Is Will Muschamp or Brady Hoke More Likely to Have the Same Job in 1 Year?

In a matter of months, it's possible that two premier jobs in college football, Florida and Michigan, are open. 

Gators coach Will Muschamp and Wolverines coach Brady Hoke find themselves firmly on seats made of actual fire after recent losses—the latter especially so in light of a controversy over handling visibly concussed quarterback Shane Morris.

For that, Hoke is far less likely to be coaching the same team this time next year. Muschamp's tenure in Gainesville has been filled with more valleys than peaks, but one narrative that's not attached to him is that he doesn't care about player safety. 

In an era of awareness about head injuries in football, there's little room for error in how programs, college or pro, handle them. After multiple statements by Hoke and Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon over the past 48 hours, it's clear that Michigan's lack of awareness led to a large margin of error in how it handled the gruesome hit to Morris in a 30-14 loss to Minnesota on Saturday. 

From Brandon's statement, via the Michigan Daily: 

"

In my judgment, there was a serious lack of communication that led to confusion on the sideline. Unfortunately, this confusion created a circumstance that was not in the best interest of one of our student-athletes. I sincerely apologize for the mistakes that were made. We have to learn from this situation, and moving forward, we will make important changes so we can fully live up to our shared goal of putting student-athlete safety first.

"

As Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports writes, Hoke cares about his players. That much has been documented by those who have played for and against him. However, it is possible to care about player safety, yet completely mismanage a head injury. That appears to be the case here. 

Player safety, especially involving concussions, is an easy and noble cause to get behind because of tragic incidents that have been linked to head injuries. 

According to Sam Mellinger of The Kansas City Star, the autopsy of former Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher showed signs of CTE, "a degenerative brain disease found to cause dementia, aggression, confusion and depression among people who’ve suffered repeated head trauma, including football players." Belcher killed his girlfriend before taking his own life in 2012. 

Earlier this month, Texas quarterback David Ash recently announced he was giving up football for good after multiple concussions. The decision, however difficult, was universally applauded. 

So when Morris stayed in the game on Saturday despite barely being able to stand without the help of his teammates, the outrage was swift and unforgiving. George Schroeder of USA Today was one of several columnists to write that it is indeed time for Hoke to go. 

That leads to an interesting question: Would the masses be calling for Hoke's job if Michigan was 5-0? Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN tweeted that he isn't sure it would even be a story.

To be clear, it would definitely be a story for the reasons listed above, but it can also be true that Michigan's 2-3 record plays a role, if not a major one, in the demands that Hoke be fired.

As Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated tweeted, the mismanaged incident basically gives Michigan a free pass to do so because the tone of Hoke being in over his head had already been established. 

Does Hoke survive the season? It doesn't look like he will, and that could be said for reasons beyond the Morris incident. The Wolverines have trended downward since Hoke's first season in 2011, and the coaching staff has done a poor job of developing players, especially on along the offensive line. 

It doesn't matter who the offensive coordinator or quarterback is; the ability to run and pass protect starts up front. Michigan can't do either. 

Florida has had similar problems under Muschamp: Anemic offenses as a result of multiple offensive coordinators trying to fit square pegs in round holes, but usually sound defenses. 

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Still, the Gators are technically 2-1, despite being outclassed by Alabama this year, and can still do some damage in a wide-open SEC East.

The Wolverines are in a Big Ten East Division expected to be controlled by Michigan State and, to a lesser extend, Ohio State. Wins the rest of the way don't look like they're going to come easy. It's also worth noting that Brandon is on his own hot seat, too. Firing a head coach is one sign that an AD is trying to save his own rear end. 

At this point, one would have to think Hoke has to win just about every remaining game to keep his job. Beating Michigan State and/or Ohio State would likely do the trick. However, there's been nothing on the field to suggest this is remotely possible. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.