"This was the performance that put Hoke's job squarely in danger," The News' columnist says.
"This is the stuff that gets a coach fired," Bob Wojnowski writes in a blunt Detroit News column about UM's latest football humiliation. "Hoke has to know his job is in jeopardy. . . . Not now, not Monday, but Brady Hoke is on the clock, and it's ticking ominously."
It wasn't just the 26-10 loss to Utah, a wet mess halted for two-and-a-half hours by rain and lightning.
It was the horrific offense, the downfall of Devin Gardner and all the other ugly images. It was Hoke and defensive coordinator Greg Mattison yelling at each other late in the first half after Michigan was penalized for a sideline infraction. . . .
Of course Hoke should finish out the season, and the 2-2 Wolverines should try to salvage something in the Big Ten, but it will take a stirring turnaround for him to recover from this. . . . At some point Michigan has to get this right. . . .
Better results are mandatory now, because this was the performance that put Hoke's job squarely in danger.
A sign of fan frustration arose Saturday night on Wikipedia, where someone "took Hoke’s situation seriously enough to change his job status on his Wikipedia page to the 'former' coach of the Michigan Wolverines," Dan Jenkins posts at CBS Detroit. The mischief, shown below, was reversed shortly afterward.
In his hard-hitting column, headlined "UM collapse puts Hoke in dire straits," Wojnowski acknowledges that the coach still is in the plus column statistically -- for what it's worth.
Hoke's 28-15 overall, 15-9 in the Big Ten, but has more signatures losses than signature wins.
Michigan is 2-8 in its last 10 games against opponents from the five power conferences.
-- Alan Stamm
