When Brady Hoke emerged as a candidate to replace Rich Rodriguez in 2011, Jason Whitlock wrote that, “[Hoke would] crawl on hot, broken glass to work inside Schembechler Hall as the head coach.”
Now, three games into his fourth season, he’d rather crawl on hot, broken glass than answer questions about the status of injured players.
Are you wondering if wide receiver Devin Funchess will play versus Utah? Or how about linebacker Desmond Morgan?
Hoke has nothing for you.
"I'm not going to talk about any of those guys who didn't play," Hoke said during his weekly press conference.
When pressed for a reason he replied, "Because I don't feel like it.”
While the quip earned a chuckle from the assembled media, it’s an example of Hoke’s changing relationship with the media as his team’s fortunes have dipped during his tenure.
Michigan entered this season unranked, with declining student ticket sales and the athletic department needing to hustle to preserve its streak of 100,000-plus crowds. Prior to the season opener, the athletic department offered deals bundling basketball tickets as an incentive for fans to buy football tickets.
Michigan, the quintessential football school, had resorted to leveraging basketball to fill its football stadium.
Hoke’s Return to Ann Arbor
Hoke was hailed upon his return to Ann Arbor in the wake of the disastrous Rich Rodriguez era. Hoke went on the road to re-engage fans and alumni who had been alienated by Rodriguez’ lukewarm embrace of Michigan tradition and even more disappointed by his 15-22 record on the field.
Hoke and his staff also made efforts to publicize the changes on the field. During spring and fall camp, selected practices were open to the media. When the season began, Hoke continued a practice began under Rodriguez of having informal roundtable discussions after his formal press conferences. These sessions provided a forum for more in-depth questions on a wide range of topics.
Fort Schembechler, as the football complex is known, had lowered the gates and was engaged in proactive public relations effort to promote Hoke’s efforts to bring tradition back to Michigan football.
Hoke’s efforts on the field bore immediate fruit. The team went 11-2 in its first season. Media coverage was also favorable; a rift that had opened up under Rodriguez that resulted in a very public and embarrassing NCAA investigation (but only minor penalties) had been repaired.
The Fort Pulls Up the Drawbridge
But access began to change as the team’s fortunes dipped. During Hoke’s second season, practice visits were scaled back. Criticism began to mount as the team finished 8-5. It began with a 41-14 loss to Alabama and was punctuated by debates about whether Hoke should wear a coaching headset during games and offensive coordinator Al Borges' baffling experiment to turn quarterback Denard Robinson into a dropback passer.
Criticism reached a crescendo last season as Michigan fell to 7-6 amid a lost November, when the team went 1-4, which included losses to key rivals Michigan State and Ohio State. The discontent become so fierce that athletic director David Brandon took to his blog to offer support and rebuke critics:
Brady Hoke is our coach and will be leading our football program well into the future. There is no question about it. Brady has done a great job rebuilding the program and reshaping the culture to the level it was under coaches Bo Schembechler, Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr. Anyone making efforts to stir up a coaching controversy at Michigan is ill-informed and is likely promoting a personal agenda that is not in the best interest of Michigan Football.
The message was clear. You’re either with us or against us.
It’s a theme that Hoke would echo this season when questioned about his team’s 31-0 loss to Notre Dame.
"If they're truly fans, they'll believe in these kids and what they've done and the hard work they've put in," he said. "If they're not, they won’t."
From Boo-Boos to Radio Silence
Hoke has always been reluctant to discuss injuries. In his first couple of seasons, he’d describe them as “boo-boos” or “owies,” but he’d least entertain questions about when a player would return.
This season he has decided to not answer any questions about injuries unless a player will miss the rest of the season.
Occasionally a player will tweet information that could be construed as an update, only adding to the rumors and confusion among fans.
When things were going well, Hoke was open when answering questions and discussing players, but as the losses have mounted, information has become less than forthcoming. The media discussion roundtables have also been scrapped.
Victory may have a thousand fathers, but defeat begets thousands of questions, and fans are hungry for information, with injuries being a top area of interest.
Until Hoke can win more games, his reluctance to address injuries will only bring more negative attention to a program that appears to be hanging in the balance.
Phil Callihan is a featured writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations obtained firsthand
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