Bye Week #2 offers no help to Hoke

Bye weeks for a head football coach are supposed to be quiet weeks. They give blessed relief and recovery to the injured and two weeks of time for the staff to analyze and prepare for the next opponent. For an embattled coach, it might be a few days in which rewording a resume's most recent position is set aside for a rare night with the family. A cold beer and a movie. And one would expect, a bye week would offer a brief respite from the glare of camera lights and the inquisitional wall of reporters. 

This was not Brady Hoke's bye week.

Not long after closing the door on the farcical win at Northwestern on November 8, Hoke was pulled into the spotlight again defending the academic record of student-athletes under his watch. In what has become Apology Central, this time Hoke was the recipient when President Dr. Mark Schlissel apologized for his earlier comments questioning the academic qualifications of student-athletes compared to admissions standards for other students. It's not that Schlissel was wrong in his assessment or that Hoke was wrong in defending his players. It was just another off-the-field exchange that gained broad media attention at a time when little more of that is really needed or welcomed.

The actual bye weekend came along and what do you know? Northwestern (inept victim of the previous weekend's said farcical 10-9 Michigan victory) racks up 43 points to Notre Dame's 40 under the glare of Touchdown Jesus and goes back to Evanstan a national hero. What does this have to do with Brady Hoke's bye week? Maybe I'm stretching it a bit, but this is what I see. I see Notre Dame kicking the bejeezus out of Michigan earlier this year, 31-zip. It was early, you say. The team was still developing. OK. Let's consider that true. In November, it's later in the season and the team must have developed a bit. They rush onto the field in Evanston and then proceed to play in what some have called the best "worst game ever". It took four quarters for Michigan and Northwestern to come to a 10-9 decision in a game that highlighted the amateur nature of amateur athletics... and not in a good way. If last year's loss to Ohio State felt like the biggest of moral victories, the win at Northwestern had a stink about it. The high point, besides the tick mark under the "W" column, was the defensive play of Jake Ryan and Frank Clark. It sure was nice to have some players to count on! And so great to see Frank Clark overcome his difficult childhood and earlier legal problems at Michigan to come into his own as a possible high NFL draft pick. 

And then Sunday happened. And Frank Clark, faced with a weekend off to do whatever he wanted to do, chose to get himself into a predicament that landed him in an Ohio jail charged with domestic violence. It's alleged that he hurt his girlfriend in an altercation at their hotel. (In retrospect, hanging out with Devin Gardner at the C.S. Mott event might have been a better choice.) Hoke did the right thing and announced this morning that Clark has been dismissed from the team. Although he's innocent until proven guilty, the university and Hoke would face a poopstorm of criticism if they allowed Clark to play, especially after his earlier suspension for theft and the high profile attention being given to the growing problem of violence against women in both the NCAA football ranks and the NFL. It's sad that it came to that. His victim has suffered. Frank Clark's future will suffer. Team 135 will suffer. Losing Clark won't make the Maryland game any easier and Vegas is probably already reviewing their line on the Ohio State game. 

At this point in the season, Brady Hoke must be mentally and physically exhausted. There would be no bye weeks for him this year. There's no hiding. There's no break from the wilting glare of the spotlights or the wall of microphones in his face. There will always be something dragging him from the private refuge of Schembechler Hall or his own living room to answer or apologize for the next negative that surfaces. I don't even know if a 50 point win over OSU would stop the train that's moving down the tracks out of town now. 

The "bye" week he's most likely feeling on the horizon is the quick version of "bye-bye". And he must know it will be longer than a week.

The Nightmare on State Street

It's Halloween and Michigan fans, weary of getting their pumpkins smashed for years by AD Dave Brandon, received the trick or treat equivalent of a metric ton of Peanut M&Ms today. The Mr. Burns of the Athletic Campus turned in his resignation to Dr. Mark Schlissel, who then told told a nation of downtrodden Wolverines about it in a press conference that also introduced interim AD James Hackett. Given the slew of public relations gaffes and miscommunications during Brandon's athletic reign, it's up for discussion whether it was a heartfelt resignation for the benefit of the university he loves or an unwilling surrender accepted to save his own face and his golden parachute. I think we can deduce which is more likely. After all, we're Michigan fergodssake!

The scene at 1000 S. State St where blood flowed regularly during

Brandon's tenure, only today reaching the executive suite.

All over the Wolverine football nation there was a deep, collective sigh of relief. The overlord of Michigan's problematic football program was gone, $3M in his pocket and moving "on to other challenges". And with thanks to the John U. Bacon, the Michigan Daily, MGoBlog.com, and the populist revolt of students, alumni, and season ticketholders, it's unlikely that "other challenges" will include a high profile run at the 2018 gubernatorial seat. Imagine those snarky emails fashioned into negative campaign ads. 

Well, Dave, we thank you for all the good times. For the fodder that fueled hours of fascinating sports talk radio, thousands of Twitter and Facebook rants, and some of the best blogging we've seen related to Michigan sports. It may not always have been good news, but it was always riveting. Kind of like driving by an accident scene and not being able to look away. We thank you for firing Rich Rod and hiring Brady Hoke, for ensuring we weren't encumbered with a modern, successful coach so we could excel under a real Michigan Man. We appreciate your creative efforts to keep the most important stat of all intact, the 100K ongoing attendance record. As an alum and former football player for Bo, you cared enough about the university to preserve that precious number over silly things like our national reputation and institutional pride. Every time we have a Coke and a smile, we'll be thinking of you. 

There. That's out of the way. 

I'm not one for long goodbyes, so I'll end it here. Think of us fondly, your Michigan brothers and sisters, as you kick a can down State Street toward your new opportunities. No hard feelings, please. If you love the university as we know you do, I'm sure you'll do the right thing and give that $3M right back to help the children or the student/athletes in some meaningful way.

You may have thought you got the last jab in by ruining everyone's Big House "white out" in your honor tomorrow, but I think I can speak for everyone who fought for your "resignation" and give you our final words on the subject:

Thanks for all your help. We really appreciated all your input! But we'll be fine without you. Have a happy life! Really!

Can Stephen Ross save Dave Brandon?

I listen to a lot of sports talk radio, especially 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit. Yesterday afternoon, part of the discussion on the Valenti and Foster show was about U-M athletic director Dave Brandon and the swirl of rumors surrounding today's University of Michigan Regents meeting. Among the topics the Regents are reported to be discussing are Dave Brandon and the recent Shane Morris concussion incident. The moment these topics came out, supposition about Brandon even surviving the week started to brew and everyone began debating the possibilities. There's even a rumor that the university has reached out to three potential candidates for the AD position. 

On the show, host Mike Valenti surmised that both Brandon and Hoke would, without a doubt, be gone at the end of the season if not sooner. His co-host Terry Foster was somewhat less confident. The one thing he felt might prevent the university from firing Brandon was his friendly relationship with mega-donor Stephen Ross. Foster felt that it was possible U-M President Mark Schlissel and the Regents would be compelled to maintain Brandon's employment because Ross, in his lifetime, has donated over $300M to the university and continues to be supportive of Brandon in the media.

Well, the more they talked about possibility of Stephen Ross controlling the actions of U-M with his wallet, the more irritated I (by comparison, an impoverished alumna) got. I understand very well what major donors mean to the university and its budget; it can't rely on state funding alone to maintain being the leaders or the best. I also understand that the university has to continually curry their favor to keep the cash train rolling. What I don't believe is that an institution of U-M's stature, led by very talented, intelligent, and ambitious people, will allow a single man wielding a checkbook to tell them how they're going to run their enterprise. I may be naïve in that, but I don't think so. 

Stephen J. Ross is a generous man and I applaud his contributions to the university. If he has a notion that it's made him the Chairman of the Board of U-M, though, he has another thing coming:

• Ross is just one of over 540,000 living Michigan alumni. That's "one of" not "number one among". The other 539,999 or so may not all contribute as much as Ross, but the aggregate of what they do give back is significant. They also make their feelings about university matters known to the administration and to the Alumni Association. From what I can ascertain from social and traditional media, a lot of the feelings alumni share these days are very anti-Brandon. They want a winning football program. And even more so, they want the Michigan name to be respected again, not just a brand sold with a couple Cokes or written over the skies of East Lansing.
• Ross is not the only major donor. The names of other philanthropic men and women grace buildings all over the campus and the medical center. I haven't heard a peep out of the Taubman, Munger, or Frankel families, pro or con, regarding Brandon yet. I doubt we will. No Michigan donor who cares about the university as a whole would cease giving to it just to spite the administration over the firing of an athletic director or coach. And I doubt any of the buildings Ross or the others funded will be razed in retaliation for another multimillionaire losing his job. It's just business. That's what Brandon would tell you if he cut your job at U-M.
• One rich man can't support the entire Michigan Athletic machine on his own. If Ross was the only fan left sitting in the Big House on future football Saturdays, most other varsity sports would suffer or disappear. They get their operating funds from jam-packed games in the Big House and Crisler Center. Fans paying high prices for seats, souvenirs, meals, and drinks, along with TV revenues, are what keep Michigan Athletics going. It's the contribution of "the little people", not just the fortune of a man like Ross. Families and students with season tickets cycle to become the next generation of families and students who buy them and all the food and gear that go with them. The cycle of growing the next fanbase is critical in filling the Big House over time. When the AD alienates a future fan's season ticket-holding parents or treats the student section like unworthy punks, he's killing the fanatic desire of the program's future customers. And mediocre teams and empty stadiums don't exactly entice ESPN Game Day to your backyard, either.

These are just a few reasons I think people are wrong to fear the influence of Stephen Ross on the AD situation. I believe that Brandon and Hoke will lose their jobs eventually this year. The administration and the Regents value Michigan's reputation and traditions almost as much as its income. Almost. The idea that they would value one man's money over all other considerations is ridiculous to me, especially when so many other members of the Michigan family are screaming for change. 

So, I'm fairly certain that Stephen Ross will not be able to save Dave Brandon's job. Without a miracle, I doubt anyone could try and succeed. If he wants to hang with DB and plot to take over the world, perhaps they can ply Brandon's "If it ain't broke, break it" mantra seeking the governor's office in Lansing in 2018. He couldn't possibly screw up a whole state, could he? I know he'd get the Spartan vote.

Michigan Students, God Love'em

Although I've been unable to look away from the Michigan athletic train wreck this week, I must admit I'm not really in the mood to analyze the latest carefully crafted message from the administration, University President Dr. Mark Schlissel's press release about player safety and the Shane Morris affair. At the rate of 1.5 press releases per Michigan win, all within the last 4 days, I'm a bit burned out on it all. Let's just say it read almost exactly like I thought it would (meaning nothing like I hoped it would.) No major departure from the Brandon release, just a general commitment to implement the changes and recommendations outlined in the AD's statement earlier in the day. I was hoping for more than Schlissel's "extreme disappointment", but should have known no heads would roll today regardless of how many people begged for them on social and traditional media. A shiny new president is not going to jump rashly into action in a university arena he has little experience managing - athletics. I'm fairly certain the Brown Athletic Department and its AD never once troubled Brown's president. I can feel for Dr. Schlissel; he went from a place rather "chill" about major intercollegiate athletics into a frying pan of athletic passion when he came to Ann Arbor. The poor guy took office on the day the Brendan Gibbons story was at its peak and he hasn't had much of a reprieve from the distraction of Michigan sports since then.

The high point of this day for me actually came from the actions of Michigan's students. On Monday, the Michigan Daily called for the immediate firing of Brady Hoke. Students started online petitions to get Dave Brandon fired and within hours the petition, boldly hosted on an *.umich domain, had over 9,000 signatures. The students then used social media to quickly organize a Fire Brandon rally on the Diag that reportedly drew about 500 people and plenty of local and national media. After marching on the Diag, they moved to the steps of Dr. Schlissel's house and peacefully continued. It wasn't violent or ugly. No one was hurt. Nothing was set aflame. As one student tweeted:

How cool is that? Students, protesting to protect something they believe in. Fighting against something see as a threat to an institution they love and respect. Social media helped start the process and social media got them the attention they needed, but in all other ways, they did it just like their parents and grandparents did it "back in the day". Feet on the ground. Voices in the air. Gathering on the Diag. The cause is new. The methods more modern. But it was classic Michigan all the way. Those kids aren't glued to the couch playing Assassin's Creed. They do care about things and when it comes to Michigan Football, they know how important they are to the game day atmosphere now and to the bottom line later as alumni with families that form the next crop of season ticket holders and students. They reminded me of Apartheid shanties lining the Diag in the 1980s. They reminded me of how much I love the crazy place no matter how much I may hate the way it operates at times.