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Brady Hoke should be fired immediately — and not because Michigan is 2-3 and has lost by double digits to Utah and Minnesota in the last two weeks.
That’s the sentiment expressed in an editorial Monday by the Michigan Daily, the university’s nationally renowned student newspaper, which joined a chorus of media outlets and pundits calling for Hoke to be fired over his handling of a head injury suffered Saturday by sophomore quarterback Shane Morris.
Hoke, already on the hot seat because of Michigan’s dismal performance on the field, allowed Morris to remain in the game after he sustained a blow to the head that required his teammates to help him remain upright.
Hoke denied any knowledge of Morris suffering a potential concussion, and the only injury to Morris that the coach referenced on Sunday was a further aggravated leg injury.
From the editorial:
We watched from the stands, the press box and the replays on TV as he reached for offensive lineman Ben Braden, who held Morris upright for a brief moment. We watched tight end Khalid Hill motion for a hunched Morris to go to the sideline.
We saw running back Justice Hayes signal to the sidelines for medical assistance to come on the field while offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier called for Morris to get on the ground so his evident injury could be assessed.
And yet Michigan coach Brady Hoke said he didn’t see any of that transpire.
Video of the play shows Morris struggled to stand upright and needing to be held up by his teammates after suffering a blow to the head in the fourth quarter of the Wolverines’ 30-14 loss. ESPN’s announcing crew immediately acknowledged the possibility of a concussion, with announcer Ed Cunningham calling it “appalling” that he remained in the game.
Watch the video here. The head-to-head blow that made Morris visibly groggy comes at the 2:15 mark.
Morris remained in the game on the following play before coming out and being replaced by Devin Gardner. That’s when things got even stranger. After Gardner’s third play in the game, he had his helmet knocked off, requiring by rule that he come out of the game. Yet Hoke allowed Morris to come back in the game when third-string QB Russell Bellomy temporarily couldn’t find his helmet.
Maize N Brew, SB Nation’s Michigan site, has a good rundown of what happened:
As Bellomy removes his headset and begins scrambling to find his helmet, Morris, who had finally taken off his helmet, starts walking towards the field of play, puts back on his helmet, and jogs onto the field. No Michigan coach, including Hoke, or any member of Michigan’s training staff stop him. At this point, Bellomy retrieves a helmet — one I do not believe is actually his — and starts to sprint onto the field before halting when he sees Morris is already in the huddle.
For starters, Morris never should have been in this huddle. But look at the play clock in the graphic above. THERE ARE A FULL 25 SECONDS ON THE PLAY CLOCK. That is plenty of time for Hoke to either: (1) call Morris back to the sideline and sub in Bellomy, who now has a helmet; (2) call a timeout, which still remains an option every second until the ball is snapped; or (3) PUT IN ANY PLAYER — WILTON SPEIGHT, BRIAN CLEARY, ALEX SWIECA, LINEBACKER JAKE RYAN, DEFENSIVE TACKLE WILLIE HENRY, ETC. — THAT IS NOT CONCUSSED.
Hoke issued a statement Sunday defending the team’s handling of Morris’ health, referencing only the leg injury as a reason Morris came out of the game. Here’s the statement, via MLive.com:
The safety of our student-athletes is always our top priority. We generally never discuss the specifics of a student-athlete’s medical care, but Shane Morris was removed from yesterday’s game against Minnesota after further aggravating an injury to his leg that he sustained earlier in the contest. He was evaluated by our experienced athletic trainers and team physicians, and we’re confident proper medical decisions were made. The University of Michigan has a distinguished group of Certified Athletic Trainers and team physicians who are responsible for determining whether or not a player is physically able to play. Our coaches have no influence or authority to make determinations if or when an injured player returns to competition. The health and welfare of our student-athletes is and will continue to be a top priority.
Hoke’s dumbfounding handling of the situation has been the subject of widespread outrage and was the topic of a feature Monday morning on Good Morning America.
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