Report: Ben McDaniels is WR Coach
I hope you folks are enjoying yourselves out there. For those moments of heated, completely unnecessary political discussions around the dinner table, I offer this MLive link saying that McDaniels will get the nod as Michigan's next WR coach after Jim McElwain departed for CMU.
I'm not sure where I heard it, but I remember from somewhere that he played a role in snagging Cornelius Johnson (247 page), so that's a positive. It also seems that he beat out Roy Roundtree for the job, though I'm honestly unfamiliar with the internal structure and workings of Michigan's staff.
December 25th, 2018 at 5:21 AM ^
He’s an OG. Hell, he’s an original Rough Rider!
Yes, “Rider” not “Ryder”
December 25th, 2018 at 5:25 AM ^
Merry Christmas Shea. We’re all glad you’re coming back. Roast some Gators on Saturday.
December 26th, 2018 at 11:26 AM ^
What is the evidence that Mineral King is Shea?
December 25th, 2018 at 6:11 AM ^
Glad to hear it!
December 25th, 2018 at 9:02 AM ^
I’m still not sleeping on Kurt Taylor; per your wisdom.
December 25th, 2018 at 10:47 AM ^
I thought we weren’t suppose to sleep on BM?
December 25th, 2018 at 2:30 PM ^
MK, I hope they unleash you next season and you throw for 5000 yards, win a NC and the Heisman!
December 25th, 2018 at 6:21 AM ^
He's Josh McDaniels brother. I'm trying to look up his history, how he's done. Can't really tell. He's been to a lot of different teams. He has had jobs in the NFL. Nothing in particular is standing out about what he has done, except, at Rutgers the offense actually took a significant drop when he went from WR coach to OC/QB coach.
I thought there would be another splash hiring like hiring Jim McElwain, and Ed Warinner. Who knows, maybe he will do a great job.
December 25th, 2018 at 6:30 AM ^
Extensive experience, excellent blood lines, embraced by players and coaches (including The mineral king), successful recruiter, experience in the nfl - I totally see why you are not impressed with this hire. /s
This looks like another homerun by Harbaugh. They truly are building something great in Ann Arbor. And they are doing it honestly! Beating osu for the 59th time is going to be incredibly gratifying.
December 25th, 2018 at 5:57 PM ^
“This looks like another homerun by Harbaugh.”
McDaniel might turn out to be a great assistant, but as of today there is no concrete evidence whatsoever to back up your assertion that he’s a “home run hire.” The only proof of that are results at Michigan.
December 25th, 2018 at 7:38 AM ^
McElwain was an awful recruiter. Hopefully this guy is decent.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:20 AM ^
Come on man...what was McElwain supposed to do??? He was hired very late as a "stop-gap" and that is what he was.
Otherwise, Sam W. has a great piece on the 2019 OL recruits this morning-on Michigan Insider. And this is why I have held all along that this unit is going to be pivotal in the continued ascent of Michigan football. The floor of his unit is very high and the ceiling is elite. And that the DL of this class is similarly and powerfully built from the inside out...the future of this program is scintillating. Arguably, Michigan has the best RB in this class, a player in Daxton Hill who may, in a year or two, be considered the best player in the entire 2019 class, a couple incredibly exciting and talented "in space" players and a brilliant QB has "IT" coming out his ears. Then, to top it off, this class is filled out with a bunch of recruits who are anything but "filler" recruits-including the POWs. Folks should be really excited about this group!!!
December 25th, 2018 at 8:24 AM ^
He’s long been a bad recruiter. It was tj major knock on him at Florida. One year position coaches don’t tend to just get to not recruit.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:37 AM ^
McElwain took a basketball recruit, raw freshman and made him look like the steal WE of last years class, so maybe he and Harbaugh know what they are doing?
December 25th, 2018 at 8:41 AM ^
So long as “doing” doesn’t include recruiting.
December 25th, 2018 at 9:56 AM ^
Fuck off Maizen Jr
& Merry Christmas
December 25th, 2018 at 12:07 PM ^
Even on Christmas Day you have to tear people down. Your life must be miserable. I'm glad I'm nowhere near your family...
December 25th, 2018 at 3:59 PM ^
Go cry in the bathroom.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:35 AM ^
Very excited about this class!
December 25th, 2018 at 8:11 AM ^
You really don’t need a big name hire to be WRs coach... what you want is a young, up and coming coach with an excellent knack for recruiting. While McElwain was fine in his duties as a WR coach (even though rumors were that a Roundtree actually did the majority of the coaching there) McElwain was NOT a good recruiter.
The argument can easily be made that McDaniels is a better hire at WR coach than McElwain.
December 25th, 2018 at 1:08 PM ^
What you need at WR coach is someone who knows what he's doing. Zach Smith was apparently a great recruiter and a terrible WR coach, and OSU's receivers were noticeably better once he was gone. So the claim of "you just need a guy who can recruit" at certain positions leads you to a collection of under-performing players.
The distaste for McElwain around here astounds me. Yes, he seems like a bit of a weird guy and I wouldn't want him as my HC. But good lord, people just saw a noticeable improvement in WR performance this year (as part of a larger improvement on the offensive end) and at least a small part of that is probably due to McElwain being a good coach at this spot. I'm sure McDaniels will also be good, but that doesn't mean the guy he's replacing was bad.
December 25th, 2018 at 2:06 PM ^
Don't be sensible, bronxblue. Don't you know this is the internet???
December 25th, 2018 at 3:12 PM ^
I have serious reservation that someone better than, or as good as, Jim McElwain could be found. Look how many times receivers were nicely open, and sometimes alone in coverage. And look at the way receivers downfield were always looking for someone to block when the ball was coming their way. This was the best year for these things I can remember.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:04 PM ^
This would imply that you’re under the assumption that the WR play was solely from McElwain. Which again, ignores the jump of going from a first year college player to a second year college player, and Roy Roundtree’s impact as a GA. Which if rumors are true, he was responsible for most of the practice coaching anyway.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:02 PM ^
And you’re obviously getting a guy who knows how to coach WRs in McDaniels or Roundtree. You don’t need a big name guy to find someone who does that. Which was my point.
And you’re attributing the WR play to McElwain, but that ignores the fact that WRs generally make the biggest jump from freshman to sophomore year anyway, and then of course there’s the rumors that Roundtree was doing the majority of the coaching on the field anyway. I think the WRs were going to have a significant jump this season regardless of who it was coaching them.
I don’t know where you got that McElwain was bad. I didn’t say that. I simply dispelled the notion that you need to make a “splash” hire at that spot. It is generally reserved for good recruiters and young up and coming coaches. Neither of which describes McElwain. That doesn’t mean he’s not a good coach, it just means he’s not typical of a WR coaching job.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:06 PM ^
Also, don’t quote someone if you’re going to say something they never said. At no point did I say “you just need a guy who can recruit.” I said you typically want an up and coming coach with a knack for recruiting. Where does that say just a guy who can recruit? The “up and coming” aspect would imply a high potential coach at the very least.
But hey, thanks for putting words in my mouth and misinterpretating what I said.
December 26th, 2018 at 2:25 PM ^
Based on comments he's made in his podcast, Brian has a real beef with McElwain (even mispronounces his name). This place being a bit of a cult of personality probably leads to some of this stuff. I thought McElwain did a fine job and I'm sure Harbaugh was more than happy with him.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:11 AM ^
You really don’t need a big name hire to be WRs coach... what you want is a young, up and coming coach with an excellent knack for recruiting. While McElwain was fine in his duties as a WR coach (even though rumors were that a Roundtree actually did the majority of the coaching there) McElwain was NOT a good recruiter.
The argument can easily be made that McDaniels is a better hire at WR coach than McElwain.
December 25th, 2018 at 6:38 AM ^
Just hope he’s a good recruiter. We could use another high level recruiter on the offensive side to go along with Moore
December 25th, 2018 at 6:51 AM ^
Ben fucking McDaniels. Merry fucking Christmas.
December 25th, 2018 at 6:54 AM ^
Grouch. Er, Grinch.
December 25th, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
Hey! There ARE rules!
December 25th, 2018 at 7:08 AM ^
His father, Thom, was coach at my high school when Maurice Clarret and Mario Manningham went there. Thom thought very highly of Jim Tressel and, strictly on hearsay, didn’t seem to care much for UM. But, that’s the normal inclination of Ohio people.
Ben comes from great bloodlines as Thom was a heck of a coach and disciplinarian. Should be a great fit and I’m sure he has many Ohio contacts.
December 25th, 2018 at 7:55 AM ^
Guessing some thoughts regarding Michigan have changed in the McDaniels family, an alum in Boston has been pretty good for his brother's career!
December 25th, 2018 at 5:25 PM ^
You've got that right!!! Hope it's appreciated.
December 25th, 2018 at 7:34 AM ^
Harbaugh hires good coaches and clearly has enough on McDaniels to make this call. Roundtree is going to have to cut his teeth at a smaller school. I’m sure he’ll make a fine coach.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:03 AM ^
Harbaugh has a deep bench of future postition coaches. His coaching tree is amazing.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:14 AM ^
That was a glaring absence from Carr, RR, and Hoke. It seemed rare that their assistants advanced in the coaching world. Harbaugh has has multiple position coaches move on to higher positions elsewhere and a few guys move on to head coaching jobs as well. Really speaks to the quality of coaching these guys receive on Harbaugh’s staff
December 25th, 2018 at 11:49 AM ^
Rountree has stints coaching WRs at two smaller schools already.
December 25th, 2018 at 8:09 PM ^
Three actually, but when he said “smaller schools” I don’t think he was referring to CSU-Pueblo, Limestone College, or Indiana State. I think he was more referring to taking a job at a school like Central or possibly a small P5 job like Syracuse or BC before being considered for a job at a place like Michigan.
December 25th, 2018 at 7:43 AM ^
Congratulations and welcome
This year your job is simple: Beat Ohio
December 25th, 2018 at 8:06 AM ^
Is it really just a report? Harbaugh said McDaniels is the permanent WR coach in the interview
December 25th, 2018 at 8:19 AM ^
From wolverineswire.com:
“Ben McDaniels is the receivers coach now,” Harbaugh said. “We’d like to make that permanent. He’s really done a nice job.”
I'd say that's pretty "official".
December 25th, 2018 at 8:42 AM ^
Except that, apparently, McDaniels has not officially accepted.
December 25th, 2018 at 10:34 AM ^
This is Michigan fergodssakes
December 25th, 2018 at 10:37 AM ^
If true, then okay ... not official official.
But, given how careful Harbaugh is with saying anything too concrete, it strikes me he wouldn't have said that if it wasn't all but done.
December 25th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^
I hope the departing WR coach is repaying his contract since he isn't coaching in the bowl game.
December 25th, 2018 at 11:15 AM ^
I see what you did here
December 25th, 2018 at 1:10 PM ^
Guess that narrative just doesn't get the clicks.
December 25th, 2018 at 4:02 PM ^
Yes he made visits to Cornelius and Giles Jackson after Mac left.
Figured he’d get the nod unless another program offered him a bigger role.