It disappeared before that, under Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez lead Michigan to maybe the worst season in its history (2008), his recruiting was awful (I forget the number, but his predecessor and successor were among the best in the nation, as Michigan always is), and he is the only Michigan head coach since 1900 with an under-.500 record overall. He never beat either of Michigan's rivals, Michigan State and Ohio State, and earned Michigan it's only NCAA sanctions ever.
Brandon fired Rodriguez - an easy call but one which earned the enmity of a sports blogger who loved the coach and maligned Brandon (which is what the post above is really about; see my response below) - and hired Brady Hoke. In Hoke's first year, they went 11-2, beat Ohio State, won a bowl game, and the team's defense went from ~110th in the nation to the top 20. Hoke did slowly decline after that, and was fired after an under-.500 season; his weakness was offense, which he just couldn't raise to an elite level.
Brandon fired Rodriguez - an easy call but one which earned the enmity of a sports blogger who loved the coach and maligned Brandon (which is what the post above is really about; see my response below) - and hired Brady Hoke. In Hoke's first year, they went 11-2, beat Ohio State, won a bowl game, and the team's defense went from ~110th in the nation to the top 20. Hoke did slowly decline after that, and was fired after an under-.500 season; his weakness was offense, which he just couldn't raise to an elite level.