Obligatory Defensive Coordinator Candidates Post
Ranked out of five swag Mattisons, naturally. Also check out this board post that should be a diary from alum96.
Greg Jackson, DBs, Michigan
[Bryan Fuller]
If Michigan goes with an internal promotion it will be Jackson, not Greg Mattison. Mattison isn't going anywhere as he plans on retiring at Michigan; Jackson could make a move if he was offered a coordinator spot. After Michigan's defensive backs had a terrific year, that is at least a vague possibility.
In this scenario Michigan would bring in the best DL or LB coach they can find—Roy Manning?—since Mattison can coach either position group.
Likelihood: if Michigan does not end up with a slam-dunk outside candidate this is probably happening.
Verdict: Love what he did with the DBs this year, but track record still thin. Would at least ease necessity of finding a front seven coach.
Jeremy Pruitt, DC, Georgia
Probably out the door after Kirby Smart's hire at UGA. Has never left the south, possibly in his life. Had some sort of midseason blowup after which Mark Richt had to reassure everyone on twitter that Pruitt was still the DC, but afterwards it was assumed he was gone even before Richt got axed. That might be a problem for many coaches. It's probably an asset when you're working for Harbaugh.
Pruitt is regarded as a big-time recruiter as well. Mecole Hardman appears attached at his hip and he is at least at Durkin's level there. Georgia defensive players took to twitter en masse to plead for his job after Richt's firing, so whatever issues there were didn't seem to impact his players much.
Pruitt has taken on Auburn—the SEC's closest analogue to Ohio State's offense—three times in his career. Chronologically:
- As FSU's DC in the 2013 national title game: Auburn (the #7 FEI offense) put up 450 yards and 31 points, though two touchdowns were drives of 27 and 25 yards.
- At Georgia he held the #5 2014 Auburn offense to 7 points and under 300 yards, and then throttled a much much worse offense this year for similar numbers.
That's a pretty decent track record.
Likelihood: currently believed he will replace Smart at Alabama, where he was the DBs coach for a minute. Is believed to be interested in the Michigan opening. Would be an awkward fit since Michigan already has two DB coaches, but if he comes it might not be the end of the shuffling.
Longshot, but if he meets with Harbaugh they might get along, or get in a knife fight. Or both, because a knife fight seems like a good way to break the ice with these two.
Verdict: Pruitt is an angrier Durkin with good success against Auburn.
Barry Odom, DC, Mizzou
No Harbaugh connection, but probably available after Pinkel announced his retirement. Alum96 laid out the case for him, which largely built around the fact that he rescued an awful Memphis defense and then took over at Mizzou, where he maintained a very good D in trying circumstances:
He went to Memphis for 3 years and took an awful D and built it up year after year - by year 3 it had excellent metrics for a non P5. Again let me emphasize with these spread offenses today you can go to a non P5 and make a top 20 offense. You can do it at the bottom of the P5 too (seee Indiana or Washington State) Schemes help offense a lot more than defense. Building a top 20 defense or near it without elite athletes is damn hard as scheme can only take you so far - you need the horses. So his annual progress at Memphis and his final product in 2014 both impress. I also like that Memphis defense fell dramatically this year when he left - it shows me the defense suffered without him.
Then he took over a Missouri defense this year which had metrics similar to GMatt UM and kept is steady despite a steady outflow of NFL draft picks from the front 4 especially (and front 7 in general) in recent years. This despite coaching a 3-4 at Memphis and converting to a 4-3 at Missouri.
Odom fits Harbaugh's profile: he is a young up-and-comer, and he's got a very solid 4-year track record. Recruiting is something of an unknown, but he's 38 and is after it. Also a linebackers coach.
Likelihood: would definitely come. Harbaugh has to find him on his radar though.
Verdict: aside from Pruitt the guy on the board with the best combo of results, age, and experience.
Todd Orlando, DC, Houston
Former Utah State DC snapped up by Tom Herman when he took the Houston job. Moved Houston's D from 73rd to 31st in one year, and before that had kick-ass Ds (15th and 9th!) at Utah State of all places. Wisconsin grad, so Midwest-y. Had seven prior years as a DC at FIU and UConn. LB coach and former LB himself.
Honestly, if Herman likes him that's good enough for me.
Likelihood: dollars would make the difference.
Verdict: relatively young, ton of experience, excellent results, good staff fit. Yes please.
Lance Anderson, DC, Stanford
Harbaugh protégé ascended to top spot at Stanford two years ago. Michigan made a run at him last year but with Durkin coming in that turned into some sort of co-DC situation that a sitting DC was unlikely to find appealing.
Very solid first year save getting bombed by Oregon 45-16; finished #7 in FEI. Rather less good this year as Stanford finished 61st.
Likelihood: Doubtful. Would be a lateral move from a school that doesn't lose many coaches. Shaw is an offensive guy, so he's probably working with little or no interference. Unknown if Michigan throwing a bucket of money of him would move him since Stanford is private and we don't know how much he makes. Stanford does have a million billion dollars in general, though.
Verdict: Young, knows Harbaugh, probably can get after it in recruiting, LB/DT coach so a good fit for the current staff. Track record a little eh.
Jim Leavitt, DC, Colorado
Former USF head coach fired after grabbing and slapping one of his players at halftime of a game in 2009. Did win a wrongful termination suit afterwards. Found a home under Harbaugh as a linebackers coach for the duration of his San Francisco tenure, then grabbed the Colorado DC job. Year was nothing to write home about but he did improve the Buffalo D from #104 to #73.
Tenure at South Florida was long enough ago that we don't have a ton of advance stat data, but by FEI his last three years were excellent considering the circumstances: USF was 4th, 37th, and 35th from 2007 to 2009.
Likelihood: If Harbaugh wants him he'll come. How likely that is after the incident that got him fired is unknown—but I have to think it's not particularly high.
Verdict: Guy knows his way around a college defense and the incident that got him fired is now six years in the past. Still a major drag. Is a LBs coach, so that's a fit.
Scott Shafer, former HC, Syracuse
2008 season whipping boy took the dignified way out after having the 3-3-5 imposed on him midseason with predictably disastrous results. Moved to Syracuse as DC and then got the head job when Doug Marrone got the Bills job. Got reasonable results with bad talent until this year (DFEI, 2009-2015: 70, 38, 39, 39, 65, 36, 104).
Excellent dude who was Harbaugh's DC in 2007 before leaving for Michigan, which… uh… I know that seemed like a good career move at the time.
Likelihood: currently unemployed, so a definite yes if Michigan is interested. Harbaugh might hold a grudge for a lateral move.
Verdict: Eh. I'm sure he'd be fine.
Vic Fangio, DC, Chicago Bears
Cumong man, this makes us look ridiculous.
But Rivals said…
No. Stop.
Likelihood: nope
Verdict: Do you even want an NFL coordinator? We just saw what happens when an NFL style defense goes up against a spread option. Fangio's only stop in college since 1982 was one year with Harbaugh in 2010. This was a good year in which Fangio's defense gave up 52 points to Oregon. Also, like, recruiting?
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:44 AM ^
I will have an Orlando profile up in diaries in next 12 hrs. I like him a lot too - only issue is no P5 experience as DC. Utah State defenses on first glance looked ridiculous in non P5 terms and he killed it at Houston in year 1.
Those are my 2 guys right now.* I like the DC at Washington too but geography and all.
Now that this is on the main board Harbaugh will find Odom. No worries!
*excl Pruitt, Austin, Fangio, Shoop, Belichick
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:46 AM ^
Utah St. goes up against a bunch of spread teams every year and to be able to build a defensive powerhouse in the Mt. West is usually a pretty good sign for a coach, I would argue that is what has made Whittingham so effective as well. Orlando would be a great choice and be a good fit for someone growing into the role.
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^
Yep Whittingham is an excellent D coach - spews out a lot of DCs. Andersen came from Whittingam - Aranda came with Andersen to Wisc. Andersen then went to Oregon State and swiped Whittingam's DC again. Andersen is sort of a dick ;)
Also TCU's Gary Patterson was running very good Ds in that conf b4 they moved to the B12.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:46 PM ^
What about Aranda? He looks like a great fit if available.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:57 PM ^
Established at his position in a stable environment and it's a lateral move. Don't think he's realistic, but a good candidate in a vacuum.
December 3rd, 2015 at 1:21 PM ^
Barry Alvarez is notoriously cheap with assistants. That's why Bielema said he left. We could easily double Aranda's pay ($450K) and they won't match it. Not sure how Wisconsin is a stable environment. They are on their 3rd HC in four years and had a disappointing year.
December 3rd, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
Chryst is an Alvarez guy, so I think as long as Alvarez is there, Chryst will be pretty safe. To the extent that there's probably four or five years of runway there and a showcase for an HC job that's nearly as good as it would be at Michigan.
After the Bielema thing, I am sure Alvarez can be persuaded to open the wallet to keep a well regarded assistant who stayed through Andersen leaving. So there's a pretty substantial risk that approaching Aranda turns into him leveraging that into a salary increase.
All in all, the guys on the list seem like much more realistic and easier pulls than Aranda, other than Pruit(Higher profile and probably a home tun hire type) or Fangio(brought up for the LOL WUT factor).
December 3rd, 2015 at 2:23 PM ^
They aren't going to suddenly change their philosophy of paying coaches to hang on to one assistant. They've lost plenty of them in the past.
Here's what Alvarez had to say a couple of months ago. His chancellor made similar, but stronger comments criticizing Harbaugh and Meyer's pay at the same press conference.
“I look at it as their business,” he says. “I do. I don’t concern myself. I don’t feel like we’re in competition with salaries at Ohio State or Michigan.
December 3rd, 2015 at 2:15 PM ^
And pursuade Chris Ash from OSU? All it would take is more money.......We can outbid OSU, right??
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:45 AM ^
How important is coaching chemistry here? I'd think hugely important but it sounds like maybe Harbaugh doesn't do much micromanaging of his staff.
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December 3rd, 2015 at 12:03 PM ^
If you look at what his QBs have said, and what he's said as well, he's not a "RUN THIS PLAY BECAUSE I SAID SO" type guy. He's talked about putting his QB in a position to read the defense and pick the play himself. When communication went out, that's been OK because the QB is prepared to succeed.
I'd imagine the chemistry aspect comes into play in one specific way (in addition to needing to be a good boss, work well with the other coaches, etc) - competetiveness. If you're going to want to work for Harbaugh you better be good at your job and competetive as hell. There are a bunch of (relatively) young, former NFLers on staff. People with asperations to become head coaches and be the best they can. Also, Harbaugh is crazy. If you can't succeed in that environment, don't apply.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:21 PM ^
Not a micro-manager, but from the comments of one of the offensive assts. in a presser, there is a lot of discussion on what to run among the coaches... would think a strong personality that was intelligent and could recognize good advice would do well here.
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:47 AM ^
Dammit.
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:47 AM ^
Anyone else like me just read the 5-Mattison candidates and start your wishful thinking from there? But as many have said, whoever JH brings in will be a quality coach because he does nothing half-assed...not even tying his shoes. I have faith...
Good thing this is on the front page because there isn't enough smart-ass humor for it to be MGoBoard worthy...
/s
December 3rd, 2015 at 1:11 PM ^
I have faith in Harbaugh and knowing Harbaugh, he probably has 3 guys we don't even know about on his speed dial. Pretty sure he's figured out that we need someone that can stop OSU's offense.
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:49 AM ^
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December 3rd, 2015 at 11:50 AM ^
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December 3rd, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
Odom comes from a 4-3 at Mizzou (was a DB coach but LB by trade). When he went to Memphis he went to a 3-4 because Memphis didnt have good DL guys or depth. Then last year when he went back to Mizzou stuck with their 4-3. Not the same 4-3 Durkin runs but a 4-3.
I haven't gotten that far with Orlando yet to say.
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:59 AM ^
Anything coming out of that program right now, in my mind, is suspect. That program is such a dumpster fire at the moment that I'd be careful of anyone coming from there, even if they're trying to escape the city. Not that he's a contributor in any way of their problems, but still...
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
because of the president resignations? Cumong. Nothing to do with football. They were in the SEC title game 12 months ago.
December 3rd, 2015 at 3:49 PM ^
and I listen to the talk radio here a lot and I'm tellin' ya...the program is a dumpster fire.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:43 PM ^
I'm not seeing it. If he had nothing to do with their problems, that's a pitiful reason not to hire him.
December 3rd, 2015 at 1:20 PM ^
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:52 AM ^
breaks are splendid.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:26 PM ^
Those would be rankings.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:45 PM ^
also paragraphy breaks, cool either way you want to define it.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
He's supposedly a good recruiter - this per rockmnation.com, which covers Mizzou football.
http://www.rockmnation.com/missouri-football-coaching-search-2015/2015/…
December 3rd, 2015 at 11:55 AM ^
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December 3rd, 2015 at 11:56 AM ^
One name I'd love to see at least interviewed is Pete Kwiatkowski at Washington. No ties to Harbaugh or the midwest but his defenses there in 2014 and 2015 were 6th and 1st in FEI built with recruiting classes in the MSU range. He's got deep ties with Peterson but I'm sure Michigan would offer a lot more than the $450k he's getting at Washington.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:02 PM ^
Yep - the best FEI D past 2 years in P5 conf, and has to do it vs high flying spreads outside of Utah and Stanford. Footprint is main issue and yes no connection but connection shouldn't matter that much.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:34 PM ^
Weird how S&P is much lower on his defenses, especially 2014 when they had it as 56th, while FEI was at 6th. Do you find one system better than the other?
December 3rd, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
I'm a FEI man just from looking at ranks and eye tests of those teams the past 3 yrs or so when I really began following the advanced stats.
S&P is weird sometimes but 50 spots is a massive variance - usually 20 or so spots is the most you will see. It still thinks UM's D is #2 in the country after getting smacked around these past few weeks.
That said SP+ is solid too, I just prefer FEI.
Wash is #10 in 2015 in S&P D.... its wonky in 2014 with that 56. Good catch. Only games i see they gave up a lot of pts in FBS were UCLA, Oregon and OK State. A lot of teams held under 17 pts all yr. Eastern Wash was the one outlier but they had Vernon Adams. Maybe that hurt rank a lot.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:00 PM ^
Pruitt, Odom and Orlando all sound really good. I would be happy with any of those three.
Please pass this information onto Coach Harbaugh. I'm sure it will weigh heavily in his decision.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:22 PM ^
I'm all for one of the POO trio.
Did I make this post just to point out the order you typed them in makes the acronym POO? Yes I did.
December 3rd, 2015 at 2:04 PM ^
December 3rd, 2015 at 2:23 PM ^
to Oops!
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:01 PM ^
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:02 PM ^
I know he interviewed with the Packers early this year, so he'd probably be willing to come to Michigan for a big ass pay raise.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:08 PM ^
I think you mean if Jackson gets promoted.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:05 PM ^
He's been OK with the Bears. I mean, as a Bears fan I'm impressed with the strides the D has made this year (no where to go but up from Trestman's Tire Fire) but I wouldn't be broken up if he was poached. He runs a 3-4, which is weird and unheard of in Chicago, but so far it's been pretty effective. Most of the teambuilding has occured on offense the last few years, so he's making it work with OK vets and young players.
Also, there's no way in hell he's coming, so there's that.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:50 PM ^
Fangio finally figured out how to make Shea McClellin useful for something other than injuring Aaron Rodgers that one time, which is nice.
And yes he's not coming to college from the Bears job.
December 3rd, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
Right, just like Harbaugh!
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:06 PM ^
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December 3rd, 2015 at 12:27 PM ^
No on Don Brown. 1st good D in 3 years. One year wonders are to be avoided. Also 60 yrs old - not that itself disqualifes but if he had 3 good yrs in a row and was 60 I'd be fine with it but 13 and 14 were mediocre as heck.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:14 PM ^
I would love Pruitt because of proven success, especially against spread/up tempo, but if it's not him I say Jackson. Yes there is no track record there as a DC but he has a lot of resources on staff to get him through some of that inexperience.
I've seen some other posters say it, but I'll reiterate it. Jackson to DC, Partridge to LB coach, Devin Bush Sr to Partridges' role.
December 3rd, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
Pruitt I think also gives Michigan/Harbaugh/B1G more prominence... like look this guy left a big-time program in the SEC (best conference OMG!) and could've gone to Bama with Nick Saban, but chose to come to Michigan. I think that would be seen as big news and make even more recruits and eyeballs take notice.
December 3rd, 2015 at 1:07 PM ^
Not so sure about this, after the Nussmeier thing didn't work out well.
December 3rd, 2015 at 4:33 PM ^
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