Dave Portnoy has watched enough Michigan football lately to understand why somebody might complain about the coaching. Finding those complaints in a player's group chat apparently hasn't changed his priorities.
The Michigan Wolverines have a struggling offense and consecutive losses to show for it. In Portnoy's view, getting worked up over tight end Zack Marshall's leaked messages belongs well down the list.
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Dave Portnoy Defends Zack Marshall Amid Group Chat Backlash
Marshall drew criticism after private messages targeting Michigan's coaching staff circulated online. He subsequently apologized, acknowledging that his frustration after a loss had led him to blame others. The fallout included calls for Michigan to remove Marshall from the team
.
Portnoy wasn't signing up for that campaign.
"Listen do you want players in the group chat trashing the coaches? Probably not. But in the scheme of problems we got right now this doesnt even register," Portnoy wrote
. "There are major issues everywhere you look."
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He concluded, writing, "Im far more concerned with how Whittingham is gonna fix this team than punishing Zack Marshall for complaining about how [expletive] they are playing. Its not exactly breaking news."
The Barstool Sports founder also expressed greater concern about how head coach Kyle Whittingham would fix the team. His post acknowledged the obvious problem with a player criticizing his coaches privately while questioning how much attention the incident deserved.
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Portnoy cited a 2–2 record in the post. Michigan is actually 3–2 after Saturday's 20–14 loss at Minnesota, its second consecutive defeat following a 20–19 loss to Iowa. The Wolverines opened the season with three wins.
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Marshall's messages included criticism of offensive coordinator Jason Beck and support for quarterback Bryce Underwood. In his apology, the tight end accepted responsibility for pointing fingers and creating an unnecessary distraction for his coaches and teammates.
That leaves Whittingham handling an uncomfortable situation inside the program during a week when the football itself already demands plenty of attention.
Michigan's Offense Gives Whittingham Plenty To Fix
The Minnesota game supplied a fairly convincing explanation for Portnoy's frustration.
Michigan finished with 180 total yards, including just 101 through the air. Underwood threw two interceptions, and the Wolverines committed three second-half turnovers while surrendering a 14–7 halftime lead. They never scored after the break.
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Even Michigan's first-half scoring required help from the defense. An interception set up its lone offensive touchdown, and Nathaniel Staehling returned another interception 79 yards for a score. The offense had opportunities to protect that advantage and couldn't finish the job.
The broader numbers are ugly, too. Following the Minnesota loss, Michigan's offense ranked No. 102 nationally in PFN's CFB Offense Impact
metric with a 68.8 grade.
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Whittingham has a bye week before Michigan hosts Penn State on Oct. 17. That gives his staff time to address the turnovers, stalled possessions, and an offense that managed only one touchdown against Minnesota.
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Marshall has issued his apology. Portnoy is waiting for the coaching staff's response on the field. Putting points on the board against Penn State would give Michigan fans something considerably better to discuss than screenshots.
This article originally appeared on
Pro Football Network
.
