Throughout the history of college football and the Big Ten, Michigan has been a dominant name. Legends like Charles Woodson, Tom Brady, Desmond Howard and more have walked through their doors. Bo Schembechler and Lloyd Carr defined their coaching legacies there. Despite all the history, the Michigan Wolverines sit at 3-4 (1-2 in the Big Ten) and in a downward spiral that’s lasted for seasons.
The Wolverines have not been very relevant in the race for championships since midway through the Lloyd Carr era. They are now on head coach number two after Carr and it’s been 7 years since his retirement. The biggest thing that defined the Carr era was a culture.
What Michigan’s administration determines as a “Michigan Man” was built by Schembechler and refined by Carr. In hiring Rich Rodriguez, they thought they were making an aggressive move but backed away too quickly. Now Rodriguez is building a culture and having tremendous success at the University of Arizona. Instead, the administration hired Brady Hoke, someone who they believed to fit the role of a “Michigan Man”.
There was success in year one (11-2 and a Sugar Bowl win), but that was with the recruits that Rodriguez brought in. Since then, each season has gotten worse. Now, Hoke is in a mess in his fourth season at the helm, headlined by a complete lack of judgment in the Shane Morris concussion fiasco, and a shocking loss to new Big Ten member Rutgers. Despite a win over Penn State to stop the skid, it may not be enough to salvage the season.
If the Wolverines want to stop the bleeding and build a winner, they need to change the culture. The most successful coaches in history have built winners through recruiting players who fit and buy into the system. One example of a current rebuild that could serve as a model is the Charlie Strong hiring at the University of Texas.
In his first season moving from a smaller stage at the University of Louisville to arguably the biggest in Texas, Strong has immediately set a tone. Taking over for the wildly popular Mack Brown, strong faced a program filled with complacency. Strong immediately set rules and dismissed numerous players for violations of those rules.
While the Longhorns are 2-4, they have changed the course of the program for years. As it stands currently, the University of Michigan isn’t ready to make the hard choice.
If the Wolverines want to raise future championships and finally have sustained success against the Ohio State University, they need a Texas style rebuild. If Hoke is not removed soon, the Wolverines will watch the Arizona Wildcats and Texas Longhorns play for championships under coaches who changed the culture, not enabled a culture. Leaving a lame duck coach in is not the right move for a program as highly regarded as Michigan.
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