The Michigan Wolverines' football program lost special teams and safeties coach Chris Partridge yesterday afternoon, with first-year Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin hiring him on the Rebels' defensive staff in Oxford.
Partridge's departure is considered quite significant, not only due to his coaching abilities but also because of the prowess he had on the recruiting trail during his time in Ann Arbor.
Partridge was born in Hackensack, N.J., and served as the head coach at Paramus Catholic High School from 2010-14, before Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh hired him on his debut staff in Ann Arbor in 2015.
The 39-year old climbed the coaching ladder with the Wolverines, first serving as the club's director of player personnel in 2015, before becoming the special teams/linebackers coach from 2016-17, and then finally the special teams/safeties coach each of the last two years.
Partridge played a significant role for the Maize and Blue on the recruiting trail all the while, helping reel in notable prospects from the Garden State such as defensive end Rashan Gary (the nation's No. 1 overall prospect in 2016), junior safety Brad Hawkins, redshirt junior defensive tackle Mike Dwumfour and former U-M running back Kareem Walker.
All the special teams and defensive units he coached during his time at Michigan were sound as well, especially the former.
He helped develop redshirt junior Will Hart from a walk-on into one of the game's best punters in 2018, when the Hunting Valley, Ohio, native averaged 47 yards per punt (he didn't have enough attempts to qualify in the national rankings, but his average would have checked in fourth best nationally).
Sophomore kicker Jake Moody (another former walk-on) also burst onto the scene under Partridge's tutelage, connecting on the first 12 field goal attempts (from the end of 2018 through the start of 2019) of his Michigan career.
The linebacker play was outstanding under Partridge in both 2016 and 2017 as well, as was the play of the safeties each of the last two years.
Harbaugh, however, has shown an ability to make not only adequate replacements any time he has lost a coach on his staff, but oftentimes an upgrade.
This was undoubtedly the case when former offensive line coach Tim Drevno was replaced with Ed Warinner following the 2017 season, with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis also appearing to be an upgrade over former coordinator Pep Hamilton (2017-18).
It's fair to also call current defensive coordinator Don Brown an upgrade over former coordinator D.J. Durkin (2015), while the jury still appears to be out on defensive line coach Shaun Nua (who replaced Greg Mattison).
While Partridge's departure is certainly a blow, it may not be as significant of a loss as some folks are making it out to be.
Very few staffers around the nation are considered irreplaceable (perhaps only the game's best coordinators), and that notion may be a bit overblown anyway, when considering an exiting elite staffer can potentially be replaced with another elite assistant if the right hire is made by the head coach.
Partridge's name had been linked to previous openings in the past (Alabama, specifically), so it was no secret he wanted to move up the coaching chain and become a coordinator, and likely a head coach someday.
It's unlikely the move caught Harbaugh off guard, meaning he should already have replacement candidates in mind.
There's no shame in losing an assistant who simply wants to climb the coaching tree, which equates out to Harbaugh deserving no criticism for this move.
The 39-year old proved yesterday how much Harbaugh and the rest of the Michigan coaching staff have meant to him when he penned this heartfelt goodbye:
Sure, his loss is significant, but it's not a move that will severely hinder Michigan's recruiting efforts or the on-field performances of the units he coached.
Just as he has done numerous times in the past, Harbaugh will find an appropriate replacement (perhaps even an upgrade) to keep the program humming along.
Coaching turnover happens annually at every school around the country, so to criticize Partridge's departure as if it's somehow Harbaugh's or Michigan's fault is flat-out ignorant.
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