DCC - Ruffin McNeill Good Enough For Jim Harbaugh, Not ECU?

Submitted by bringthewood on

Not sure if he would be a candidate here at this point.

http://www.todaysu.com/aac-today/east-carolina-pirates/ruffin-mcneill-g…

"The second thought was: I wonder if Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh is interested in hiring McNeill… again? Harbaugh is suddenly in the market for a defensive coordinator, with D.J. Durkin leaving the Wolverines to take the head coach job at Maryland. That’s not to suggest inside knowledge McNeill is a candidate at Michigan, but Harbaugh respects his coaching ability. McNeill also provides a recruiting connection to the talent-rich South.

You might be surprised to learn Harbaugh has hired McNeill in the past. So was I when I had a chance to interview the personable McNeill this time last year.

The Harbaugh connection goes back to January 2010 following the bowl games. McNeill was let go as Texas Tech’s interim head coach despite beating Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl. He had been the Red Raiders’ defensive coordinator the previous two seasons and assistant for 10 when Mike Leach was abruptly fired and McNeill tabbed coach the bowl game."

 

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TheReal_GR3

December 5th, 2015 at 3:09 PM ^

I believe ECU made a terrible decision. I live and work in Charlotte NC for the SEC Network and I haven't heard a single person happy about this firing. ECU will regret this in the years to come.

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Bleedmaizeblue

December 5th, 2015 at 3:11 PM ^

I'm convinced Partridge will be our new LB coach permanently and Jackson will be named DC after the bowl game, which Mattison will coach the defense temporarily for seeing as how Durkin ran his defense.

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NashvilleMaize…

December 5th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^

I'm hoping they name Jackson the interim for the bowl game so he and Michigan can get a good feel for what that would look like without making a commitment one way or the other. I understand the Mattison pick for interim 100% but this could be an opportunity to see what Jackson is made of (at this point in his career).



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NashvilleMaize…

December 5th, 2015 at 3:37 PM ^

Agreed. However, if Jackson is prepared to make "radical"changes to the defense (3-4? 3-3-5? jk) in order for him to feel comfortable calling the shots and Harbaugh knows this, then GMatt makes more sense for the final game of this season and then let Jackson install his thing starting in spring ball. Just a theory. Maybe Jackson will be doing the same thing as Durkin but it would explain Greg for the bowl game and Jackson going forward



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Bleedmaizeblue

December 5th, 2015 at 3:43 PM ^

Because Durkin coached under Mattison initially, Mattison understands the defense that has been taught to this team all season and can coach it best without changing it. You don't make the change until the offseason because you don't have time to install Jacksons defense. Jackson could be wanting to run the defense a little differently and the bowl game is not a practice game. I've actually heard from ppl at the university that Harbaugh very much values a 10th win this season. The best shot is with Mattison at DC temporarily.

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Bleedmaizeblue

December 5th, 2015 at 4:30 PM ^

Not this year. Plus you don't have all next years players on this years roster. You don't move to next year until next year, unlike most of us fans are already focused on next year. All 15 practices of a new or altered defense will do is implement a very basic version of the new/changed defense. You lower your chances of winning the game and confuse players.

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Wolfman

December 5th, 2015 at 8:05 PM ^

will be talent. Yes, DCs like to utilize different fronts and different blitz schemes, etc. However, Defensive scheme is taught quite easily. Technique and Talent are much more difficult to come by and involve a lot of patience and excellent evaluation and projection skills. There was a rather lengthy thread recently discussing how to stop OSU's offense. Although there are certain schemes you would like to see that can mitigate this somewhat, the answer was shown in the SEC Championship game this afternoon. When you have a front seven like either team's you are in position to stop any offensive scheme.  The only thing missing from Fl's defense was an offense that could keep them off the field for chunks of time to allow them to stay relatively fresh.

It is vitally important, from a coaching perspective, to give your team the best possible chance to win a bowl game and it boils down to recruiting. You are on a national stage and it's much better going forward with an understanding if you choose M you will be ensured of double digit Ws each year. This can only be done after hitting that mark the first time and repeating it. It is important to establish this as a habit as quickly as possible for all future classes going forward. In today's game you are going to have elite players for a max of three years generally and hopefully you have the depth to fill in the next season. In that regard, and it is extremely important when rebuilding to develop that expectation not only for current players, but for future players as well.

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Mr Miggle

December 5th, 2015 at 4:03 PM ^

to judge their abilities that I'm not. But these seem like absolutely terrible ideas. Partridge has only had a non-coaching role at Michigan. Our biggest coaching need next year is going to be at LB, with practically no experience returning. With all of Harbaugh's connections and Michigan's profile and budget,  we can attract a top-notch experienced LB coach. Why would we want a former HS coach with limited experienced coaching other positions at a lower college level? It would only be for recruiting, but you don't put a recruiting specialist at such a critical post.

With all the highly qualified candidates that may be available and interestedin bg our new DC, Harbaugh is just going to look for the best candidate among his current staff? My expectattion is that Harbaugh is going to look at this as opportunity to strengthen his staff. I don't think any reasonable person could argue these moves would do that. At least with Jackson, Harbaugh's actually seen him coach, but his resume doesn't stack up.

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alum96

December 5th, 2015 at 4:15 PM ^

hah

not going to do a full resume but I am not sure why people think he is going to be a DC....he was a solid HC so I assume will field offers as a HC.

As a DC he had 2 years at Texas Tech in 08/09

FEI ranks as follows

  • (08): 28
  • (09): 32

Considering the talent level at Texas Tech that is pretty darn good.  That said the Big 12 of that era was different then today.  That was an era of Nebraska and Missouri (and a pretty crappy Texas A&M) instead of Baylor and TCU.

But still a solid ranking.

While not a DC @ ECU I'd like to see a HC with a defensive focus have top 40ish defenses even as a HC (see D'Antoni) so ECU was as follows:

  • (10): 117
  • (11): 68
  • (12): 102
  • (13): 49
  • (14): 92
  • (15): 72

Again he is not the DC at ECU but these are not impressive #s.  Only 1 finish in 6 years in the top 65.
 

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Danwillhor

December 5th, 2015 at 6:36 PM ^

we're hiring/promoting a secondary HC because the DC under Harbaugh has absolute control. I don't think we promote anyone but I don't think we get a "hired gun" for a season (Pruitt, etc). I think Jim knows we need stability for a few years and while it's a good thing to have assistants move on to higher positions (it is, guys) you want to make sure it's not every year. We need a successful DC to hang around 3+ years and I think that'll be a huge hiring point from within or the outside.

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a2bluefan

December 5th, 2015 at 3:22 PM ^

As both an ECU and UM alum, I'd be happy for him to come to Michigan. That said, I'd be willing to bet Ruff's phone was burning up for possible HC jobs elsewhere the minute ECU's AD made the most bonehead move in the history of the program.

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FrankMurphy

December 5th, 2015 at 5:47 PM ^

If I put myself in his shoes (and do my best to take off my maize and blue lenses), I would think that a defensive coordinator gig at an elite program coached by someone with whom I have a prior relationship would be an attractive option and a chance to cool my heels for a bit while waiting for the right HC opportinity.

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Lakeyale13

December 5th, 2015 at 5:21 PM ^

Living here in NC, McNeill has a great reputation as a man and Coach. Expectations at ECU are a bit bloated in my opinion. I just don't know if he would be a personality fit for Michigan. If you have never heard the man talk, google search one of his interviews. I could listen to him all day long. He has a Southern Accent that you have to wring out of your clothes. That being said, maybe it would help with recruiting in the South.

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FrankMurphy

December 5th, 2015 at 5:41 PM ^

If he's a stand up guy who Harbaugh respects, then he'll be a good fit no matter how he talks. The only knock against him is that he's never coached anywhere close to the Big Ten footprint, but that's not as big of an issue for assistant coaches (especially if he'll primarily be recruiting the South). If Harbaugh thought he would be a fine fit at Stanford, then he'll be a fine fit at Michigan. 

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Gentleman Squirrels

December 5th, 2015 at 5:57 PM ^

Everyone is throwing out DC candidates as the only one we can have. Why not have co-DC with Greg Jackson being one of them. He can essentially intern under another coordinator who has had more experience. And suppose they take off, Jackson can take on the role full time. It seems like more and more schools are going the co-DC route



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brandanomano

December 5th, 2015 at 9:39 PM ^

ECU Grad here. Ruffin is a player's coach. All of his players love him and are NOT HAPPY about his firing. A lot have said he's the only reason they went to ECU. He's going to be a hell of a recruiter he lands a job at a big-time program.



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