Next moves for Michigan Football staff taking shape
Sherrone Moore's first staff at Michigan is starting to take shape. It hasn't been easy, with expected and unexpected departures changing the landscape of the coaching roster.
Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter and safeties coach Jay Harbaugh were anticipated losses, but defensive line coach Mike Elston and cornerbacks coach Steve Clinkscale heading to Los Angeles surprised people inside and outside of the program.
Moore made the first big hire of what will be an entirely new defensive staff by hiring defensive coordinator Don "Wink" Martindale.
All signs point to Moore finding his Elston replacement with Wisconsin's defensive line coach Greg Scruggs. Scruggs is expected in Ann Arbor on Monday, and he could be on staff in an official capacity shortly.
With these additions there are a couple of paths Moore can follow to round out his staff.
2024 Michigan Football Coaching Staff
Head Coach Sherrone Moore
Offensive Coordinator/QB Kirk Campbell
Offensive Line Grant Newsome
Tight Ends Steve Casula
Running Backs VACANT (Mike Hart)
Wide Receivers Ron Bellamy
Defensive Coordinator Wink Martindale
Defensive Line Greg Scruggs
LInebackers VACANT
Cornerbacks VACANT
Safeties VACANT
Special Teams JB Brown
Michigan currently has four vacant position coach slots but only three open staff positions, with JB Brown currently on staff for special teams. I have not listed Mike Hart, as uncertainty continues to surround his status with the program. Ron Bellamy is currently the wide receivers coach, but he provides some potential flexibility moving forward.
With Martindale a "walking DC," he will not be assigned a position group. This makes it far more likely that JB Brown will coach a position along with special teams, similar to Jay Harbaugh in recent seasons. It's possible another coach, either new tight ends coach Steve Casula or Bellamy, could also assist with special teams.
Bellamy's flexibility comes into play as he can return to coach wide receivers or potentially switch to safeties, the position group he was originally hired to coach. Brown could also coach safeties, but he could also replace Hart with the running backs if he indeed does not return to Ann Arbor.
The positions Michigan must hire next are linebackers and cornerbacks. It's possible they could hire a cornerbacks coach who would coach safeties as well, but I believe Brown would likely still assist. Asking a coach to take on the entire secondary seems like a heavy ask.
An early name to watch with corners is Toledo cornerback coach Corey Parker. Parker just coached CB Quinyon Mitchell at Toledo. Mitchell was one of the best corners in all of college football and is expected to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Parker, a Detroit native, played college ball at Eastern and coached at Ann Arbor high schools before leading River Rouge as head coach for 13 seasons.
The linebacker coach has technically been open since Chris Partridge was fired late last year. Rick Minter, Jesse's father, coached the group for the rest of the season but was not expected to return, obviously.
Names to watch at linebacker include former Michigan legends Roy Manning and Cato June. Manning was most recently not retained as part of the USC coaching staff, while June has spent the last two seasons as an assistant LB coach with the Indianapolis Colts. South Carolina linebackers coach Sterling Lucas has earned a reputation as an elite recruiter for the Gamecocks, but he also spent five seasons with the Baltimore Ravens under new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
For the rest of the staff, Moore has options. The flexibility that Bellamy and Brown provide allows Moore to hire the best coach available, whether it's for running backs, wide receivers, or safeties. Which makes the next biggest question remaining, does Mike Hart return?
If not, does Michigan turn to an internal option like Brown or current assistant director of player personnel Denard Robinson? If none of those three is the choice, then Moore will need to hire externally. But again, with some flexibility, Moore can choose the best available coach available at multiple positions.
It's been a tough start with lots of unknowns, but the hires of Martindale and Scruggs are creating a path forward. With some encouraging hires at linebacker and cornerback and a strong third addition, the unknown future will start to be replaced with optimism and excitement.
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