Hello: Tank Wright and Bob Shoop
Michigan has apparently filled its defensive vacancies. As mentioned a couple days ago, assistant S&C coach Tank Wright is getting a bump to position coach. Webb reported this was likely and twitter sleuths noted a change in Wright's twitter bio to go from "S&C coach" to just "coach" recently.
Wright followed Ben Herbert from Arkansas a couple years back after a career as an OLB/DE at Arkansas which led to a cup of coffee in the NFL. As soon as he finished that coffee he signed up to be an S&C guy at his alma mater. If you've ever been party to an online discussion of strength and conditioning you know that evaluating S&C guys is… uh… contentious. I have no real idea whether Ben Herbert is a dude or not; nobody on Earth could tell you whether or not Wright is. His bio from Arkansas sums it up:
He fits the profile of a young, hungry guy who will hang upside down like a bat if that's what's necessary to recruit, but don't confuse this with the Partridge hire. Partridge had assembled a powerhouse at Paramus Catholic (Jabrill Peppers! Rashan Gary! Other guys!) where none had previously existed. He was such a good recruiter that half of New Jersey's coach fraternity hated him. Wright may or may not work out; he is not the obviously good idea Partridge was.
[After THE JUMP: Jim McElwain 2.0?]
cameo time
Michigan's other hire is frankly weird. It's a familiar name to anyone who's watched a metric ton of college football. A question we have all asked is "Is that Bob Shoop?" A statement quickly followed by that question: "Huh, I thought he was at [School X]."
This is because Shoop is a well-travelled defensive coordinator. He's been a college DC since 2007, when William & Mary hired him. James Franklin picked him up in 2011 while he was still at Vandy. After three years there he popped over to PSU with Franklin. Then a series of two-year tenures at PSU, Tennessee, and Mississippi State before Joe Moorhead got broomed.
That left him scrambling at the same time Michigan was scrambling post-Campanile departure. Thus a marriage of convenience based on the fact that Shoop has background with Don Brown. This is reminiscent of hiring Jim McElwain minus the shark jokes: Shoop is a coordinator-level guy who apparently does not recruit much…
On the recruiting trail, the hiring of Shoop is not expected to move the needle a ton. He finished the 2020 cycle ranked 428th in the country according to the 247Sports Composite Recruiter Rankings and finished 2019 as the 117th ranked assistant coach in the SEC according to the same metric.
…and is likely to leave as soon as someone pulls him off the retread pile. What's the point? Hiring a bonus coordinator may have made some sense under Harbaugh's offensive regime. It doesn't when Don Brown is the be-all and end-all on defense to the point where Michigan refused to hand out any frippery titles to retain Partridge/Campanile.
I dunno, maybe the combination of Brown and Shoop will be like the bit where the robots come together and make a super robot that overcomes all problems. I doubt it. Anyone who doubts the primacy of recruiting should take a gander at what happened to Michigan's DTs against quality opposition this year.
Lowballing Steve Clinkscale, who's had two excellent secondaries the past two years and is a proven A+ recruiter in the state of Michigan, looks pretty bad right now.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:26 AM ^
Partridge already showed himself to be an excellent t recruiter AND coach at the HS level at a powerhouse program. These attributes obviously have transferability to college, with only a step up (albeit a big one) in the difficulty in both.
He’s saying the Tank is an unknown commodity in coaching and recruiting as he has never done either on any level. They’ve seen his work ethic and I’d assume they understand how much the kids already in the program respect him, but those qualities to not have the same transferability that Partridge had.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:39 AM ^
I can’t totally tell if your question is sincere. But - at the risk of being dumb - the answer is gravitas. Partridge was a well known, relationship oriented high school football coach in a high-talent region. He had a rolodex of connections and contacts he could leverage in order to engage recruits. Moreover, his reputation was national. Because of his incredible coaching success, he had the brand and infrastructure of someone that - when they showed up - people opened their doors to listen. Frankly, he didn’t need to be a college coach because at the end of the day, he had the scarcest assets in the recruiting process already developed: relationships and a brand.
Tank may become the greatest recruiter in the history of college football. Based on Brian’s description, he definitely sounds like the type of guy who will make that his goal. But - unlike Partridge - he’s coming in with no reputation, no quals, and no meaningful experience. I’m honestly excited to see what he can do; however, it is alarming that - with these two hires - we haven’t plugged one of the program’s most obvious holes: recruiting. Given “where we are at,” I’d complement someone like Tank, who is coming up the ranks, with a Partridge-like proven commodity that’s a proven excellent recruiter...
January 17th, 2020 at 10:51 AM ^
Partridge was a really solid recruiter but this narrative that he opened up a pipeline to NJ just doesn't match with reality. UM has gotten exactly two top-100 guys out of NJ since Partridge arrived - Gary and Singleton. Gary at least played at UM, but that's been it. Michigan has always been able to recruit the east coast pretty well due to a large alumni base, but whatever national cache he had from Paramus I'm not sure it really opened UM up to more opportunities there. And I doubt kids in the south (which was part of his beat) gave a shit he once coached Rashan Gary in HS. He recruited well because he was a good recruiter as a UM coach, and I'm dubious he's as irreplaceable as people are acting.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:56 AM ^
He was literally the national recruiter of the year in 2017. Trying to downplay what Partridge did on the recruiting is fucking moronic, but par for the course for the fanboys around here.
January 17th, 2020 at 11:18 AM ^
Yeah, you know the parts where I kept saying he was a good recruiter but that basing much of that on his success as a HS coach is specious? Yeah, that's the point I was making, Shawn.
The OP clarified below and I think I misread part of his comment. That's how human beings interact when they disagree. I look forward to this account remaining below the threshold to create posts for a while longer before you abandon it, start a new one, and get mad that nobody online seems to like you and Twitter won't return your calls.
January 17th, 2020 at 11:32 AM ^
Oh, you're going back to 2017 now? Would you like to go back there and revise your "just look at NFL draft boards this year and you'll see Michigan has no talent MICHIGAN SUCKS" argument?
Michigan had two first round picks in 2017, Jabril Peppers and Taco Charlton. Or maybe you'd like to go back to, I don't know, maybe last year? The most recent draft? Michigan had two first round picks there as well, Devin Bush and Rashan Gary. I'm sure you'll join me in saying Thanks for developing these guys into stars Jim Harbaugh!!
In fact for the last four 1st round picks you'd have to go back to 2014 (Lewan), 2010 (Graham), 2008 (Long), and 2007 (Leon Hall). So Harbaugh has had more first round picks in the last 3 years than Michigan had in the last 11 seasons prior. This guy is fucking awesome!
(yes OSU has been better no one is arguing they have not been)
January 17th, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
weird, you were still saying we were awful at recruiting when number one recruiter partridge was on board. but of course, if anyone brings up that class being highly ranked, you bring up the significant attrition we've seen from that specific class. almost like your arguments are insincere and you don't actually mean what you say.
January 17th, 2020 at 11:00 AM ^
Apologies if my original post suggest Partridge created some pipeline to NJ that has stood over the years. Rather, my point is that given Partridge's strong reputation in NJ at a premiere football school, he was able to easily enter other, top-notch schools across the country with some authority. Hence, he was awarded the National Recruiter of the Year in 2017.
He came in with a well-known brand in the high school coaching ranks, and he leveraged his position at UM - combined with that brand - to become a major recruiting asset.
Maybe Partridge is replaceable. Maybe Tank will be even better than the National Recruiter of the Year. Who knows? I think we can all agree (or should agree) - however - per the original question of this post: Partridge came in with more tools in his toolkit than Tank currently has at the time of hire. That's not a slam on Tank but rather a semi-objective assessment of their resumes and personal brands at the time of being put into this position.
January 17th, 2020 at 11:27 AM ^
I don't want it to seem like I'm diminishing Partridge as a recruiter - I think he's a really good one. He seemed to be UM's closer on some of the bigger commits, and him pulling in Gary and Walker in 2016 were huge and he deserves all the accolades he received. But being from Michigan opens just as many, if not more, doors to a lot of top schools. I honestly don't think a school in Georgia particularly cares that you were a good HS coach in NJ, but being from Michigan and being able to point to kids doing well there and then going on to the NFL speaks volumes. And just being innately personable, which does seem to be a trait Partridge had in spades.
I would like to point out that being national recruiter of the year can be a bit random - Dell McGee was #1 in 2018 from Georgia and this year finished 50th and 21st in the SEC. So it's a fluid situation and I imagine it's possible for guys to make big splashes in relatively little time, especially if you are very motivated. And Wright does have connections in the south, was a starter on some good SEC defenses, and seems to be liked everywhere he coached (admittedly just Arkansas and UM). So who knows - he may not be #1 nationally, but if he turns in a top-25/35 year I doubt anyone would lose their minds.
January 17th, 2020 at 4:13 PM ^
Just want to mention that Tank Wright is a well known, relationship oriented guy too. And he’s proven that in the short time he’s been coaching. There’s a reason he made 247s 30 under 30 list. The same organization that ranks every coach in the country based on their recruiting acumen. Other guys on that list are coordinators now. Is Tank Wright a home run, slam dunk, TKO hire? No, but acting like Partridge was is only with the benefit of hindsight.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:43 AM ^
I'm very excited about the Tank hire. He is supposedly the most beloved coach on staff. Captain at Arkansas. He was voted one of the 30 coaches under 30 to watch. Lot of rumors of other teams trying to steal him away.
This seems like the kind of guy that is hungry and ready to hit the ground running and will be a great recruiter. Recruiting is about energy and personality. Not to stereotype but most S&C guys and team captains seem to have some juice to them. Can't wait to here him on with Sam. He will change opinions of him quickly.
Shoop seems like a late stage fill in. Not sure if Harbaugh adheres to an old school code of not stealing coaches this late, but that appears the only reason to make this move. He's probably the best pure "coach" unemployed currently.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:51 AM ^
Well Partridge built one of the best high school programs in the nation, and mentored multiple 5 star players. He was known as a phenomenal coach and his recruiting ties in the region were phenomenal. There was a lot of upside in bringing Partridge on board. Especially in a non-coaching role it was a no-brainer.
Tank... used to play football well and (AFAIK) is a good S&C coach and is well-liked by the players. Does that translate to coaching ability on the field? Does that translate to connecting with recruits and families? Does that translate to identifying talent?
Theres simply a lot more projection that has to be done with Tank. Not that Tank can’t be every bit as good as Partridge was. But it’s not an obvious move like Partridge was.
January 17th, 2020 at 11:13 AM ^
Partridge was tied to 2 five star recruits (Peppers and Gary) and he helped open a great talent pipeline in the state of NJ where the competition on a day to day basis seemed to be only Rutgers and where he did actually recruit to his parochial school, so that is why Partridge was an obviously good idea, whereas this is not obvious. FWIW - Partridge did also have prior college coaching experience as well, though not P5.
Harbaugh has brought in Devin Bush the senior as a paid staff member when he was pursuing Devin Bush, Jr. (Metellus and Gil also bonus).
So yes, Harbaugh has been willing to hire for specific recruiting value, which does not seem to be the case here. Completely fair and accurate to point this out, and certainly not the good news given the other negative stories floating around about other coaches available who did specifically add recruiting value and the negateive stories about the recruiting ops/culture at Michigan.
Also, FWIW I think do think that the Nua hiring is getting short shrift as he filled a Polynesian coach role which is valuable for recruiting the Polynesian talent pool.
January 17th, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
What polynesian's has he actually landed?
January 17th, 2020 at 10:16 AM ^
Forgive my ignorance if it has been posted on paysite or something, but does Brian have any proof of this "lowball" offer to Clinkscale? The only place I have seen that at all is from Brian and you'll have to excuse me if I dont trust Brian to not be unnecessarily negative at the moment.
January 17th, 2020 at 1:05 PM ^
So, just to clarify your rational...you don't trust Brian right now due to the extra negativity in his posts and writings, but if he were to, say, be extra positive you'd take his word for it no question? Cause that's the apparent implication of your comment and I'm just curious if that's what you actually think or not.
January 17th, 2020 at 4:12 PM ^
There aren't even rumblings on the internet that Michigan talked to Clinkscale, let alone offered, let alone, low-balled. To believe anyone without proof is against the scientific method. I could have done without the line thrown in at the end to feed the trolls.
Also, what's a low ball offer? Did Harbaugh offer a pay cut to come back to Michigan? Offer a lateral move? Did Clinkscale ask for Harbaugh to double his salary and he only offered 1.5x? It's technically a low ball to come up short of a ridiculous ask.
I don't know what happened, and Brian didn't offer enough information to make me worry about it to be honest. OTOH I don't agree with Brian's take that Michigan will be undefeated up until the Ohio State game next year. So no, I don't only listen when Brian is extra positive either.
January 17th, 2020 at 3:39 PM ^
The problem with Brian is not negativity to the program as much as it doesn't care if he has the facts right because he has such contempt for his readership.
Time to get a real job, Cook. You are stealing money off your former glory and you know it.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:19 AM ^
This is my favorite discussion online about S&C
January 17th, 2020 at 10:30 AM ^
lol that escalated quickly. I jumped to the last page from the first and they were still talking about the math lol
January 17th, 2020 at 10:38 AM ^
You should read the whole thing, it’s amazing.
January 17th, 2020 at 11:01 AM ^
That was spectacular
January 17th, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^
you can workout 4 days a week, the end, stop bitching
January 17th, 2020 at 10:20 AM ^
I'm neither depressed or excited by these hires.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:24 AM ^
lol this is literally my reaction to pretty much everything Michigan football for the last 12 months-ish. I hate that I feel that way but kinda is what it is at this point.
January 17th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
same. at this point, i'm trying to just cut myself off. unsuccessfully.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:23 AM ^
Is the lowball offer a Harbaugh issue or a Michigan athletic department issue?
January 17th, 2020 at 10:55 AM ^
Is there any proof of a lowball offer? Because there is 5 years of Harbaugh coaching history at UM that says he's never lowballed anyone. Doesn't seem likely that he'd start now...
January 17th, 2020 at 10:27 AM ^
The recruiting concern is real but I will say the difference between Shoop and McElwain is that Shoop has an excellent track record at being, you know, an actual good coach.
January 17th, 2020 at 1:35 PM ^
McElwain had a couple good years at Colorado State while as their head coach. From all I've seen, he was a pretty good assistant coach, as well.
Yeah, Florida didn't work out for him. Maybe that's not his level. Think Brady Hoke. A heck of a position coach. Did a fantastic job on SDSU and Ball St, prior to Michigan. Hoke just isn't up to the level to coach Michigan. Doesn't mean he's a terrible coach, just out of his element.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:29 AM ^
Unless wright is a rockstar recruiter out of the gate, its a major step back in recruiting with these two hires.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:30 AM ^
If you've ever been party to an online discussion of strength and conditioning you know that evaluating S&C guys is… uh… contentious. I have no real idea whether Ben Herbert is a dude or not; nobody on Earth could tell you whether or not Wright is.
I can! But, I'd need more information than that. The number one goal of an S&C coach is to prevent injuries to keep your best players on the field. After that, their goals are to prepare the athletes for the rigors of the season and of practice, to improve their athleticism (speed, strength, power, endurance, flexibility, movement patterns, etc.), improve their performance, and improve their mental toughness and competitive nature. Every program will have their own individual philosophy and benchmarks, but that's the gist.
I will add that the S&C industry, as the entire coaching industry, is very niche and is very much who you know. Granted, if you're good enough and willing to move around for opportunities eventually you'll get found and gain opportunities. But, S&C interns and assistants tend to wind up working for coaches in the same coaching tree as the head S&C coach they first interned for or were an assistant for. Then, as their coaching tree expands their future opportunities do as well. But, other than getting promoted from within most opportunities come by your superior calling a guy at another school that he knows because they used to work together and vetting you and then you get offered an interview or position. This is how it was for me at multiple stops and most of the folks I worked with.
January 17th, 2020 at 7:40 PM ^
Thanks for contributing actual knowledge to the board (yes, prob all obvious to you but not for me and others who never played college football)
January 17th, 2020 at 10:31 AM ^
This combination of hires does seem to speak to the growing belief that, while not inept, Michigan doesn't necessarily maximize it's opportunities either.
Two open positions on defense.
- You hire one coach who could be a very good hire but it probably currently limited on strategy and development.
- You hire one coach who reportedly doesn't recruit very well but is believed to be pretty good with game strategy and maybe player development.
In total you solve the roles of a football coach, but you are using two positions to do it instead of having two different people who can do both. Maybe this was the best available given the timing, but yeah, not ideal.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:33 AM ^
These hires just scream treading water
January 17th, 2020 at 10:37 AM ^
Great, Harbaugh just hired a guy that can't recruit and another guy that never has.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:41 AM ^
We complain about the product on the field, but yet we had these great recruiters? Seems like if the team doesn't achieve than the recruits weren't as good as we thought. We brought in Patridge to get Gary. Maybe Brown needs another mind to help him not get destroyed by any team with B+ or better offensive talent.
January 17th, 2020 at 10:49 AM ^
I have a very good friend on a very successful staff in the Big 12 who has told me that being a “good recruiter” is a lot about just how much you’re willing to constantly be texting 18 year olds and how far you’re willing to bend over backwards to relate to them.
If I was harbaugh, every position coach besides OL, QB, and DL maybe? would be young guys who are maybe a little short in experience but are willing to recruit 24/7.
This is yet another example of the general program disorganization. Shoop and Tank will be fine, they’re not going to kill the program. But they’re not getting us any closer to the ultimate goal.
January 17th, 2020 at 11:10 AM ^
Shoop and Tank will be fine, they’re not going to kill the program. But they’re not getting us any closer to the ultimate goal.
Wait, isn't Tank a guy who will be coaching a position other than QB/OL/DL who's a little short in experience but is young, African-American, an ex-football player and team captain at a D-1 school, and more than likely able to operate a smartphone, and thus likely to relate to many recruits?
January 17th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
Absolutely. He fits the profile of a guy who could be a very good recruiter. I think the main frustration from Brian and others on this board is that Michigan is a program that should be picking out proven young recruiters rather than hoping a guy on the S&C staff can turn into one.
Any hire can either work or blow up in your face no matter what. You try to look for indicators one way or another. I personally don't blame anyone for saying that these hires have less than the desired amount of positive indicators.
However, I will say that I agree with others on this board who have said that if Brian is going to allude to things like "lowballing" potential coaches or "refusing to give frippery titles", he should either tell us what he's talking about or what he heard or stick to the facts of what we know otherwise it comes across as editorializing.
January 17th, 2020 at 1:22 PM ^
But why would proven young recruiters take a lateral move to work at Michigan? All it does it make their job harder because of the perceived limitations on the use of bagmen that they probably wouldn't have to bother with at the the majority of schools looking to hire them. And some of those schools are going to be able to offer job titles that Michigan won't.
January 17th, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
1) Why does it have to be a lateral move?
2) Dump trucks of cash
January 17th, 2020 at 2:56 PM ^
Because there are only a couple handful of schools outrecruiting Michigan on a regular basis. A guy moving from being the ace recruiter at them to Michigan to be the ace recruiter is going to be a lateral move.
January 17th, 2020 at 12:23 PM ^
Is your very good friend Bo Pelini?
January 17th, 2020 at 11:28 AM ^
Man, the BPONE
January 17th, 2020 at 11:41 AM ^
"The goggles do nothing!"
January 17th, 2020 at 11:40 AM ^
Doesn't recruit, not sure how he helps against spread teams. Awesome.
January 17th, 2020 at 11:41 AM ^
Hopeful wishing... off season negative sentiments reach a crescendo...team bonds like never before and everyone is pissed due to low expectations...qb steps forward and balls next year...go into the game with one loss and have a chance to win at the end. Win and be in playoffs, lose and go to Rose Bowl!
Just reread and I’m laughing. One can dream!!!
January 17th, 2020 at 11:54 AM ^
Blech. Mediocrity gets more and more mediocre every week.
January 17th, 2020 at 12:37 PM ^
Don Brown is obviously retiring after the 2020/21 season, and Shoop is here to train for the job.
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