Michigan Wolverines head football coach Jim Harbaugh acted quickly following the departure of co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Mo Linguist's departure to become Buffalo's head coach in early May. Just four days later, Harbaugh hired Steve Clinkscale from Kentucky to serve as the Wolverines' defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach, making yet another offseason splash.
TheWolverine.com's Chris Balas reported at the time that Clinkscale signed a three-year deal and that there is a path for him to be promoted to co-defensive coordinator.
Over a week later, FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests have been granted and details have emerged, showing that Clinkscale will make an annual salary of $600,000 over the next three years. There is an interesting incentive in the contract, however, stating exactly how Clinkscale can receive the aforementioned promotion and a raise of $100,000.
"If during the 2021 Division I FBS season, the defense for the University of Michigan finishes in the top 25 in fewest passing yards allowed per game for the regular season, Coach's annualized base salary in years two and three will be $700,000 and Coach shall also be promoted to Co-Defensive Coordinator for the remainder of the employment term," the contract states.
"If Michigan does not finish in the top 25 in fewest passing yards allowed per game in year one but does in year two, Coach's annualized base salary will be $700,000 for contract year three and coach will also be promoted to Co-Defensive Coordinator."
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The Detroit News' Angelique Chengelis shared a screenshot of a part of Clinkscale's contract via her Twitter account, and it can be viewed below.
Michigan's passing defense ranked 90th in the country last season, with the group yielding 250.5 yards per game through the air. That means Clinkscale's crew will have to drastically improve in 2021 if he wishes to earn the title of co-defensive coordinator after just one season.
Clinkscale does have some experience to work with, considering all four starters in the secondary — senior safety Brad Hawkins, sophomore safety Daxton Hill, and redshirt sophomore cornerbacks Gemon Green and Vincent Gray — are all set to return. Additionally, redshirt freshman DJ Turner is emerging, with Harbaugh recently revealing that he and Gray are battling for the second corner job.
On top of that, Clinkscale, who coached at Kentucky from 2016-20, has a track record of producing top-notch results, especially in the last few years once he got settled in.
The Wildcats concluded the 2018 season with the 18th-best pass defense in the country, with safety Mike Edwards, who won the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this past season, landing on the SEC's all-conference second-team unit for the second time in his career. Edwards then became one of two Kentucky defensive backs taken in the 2019 NFL Draft, joining safety Lonnie Johnson (Johnson went in the second round and Edwards in the third).
The 2019 campaign saw Clinkscale's best work yet, as UK's pass defense concluded as the second-best unit in the entire country. It only allowed 167.8 passing yards per game and yielded nine passing touchdowns the entire season, which was tied with Ohio State for the fewest in the nation.
This past fall was Clinkscale's final year on the job at Kentucky, and he produced two more NFL Draft picks at defensive back — Kelvin Joseph and Brandin Echols.
Joseph was a second-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys and Echols a sixth-round selection of the New York Jets. The Wildcats actually boasted the SEC's best pass defense in 2020 by allowing 224.6 passing yards per game, which oddly enough, finished 54th in the country. The 16 interceptions the Wildcats grabbed were tied for the third most in the sport, with Clinkscale's defensive backs grabbing eight of those picks.
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