On Tuesday, Michigan fired head coach Brady Hoke after four seasons in Ann Arbor.
Hoke was scheduled to meet with interim athletic director Jim Hackett on Tuesday at noon. It's at this meeting that he was informed he will not be returning next season.
After leading the Wolverines to eleven wins and a victory in the Sugar Bowl in his first season, Michigan saw their win total fall in each of his next three seasons, culminating in a five-win output in 2014 that caused them to miss their second bowl game in the last five years. Hoke's final record in Ann Arbor was 31-20, with the Wolverines going 6-12 in Hoke's final 18 games. Two of those victories came against non-BCS competition.
Hoke's biggest struggles as head coach tended to be on the road, where his career record at Michigan was 7-11, with their only Big Ten road wins being against Purdue, Illinois, Northwestern and Minnesota.
With three excellent recruiting classes in tow, Hoke and his staff were unable to find the Big Ten Championship that he stated as his main goal when taking the job in January of 2011. The 2012, 2013 and 2014 recruiting classes were among the best in the country, with the 2012 and 2013 classes being top-ten level classes. Despite consistently recruiting some of the top offensive linemen in the country in both classes, Michigan was unable to develop what most would call a mediocre unit, leading to two of the lowest rushing totals in school history in the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
The Wolverines, and interim athletic director Jim Hackett, will now pursue other options to replace Hoke. Among the believed top targets for the job are former Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh and Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops. Former Michigan player and assistant Les Miles (currently at LSU) is another name that will see a lot of publicity as well.
