Brian Smith was coaching in the NFL but he couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with coach Jim Harbaugh, he said Thursday.

On why he took the Michigan job … Coach [Jim] Harbaugh has had a lot of success every where he’s been and honestly I just wanted to be a part of that. And learn from him. And also the chance to learn from Coach [Down] Brown, who I worked with before and played with, and the chance to work side by side – so I couldn’t pass up that opportunity.

On arriving in Florida for spring practice just days after getting hired … Everything happened fast. Just learning names the first day on the field. I worked with Coach Brown in the past so that made the transition a lot easier for me. Just spending extra time trying to learn the playbook myself, along with the players. It was a process.

On how much of a sales job Harbaugh had to do … Not too much, Michigan speaks for itself, in terms of as a university. They have a lot of success in the classroom. The opportunity to be here – I couldn’t pass this up.

On whether it was more fun to play for or work for Brown … It was great to play for Coach Brown, in that defense he has. It’s changed a little bit over the years, but not much. As a player, you love that style of defense.