Michigan Wolverines Football: ESPN Names Michigan Football's Matt Weiss 'A Position Coach To Watch'

He had a big hand in the Baltimore Ravens' run game over the last two years, while serving as running backs coach. He worked with the quarterbacks in 2016 and 2017, and coached several other positions — including on the defensive side of the ball — during his time in Baltimore from 2009-20.

In addition to his on-field coaching duties with the franchise, Weiss "was responsible for leading the analytics department of the coaching staff, scripting situational practice periods and advising the staff on in-game management decisions," according to his bio.

Needless to say, he brings a lot to the table.

Weiss, Michigan's highest-paid assistant coach who doesn't have a 'coordinator' tag in his title (his $600,000 annual salary is actually more than co-offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore earns), made the cut on ESPN.com senior writer Adam Rittenberg's list of college football position coaches to watch in 2021 because he's primarily working with the most important position group on the team — the quarterbacks.

The guy currently at the top of the depth chart is redshirt freshman Cade McNamara, who threw for 425 yards and five touchdowns last season while winning the starting job late in the year. Behind him are elite freshman J.J. McCarthy and Texas Tech transfer Alan Bowman, who threw for more than 5,000 yards with the Red Raiders.

It's Weiss' approach to coaching those players, though, that makes his role at Michigan all the more interesting. Much like he's taught almost all aspects of the game of football, he wants to coach all aspects of being a quarterback.

"Despite spending almost his entire coaching career at two places — with the Ravens and at Stanford — Weiss brings a diverse and holistic approach to Michigan's quarterback room," Rittenberg wrote. "Between Baltimore and Stanford, he has worked with every major position group other than tight ends, including stints as the primary coach for the Ravens' linebackers (2014), cornerbacks (2015) and running backs (2019-2020).

"Weiss assisted James Urban with Baltimore's quarterbacks in 2016 and 2017, but he wanted to approach the Michigan job with a deeper understanding of the position."

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"In the NFL, you hear about all these guys who go to biomechanic throwing experts, NFL players spending their own money and their own time," Weiss recently told ESPN. "I always thought that's something we should provide our own quarterbacks, so I've been working with those guys a lot, trying to learn all the biomechanics of throwing. If you look at other sports, like tennis or golf, they all have swing coaches. I feel like the whole idea of 'that's not something you coach' — when a quarterback in the NFL is making $30 million — seems like it's not right."

So Weiss has hit the ground running, despite being hired just one day before spring ball began in late February, making sure his signal-callers are not only picking up the offense and making the right reads, but are using the correct technique, too.

"One thing you'll see around the country and even in the NFL is, a guy misses a throw and it's low or whatever, and the coach says, 'Hey, get the ball up.' That's not really coaching," Weiss told ESPN. "You want to be able to tell him why the ball was low and help him fix it. So it really is not a separate thing. It should be part of coaching your position."

Weiss added that an emphasis is ensuring Michigan's quarterbacks, much like Tom Brady's approach, "don't lose the game," for the team.

Also important in coaching and in life, Weiss knows what he doesn't know. He's been more than happy to have head coach Jim Harbaugh step in and give pointers when necessary.

"He has what I lack in terms of experience as a player," Weiss told ESPN.com. "I wasn't a first-round draft pick. I didn't play 14 years in the NFL. He can lend that perspective and help me with that. He has great perspective about quarterback play, and just wants to win. He's a problem solver, somebody who wants to figure out a solution to do something or make something better."

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