Defensive Position Coach Candidates
With the Mattison and Washington departures, we now have vacancies at LB coach and DL coach. Who are the top candidates to replace them? Any "likely" candidates you expect JH to interview for the vacancies? What about pipe dreams that just might have a chance?
Would you prefer someone with more experience (maybe an NFL position coach) or an up-and-comer with a tireless work ethic who maybe is less well known?
Would you prefer candidates with a strong regional scouting impact (what region....And be realistic if you're gonna say FL, GA, TX, CA - how much does that apply when recruiting to MI?) or someone who is not known as a recruiter but is a great X's and O's coach?
I have no insider info and no clue who they will bring in, but want to have a thread looking forward at potential fits instead of backwards/negative. Personally, I would LOVE them to get Charles Woodson on staff regardless of the role, and groom him to become a DC in the future. No clue if he has any interest, but even without any coaching experience I think he could be an instant difference maker as a LB coach and elite recruiter. (yeah, I know, he was not a LB, but that's the spot that's open. Maybe Partridge goes back there and Woodson would take Safeties?)
January 8th, 2019 at 1:35 PM ^
Neg away if you must....sorry if it's too early for a bit of sunshine.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
While everyone is contemplating...thought I'd throw out a book recommendation:
Enjoy!
January 8th, 2019 at 1:47 PM ^
Maybe we lucked out that he left. His D-line recruiting has been disappointing as of late. Deron Irving Bey, Corey Malone Hatcher, Aubrey Solomon, James Hudson (who was a DT) Elysse Mbem-Bosse are all gone and Phil Paea and Ron Johnson have been missing in action. Not to mention the fact that he and Al Washington were the last to visit Zach Harrison.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:54 PM ^
this line will stick with me:
"he and Al Washington were the last to visit Zach Harrison."
January 8th, 2019 at 1:58 PM ^
"Go to osu that's where were going"......
January 8th, 2019 at 1:59 PM ^
Funny, that.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:03 PM ^
That one. . . is gonna resonate, reverberate, and be regurgitated!
January 8th, 2019 at 2:45 PM ^
So Mattison and Washington can now say they were successful in recruiting Harrison to their school!
What a change in narrative for them!
January 8th, 2019 at 2:09 PM ^
Let's say Michigan put up 62 on Ohio State.
Then hired OSU's 70 year old defensive line coach to be the Defensive Coordinator.
Then hired OSU's 60 year old linebackers coach after less than a year on the job and whose previous "best" job was Boston College to the same position.
I'm going to keep my torch unlit and my pitchfork in the shed for the time being.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:15 PM ^
I don't follow. Do you think Al Washington is 60 years old?
(Edit: Oh. No, dude. That Wikipedia entry you Googled is his dad. The coach we just lost is in his 30s.)
January 8th, 2019 at 3:07 PM ^
Damn. Figured I caught all the talk-to-text errors. I believe he is 36. He coached a family friend at Slippery Rock for what time.
Point being that the team lost a guy who while a great recruiter is rather inexperienced. Already have something similar in Partridge. Replaceable.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:18 PM ^
Mine too. I was pissed about Mattison at first, and it still seems like a dick move going to OSU after so many years in Ann Arbor, but I think we might come out ahead in all of this.
Harbaugh has hired excellent defensive coaches so far, so I think it's likely that he gets some awesome replacements that we've never heard of.
Pep on the other hand...
January 8th, 2019 at 2:50 PM ^
I think you are correct.
Just to be clear though, I still think it's a dick move.
He could have gone almost anywhere else and we'd have been 'Damn, too bad. Good Luck Mattison!'. But he decided to go to our most hated rival.
January 8th, 2019 at 4:11 PM ^
Replace Pep with Bob Stitt now plz
January 8th, 2019 at 11:38 PM ^
Yes! I second this notion.
January 8th, 2019 at 7:24 PM ^
Washington is a lot younger.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:25 PM ^
Can I steal that for my new avatar?
January 8th, 2019 at 3:59 PM ^
I'd be honored.
January 8th, 2019 at 9:34 PM ^
Hell of a username.
January 8th, 2019 at 10:47 PM ^
Colors match as well
January 8th, 2019 at 11:37 PM ^
Please make that a shirt. Give him horns and a tail. And a forked lizard tongue.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
Nick Saban would be a great LB coach
January 8th, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
Thanks for adding value to the board.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:41 PM ^
Really? His defense just got torched in the biggest game of the year. Don't want.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:54 PM ^
DB's are his specialty.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
How about a happier topic. Enjoy!
January 8th, 2019 at 2:15 PM ^
The basketball program makes me happy! It is my new happy place the last few years. happy, happy, happy! Yep, I am happy.
January 8th, 2019 at 3:03 PM ^
I am HAPPY and EVERYTHING IS FINE.
January 8th, 2019 at 8:28 PM ^
Great idea, but I don't think Beilein has time to coach the football team, too.
January 9th, 2019 at 10:43 AM ^
Bringing whole new meaning to basketball on grass
January 8th, 2019 at 1:37 PM ^
Larry Foote for LB coach
January 8th, 2019 at 1:42 PM ^
THIS.. He's currently the AZ Cardinals LB coach, and they don't even have a HC.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:22 PM ^
I didn’t realize he was coaching. If he’s not hired by tomorrow, everyone up to and including Schlissel should be fired. Get someone loyal to the program that would be an big baller on the trail. Too easy.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:30 PM ^
me either. iirc correctly, he was a really good student at UM. i bet he is a good coach.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:21 PM ^
Foote is a great choice ! Michigan Alum with "swag cred". Washington likely had minimal impact on our LB play in just 1 year. Devin is Devin, his instincts were not coached, they were god-given.
Michigan football is truly in need of something positive at this point ...
Go Blue!
January 8th, 2019 at 2:29 PM ^
Fuck yeah Jerry. I'd trade Wash and Matty for him straight up.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:38 PM ^
I want this to happen NOW!
January 8th, 2019 at 3:44 PM ^
Damn you Smitty for bringing up Larry Foote, now I'm obsessed with the idea of him being the LB coach, and if it doesn't happen I'm going to be super disappointed.
I had no idea he was coaching right now.
Hes born and raised in Detroit, he's only 38, has 2 super bowl rings, nfl coaching experience, this is an absolute home run hire from a coaching and recruiting perspective.
January 8th, 2019 at 4:27 PM ^
Foote would be a great hire if UM can convince him to spend the off-season and the majority of his spare time kissing the butts of 16 - 18 year old high schoolers.
The time and dedication recruiting takes is the primary reason you don’t get a lot of successful NFL players returning to college to coach.
January 8th, 2019 at 5:57 PM ^
Great call. Another would be David Harris, what is he doing since "retiring" from NFL? If going the asshole route, Joey Porter is now on the market.
January 9th, 2019 at 11:18 AM ^
Tried to convince the wife to go the asshole route. She wasnt having it.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
I dunno, but I think one of the criteria should be a greater emphasis on in-state recruiting.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
In-state, as in Michigan? Our best teams are built from out of state players, primarily Ohio and Pennsylvania.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:40 PM ^
There's nothing like an in-state recruit...unless it's an out-of-state recruit who's better at football.
January 8th, 2019 at 5:46 PM ^
Clemson and Bama only has one player from in-state on the roster. It helps that they get their pick of the litter in recruiting because they're a national powerhouse.
January 8th, 2019 at 6:54 PM ^
You look at the players who've been transferring or leaving early, and you also see the top players who've been going to your in-state rival for years...like I said I dunno but throwing fence around your state might be a good start. Just don't do it Rutger-style.
Bama also got burned repeatedly last night by the top player from their state last year.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:38 PM ^
Woodson is not going into coaching. He had said so himself.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:40 PM ^
I had not heard him say that, thanks for sharing. It's a shame because he was a very smart player and with all his success in the NFL would make a hell of an ambassador for UM. Can't blame him for not wanting to continue the grind as a coach and recruiter after all his years of playing.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:45 PM ^
He recently said on Twitter that the recruiting piece is something he wants nothing to do with.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:54 PM ^
Cool, so he's perfect for Michigan. Zordich and Pep feel the same way.