As the defensive coordinator of the Michigan Wolverines, you should be willing to answer questions about your unit — even when you give up 45 points and the questions will undoubtedly be negative. Robinson should feel compelled to at least give an update about the defense every once in a while, even if it's for nothing else than the 100,000 people packing the stadium every Saturday, for one of the most loyal fanbases in college sports.

That was written by former Daily Sports Editor Andy Reid almost one year ago. It was the end to a column asking Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson to answer to the media following several games in which the defense played extremely poorly.

That column was written during one of the worst statistical stretches in Michigan history. And a year later, the same thing is happening all over again.

The Wolverine defense is currently ranked 112th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, allowing more than 450 yards per game. Only one team, Tulsa, is worse against the pass. The Michigan unit allows more 26 points per game, and only the outlier performance against Connecticut in the first game of the season keeps that average out of the 30s.

And Greg Robinson still isn't talking.

After every game, win or lose, Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez goes in front of the media and answers questions. Then, there are a select few players who speak. After that, it's a free-for-all in the Crisler Arena parking lot to get other players and coaches. Nearly every coach, win or lose, will stop and talk for at least a few minutes to reporters.

But not Robinson.

It kind of makes sense, in a twisted way. Why would Robinson want to talk after all these games in which his defense plays so poorly? No one wants that job.

Certainly not redshirt junior defensive end Ryan Van Bergen. After one of the most disappointing losses in recent memory to Michigan State last Saturday, I'm sure that Van Bergen, along with many of his teammates, wanted to crawl into a hole for a while and not talk to anyone. I certainly would have.

But there he was at the podium. The game had clearly taken its toll on him, physically and emotionally. His voice was hoarse and soft. His eyes were red and puffy and disbelieving and vacant. It was painfully obvious that right there at that podium was the one place in the world he didn't want to be at that moment. Despite all of this, he stood there and he took questions about the defense, which gave up more than 520 yards to the Spartans.

"Run defense is simple. Everybody has one gap," Van Bergen said. "You're accountable for that gap, and we weren't in the right one twice. Same play. We have to figure it out, we will figure it out and we'll bounce back from this."

I know it's hard, Coach. But if a 21-year-old can do it, so can you.

I don't know enough about football to tell you exactly what's wrong with the defense. But I know enough about sports to know that good coaches make their teams overachieve. And right now, this defense is underachieving on a massive scale.

Sure, this defense is playing a lot of freshmen in the secondary and a coach can't force his players to get off blocks. I get it. But they should be playing better than they are. The coaches and players both contribute to what happens on Saturdays, and Robinson is contributing far too much to how poorly his defense is playing to not occasionally step in front of the media and be held accountable. Even making Rodriguez answer for the defense every week seems a bit unfair to the coach, who has admitted to being mostly concerned with the offensive side of the ball.

I'm not asking for a pound of flesh. Just a simple quote. The point is that it's Robinson's obligation to speak with the media. Does Rodriguez feel like talking to the media after a loss like that? What about offensive coordinator Calvin Magee? What about sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson (especially after throwing three picks)? No, no and no. But they do.

Instead of leaving his defensive players and his head coach to take responsibility for what are undeniably at least partly his shortcomings, Robinson needs to be held accountable. It's the professional thing to do, and more important, it's the right thing to do.

So do it.