Michigan coach Brady Hoke defends AD Dave Brandon, but is still passing the buck on Shane Morris
The narrative Michigan coach Brady Hoke has been peddling all week didn’t change much during his weekly Thursday morning appearance on the "Stoney and Bill Show," but he did want to make one thing clear — he’s running Michigan football, not athletic director Dave Brandon.
According to the Detroit News, the hosts of the show asked Hoke about the calls to fire Brandon in light of the situation with quarterback Shane Morris. Morris played in two plays after suffering what Michigan has called a mild concussion.
"I think it's funny people think Dave's making all the decisions in the football program," Hoke told the radio station. "No, Dave and I are very, very close, and we have a great relationship that's built from respect, trust and character.
"We value the leadership that both of us have and the responsibilities that we have and we understand the demands and the expectations that we both have when it comes to Michigan football.
"It's all nonsense. If you're sitting in my seat you would see it and you would probably laugh about it a little bit. People think Dave made the change when we hired (offensive coordinator) Doug Nussmeier, so he's running the program. It is just amazing to me the criticism that he's gotten when it comes to this whole deal."
Hoke reiterated that it’s up to the medical staff to decide whether Morris should have been taken out of the game or gone back in. This is a claim Hoke has stuck to despite arguments that anyone looking at Morris should have seen he was in pain from both the hit to the head and a leg injury he sustained earlier in the game and that he should have been pulled out as a matter of common sense.
Hoke also said he tried to call a timeout when Gardner’s helmet came off, but that officials wouldn’t let him.
“You're on the field, you're coaching football. You're at it, you're making adjustments, you're doing everything you can,” Hoke said. “When Devin's helmet came off I tried to buy him back in the game with a timeout and was told I couldn't, which was wrong. I was told for about an eight to nine second spot there I couldn't until another official corrected the head referee. By that time Shane was on the field."
Hoke also explained why third-string quarterback Russell Bellomy didn’t come into the game instead of Morris. When Gardner had to come out of the game, cameras went to Bellomy, who was searching for his helmet. Bellomy tried on two different helmets and neither appeared to be his. By the time it was all sorted out, Morris was already on the field.
"Here's what you guys don't know because you're not on the sideline: You always have the second's (backup's) helmet, so whoever the second is, you have their helmet -- someone has it,” Hoke said. “You usually don't have the third. That's usually on the bench somewhere. So when you talk about confusion and all that, that's where that came from and it all stemmed from buying a guy back in and not being able to buy him back in. (So) 99 percent of the people don't know unless you've been on the sideline."
Hoke defended starting Morris over Gardner against Minnesota by saying Morris had earned the spot and that Gardner needed to sit and reflect. But, as Hoke has said at times already this week, he feels bad for Morris, who has now, unintentionally, become the center of controversy.
“I feel bad for Shane. I feel bad (for) his family — there are reporters at their front door, there's people calling him, because that's what the media does,” Hoke said. “I feel bad for him. As far as an attitude and a teammate, he's awesome."
At the end of the interview, one of the hosts made a comment about the offense being worse under first-year offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier than it was under fired coordinator Al Borges.
"Well, that's an opinion," Hoke said.
"It's kind of fact too, actually, as far as statistics," host Mike Stone said.
"Statistically, yeah," Hoke said.
Overall, Hoke is trying to keep a positive attitude in the face of what is a dismal situation. Few people believe Hoke will be retained at the end of the season and many think he’ll be fired before the season ends. But Hoke said he’s trying to block that out and focus on coaching.
"I'm doing fine. When you're in a position of leadership, there's always criticism. That's part of it,” Hoke said. “I do think from the football side of it and getting ready for Rutgers it's been a very good week, how the guys have competed. They've got a little bit of an attitude to them, which I think will carry over to Saturday, and it's been fun to be with the kids. Because at the end of the day, and I've said it 100 times, that's why I got into coaching, is to be with these kids. The rest of the stuff is what it is. The good thing is about being at Michigan, you don't hide from it. You fix it when things aren't going right or there's an issue that comes up. We're going to fix it from the president on down."
For more Michigan news, visit TheWolverine.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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