JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After Saturday’s loss to Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl, the members of the Michigan football team have no control over whether their coach returns for another season. Players, coaches — everyone seems helpless.

That’s what they said after the Wolverines were throttled, 52-14, by the Bulldogs. But the game was the part they did have control over.

With the loss, their coach, Rich Rodriguez, dropped to 15-22 during his first three seasons in Ann Arbor. His job status was already as clear as mud after losses to Rose Bowl-participant Wisconsin and rival Ohio State ended the season on a sour note. And Athletic Director David Brandon did not publicly given Rodriguez a vote of confidence before the New Year’s Day bowl — the same day Rodriguez’s buyout dropped from $4 million to $2.5 million.

Brandon told reporters Saturday night that he would talk to Rodriguez when he gets back to Ann Arbor and that he would probably comment publicly by the end of the week.

Rodriguez sat in the hallway outside of the team’s locker room answering questions about what might have been his last game as coach of the Wolverines. He talked about the lack of offensive execution after the first quarter and the defense’s inability to stop the Bulldogs on third down. But there was one proud moment for the coach — he said his players’ approach didn’t change even with the cloud hanging over the entire program.

“They knew the speculation and all that,” Rodriguez said. “But we wouldn’t let our guys talk about it, think about it. So I don’t think that was an issue.”

It wasn’t until the night before the game that Rodriguez finally addressed the elephant in the room in a team meeting.

“Everyone’s thinking about it,” junior nose tackle Mike Martin said. “He just addressed it saying, ‘I know you guys are thinking about it, but nothing was ever said because our attitude never changed or anything. We just kept on playing and practicing well.’ He just basically said we don’t know and it’s not in his control. It’s not something he can control.

“It didn’t seem like it was affecting us in practice and things like that. But he’s a human. He’s a man. Putting constant stress on someone is going to naturally wear down on someone.”

Rodriguez may not be in control of his situation anymore, but sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson was during the first quarter against the Bulldogs — racing around the right and left edges for 24-and-22-yard runs and throwing for two touchdowns. But the Mississippi State defense adjusted and after 150 first-quarter yards, Robinson and the Michigan offense was held scoreless.

After the game, Robinson’s quarterback coach Rod Smith understood the situation that he and the rest of the coaching staff faced.

“Yeah, we’re all worried about that,” Smith said of his job security. “That’ll be someone else’s decision. We’re just going to keep doing our jobs. It’s out of our hands and we’ll just keep plugging and keep working.”

The sentiment among the players was that the coaches had done their job in preparing the Wolverines to play Mississippi State, that this was a case of a lack of execution. And the family atmosphere that Rodriguez tried to encourage has his players coming to their coaches’ aid when nothing seems certain about their future together.

Martin said he needed to talk to his teammates first, but that he could go with a group to meet with Brandon to defend Rodriguez — if it came to that point. And Martin wasn’t shy to speak for the rest of the team in saying they are all in support of Rodriguez.

The Michigan community, in Martin’s opinion, hasn’t given him a chance since he left West Virginia for Ann Arbor in 2008.

“Since he walked in the door, there was criticism just because of he’s switching to the spread, and the defense is playing a three-front, a 3-3-5,” Martin said. “I don’t think since he got here there was agreement with what he was doing. Some of the losses didn’t help, didn’t help his case. I totally give it to those coaches. They’re great men. They’re great coaches.”

Redshirt junior defensive end Ryan Van Bergen said earlier this month that he had spoken to Brandon previously about the football program but not about the coaching staff. On Saturday, he said he hasn’t talked to the athletic director in the past month.