U-M football turning to millennials for revival
Harbaugh’s staff changes reflect a youth movement
The news came via Twitter and email, which seemed fitting for an announcement of Michigan football’s revamped defensive staff that now is predominantly comprised of millennials.
It’s a digital world and the Wolverines’ analog coach, Jim Harbaugh, is living in it.
Harbaugh, a Bo Schembechler acolyte who grew up in an era of three yards and a cloud of dust, is trying to align his struggling program with this new generation.
A youth movement is afoot in Ann Arbor, where the Wolverines are in need of a revival after low energy and a talent disadvantage produced a 2-4 record this past season.
The hope is the additions of lead coordinator Mike Macdonald, safeties coach George Helow and co-coordinator Maurice Linguist will reverse these problems.
All three men are in their 30s. So too is Shaun Nua, the defensive line coach who was
retained along with Brian Jean-Mary — the 45year-old overseer of the linebackers who is now the graybeard on that side of the ball.
They will be tasked with picking up the pieces from a defense that deteriorated under the leadership of Don Brown.
Heading into this season, Brown, 65, was flanked by experienced assistants Bob Shoop and Mike Zordich, who had been involved in football for decades. But Shoop, who presided over the safeties, never coached in a game after he was assigned to an off-the-field role for an undisclosed reason while Zordich struggled to solidify the team’s cornerback group.
The gradual roster erosion due to recruiting misses, opt outs and transfers led to a rapid decline in quality depth, helping make Brown and Zordich expendable in the eyes of Harbaugh.
The 57-year-old Harbaugh knows he couldn’t maintain the status quo after he recently agreed to a contract extension through 2025 that doubled as a tacit indictment on his underwhelming job performance until this point. Operating under terms that virtually halved his salary and slashed the university’s buyout obligation, Harbaugh understood he needed new blood if he were to have a chance to stick around Ann Arbor.
Along with new running backs coach Mike Hart, 34, and 39-year-old Ron Bellamy, who was just hired Monday to lead the wide receivers, the three new defensive assistants may be able to reform the program’s cultureand foster better relationships with current players as well as high school prospects.
Michigan has struggled in recent seasons to retain its own while losing out on top recruits.
Since October 2019, 17 scholarship members of the team have entered the NCAA transfer portal. This past week, running back Zach Charbonnet, defensive lineman Luiji Vilain and quarterback Dylan McCaffrey all began the process of moving elsewhere to play.
They were all on a roster this summer that fell to No. 17 in 247Sports’ team talent composite —Michigan’s lowest ranking in the Harbaugh era.
Whether his personnel moves can elevate the Wolverines beyond that station is uncertain.
Macdonald has never worked on the recruiting frontlines, and Helow’s track record in that area appears rather barren. But Linguist, Bellamy and Hart are expected to provide a boost. People familiar with Linguist say his ability to attract good players is his best asset and he’s already doling out offers to coveted prospects.
Yet the optimismsurrounding the remodeled staff is muted by the fact Harbaugh has tried this gambit before.
The number of assistants who have worked under him since he arrived at Michigan has swelled to 29.
The turnover is reflective of a program that, under Harbaugh’s leadership, has tried almost everything to gain an edge but rarely maintained a commitment to its initiatives. Over the years, Michigan spearheaded the controversial satellite camp phenomenon, took trips overseas, held star-studded events tied to National Signing Day and zeroed in on certain regions for recruiting only to eventually abandon them. The Wolverines have demonstrated the same low-wattage attention span as the generation they have now to turned to lead them into the future.
Yes, Harbaugh is betting on youth to carry his regime after jettisoning several of his oldest assistants. There is obvious risk involved here. But perhaps Michigan needs to think like a startup instead of the old monolith it has been.
The millennials may, in fact, know the way.