Brady Hoke on the Hot Seat? Michigan Coach Missing the Hit on Shane Morris is 'Inexplicable'
ByBrady Hoke is officially on the hot seat as head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines following the loss Saturday at home to Minnesota.
USA Today's George Schroeder opined that Hoke's handling of an apparent head injury to quarterback Shane Morris is the final straw for the coach. Morris took a helmet-to-helmet hit in the fourth quarter then fell backward and whipped his head on the ground, before getting up and struggling to stay upright.
With everything known about head injuries in the sport of football, it seemed inconceivable that Morris stayed in for the next play, whether he actually had a concussion or not. Hoke said his QB clutched a teammate's shoulder to stay because of an ankle injury.
"We would never, ever put a guy on the field when there is a possibility of head trauma," Hoke said in his post-game media address, according to ESPN. "We won't do that."
Schroeder pointed to another one of Hoke's post-game comments as a reason for the coach to lose his job.
"Give Hoke the benefit of the doubt. But given the concern over head trauma in football, the sight of a woozy quarterback continuing to play is scary," Schroeder wrote. "The idea that Hoke did not see Morris stumble, then grab a teammate to keep from crumpling to the ground, is inexplicable."
The 30-14 loss to Minnesota was the Wolverines' second in a row and both came at home, bringing their record to 2-3. Their schedule does not get any easier either, as they still have home games against Penn State and Maryland and road games against Michigan State and Ohio State.
At 0-1 in Big Ten play, Michigan is chasing all four for the Eastern division lead.
"I think this team can still win the (Big Ten) Championship," Hoke said after the game. "I really do."