Following the firing of offensive coordinator Jason Beck
, Michigan Wolverines head coach Kyle Whittingham explained what went wrong with the offense this season and why it was time to make a change at a press conference on Monday.“It never clicked,” Whittingham told the media. “We never seemed to get into a rhythm. He’s the offensive coordinator, so things fall on his plate as far as the responsibility for the lack of production, so that’s why we had to make the change.”
Michigan’s offense was undoubtedly
among the nation’s worst units under Beck, currently ranking 132nd in yards per game (302.6), 125th in points per game (19.6), 124th in first downs per game (16.9) and 123rd in yards per play (4.8).
It doesn’t get much worse than that, as the Wolverines struggled to find any glimmer of success for most of the season. Beck came into his first season at Michigan with high expectations, but instead, he was fired following just nine games.
Beck was certainly on the hot seat heading into last week’s rivalry game against the Michigan State Spartans, and by the time the game ended, it only felt like a matter of time until the first-year offensive coordinator was going to be fired.
“We didn’t do anything well on Saturday,” Whittingham said. “We didn’t run the ball well enough, we didn’t throw it well enough, we didn’t convert third downs, we didn’t protect the quarterback, and the biggest thing was four turnovers.”
Whittingham is right. Michigan’s offense didn’t do one thing right in a truly embarrassing 15-6 loss to Michigan State, who was winless and in last place in the Big Ten. So it became abundantly clear that it was time to move on from Beck.
The final nail in Beck’s coffin was a disaster-class against Michigan State, unlike any we’ve ever seen, as Michigan put up a nauseating 192 total yards and 3.7 yards per play, while committing four turnovers and finishing 2-for-10 on third downs.
According to the Associated Press’ Josh Dubow, Michigan was held scoreless in the first half of three separate home games this season, which had only happened a total of three times in the previous 24 years. Yeah, I think Beck had to go.
“Watching the film was the deciding factor,” Whittingham said. “I had the intention of waiting until after the season, but when I turned on the film, it was apparent I needed to make a change now. There was too much regression on offense.”
Whether it be a disparity in play calling and personnel, lack of understanding of Big Ten defenses, or a flawed scheme, Beck’s offense never clicked at Michigan, and Whittingham eventually had no choice but to fire the offensive coordinator.
