Re-hashing what he said last month, Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said Thursday any notion of Brady Hoke being on the hot seat is “nonsense.”
Via MLive.com, Brandon had this to say on a Detroit area radio station Thursday morning:“That’s websites and that’s bloggers and that’s social media and that’s all part of the game that’s played out there -- let’s stir up controversy,” Brandon said during an afternoon radio interview with Detroit Sports 105.1 FM. “This happens every year. I can’t do very much about that, other than (say), that’s nonsense.
“Brady and his staff are building something very important here. I believe strongly we’re moving in the right direction and I’m looking forward to a great a season coming up. All this hot seat stuff, to me, is just nonsense. I don’t pay any attention to it.”
Perhaps Brandon is telling the truth. While Michigan’s arrow has pointed down the last two years, the program is only three years removed from an 11-2 season and Sugar Bowl victory.
Hoke fired offensive coordinator Al Borges after last season and paid up to bring in Doug Nussmeier from Alabama, and giving him only one year with his new offensive coordinator may be short-sighted, too.
But then again, what are the odds Brandon would go on a radio station and say his coach is on the hot seat? There’s a reason why “the dreaded vote of confidence” is a thing in sports. Brandon isn’t going to tip his hand until he sees how things go in Ann Arbor this fall, so for now, of course he’s going to say everything is fine and he doesn’t expect to have to can Hoke.