Brady Hoke’s Fate At Michigan Is Sealed

By David Cuff @DaveCuff on October 26, 2014

Brady Hoke‘s chances of remaining as the head coach of Michigan were slim going into Saturday afternoon’s game against rival Michigan State. At the conclusion of the game, however, it was clear those chances are now nonexistent. Even if Michigan wins out to close the season, Hoke still has no chance to keep his job.

Now, Michigan will just have to hope they can win at least three of their last four games to become bowl eligible.

To be successful at Michigan, you need to do three things: Win a lot of games, beat Ohio State and beat Michigan State. Hoke has only won 29 games total, is 1-3 against MSU and 1-2 against OSU in just under four seasons as Michigan’s head coach. Gone are the days of Michigan’s dominance against their instate rival that they had under Lloyd Carr, who went 10-3 against MSU during his 13 seasons as Michigan head coach. Hoke just hasn’t been able to have much success with the program outside of his first couple of seasons at Michigan.

Hoke isn’t a bad coach. Before coming to Michigan, he helped turn around both Ball State and San Diego State‘s football programs. He is a great motivator who has also done well recruiting at Michigan. Hoke was just not ready to lead a major college football program, and it has shown as the program continues to falter since Carr’s retirement.

The nightmare season for Hoke and the Wolverines just keeps getting worse. Saturday’s beatdown at the hands of Michigan State was expected, but it didn’t sting any less. The fates of both AD Dave Brandon and Hoke have now 100 percent been sealed, and not even a miracle could save their jobs.

Here’s to hoping the third time’s the charm, and the Michigan athletic program can finally find a worthy successor to Carr.

David Cuff is a University of Michigan Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveCuff, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.