Michigan football hires new DL coach to fill spot after Greg Scruggs resigned

Michigan football has found its new defensive line coach.

Lou Esposito, the newly appointed co-defensive coordinator at Memphis, is set to take the job in Ann Arbor, the school announced Friday.

Esposito will replace Greg Scruggs, who resigned March 21 – five days after he was arrested in downtown Ann Arbor for operating a vehicle while intoxicated and less than two weeks after Wolverines coach Sherrone Moore announced his hiring. Scruggs was part of a reconstituted defensive staff cobbled together after all five on-field assistants from that side of the ball, including coordinator Jesse Minter, left for other jobs in the aftermath of Jim Harbaugh’s move to the Los Angeles Chargers in January. Following Scruggs’ sudden departure, Moore promised he would “move swiftly but carefully” to find a successor.

With the Wolverines in the early stages of spring practice, time was of the essence. In the interim, Michigan filled the void with other coaches pitching in to help. LaTroy Lewis, a graduate student, stepped in and supervised the group. The players tried to make the best of a volatile situation, but it wasn’t easy.

“We haven’t really got set in stone,” defensive tackle Mason Graham said. “But we know how to control how we play, and that’s all we can do right now until it’s all figured out.” Now, it is.

On the heels of his 2 ⁄2-month stay at Memphis

1 – his alma mater – Esposito, 47, will return to a state where he spent the previous 14 years of his professional life. He had two separate stints at Western Michigan and was the defensive coordinator for the past seven seasons. He also spent one year at Ferris State in 2013 as a play-caller before serving three seasons as the head coach of Davenport, the Division II program in Grand Rapids.

The defensive line specialist has developed strong recruiting connections in Michigan and the Chicago metropolitan area over the years.

Once he starts working in the coming days, Esposito will take over one of the most talentrich position groups on the team. Graham and fellow star defensive tackle Kenneth Grant are back. So too are emerging edge rushers Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart.

“We are trying to be a better defense than last year,” Grant said.