DCC: Chris Ash is a strong possibility (not an endorsement by OP)
I'm not endorsing this move, but Sam Webb brought up Chris Ash on the roundtable yesterday as a possibility to replace Don Brown. I thought this was pure speculation by him. I never imagined there could be real legs to this. But a friend sent me a text this morning saying that he's at the top of the list.
I am normally one who can find a way to rationalize just about anything as a positive, no matter how insane, but I may need help with this one.
Lord, have mercy.
January 8th, 2021 at 9:29 AM ^
Yes, I know, Rutgers. But IMO he's a pretty good DC candidate.
My issue with trying to run quarters is we don't have any NFL defensive backs outside of Dax right now. So we'd still have an issue with teams that can expose our lack of athleticism until we can get that level of athlete back there.
No system is perfect and teams will always try to exploit your weaknesses, no way around it. And unless you're Alabama, Clemson or OSU, you need to have some kind of scheme that plays to the talents of your players and is easily adjusted game to game to mask as many of your weaknesses as possible.
But the reality is there's no home run DC hire that's gonna come in here and magically make us one of the top teams in the country.
So why not just hire someone who has DC experience and let's all move on to the phase where we talk ourselves into how this time will be different and can have some optimism about football for a time.
January 8th, 2021 at 9:31 AM ^
I assume his name was brought up because agents are talking to people; I assume it's not a STRONG possibility.
January 8th, 2021 at 9:36 AM ^
Didn't Chris Ash publicly go at Harbaugh, when he was the coach at Rutgers? Around the time he was complaining about Harbaugh going into NJ and taking those kids. If memory serves....he said some not so nice things, about Harbaugh. I'm struggling to believe that guy is a real option. A guy that...while the head coach at Rutgers....made it clear that he still had OSU loyalty. I may be wrong, but I just don't see it. ?♂️
January 8th, 2021 at 10:28 AM ^
So what ? They were in middle of recruiting battle. And Harbaugh won.
January 8th, 2021 at 9:50 AM ^
I just googled Ash and Harbaugh and the first vid was JH calling Ash “Rob.”
January 8th, 2021 at 10:04 AM ^
Mike MacDonald news scares me. Spent 2011-2013 coaching linebackers at Georgia. And has been with the Ravens since 2013. As we've seen with recruiting, these longtime NFL guys aren't great at it. I'm depressed.
January 8th, 2021 at 10:04 AM ^
Well, I mean, didn't Harbaugh get Don Brown by literally googling "Who has the best defense in college football?" and then hiring the top result? At least Ash did some good things as DC at OSU. While I hate the idea that Harbaugh is coming back I can think of worse picks for DC at Michigan.
January 8th, 2021 at 10:32 AM ^
Some of the other sites are saying we're going after Mike MacDonald.
January 8th, 2021 at 10:44 AM ^
This would be SUCH a bad hire. The fanbase would turn on Ash the first time we allowed a point (even if it was a safety) and he did not inspire at Texas this season.
January 8th, 2021 at 10:58 AM ^
I think Ash would be a good hire. We have struggled recruiting Ohio forever and we need to do better there. OSU has pick of the litter. We used to be able to grab a couple of those kids. Not all coordinators make good head coaches, do not think he can be judged based on Rutgers or one season at UT.