Update:In a statement Thursday afternoon, Grand Valley State announced that it reached a "mutual agreement" for Berger to resign. We are told this is a forced resignation.
Reached Thursday by FootballScoop, GVSU spokeswoman Mary Eilleen Lyon declined to answer additional questions about the nature of Berger's departure. The school is honoring Berger's contract, we are told.
“Nothing in our background and reference checks revealed anything that would have suggested the unfortunate controversy that has unfolded," head coach Matt Mitchell said in a statement. "This has been a difficult time for everyone. I accepted Coach Berger’s resignation in an effort for him to move on and for us to focus on the team and our 2020 season.”
There's a saying on Twitter that every day there is one main character, and the goal is to never be it.
On Monday, Grand Valley State offensive coordinator Morris Berger became Twitter's main character when an interview he gave the school's student newspaper went viral, as he listed Adolf Hitler as one of three historical figures he'd like to share a dinner with and praised the genocidal dictator's leadership.
"This is probably not going to get a good review, but I’m going to say Adolf Hitler," he said. "It was obviously very sad and he had bad motives, but the way he was able to lead was second-to-none. How he rallied a group and a following, I want to know how he did that. Bad intentions of course, but you can’t deny he wasn’t a great leader."
He was subsequently suspended by the university, a week to the day after taking the job.
Berger is still currently suspended as the school investigates the matter. Hopefully, Grand Valley State discovers it did not hire a closet neo-Nazi, everyone learns their lesson and Berger gets reinstated to his job.