Brady Hoke has been fired as head coach at Michigan after the worst season of his tenure there.
Hoke was 31 20 at Michigan but the team's win total declined in each of his four seasons in Ann Arbor going from 11 wins to eight to seven to this season's 5 7 record. Hoke was also 6 10 in Big Ten play the past two seasons.
I met with coach Hoke today and informed him of my decision to make a change in the leadership of our football program athletic director Jim Hackett said in a statement. This was not an easy decision given the level of respect that I have for Brady. He has done a great job of molding these young men making them accountable to their teammates focusing them on success in the classroom and in the community.
I wanted to make sure that Brady received adequate time to exhibit the results that would come from his effort and I believe that Brady and our coaching staff had enough time to produce those results and unfortunately they are not there. In the end I feel that moving in a different direction is the right decision. I wish Brady and his family all the best in the future.
A former Wolverine assistant Hoke's tenure in Ann Arbor started with much promise. He elevated both the Ball State and San Diego State programs in his two previous stops and went 11 2 and won a Sugar Bowl in his debut season at Michigan but his offenses struggled as the program went from the transition of his predecessor Rich Rodriguez's spread attack to his style.
I feel very fortunate to have been an assistant and head coach at the University of Michigan Hoke said in the same statement. I will always support the University and this football program. This is a special place and one that Laura Kelly and I have enjoyed representing during our time in Ann Arbor. I want to thank all of the sons that played for our teams and appreciate the commitment that our coaches and support staff made to the program every day.
I will miss the relationships that I ve been fortunate enough to make within this university and community. I additionally appreciate all of the support that our fans alumni students administration and former players have provided our program. I leave with fond memories of my experience at Michigan. Thanks and Go Blue
The Wolverines who were one of the younger teams in the Big Ten in 2014 struggled on their offensive line the past two seasons and had shaky quarterback play.
Michigan's issues on the field were also compounded by the school's administrative issues as well which created for a very messy 2014 that saw AD Dave Brandon lose his job a few weeks ago in Ann Arbor.
Michigan says Hackett will start looking for Hoke's replacement immediately and that sports administrator Mike DeBord will be in charge of the day to day football operations in the meantime.
Hackett replaced Dave Brandon as athletic director at the end of October. Brandon's resignation was part of the fallout from the football team's problems. In September quarterback Shane Morris kept playing despite receiving what was later determined to be a concussion. The school later apologized for the confusion and lack of communication as it changed its protocol to better monitor potential injuries.
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A message posted on Morris' Twitter account Tuesday wished Hoke the best I can truly say that I wouldn't be the man I am right now without having played for Coach Hoke. He believed in me and every player he coached no matter what the situation.
When Brandon resigned Mark Schlissel the school's president said the athletic department was in great financial condition but the results at the Big House have not measured up. Brandon a former CEO of Domino's Pizza Inc. and a player under Michigan coach Bo Schembechler had less than a year on the job when he made the decision to fire Rodriguez after three seasons.
Less than two weeks after Brandon stepped down Schlissel expressed concerns about the relationship between athletics and academics at the university pointing specifically at the football program.
We admit students who aren't as qualified and it's probably the kids that we admit that can't honestly even with lots of help do the amount of work and the quality of work it takes to make progression from year to year he said then. These past two years have gotten better but before that the graduation rates were terrible with football somewhere in the 50s and 60s when our total six year rate at the university is somewhere near 90 percent so that's a challenge.
Schlissel later issued an apology to Hoke and the football program via the university's website for not clearly stating that the situation has gotten significantly better since Hoke replaced Rodriguez.
Hoke was an assistant at Michigan before turning around San Diego State and Ball State his alma mater as a head coach. When he left San Diego State to take over the Wolverines he made little secret of his excitement about the job. His habit of referring to rival Ohio State as simply Ohio quickly caught on and Hoke was a hit when Michigan beat the Buckeyes in his first season.
The Wolverines won the Sugar Bowl and finished the 2011 season 11 2 but that was with some talented holdovers from Rodriguez's teams. Hoke's recruits were well regarded but the results on the field didn't measure up. Michigan went 8 5 in 2012 and 7 6 in 2013.
The Wolverines made a major change this past offseason firing offensive coordinator Al Borges and hiring Doug Nussmeier away from Alabama. But even with a senior quarterback in Devin Gardner the Michigan offense was anemic at times. The first sign of trouble this season came when Michigan lost 31 0 to Notre Dame in the second game and back to back home losses to Utah and Minnesota left the Wolverines looking like a team in crisis before September was even over.
Fan reaction ranged from apathy to open hostility. A loss to Maryland in the team's home finale was played before the smallest crowd at Michigan Stadium since 1995.
Whoever takes over at Michigan now faces the same challenge Hoke encountered and never fully conquered Make the Wolverines matter nationally again.
Michigan has not won the Big Ten since 2004 and the Wolverines are now 1 10 in their last 11 games against Ohio State.
Even in state rival Michigan State which for so many years played second fiddle to the Wolverines has been superior to Michigan recently winning six of the last seven meetings.
Bruce Feldman is a senior college football reporter and columnist for FOXSports.com and FOX Sports 1. He is also a New York Times Bestselling author. His new book The QB The Making of Modern Quarterbacks came out in October 2014. Follow him on Twitter BruceFeldmanCFB.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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