A messy, tiring, and embarrassing saga in Michigan Athletics history came to the only logical end today as interim university President Mary Sue Coleman and Athletic Director Warde Manuel announced that hockey coach Mel Pearson has been relieved of his duties: 

It is official:
The University of Michigan has terminated hockey coach Mel Pearson’s employment.

— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) August 5, 2022

For those living under a rock, Pearson was under investigation by the WilmerHale law firm from fall 2021 until spring 2022 due to a complaint filed by former goalie consultant Steve Shields that Pearson retaliated against him in firing Shields in August 2021, in violation of the university's code. The investigation's report, which was finished on May 5 and leaked to the public on Tuesday through MLive, concluded that while Pearson did not technically violate university code in firing Shields, the tenure of Pearson and his right-hand man, former Director of Hockey Operations Rick Bancroft, was deeply troubling and problematic.

The report painted a rather muddled picture of the allegations that Pearson directed his players to lie on contact tracing forms during the COVID-19 outbreak in March 2021 and regarded the allegation that Bancroft's (supposed) knowledge of Dr. Robert Anderson's conduct was central to the feud between Shields and Pearson as unfounded. However, the report did uncover what could best be described as a toxic workplace culture towards female employees in the hockey department, largely perpetrated by Bancroft, forcing one employee into retirement rather than to continue to work for Michigan. The report didn't list a multitude of instances of negative conduct by Pearson towards women, but did highlight one troublesome incident involving Hockey Sports Information Director Kristy McNeil that Pearson was involved in. At the very least, the report described Pearson as enabling Bancroft's behavior. 

Finally, the report detailed a culture of intimidation between Pearson and some members of the Michigan team. It stated how Pearson set conditions around team captain Strauss Mann that pushed Mann towards departing the program after Mann spoke up in favor of greater "respect" for the players (Mann was closely associated with Shields), leading to Mann signing in Sweden in April 2021. After that, the university commissioned an anonymous survey of players and staffers, which found that between 30 and 35% felt that they were not "respected and treated fairly" by Pearson, that they "personally experienced offensive, intimidating, discriminatory, or harassing conduct", and that they rated the culture more negatively than positively (this was not in the report but was leaked to The Athletic on Tuesday in conjunction with the report). The report also documented a meeting between the eight seniors from the 2021-22 team and Sport Administrator Josh Richelew, in which the group stated that Pearson "holds grudges", that if players were to speak up or complain they "won't play", and that the Mann incident made them "afraid of the consequences" if they "came forward". 

If you would like to read the report in full, you can do so here, or you can read a full summary with excerpts included in a tweet thread from your author here. 

[James Coller]

After the report was released to the Athletic Department in early May, Warde Manuel and his department did.... basically nothing. Pearson's contract expired at midnight on May 1, 2022, and for three months, he remained as head coach without a contract, one of the stranger developments anyone can remember. Insiders on paid sites like 24/7 and Rivals continued to signal that the university intended to keep Pearson, but as the weeks went by with no extension announced, more confusion and doubt began to shroud the situation. In June, MLive reported that Bancroft had been let go, leading many (myself included) to theorize that Michigan intended to use Bancroft as the fall guy to keep Pearson. That said, as the dog days of summer began to arrive and still no news was around the corner, more questions began to be asked. Then, the report was leaked to the media. We got word it had been obtained by independent journalists (no word as to how) a week ago today, and then it was published on Tuesday. 

The report's shocking bombshells led many on this space and elsewhere to conclude on Tuesday that Pearson needed to be removed from his position. Interim President Mary Sue Coleman met with Manuel on Wednesday, who, it had been indicated to this blog privately, was still in firm support of Pearson. That was confirmed publicly yesterday morning when John U. Bacon reported that Manuel stood in opposition to Coleman, as well as the unanimous (8-0) assent of the Board of Regents, who all supported the firing of Pearson. It was then reported last night by Bacon that unanimity had been reached between Manuel, Coleman, and the Regents. Given that Coleman and the Regents are the superiors to Manuel, most saw the writing on the wall as to Pearson's future. Indeed, the news that was very predictable last night came to fruition today. 

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[JD Scott]

The End of the Pearson Era 

Mel's exit as head coach is a bit of an odd, full-circle moment for your author as a media member: he's the first Michigan coach of any sport who I covered closely from the beginning to leave Michigan. I got my start before MGoBlog through WCBN Sports Radio, the student radio station on campus back in the fall of 2017 as a freshman. The first major sports game I got to cover as a student media member was also Mel's first regular season game at Yost, October 20, 2017, against Vermont. Over the course of the next four years, I broadcasted countless home hockey games of Mel's Wolverines for WCBN Sports, as well as one Duel in the D, one GLI, and one Frozen Four. I also hosted a (short-lived) student hockey podcast on the team that occasionally featured player interviews. I joined MGoBlog's hockey coverage team part-time for the 2020-21 season, and stayed on the gig this past season after becoming a full-time employee at the company last summer. I'm one of the few media members who has been involved at Michigan all five years of the Pearson Era. 

Mel's first season was one of sugary optimism. After a tough start to the season, the team went 12-4-1 from mid-January to the middle of March, and the only squad they couldn't seem to beat was Ohio State. Led by star veterans Cooper Marody and Tony Calderone, as well as youngsters Josh Norris and Quinn Hughes, Michigan made the NCAA Tournament. They beat a pair of talented teams in Northeastern and Boston U to make the Frozen Four, exceeding expectations. A heart-wrenching loss in St. Paul to Notre Dame was a bitter end, but in Year 1, it seemed like the sky was the limit. 

Year 2 was a fall from that. The veterans left but with Hughes and Norris returning, expectations were high. Too high, it turned out. The team struggled even before Norris was ruled out for the season, and then they sputtered in exceptionally frustrating fashion through the season, with a limited offense and middling defense. When the team lost four straight to close out the season and miss the tournament, the reaction from most was "good riddance". Year 3 was Mel's least-talented roster, but one of his better coaching jobs. After starting 4-9-2, the team caught fire in the second half behind the dominant goaltending of Strauss Mann. They were on a 14-5-2 run and set to play Ohio State in the B1G Semifinals with a berth to the NCAA Tournament on the line when the COVID pandemic canceled the remainder of the season. 

Thank you, Strauss [James Coller]

After COVID rocked our world for much of 2020, Michigan Hockey returned in November of that year with an entirely new roster of hyper-talented players. The recruiting tree had finally bore its fruits, an embarrassment of riches like Brendan Brisson and Owen Power and Matty Beniers and Thomas Bordeleau. Year 4 was a young and inconsistent team, but one that again played better in the second half. They didn't come away with any hardware after losing to Minnesota in the semis of the B1G Tournament but were the #8 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament when the COVID-19 outbreak that was involved in the investigation knocked Michigan out of the tourney before it started. 

It was a heartbreaking end to the season, but redemption seemed like destiny when nearly every key player from the preceding year returned for 2021-22. Year 5 had the highest expectations for any Michigan Hockey season in recent memory and it started well. The team won the Ice Breaker Tournament in Duluth to catapult to #1 in late October, but then took some hits in November and December, as it always seemed like Mel's teams did. As the calendar turned to 2022, the Wolverines were swept up in controversy after they backed out of a date in the "Great Lakes Invitational" against Western Michigan under the iffy pretext of health and welfare protocols. Michigan had a shorthanded roster due to the World Juniors and injuries and while they were short-staffed, they had a full roster to play that game (they'd played the day before against Michigan Tech). To many, it seemed like Michigan declined to play because they didn't want to play the #4 team in the land without their best players. 

That made Michigan Hockey a national villain throughout most of the year. The team surged in January and February and seemed positioned to win the regular season crown before fumbling it away to Minnesota through two losses in South Bend. The Wolverines did get payback by beating Minnesota in Minneapolis in the B1G Tournament, the only B1G banner Mel would raise at Michigan. That got the Wolverines the #1 ranking the NCAA Tournament, and they easily handled American International before going up 4-0 on Quinnipiac in the Regional Final, only to see that one narrow to 4-3. Michigan ended up winning 7-4 and punched their ticket to the Frozen Four in Boston, but there they met their end, losing in devastating fashion again, a 3-2 OT loss to eventual national champion Denver. 

[David Wilcomes]

In total, Mel Pearson finishes his career 99-65-16 (.594) and 57-47-10 (.510) in the B1G. He won one B1G Tournament crown but was unable to win a regular season title. Pearson led the team to three NCAA Tournaments (may have been four if they'd played OSU in 2020, but we will never know) and reached the Frozen Four both times his team played a game. However, they went 0-2 in National Semifinal games, losing both by one goal. Pearson's on-ice record was indicative of a good coach, but not one whose success was overwhelming or legendary. 

If there is one area that Mel will most be remembered for, besides being fired in disgrace, it will be his impeccable recruiting. In his five years in Ann Arbor, he took Michigan Hockey's already-excellent track record of producing NHL players to a new level. He turned Yost into a factory of future NHLers in 2021 and 2022, once his recruits arrived. He inherited several top notch recruits from Red, Norris and Quinn Hughes, both of whom have become very good NHL players, and then built on that through his own guys.

In July 2021, Michigan accomplished an NCAA first, having four of the top five picks in the NHL Draft be current or future Michigan Wolverines, as Owen Power went 1, Matty Beniers went 2, Luke Hughes went 4, and Kent Johnson went 5. The 2021-22 Michigan roster, featuring seven first round picks, one second round pick, and one third round pick, was the most talented in NCAA Hockey history. The team he leaves behind (which still includes Hughes) is still remarkably talented, likely to feature four current first round picks (as well as two future firsts), one second rounder, one third rounder, and one fourth rounder. Deepening the existing NHL ties and turning Michigan into The Place You Play In The NCAA If You Are A Future First Rounder will be Mel's lasting (positive) legacy, if it can be sustained. 

[James Coller]

From the Mel era, I will remember the brutal Novembers and Decembers, and the torrid paces that followed. I'll remember the goaltending effort of Hayden Lavigne down the stretch in 2018, the greatness of Strauss Mann, and the excellence of Erik Portillo last season. I'll remember the beautiful skating of Quinn Hughes, the dominance of Cooper Marody, the silky hands of Thomas Bordeleau, the beatdowns of MSU, the development of unheralded Nick Blankenburg into a captain and NHLer, and the grit and heart of the Raabe-Van Wyhe-Moyle line. I'll remember the highs of winning the B1G Tournament in March and yes, I will remember the pain and heartache after both Frozen Fours. Unfortunately, I also have to remember writing my frustrations about frequently having to cover off ice drama over the past 18 months, as Michigan was seemingly swept up in controversy after controversy, becoming a punch-line in national NCAA Hockey circles. 

Despite what Michigan did accomplish on the ice, and the great players who played here under Mel, the biggest part of his legacy must be what the report uncovered and the black mark that leaves on the program. Of the players I just mentioned above, three of them, Van Wyhe, Moyle, and Blankenburg, were seniors this past season and thus are assumed to have been in the group of eight players that told Richelew how they felt intimidated, threatened, and silenced by Mel's reign over the program. If that's not heartbreaking for a fan who loves these players, I don't know what is. As good as the Michigan teams were under Mel, it's hard not to wonder if they could've been better if certain players weren't afraid of the coach and if the locker room were closer and more in harmony. That's a part of Mel's legacy. He recruited great players, but also likely held them back by the manner in which he conducted business.

Mel also must be remembered as a liar who lowered the integrity of Michigan Athletics. I don't know Mel personally and so I can't speak of his personal character, but the report caught Mel in a blatant lie when he told investigators that he and Steve Shields never discussed Strauss Mann on May 12, 2021, which was proven false when Shields produced tapes of that conversation, proving Mann was discussed. That is the clearest example we have, but the report continued to use terms like "we do not find [Mel's] account to be credible", contrasting his story with a synchronous one provided by many witnesses. When you combine it with the Mel emails uncovered through FOIA requests back in January surrounding the GLI cancelation, which, while not nearly as damning as Tech Hockey Guide made them out to be, did indicate that Mel was not telling the whole truth about his involvement with the decision to cancel, you see a portrait of a coach who does not have a pattern of reliably telling the truth and should not be afforded the benefit of the doubt on anything. That is below the standard of integrity of what Michigan Athletics should be. 

[James Coller]

Mel must be remembered as a coach who created a divided program and locker room due to his paranoiac authoritarian grip over it. The survey results provide conclusive evidence of that. He also created a seemingly toxic work environment for female employees by employing Rick Bancroft and refusing to listen when his employees complained about Bancroft's behavior. The team won a healthy number of games with Mel Pearson as coach, but his off-ice costs to employees, players, and the image of the program was not, under any circumstances, acceptable. That is why he was rightly shown the door today. 

It's a funny thing, how a coach can embarrass the program and be fired unceremoniously yet leave the program better off than he found it. That's the weird case with Mel Pearson. The final Red years were rough, making the NCAA Tournament once in his last five seasons and the 2017 team was particularly putrid. Red left behind a couple prized recruits but the program needed a breath of fresh air and someone to steer the ship back on course. Mel did that on-ice, making the tournament much more frequently, recruiting at an elite level, and leaving behind a cupboard stocked with talent and a recent tradition of winning. The job is much better than when Mel inherited it, but that doesn't mean whoever comes in won't have problems to clean up. The new coach will need to patch up the locker room and instill a new culture of respect towards players and staffers. Oh, and they'll need to do it on the fly, with less than two months before the season thanks to the (at best) confusing and (at worst) incompetent manner that the Athletic Department handled this process. Mel leaves the program better than he found it, but there's a very good reason he got fired. All of that is his legacy. 

What's Next?

Michigan now needs to find a coach. I will have a piece on coaching candidates out at the start of next week, but for reasons mentioned above, this will need to be an expedited search. They really have until the end of August to get someone in there, and even then, that person will be operating on the fly. The circumstances thus suggest an internal hire could be the likeliest solution here. If only they hadn't waited until August to make this decision when the report was available months ago...