Overall Summary and Analysis of 2014 Michigan Football Season

The Offense hired a new Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach with Doug Nussmeier, and the hire did not reap dividends by improving the offense or the quarterback position. Our quarterbacks turned the ball over 24 times in 12 games, and as a result we were 120th in the nation and last in the Big Ten in turnover margin. Nussmeier, a "Southpaw," was supposed to help develop Shane Morris, and did not help develop him much at all; as a result, we lacked a strong backup quarterback this season, and don't have any idea if he may start in 2015. Our offense did improve from 2013 in rushing the ball, and reduces negative plays; we were 65th nationally in rushing and 7th in the Big Ten. Our running backs did show improvement! Derrick Green, DeVeon Smith, and Drake Johnson all showed flashes of brilliance at times during the season. Although our offensive line improved, we also gave up 27 sacks, many hurries and quarterback hits. Unfortunately, our passing game was terrible. One can blame both Devin Gardner in poor execution, but also Devin Funchess in dropped passes; they were not a memorable combination as predicted, and only combined for 4 TD passes the entire season, two in the first game with Appalachian State. Jake Butt came off an ACL injury in March to reclaim his starting position, and solidified the tight end position after Khalid Hill also went down with an ACL tear. When one views this offense over a 12 game season, we were one of the two worst offenses in the conference finishing 13th in scoring and total offense, 109th and 114th nationally in both categories with only five wins, three in the conference. We were poor in first downs, 3rd down conversions and although good in the red zone, we couldn't drive down the field offensively to have enough red zone chances. We did improve in time of possession, but were not a threat to opposing defenses when we had possession. Joe Kerridge improved as did Amara Darboh, but while we did have some individual players who improved, we did not jell as a unit. While we have 9 starters returning (all except Gardner and Funchess), few can say that we'll have a "great" offense in 2015. We have to develop not just a starting quarterback, but a solid backup as well as a balanced attack in the air as well as on the ground. Whoever is our next coach will have to work with our offensive personnel in the 15 Spring practices to make this unit come together for next season.

Offense+	Offense-
Kerridge, Joe	Gardner, Devin
Johnson, Drake	Funchess, Devin
Darboh, Amara	Morris, Shane
Butt, Jake	Magnuson, Erik
Miller, Jack

While our defense was better statistically, and more consistent than the offense, it was still not a good defense. We did not create turnovers (14th in the Big Ten) nor were we strong in the red zone (7th in the Big Ten) or on 3rd down conversions (8th in the Big Ten). Our pass defense was very bad; we were 11th in the Big Ten in pass efficiency defense. We did have strong linebacking with Ryan and Bolden, but our defensive line did not create enough pressure and our backfield was poor on coverage. The injuries to Jabrill Peppers, Ramon Taylor, Delano Hill, and Desmond Morgan really hurt the team early in the season, but Jourdan Lewis did come and and help considerably. Our safeties were really, really bad. They did assist on many tackles, but made few solo tackles and couldn't cover well at all. The highlights for our opposition all show huge gaps in coverage leading to big plays.

Defense+	Defense-
Ryan, Jake	Countess, Blake
Bolden, Joe	Ross, James
Lewis, Jourdan	Stribling, Channing
	Clark, Jeremy
	Wilson, Jarrod
	Hill, Delano
	Taylor, Ramon

Our special teams were not very good at all. Both our punt and kickoff return teams finished 11th in the Big Ten. Dennis Norfleet wowed fans with his dancing, but his returns have been far from exciting. Like Gardner, Norfleet is tentative, indecisive and makes poor decisions. Jabrill Peppers would have been an exciting punt returner to watch if he wasn't injured. Matt Wile did a decent job on kickoffs, but the kickoff team was poor on coverage. Wile did a decent job in field goals and extra points, but we had two field goals blocked this season. Will Hagerup, a 6th year player after 3 suspensions, was inconsistent, and rarely helped our team in field position battles; as a result, we finished 10th in net punting in the Big Ten and 107th nationally. We did have some solid play from Delonte Hollowell, Allen Gant, Jehu Chesson, Ben Gedeon, and Joe Bolden, but we were inconsistent in every phase. Dan Ferrigno did a poor job over four seasons in developing a solid special teams unit.

Special Teams+	Special Teams-
Sypniewski, Scott	Hagerup, Will
	Norfleet, Dennis

There were a lot of poor decisions made by this coaching staff, and that is why they were not retained. Darrell Funk should have been fired at the end of the 2013 season, but he was retained and that was a mistake. Funk was a poor recruiter, and never developed the offensive line over four seasons. Our tradition of solid offensive linemen from the Bo-Mo-Carr eras (1969-2007) continued under Greg Frey (2008-2010), but came to a screaching halt under Funk (2011-2014). There were no offensive linemen recognized by the Big Ten Media or Coaches for even honorable mention in 2014. Nolan Jones was fired after working only one season as Director of Football Operations; few people brought this issue up in the press, but while the circumstances weren't made public, the change showed a lack of team leadership internally as did the defection of Jerry Montgomery to Oklahoma in 2012. The "concussiongate" story with Shane Morris made national attention, and the miscommunication between Hoke and Brandon in the aftermath was another sign of mismanagement of the program. Another public relations casualty of the Hoke era was Media Director Derek Satterfield whose tenure lasted from May 29-December 4, 2014. Many people questioned Hoke's decision to name captains at the end of the season rather than prior to the season as has been the Wolverine tradition until Rodriquez came in. I think giving Funchess and Countess the #1 and #2 jerseys were also a poor decisions. There was a lack of team leadership in 2013 and 2014, and when there is a lack of leadership, one can point to the coaches for not developing leadership on the team.

Coaching+	Coaching-
Mattison, Greg	Hoke, Brady
Smith, Mark	Funk, Darrell
Jackson, Fred	Nussmeier, Doug
	Ferrigno, Dan
	Manning, Roy
	Mallory, Doug
	Hecklinski, Jeff

Other issues that plagued the team's success in 2014 included several off the field isssues including the dismissal of two Michigan players, Csonte York and Frank Clark. Kyle Bosch also left the team in early September for "personal" reasons. Garrett Glasgow was suspended for one game after a drunken escapade with at least one Wolverine volleyball player and others. Delano Hill also missed a game due to an undisclosed suspension. Team morale and discipline was negatively affected by all these issues, and recruiting deteriorated with our competitors reminding prospects that the end of the Hoke era was imminent which wasn't an untruth. The whole David Brandon fiasco also affected the football team negatively. Injuries also contributed to the lack of team success, but every NCAA Division I Football squad has injuries to overcome. When one considers that we were ranked #31 in the Pre-Season, 4th in the Big Ten with a predicted record of 9-3, and we end up the season ranked 65th nationally by Jeff Sagrin, and 9th in the Big Ten wtih ten other Big Ten teams earning bowl games, it really shows not only a lack of leadership, but mismanagment of the players, their talent and our resources.

Other-	Injuries-
Brandon, David	Peppers, Jabrill
York, Csonte	Hill, Khalid
Clark, Frank	Johnson, Drake
Bosch, Kyle	Morgan, Desmond
Glasgow, Garrett	Green, Derrick
Hill, Delano	Hill, Delano
	Henry, Willie

Lloyd Carr announced his retirement on November 18, 2007. Rich Rodriquez was hired on December 17, 2007 and was fired on January 5, 2011. Brady Hoke was hired on January 12, 2011 and fired on December 2, 2014. Our football searching committee is "on the clock." Jim Hackett, Mike DeBoard, and other committee members have targeted Jim Harbaugh as their top choice. Will they get him? Will they consider Les Miles or will Carr's influence not to hire him for past transgressions halt the possibility? Other top programs, Nebraska and Florida, have already hired new coaches within days of the end of the season.