Al Washington Leaves For Ohio State
A second Michigan position coach has left for OSU:
Al Washington, who served as Michigan's linebackers coach in 2018, is joining Ryan Day's staff as the Buckeyes' linebackers coach/recruiting coordinator.
This one makes more sense than Day hiring a 70-year-old Greg Mattison to be a defensive coordinator. Washington recruited well during his single year in Ann Arbor.
Michigan now has two open spots for defensive position coaches. Jim McElwain already left to be CMU's head coach and was replaced by Ben McDaniels. Temple's head job is open again after Manny Diaz left for Miami just days after taking it, and Don Brown is the last guy standing amongst the three candidates previously mentioned. It does seem like Temple's moving on from Brown, with "in person interviews" with new candidates scheduled this week and NIU head coach Rod Carey emerging as a new name.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:01 PM ^
I tend to agree, but I hope Harbaugh proves us wrong and does it soon.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:25 PM ^
More like 11 months. At this point, the only game that really matters is Ohio State. I hate that they've succeeded in making me feel this way.
January 8th, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
I get why he went back. Weird OSU is picking at UM, but Washington makes more sense than Mattison. They'll have to find replacements. But changes do happen. They mentioned during the NC game last night that Alabama had 20 assistants come and go over the past 5 years. It happens.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:26 PM ^
Assistant turnover is generally a GOOD sign. A lot of programs "poached" coaches out of Alabama tryin' to get some of that mojo, and it turns out not all that glitters is gold. Remember Nussmeier?
The weird thing is the context. Not Al's, he's from there, but OSU's. Given what happened after their last real look at Michigan's D, I'm surprised they looked in our direction in the first place.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:10 PM ^
Well, prior to the OSU, it has been a pretty fantastic D. That OSU dud of a game plan seems to be clouding everyone's memory of our elite defensive track record. We're always going to be target for poaching. I have no doubt that Don Brown will find some other great hires (who will in turn become targets for other teams).
Just sucks when OSU does the poaching since we can't return the favor. The only one there that we could use is Larry Johnson.
January 8th, 2019 at 3:34 PM ^
Ah yes Nussmeier, remember all the hype about us getting an OC from Bama?
His tenure here was disappointing.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:11 PM ^
Wierd???? Not at all.. its being PRO-ACTIVE... you know, as, hiring Bo to beat Woody... or maybe, to hire Dantonio to beat Tressel... we need OSU coaches plain and simple.... the programs are intertwined and we win half the games when we have Ohio coaches and players.... we we dont, we lose...
January 8th, 2019 at 11:42 AM ^
It hurts recruiting. Makes Ohio harder to get back into. It's not a positive that he left.
He's going to kill it there and lock down guys to OSU that may have been persuaded to UM.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:19 PM ^
Clearly that’s the biggest loss and biggest role that needs to be replaced. Dantonio has made a career taking talented “scraps” from Ohio.
We just recruited Ohio better than Dantonio ever has and better than anyone other than OSU. That’s a critical deal on several fronts.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:53 PM ^
Recruiting is the game in today's college football. I hope they replace the recent departures with guys that can #1 - recruit, #2 - coach.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:23 PM ^
I'm not convinced that it will move the needle that much. Daffy Duck could recruit Ohio kids to OSU. That's the advantage of being the only P5 program in the state.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:29 PM ^
Here's his pitch: "I was at Michigan for a year - and couldn't wait to get to Columbus."
January 8th, 2019 at 1:44 PM ^
"couldn't wait to get to Columbus."
...said no one ever.
January 8th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
Make Jay supreme leader of the defense. He has tried every other position, why not give him the line and linebackers. lol
January 8th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
Is it possible these guys felt like they/the D were getting shit on by the fans or perhaps were IRL from Harbaugh about the past two games? Sure it's a great opportunity for them but it just feels like there's a "fuck michigan" aspect to this - I think we all feel that.
January 8th, 2019 at 11:51 AM ^
If it's the players leaving, it could be a "f-ck Michigan" vibe. If the STAFF leaves, it's a "f-ck Harbaugh" vibe. These coaches are rebelling against the boss.
January 8th, 2019 at 11:50 AM ^
fuck him
January 8th, 2019 at 11:56 AM ^
He was around longer than Dan Enos..... so there's that.
NEXT!
January 8th, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
Depending on what Harbaugh does, this may be a good thing or bad thing. It certainly looks like crap and continues a trend of bad things happening. Let’s hope Harbaugh has a swift response planned - letting this situation linger unaddressed is not goood.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:21 PM ^
good lord. it's only been one damn day. i'm sure harbaugh and brown are up to the challenge to find suitable replacements. hopefully brown stays. i'm sure he has plenty of intel on other coaches that fit his system.
January 8th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
Just how many more ways can they beat Harbaugh and kick us in the dong this year?
January 8th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
62 comments is bad juju. That's all.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:00 PM ^
If ever there was a sign that the coaches don't think we can get to the next level, this would be it. LB and DL have been bright spots on this team for several years; this ain't about coaches who weren't getting it done.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:00 PM ^
You know why there is so much negativity around the football program? Because it is just so hard to take it all in and not view it through a negative prism. How can you spin the past couple of months in a positive way? Damn it this sucks.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:05 PM ^
This is why we have to beat Ohio State next year.
It will be this shitstorm x 100 if we lose to OSU with a new coach, new QB, new coordinators, in the Big House.
It will make everybody's life miserable and put Harbaugh under a cloud that will kill recruiting.
It will be the start of a spiral we do not want.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:02 PM ^
Any chance this hurts the current recruiting class? I don't really follow recruiting that closely so I am not sure if some of our current commits could change their mind, etc.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:08 PM ^
They are all signed, fortunately. There are a couple targets left for the final NSD, but they are flyer types that we don't automatically expect to get.
Everyone will forget about it if we beat Ohio State next year.
If not . . .
January 8th, 2019 at 12:07 PM ^
This is an overreaction, but a part of me wishes, in some alternate universe where things are guaranteed to happen, that Harbaugh leaves and we hire Brent Venables and he implements the same offense and defensive philosophy they have at Clemson. That get's us closer than where we are now.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:45 PM ^
As a Buckeye fan, this scares me. Ol’Crazy Eyes....
January 8th, 2019 at 12:07 PM ^
Understandable is understandable, but OHIO STATE?!?!?! If getting to that fucking job is your ultimate goal, here's an idea...don't work at Michigan.
Hate to say it, but this looks really bad and is the last thing the program needs(which may be why Day started poaching M coaches with such authority recently). I am going to offer this as a counterpoint to anyone who says beating Michigan is not the be all and end all of the Buckeye program. There's a famous cartoon of a bunch of dogs sitting around a table saying, "It is not enough that we succeed, Cats must also fail." This is OSU's organizing principle and unless Michigan wakes up to this, they may as well make MSU their primary rival in everything and let OSU become the one way rivalry it has already become in everything but name.
January 8th, 2019 at 2:12 PM ^
I thought at first that they would never do something this drastic just to destabilize Michigan.
But that might be wrong.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:12 PM ^
Is it unusual for members of the coaching staff to move to your archrival? It makes me think, again, that Michigan isn't taking the Ohio State rivalry seriously enough.
Hopefully they're going in as double agents and its all a fiendish plot by Harbaugh.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:13 PM ^
The question I wonder... which will not be answered until someone writes a book about the depths of the Harbaugh era, is what part of these moves was "stealing from the program" and what part was "firm handshake." Last year, the offense had serious issues. Long times friends of Harbaugh on staff found their way to the door, with new faces brought in. The Defense gets torched in back to back games with no pressure from the Dline and the LBs getting smacked... and the Dline coach and LB coach suddenly find a new home.
To my gut, this feels bad, seeing staff jump to the other side. But, idk given the nature of where we have struggled on D the past two seasons where that line is. Again, I guess we will have to wait for another tell-all book in a couple years.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:22 PM ^
I’m with your sentiment. Logic would say he wasn’t sure Brown would be staying and whether he himself would be retained. Very likely he didn’t feel the love and OSU got wind. Same with Mattison. Will be interesting to see final pay numbers for both too!
January 8th, 2019 at 1:00 PM ^
There was no firm handshake. It has already been reported that Mattison was offered a 2 year extension with a raise. This one is understandable because it was not a lateral move.
The Al Washington move is more troubling because he was a "Brown dude" and this does look like a lateral move. He was an up and coming recruiter. You just don't give this guy a firm handshake. You pull out all stops and over pay him to keep him.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:15 PM ^
Fuck the books... seriously... I haven't read one of Bacon's books, which in their own way, undermine the program... and then in the title he says "the RETURN of michigan football" was premature I thought at time.... no return until we win the BIG title again.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:17 PM ^
are we even remotely confident brown will still be here for next season?
January 8th, 2019 at 12:19 PM ^
So does that mean Harbaugh and Brown balked on making him d-line coach and hefty raise? Otherwise makes no sense besides OSU roots which I think is overrated because young coaches would rather move up the ladder and M defense has been better than OSU so why lateral move?
January 8th, 2019 at 1:20 PM ^
Urban made a masterful stroke... forced our hand, and took both... this is how to attack your rival.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:24 PM ^
Well, crap.
Should be quite the test for Harbaugh to see how he reconstitutes his staff, and what changes are made to enhance the offense and tweak the defense. Need to figure out a more effective play-calling structure than what we had this season, and Don Brown needs to keep his machine going while at the same time changing it so that it deals more effectively with teams that exploit our tendencies.
Feels like the "shine" on the program is wearing thin. It's put up or shut up time.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:26 PM ^
I am probably in the minority here but I like new blood. Mattison was great and so was Washington. Now I hope somebody with some new ideas and energy can come in and prove themselves to be superior. We only know what we are losing, not what we are gaining.
FYI: Alabama had 6 new assistants this year. No, Michigan is not Alabama but it happens and good teams don't live and die by their assistants.
January 8th, 2019 at 1:13 PM ^
Finally, a voice of reason amid all the conspiracy theories. Saban has gone through 39 assistants since he arrived at Alabama in 2007. Two of the new assistants he brought in this year, Enos and Banks (assuming you ignore Enos's cup of coffee with MIchigan), were poached from within the division (Arkansas and Texas A&M). One of the assistants who left (Pruitt) took a job with another SEC team. The notion that something's wrong or Harbaugh's losing it, without waiting to see who he brings in, seems just a wee bit hysterical.
January 8th, 2019 at 3:53 PM ^
First everyone was screaming that we needed new blood to modernize our program; now that Harbaugh has the opportunity to do so, people are upset about Mattison and Washington leaving. It is demoralizing to read through the relentless negativity and wild eyed reactions about a couple of assistants leaving. Wasn't Warriner an OSU guy? New blood.
Count me among those who look forward to the new blood even though I love GMatt. The performances at the end of the season were troubling.
The Mattison move was a shocker but do these things happen overnight? I wonder how long he was talking with OSU about that DC position. As for Al Washington, honestly the minute I heard he was from OSU it was just a matter of waiting for the shoe to drop. Dad played for OSU and from Columbus? Easiest crystal ball prediction ever.
January 9th, 2019 at 10:31 PM ^
A wee bit hysterical? Little more than that, I'd say!
January 8th, 2019 at 1:22 PM ^
as good as a DC mattison was, the interior DL was the weak point on defense, and Im nervous of the depth going forward.. seems we take DEs and bulk them up to move inside, like Marshall and Kemp. This is all on Mattison. And save for Bush, our LBs didn't play well at all this year... Hudson DISAPPEARED... chalk that up to Al Washington (f u Al)
January 8th, 2019 at 10:58 PM ^
Well said (especially "we only know what we are losing not what we are gaining"), provided Coach Brown stays. It's just another blow at the hands OSU football and Ubz that hurts the most.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:27 PM ^
I mean, I guess the good news is we have 8 months to get this figured out.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:29 PM ^
This is all making me feel very, very small.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:32 PM ^
Washington is a good defensive coach but this one seems more aimed at OSU trying to bolster their recruiting prowess while simultaneously hurting ours. Fucking douchebags.
January 8th, 2019 at 12:32 PM ^
Everyone is saying "why hire guys from a D you scored 62 on?" This is only about recruiting. Day said he wants guys that can recruit. X's and Os don't matter to him, he wants assistants that recruit. Hopefully they squander talent and this blows up in his face. Hopefully Harbaugh finds great replacements.
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