New Michigan offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey recently sat down with Jon Janson on an episode of In the Trenches.

Lindsey discussed everything from his move to Michigan, his offensive identity, recruiting at a traditional power like Michigan, and of course his new quarterback, Bryce Underwood.

Here's everything Lindsey had to say.

Yeah, thank you. Appreciate you having me. It's been good. It's been really good. I've learned a lot about driving and been really careful out there when you have snow and everything, but no, it's been really good.

The people here have been great. It's been fun to get to know the players, and coming in during the bowl gave me a great opportunity to kind of get to know everybody before, you know, hitting the ground running, so to speak.

You know, several people have asked me that. It's really not been. I think that's a little bit overblown sometimes, because nowadays college football is so different. Like, coaching quarterbacks, you're going to see quarterbacks all over the country, and I've been to this area of the country recruiting before, and out west and everywhere, you're trying to find the best players in the country.

A couple of the places I've worked before, and no different here at Michigan, and so I think it's been good. It's fun to go to a new place, and I think the people are what makes places special. This place is special because of the people here, and it's already feels that way, and Coach Moore has done a great job getting people here that care about this place and want to be here.

It's a great working environment, and it's been a lot of fun. I'm excited about it.

Yeah, I think a lot of that depends on where you're working. The Block M really gets you in a lot of good places, and excites people when you walk in and ask about their players. I think that's a national brand, obviously, and I think that's a huge benefit for us, wherever we're going. For me, going to see quarterbacks all over the country, I mean, people are very intrigued.

They know our history. I mean, you look on my wall in my office, and I think we were counting yesterday, seven or eight guys in a row during that time frame, probably when you were playing or right after, all were NFL quarterbacks, and J.J. McCarthy obviously being a first-round pick recently, so it's exciting. I think our brand is huge.

I think it really stretches all the way across the country, and even going back down south where I'm from, I mean, those guys are excited going through there in January, and that's what you want to be. You want to be in a place that's special. You want to be a place that's respected.

Our history and tradition here, I mean, it's the winningest program in college football. What else do you say about that? And I think people that love football and love college football, they all remember, and I grew up watching, you know, my memories are seeing Michigan playing the Rose Bowl and all those things that and I never imagined being here and just really fortunate.

Yeah, I think for him, I feel like he felt like the right fit is what he was looking for, just talking to him through the process, and then now that I'm here and we have a good staff here.

We're not very -- we won the national championship here in 2023, so it's not like we have to really reinvent the wheel, so I think the right fit probably is what I would say, and I was looking for that, too. I wanted to be at a place that has a chance to win the whole thing, I mean, to win every game, and this is one of those places, and then once I connected with him and just getting to know him over a short amount of time. But it was, I think, our vision aligned for what we want to be on offense. I love how we approach the game here. I love what our DNA is here. We're tough, a physical football team, and I think that'll continue to carry over.

Yeah, you know, and I'm an old high school coach. I did that for a long time, so I think when you're a high school coach, your philosophy really is built really around your players. You know, what do we do the best? What can our players do? You can run an offense in high school, and if you don't have the players to do it, you're not going to be very successful, so I think that background helps me in a lot of ways because we're trying to identify this spring, who are our playmakers, for sure, and it's pretty simple.

Let's try to get on the ball as many times as we can and let those guys go make plays, but philosophically, I think when I first got into coaching as a high school coach, you're trying to make it exciting and fun and play fast and be spread and wide open and and get kids to come out, especially basketball players who kind of venture away from football or baseball players who do the same thing. So that was kind of the theme, and that's how I got into college football, and then once I got into college football and worked with a guy like Todd Monken and Gus Malzahn and guys that had been in the NFL or places where running the football was a premium, I think that's kind of where I started to see if I'm ever going to win a championship and be in that setting and -- been close, got to be in the national championship game one time, but you can't do that without being able to run the football and be physical, and that's what really excited me about this job with Coach Moore. Watching his team from afar, you know, in '23, '22, he's running the offense and that's the cool thing.

I think our DNA is here, it is what it is, it's been that way for a long time, even back when you were playing, and then -- but I think our goal is to have the most physical and explosive offense in the country, and that's kind of what our mantra is.

Yeah, I think you run the football to set up throwing it down the field.

I would have told you 10 years ago probably the opposite.

I just think my experience now, I mean, that's what I believe in.

I mean, the last two years, the previous stop, we've had a 1,500 yard rusher, and then when we had Drake Maye, first-round pick, I mean, he threw for over almost 4,000 yards at the same time, and then, I think when you go back, even at Southern Miss, I was working for Todd Monken there -- he's with the OC with the Ravens now -- we had two 1,000 yard rushers in the same season and a 4,000 yard passer, and then probably that's the most explosive offense I've ever been a part of, and those things are rare, but I think that's who you got to be.

If you're going to win the whole thing, and that's been proven here before, and I think the recipe is the same. I mean, we have to be able to run the football when we want to do it. I mean, you play on the road. You play late in the season. Weather's different. I mean, that's important, and we got to be physical, and we have to have that mindset.

At the same time, I want to create explosive plays, and to do that, you got to be able to throw it down the field, and that's what we're really focused on. If you quiz me on our team right now, I probably couldn't pass the test, especially the defensive guys from the standpoint of recognizing them without a jersey, but watching our team during bowl practice, watching video from last year and so forth, and then the pieces we've added, I think we have a chance. It's not going to be easy, and we got a lot of work to do, but it's going to be a lot of fun.

Yeah, they're all really good. Obviously, they've been successful, and they're all a little different, and I think that's a testament to them.

They are who they are, and I think as a head coach or a leader of anything, you have to be authentic and be who you are. One thing, when Coach Brown hired me at North Carolina, going through the interview, he's like, all right, here's what I want. I don't want you to mess Drake Maye up, and I said, OK, I understand that.

He said, I want to run the ball better. We hadn't run the ball very good this past year. I know they had before, and so that was kind of our mission, and that's what we tried to do, and we had a running back that developed, a kid named Omarion Hampton, who will probably be a pretty high pick this year, and then Drake was obviously the first-round pick, so my whole deal there was, hey, don't mess this guy up, and then let's run the ball better, and that's what we did the last two years. But all those guys are unique, but they all -- the thing I think that was common with them all, they all had a vision of what they wanted the program to look like or the offense to look like, and all very talented.

Coach Brown, he's that typical CEO. He's a leader. He knows everything that's going on in the program. He's taking notes of practice and giving you a copy and making sure you correct this and that, and very detail-oriented, just a great person and Hall of Fame coach, so that was exciting to get a chance to work for him. Won a national championship. I mean, there's just, and really, the two years I was there was a great experience just being around him, being around and learning how he went about his business every day, and it's a lot different than, you know, Coach Gus Malzahn, who's a really good friend of mine.

I mean, he was really involved in the offense. The guy's one of the pioneers of bringing the hurry-up-no-huddle into college football way back in probably 2007 or 2008 at Tulsa before he went to Auburn, and that's kind of where he took off, but another guy that's very detail-oriented and really, but in a different way than Coach Brown. And then Todd Monken, your typical receiver coach, high energy, has a lot of fun, wants it, but very, very detail-oriented as well. And that's, I think that's the thing that all three of those guys are. You get around these head coaches have been successful, and they all have, I mean, they're very, they laser focused on what they want the program to look like, and a lot to take from all of them, but at the end of the day, I think you have to be yourself.

I think the players appreciate you when you're authentic and not trying to be someone you're not.

Yeah, you know, I think, I think you approach them the same. I mean, we're going to coach them all the same. Expectations are the same, and the way we go about it, you know, you think about all those three guys. They're, they're all a little, little different from where they are in their career and so forth, but they're all similar in that they want to be really good, and they want to push each other, and they want to compete.

Bryce, getting to know him has been unbelievable. I mean, the, the guy's as humble and driven as I've seen, and people from the outside may not see that or know that because all the hype that goes with it. But Jadyn Davis was a five-star recruit as well, and so, but I think the people from outside don't see them every day in the film room grinding on their own, in meetings, taking notes. They really approach their craft very seriously, and they want to be really good and be the best they can be, and that's what you want.

You want a room full of guys that are eager. Davis Warren's the same way. I mean, he's coming off an injury, but he's the same way. Those guys want to be perfect, and I think that's what's exciting, and I think that's what we have to do in that quarterback room moving forward is, is get guys that -- not that we haven't before because I wasn't here, but my goal is to have that room full of guys that are just eager, that want to learn, and they're ready to go. And like you said, get back to that lineage you had when you guys were playing.

Yeah, I think consistency sticks out to me is getting those guys, physically being able to get their bodies in position all the time to be really accurate and know where to go with the ball, and know where issues are in protections. I mean, it goes, I think all those things go together in the development process. You know, even with Drake, when I got to him, he was really smart. He's already way ahead football IQ-wise. Of course, we were doing things somewhat a little different and gave him some freedom to get us in different protections and all those things, and I mean, he's like a duck to water. He just took to it and went with it, and it's really nice when you have a guy that can do that, right? You just say, hey, I'm gonna call this play, and if it's not right, get us into a good play, and he's very, very capable.

He proved that this year, I think, in the NFL, doing that, but I expect our freshmen to be able to do that as well. I expect, because those guys are so much more advanced now, I think, than like when I was growing up, and those quarterbacks that came in, like, their high school development's a lot better, really, just being honest with you. They're being exposed to a lot more football. They understand, they get on Zoom calls before they even get here, start learning. They're eager to learn. It's like they want to soak it all up, and again, like at Michigan, well, I believe we ought to always have guys that are driven, that are smart, that can articulate. Guys that can really lead the team, and if we're recruiting the right kind of guys, then those guys will take to it, and they'll do really well, and that's what I think all three, four of these guys -- when we get Davis back, he's still recovering -- but they'll all four be able to do that.

Yeah, that's a good question. I think starting out, I mean, that's, that's going to be our message in our first unit meeting is we got to figure out who can and will make plays, and we have to do a great job of putting them in those situations, and I think we got a great plan to do that. Because really at the end of the day, if you go back and look when JJ was here, or even before him -- and that's what I want our guys to understand is like, it's not really about the plays as much as it is about how we execute the plays and how people go win in one-on-one matchups and quarterbacks making contested throws and being able to put the ball or contested catches by the wideouts and put the ball in the right spot and so forth.

So, again, I don't think it's anything magic. We just got to get to where we can do those things at a high level consistently. And some of that's going to be -- you're as good as your players. We were talking before we got on, if your quarterbacks play well, everybody plays better. And I think those are the special quarterbacks, the ones that make everybody on the field better and, and to take ownership. And even when it's not their fault, sometimes they're taking the fall for it. But at the end of the day, that's our goal this spring is we got to figure out who our playmakers are. How do we create explosive plays and really in -- you know, Todd Monken used to say this all the time. It's so true. Good football really still wins, right? It's how do you create explosive plays and taking care of the ball, no negative plays -- which penalties and turnovers and the negative. TFL is behind the line of scrimmage and be good on third down and be good on red zone.

I mean, it's not real complicated, but it's harder than it sounds. And I think for us this spring, it's how do we put these three quarterbacks to -- 'cause Davis will be out the spring. How do we put them in position and we'll just rotate them through and cause I want them all to get equal reps with the, with the older receivers or whatever, or the next group down or whatever, and trying to get them all those reps and put them in those situations.

And then it's pretty simple then. It's a production business, right? Whatever you produce, that's who you are, and whatever you put on film, who you are. So I'm looking forward to it. That's what makes it fun.

Yeah. You know, I've been really impressed with this group and, you know, talking with Sharone early on in the process.

And, I remember one time even saying, OK, tell me about the guys that are there. And sometimes offensive coordinators or defensive coordinators, they only want to go if they can bring their own guys and so forth. And, you know, but listening to him talk, I just believed in Sherrone and his vision for our program. And when you believe in the head coach and you believe in that -- I may not have known a lot of these guys before, but when I got here and started working with them and meeting with them and talking through, I was just really impressed. And Tony Alford's another guy -- this, this whole staff and the off-the-field guys and the guys that help support. And then you've got an offensive line coaches, your head coach, we're going to -- if you feel pretty good about having some offensive linemen, that's going to be a priority, which is always a good.

Um, just, we got really good coaches. We got guys that take a lot of pride in their position and hold their guys accountable. And they're eager to learn anything new that we might be doing. And at the same time getting better. We're spending this month right now in February going through the cutups from last year and trying to figure out, OK, how do we do this better? Do we need to, or do we even need to do it anymore or whatever? And Coach Moore, I think he's put together a great staff all the way around and everybody you feed off your head coach.

Your job as an assistant, I think is always to carry the message of the head coach, right? Whatever his vision is, your job is to take that to your room and do that, or your side of the ball and do that. And, uh, these guys here, they're definitely doing that. And it's a fun group to be with.

Yeah. And each place you go is a little different when you take over. You go into year one with a group and obviously you're starting from ground zero.

But one of the things that was kind of unique about this situation is the terminology was very similar. You're used to the NFL verbiage, I'm sure. And, that's kind of what our background has been here. And we had kind of gone to that in the last couple of years at North Carolina. And so whether you call something dolphin or you call it dime, it doesn't matter. Uh, it's the whole concept of the whole offense I think is really not that much different.

There'll be some things I think that we will change and do a little different from the standpoint of maybe how we call it or what we're going to call this play and so forth, but the nuts and bolts will be the same. And the nuts and bolts were the same of the offense in 2023, when we threw for a bunch of yards in those years of doing that. So again, I think those are the kind of the small things.

I do think this too, it's easier for me to learn a different word for something than 50 other guys so I've done it before and I don't see it being an issue at all. And it's, and it's actually a lot of fun to break it all down and start from scratch and build it back up. And there'll be a lot of carryover, but there'll also be some things that are probably a little different.

Yeah, I think the big thing I want to see is, and I think Sherrone's really talked about this with the staff a lot is let's see who can block and tackle. Let's see who can go make plays. Let's be simple. Let's go out there and really just put the ball down and see who can go and who can make plays. And so for me, it's huge because I told the staff, I don't really -- really, I'm gonna watch the film and see what I think guys did last year and what their skillset is or whatever. But then I really don't want a lot of tips on what this guy's good at or not. I want to see it. And so for me, it's going to be like how do we create that every day where we can watch guys play the game and see who can do what and see what their strengths are or maybe what they can't do? You know, sometimes that happens too. And I think that's what I'm excited about. And that's kind of where we'll start.

I mentioned at the end of the day, it's pretty simple, who can block, who can tackle, who can make plays. And, then I think when you start with that, then you build on top of it.

I tell you, Wink's awesome. I've gotten to know him and just didn't know him before. And just, it's been a lot of fun. I mean, he's a great guy. He's got a lot of experience. That's pretty obvious and getting to know him and we got a good relationship. It's a lot of fun.

And, and to be honest with you, there's nothing better as an offensive coordinator than being really good on defense. Doesn't make every -- you have to punt every now and then you don't feel like you're just letting everybody down, and I've been at places where it's been that way. But no, he's great. It's going to be a lot of fun. He'll challenge us every day. I understand that. And we need that. And to me, you find out in practice what you're made of and, it's going to be some good plays, but there's going to be some times it's going to be hard. And that's good that we need that, that really is a great way to test our offense and test our team, and challenge them. And they got to be ready to go every day, for sure. There's some good players over there, and Wink and his staff do a great job.

Yeah, it's going to be a lot of fun. Everywhere I've been, there's been a rivalry that's big for that place. And you know, North Carolina, it's NC State, it's Duke. Those are two big ones there. At Auburn, it's Alabama, it's Georgia and Iron Bowl and all that. And that's kind of the one I grew up in the most, being from that state. But, from everything I understand, Michigan State, that's obviously an in-state deal that it's a big or important game for both sides and that'll be exciting.

And, then the one down South too, you know, I hadn't been a part of it yet. So next year I'll probably be able to answer that. But, at the end of the day, once the game starts, the focus is on your team and how (you're) executing what we're trying to do.

And as a coach, you really better kind of focus on that as much as anything, but you can tell, you can feel the juice here though. I mean, it's one of those things important to our place here, and our guys. I's been a lot of fun hearing them talk about those different things. But at the end of the day, right now our focus is on our team, but that time will come. It'll be a lot of fun.

Yeah, I think so, probably I've been in the booth more than probably on the sideline. When I was a head coach, obviously on the sideline, but some of that depends on our staff as we go through spring and you start feeling it out 'cause it's so important to me to have the right guys in the right spots that can help you and help our players, you know? So I think it's probably too early to tell now, but a lot of times I've been up and I just think it's an opportunity you can see and you can kind of be organized up there and the sideline can get chaotic at some times. I was on the sideline in the bowl game -- it's actually a lot of fun. I wasn't calling any plays, so it was a lot of fun just to be down there and be around the players.

But at the end of the day, we'll just see how it plays out with our staff.

Yeah. It's been good. We're in a little bit of a transition. I've got my youngest son's a junior in high school and trying to decide if he's going to make the move or not. That age is tough and he plays sports there and so forth. So we'll see on that. But I got my other three, I got four kids total, my other three are in college. So it's like doing their own deal anyway. I'm lucky to get on the phone with them at night, as long as their check cards work and they're good, but you know, when you're in this profession, you appreciate the different places you work for, for what they are.

You know, I lived in Arizona, so I've worked at Arizona State. That was a fun experience. My kids were younger then, but, grew up in the South and worked mostly in the South, but moving to North Carolina, Chapel Hill was a lot of fun. And, now this is a whole new adventure here.

And they say there's great golf up here in the summer, which I love to play golf. And I'm looking forward to that right now. You're not playing any golf and you better have a good simulator, but no, I'm excited to kind of get out and venture around the summer and see the state. I'm an old history teacher in high school. So I enjoy learning about different areas and reading about different areas of our country. And, uh, you know, I didn't realize how close we were to Canada.

I mean, really, we're North of Canada, which blew my mind the first time I heard that. And, really going the North part of the state, you can go what, three or four more hours and you're still in Michigan. Yeah.

Yeah. That's what I hear. I'm excited about checking it out. And, I've been to Detroit a couple of times, just since I've been here and it's neat to see different places. And, the best thing about The Big House and all the things that go along with being here at the University of Michigan, our fan base is unbelievable and passionate. And that's what you want.

You want to work at a place where it's important. You want to work at a place where it means a lot. And I know it does here and man, I'm just excited to be a part of this, this tradition, and this history of this program.

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