Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh brought in six new assistant coaches this offseason, including four on the defensive side of the ball, making it important that the staff bonds between itself all while building a vision for the Wolverines' new-look defense.

Co-defensive coordinator / secondary coach Maurice Lingust, a former Dallas Cowboys assistant, will lead the back end of the defense, while coordinator Mike Macdonald, who spent the last seven seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, is in charge of the unit as a whole.

"It’s like going to high school for the first day of school," Linguist told MGoBlueTV's Ed Kengerski. "You’re trying to get yourself acclimated and adjusted to the building and the kids and obviously the recruits, let alone the men that you’re working with. Some of us have had prior relationships — coaching is a small world, so everybody knows of each other.

"Mike Macdonald, our defensive coordinator, and I have had continuing conversations leading up to this point, and then got together. It’s been as smooth as I think it could’ve gone, considering all the moving pieces of COVID and all the things going on in society right now. The connection has been great."

RELATED: ITB Extra: Michigan Making Big Push For Top OL Targets

RELATED: Wolverine TV: Every Will Johnson Rep From 7-on-7 Tournament

Macdonald has compared the process of building Michigan's defense to a "start-up company," in that it's a collaborative effort, and it appears that attitude is being embraced by Linguist and the rest of the staff.

"This isn’t anybody’s defense as much as it’s the Michigan defense," Linguist said. "We’re just bringing our ideas to come together and to collectively put together a great product on the football field. Everybody’s contributing, everybody’s bringing their wealth of knowledge and experience. The great thing is, we’ve got a great group of men that are working together, working for and with one another, to put these kids in the best position possible to be successful."

The Wolverines started spring ball in late February, and many players who have met with the media since then have lauded the new coaches' energy and NFL experience they're bringing to the practice field and meetings. They've also revealed that the new coaches are more "relatable" and more willing to receive input from the players.

Linguist, known as an ace recruiter, stressed how important it is to forge bonds and build relationships with his players, something he is extremely serious about, saying he's in "never-ending" meetings and phone calls with players and the team as a whole, wanting to get to know each and every guy.

"We’re trying to find 25 hours in the day, squeeze blood out of a turnip and get everything we can out of the day," Linguist said. "That’s just where we are right now, we’re just hitting the ground running.

"If you ask enough questions and really develop that real relationship with kids, they’re going to come up to you. I just had one kid leave my office — ’Hey coach, this is what’s going on at home, this is what’s going on in my personal life.’

"At the end of the day, the essence of a coach is, can we help move the needle and get the kids from where they are — I say kids, I mean young men — to where they want to be in their own personal, academic and athletic lives? Can we give them the tools necessary to succeed? So we’re just trying to put them in the best position to be successful, give them the tools that they need.

"If there were no football players and no student-athlete, there would be no need for the coach. The student-athlete is the most important thing of what we do, and just helping them psychologically in all areas of their life and teaching them the game and giving them the motivation you gotta give it to them — doing multiple things all at once."

If any of Michigan's players are at all hesitant about Linguist as a person or coach, all they have to do is reach out to one of the program's more prominent and supportive alums in the NFL, Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who worked with Linguist last season in Dallas, to get his thoughts.

Lewis had nothing but positive reviews about Harbaugh's program when speaking with Linguist about his new gig, and he's even vouched for Linguist on recruiting calls with five-star cornerback commit Will Johnson, a longtime friend of Lewis'.

"Jourdan and I have a great relationship," Linguist said. "We had a great year together, and he did a great job for us in Dallas. He’s on the last year of his contract there.

"We just talked about a lot of things, what it means to be a Michigan man, the experiences that he had here, being a former All-American here. And it’s always good when you have real, honest relationships. You’re just asking open-ended questions about his experiences and what he felt — nothing but positivity coming from him.

"He’s a Michigan man, he loves the university, he was one of the first phone calls I got when I found out that we were actually going to make the move and come here."

One day at a time, one conversation at a time, one relationship at a time, Michigan's defense, and team as a whole, is coming together.

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook