player to clear himself—to prove his "toughness" and "leadership"—rather than consulting with medical professionals. Or even standard human empathy. 

Tony Ding/Associated Press

“That No. 7 is still in this game is appalling. It is appalling that he was left in on that play to throw the ball again as badly as he was hit by Cockran,” ESPN's Ed Cunningham said on the broadcast, per Nick Schwartz of USA Today.

I can't say for certain Hoke knew Morris was concussed. No one can. But it was obvious to anyone watching the game—whether on television or from the Coca-Cola swigging stands—that Shane Morris should not have been playing football.

The Morris situation is merely the latest black eye for Hoke, who is on the precipice of following Charlie Weis as the second Power Five coach sent packing before season's end.

Michigan's loss Saturday drops its record to 2-3, including an 0-3 mark against teams with a pulse. The Wolverines earned cheap early-season wins against Appalachian State and Miami (Ohio), the former a 1-3 FCS outfit and the latter possibly the worst FBS team in the nation. Notre Dame, Utah and Minnesota—the actual, functioning football teams—have outscored Michigan 87-24. 

And keep in mind we're being kind in complimenting those teams. Notre Dame is ranked in the Top 10, but hasn't been tested yet. Utah and Minnesota are also-rans in their respective conferences that will be happy to make a bowl game. All three have nonetheless landed gut punch after gut punch, defanging the Wolverines and turning them into LOLCats.

Tony Ding/Associated Press

Michigan sits 104th in points scored, 108th in passing yards and is 127th out of 128 FBS teams in turnover margin. New offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier looks like a bust. His system has found uses for talented stars Derrick Green and Devin Funchess but has been totally unable to mask its deficiencies; Morris and Gardner have combined for nine interceptions against five touchdowns (all from Gardner).

It's almost unfathomable that this is the same guy who looked like a savior three seasons ago. Equipped with ready-made players from the Rich Rodriguez era—who, given what he's accomplished at Arizona, might be less at fault for his failures in Ann Arbor than previously thought—Hoke led Michigan to a 11-2 record and its first BCS bowl victory in more than a decade.

Stephen Morton/Associated Press

The plaudits quickly followed: Big Ten Coach of the Year. Maxwell Club Coach of the Year. You name it, Hoke won it and it all felt deserved. Even as recently as last September members of the media were excusing underperformance by giving him backhanded compliments like "at least he's not Rich Rodriguez."

Now even the most strident Rodriguez detractor would swap places with Arizona in an instant. Now Michigan is the clear little brother of Michigan State—a Freaky Friday body switch that only Lakers fans living in a Clippers town can understand. Now rather than praising Hoke he's one of college football's most embattled coaches, facing questions of whether he put an obviously injured kid into a game his team was already losing 30-7.

I'm not an advocate of writing people should lose their livelihood. That part of sports media culture has always been a bit unseemly. That level of harshness is more befitting of politics, where decision-makers hold, like, important things in their hands.

But the incredulity displayed when Hoke re-inserted Morris was justified. As is the frustration with Michigan—one of the most well-funded programs in the nation—failing to perform on the field. Combine it all and Brady Hoke is standing on the thinnest ice imaginable.

One more slip up and don't be surprised if he falls through.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter