Potential Co-OC/QB Coach Candidates?

Submitted by MaizeBlueA2 on January 21st, 2023 at 8:47 AM

WARNING: This list is NOT based on any type of "insider" information.  Multiple sites (On3, 247, etc.) have floated names, I don't have subscriptions to all of them to ensure I've included the names that they've mentioned.  This is simply a random message board poster closing his eyes and trying to think about stuff that makes even a little bit of sense - I'm also trying to be somewhat realistic. I'm not talking about what type of offense they run, because we're clearly not going to drastically change the offense...it's about who fits what we do.

I've been building this list for the last two days, but feel free to list names that are missing!  Yes, it's long, I know "this should be a Diary," but no one reads diaries.  Last, these are not posted in any particular order, but I have sorted them into categories.

Here we go (I've linked wiki pages because they are consistent in format, I'm not cannot vouch for the accuracy)...

 

FIRED COACHES

Greg Roman (50): Obviously the most common name, he's been rumored to Michigan before and he's the first name that comes up simply because he falls into 3 of these 4 buckets.  The biggest issue with Roman is that he doesn't have a ton of experience as a QB coach.  There were also rumors the first time his name was floated that he's not that big into recruiting...which, people also said about Matt Weiss.  The fit is the obvious connection (Harbaugh, Ravens, etc.) and the fact that Jim Harbaugh could basically be the QB coach if he wanted to be.  With that said, the new Jim Harbaugh that is now a little more of a CEO (e.g., Saban and Swinney, but not nearly as much as either of those two) is the one that has had the most success.  Roman's name always comes up with Harbaugh, but he only has 2 (!) years of college coaching experience and it was 13 (!) years ago!  That said, he was a Broyles Award finalist and Harbaugh obviously took him to SF, where they had a ton of success and made it to the Super Bowl.  If Harbaugh has the Super Bowl itch, maybe Roman gives him comfort (joke).  RBs love Roman's offense, mobile QBs are a fan, WRs hate it.  If he came to Michigan, you could expect more of the same (run heavy, a lot of complaining about giving touches to the WRs).

Brandon Streeter (46): Former Clemson coach, was a rising star until he took the reigns on his own.  Admittedly, a lot of it was not his fault.  His predecessors were handed generational QBs (Watson, Lawrence, even Boyd was great).  He basically got 2020 Joe Milton.  Streeter is a A level recruiter, and a true QB coach.  With Michigan's passing game in need of some tweaking, it could make sense to look outside to integrate new ideas and concepts.

Paul Chryst (57): He's a fired coach, and there is a Harbaugh connection because Chryst was like the only coach in the B1G that Harbaugh actually likes and gets along with.  Chryst's background is a little interesting because he's a LONG TIME OC/QB coach, but his offenses are never dynamic and he loves to run the ball.  He also doesn't really develop QBs at the level you would expect.  Chryst actually feels like an great hire if Harbaugh left for the NFL and Moore was promoted to HC (due to his obvious HC experience).  The value here would be purely experience and Harbaugh being comfortable with him.

Mike Sanford (40): A hot name years ago, Sanford reached too quickly to be a HC, flamed out, and hasn't really recovered.  Still considered a great offensive mind, and still young enough to be a candidate for any OC job (age only mentioned because he doesn't have enough "stink" to be completely untouchable like a 50 or 60 year old OC would presumably have - re: Drevno, Borges, Chow, etc.)  Most recently at Colorado, where he was fired because the HC got fired.  He was named interim HC where he went 1-6 to close the 2022 season and Deion Sanders did not retain him.  Sanford has been all over, never really staying anywhere for more than a couple years, but one of his early stops?  Stanford (with a 't').  He arrived right after Harbaugh left to coach with David Shaw and Shaw promoted him every year he was in Palo Alto.  Sanford overlapped with Luck, but he was only coaching RBs at the time.  He does have B1G experience, coaching under Fleck at Minnesota in 2020 and 2021.

 

RAVENS TREE

Tee Martin (44): If Harbaugh goes back to big bro, Tee Martin is a great name to at least consider.  The Former Tennessee QB is coaching WRs for the Ravens, and he's split QBs and WRs for most of his career - mainly with the WRs.  The biggest advantage to Martin (besides the Ravens connection and NFL experience) is that he has a ton of collegiate experience for an NFL coach and he was an A+ recruiter.  Of all of the names mentioned, it is doubtful that any would recruit better than Martin (especially in SEC territory).  Martin was on Kiffin's staff a USC and recruited so well that he was retained when Sark took over.  Sarkisian elevated him to PGC before he got fired and Martin survived again, this time under Clay Helton.  Clearly he adds value in some way (likely recruiting).  Now he's got some Ravens in his blood and John Harbaugh on the resume...he may be the ideal candidate for Jim to bring to Ann Arbor.  You could also probably bring him in as QB/PGC and elevate Hart to co-OC, if needed to keep everyone happy and justify the pay bumps.

 

JIM HARBAUGH TIES

David Shaw (50): Also a fired coach, so he hits two buckets.  But he's only on this list because of the Jim Harbaugh connection - without that, no shot, because he could go be a HC if he really wanted to be a HC.  Or do TV for a year and then get back into coaching during the next cycle.  If he takes an OC job, it would likely be in the NFL.  Shaw likes the MANBALL, but without a generational QB in Andrew Luck his passing game has been, *excuse my language*..."boo boo."  Shaw has recently interviewed for the Broncos HC job, so this seems the most far-fetched and isn't worth much more thought.  Also, his Wiki page was edited to say he coaches the Ravens, he doesn't - at least not today.

Tavita Pritchard (35): A much more realistic "Stanford guy," clearly Harbaugh has been in contact with Shaw because he keeps raiding their former program.  Pritchard has connections to both of them, playing QB for Stanford in the Harbaugh/Shaw HC/OC days (his first start was the famous 41-point underdog game, with the win over USC).  Harbaugh brought him on to coach immediately after he graduated and he's never left Stanford, he was retained by the new coach, but demoted to just being the QB coach. He was most recently the OC at Stanford, which, eek.  Screams west coast Iowa.  Born in Tacoma, WA, he's the definition of a "west coast guy."

Willie Taggart (46): Everyone knows the connection here, Harbaugh recruited him to WKU, he played for Jack Harbaugh, Jim was the best man in his wedding, basically a brother.  Harbaugh hired him at Stanford before Willie left to go be the head coach at WKU.  Taggart feels like a much better candidate to replace Biff Poggi than he does Matt Weiss (assuming he has the ability to be an intermediary and "stand up" to Jim like Biff did).  He doesn't have a ton of OC experience and hasn't coached QBs directly since 2006 (it's probably safe to assume that as a former QB, like Jim, he's involved with the QBs even as a HC).  There are rumors about Deion bringing him to Colorado to be an analyst, but nothing has been confirmed (to the best of my knowledge)...if that's the case, Jim, get him to Ann Arbor to be an analyst!  Which could be the case if...(see Kirk Campbell).

Jimmie Dougherty (44): Remember him?  Also someone who falls in multiple buckets, but again, he's in the Harbaugh list because if Jim wasn't at Michigan, he probably wouldn't be a candidate to come back to Michigan (where he "coached" as an analyst in 2016).  Dougherty is a QB coach/Passing Game Coordinator/Offensive Coordinator...it's what he does.  There's obviously familiarity and a natural fit.  Harbaugh hired him going all the way back to their San Diego days.  Of all of the names mentioned on this list, Dougherty may be the #1 coach in "guy who's offensive number actually matter."  Because he's done it for so long and it's almost always the same job.  

 

MICHIGAN CONNECTION

Brian Griese (47): *deep inhale*, *LeBron voice*, "MICHIGAN MEN!! ...THIS IS FOR YOU!!!"  You all know who he is, but some don't know that he's not just an alum who is still around the game (most notably in broadcasting), he's currently the QB coach for the 49ers and have you seen Brock Purdy?  Probably more about Kyle Shannahan, but still...  That said, he's got one year of coaching experience and it isn't in college.  This is all about a bright mind around the program, who is a "Michigan Man" (and went 3-0 versus OSU), and would bring a ton of fresh ideas.  But would he recruit?  

Nick Sheridan (34): Reunited with Michigan, reunited with Mike Hart, reunited with "home" (Sheridan is from Saline).  Another connection?  Willie Taggart gave him his first job in college football (at WKU) and took him to USF, he has to know Harbaugh.  As a coach, opinions on Sheridan are mixed, but he's young - a trend we've been working at Michigan with the ACs, he's a "Michigan Man", and he's got experience (in and outside of the B1G).  No feathers would be ruffled.  That said, he's only really been an OC once (2020 and 2021 at IU), so Moore would presumably take the lead there.  He's coached QBs and TEs.  Fun fact: a 'Sheridan' has been mentioned in every (non-Rich Rod) coaching search at Michigan since 1986.

Kirk Campbell (36?): Last on the list, but maybe a front runner?  Currently an analyst with OC experience (ODU) that Harbaugh raves about.  He also loves to promote from within and feels like it keeps the existing culture (eventually it'll bite you in the butt to always go "in house", but this probably wouldn't be the "reach" that ends things).  Does he know the offense inside and out?  That's really the only question, because everyone is looking at this 2023 team as a national championship team...it would be easy to see Campbell (who is also obviously a 'Jim Harbaugh Tie') as the Jesse Minter on offense, come in, don't change anything, let's keep this thing going.  He was also interim QB coach at PSU after being an analyst there.  Shared because Weiss was considered an X's and O's film rat and Campbell has been an analyst at the college level for at least 4 years.  However, that could mean a number of things, does he just love film, game planning, and analyzing?  Does he have terrible people skills, and that's why the big brain hasn't developed into a big time OC job?  None of the above?  Who knows...

 

TL;DR? Yeah, me neither...I'm not going back to proofread through all of that, I'll just apologize for spelling and grammatical errors.  Hopefully it's not too bad...

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DTOW

January 21st, 2023 at 5:02 PM ^

Bringing Patridge back does make sense.  Give him the safety group and/or special teams.  Move Jay to Co-OC & passing game coordinator.  We add back an above average recruiter in Patridge that didn't burn any bridges when he left last time.  Jay has earned a promotion and we also turn what is one of our worst recruiting positional coaches (Weiss) into one of our best.  I would love to have Jay in the living rooms of some of these 5 star QBs we've been trying to land.  Then, in a year or two Sherrone gets hired as a HC somewhere and Jay gets elevated to OC.

Joined: 08/31/2013

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Twitch

January 21st, 2023 at 5:55 PM ^

I'm in agreement here.  Partridge is a hell of a recruiter and was a pretty good safties coach IIRC.  He coached Metellus who was just made a captain in Minnesota.  Plus if he's torn on uprooting his family my guess would be if he came back he would stay a while. Jay is also a damn good recruiter and seems to do well wherever he's coaching.  I know we want to expand the passing offense but let's face it, that's probably not gonna happen with Jim at the helm.  At least it won't happen as much as we all want.  

Joined: 01/01/2019

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MJ14

January 21st, 2023 at 1:18 PM ^

Ghost you’re killing me. I haven’t talked to anyone this week because I had been hammering for info for a while and I’ve got some trouble at home. Typical life stuff.

But I was really hoping Partridge wasn’t coming back. Obviously he would just be a position coach, but I don’t love the fit anymore nor shuffling chairs. 

I assume Grant would become line coach and Jay would do tight ends and special teams with Partridge helping with special teams and the back 7 on defense. 

I personally really think Michigan could use a passing game coordinator and QB coach. Someone who can help push JJ to the next level and convince everyone on staff to let him use his legs 5-10 time a game. I tried to hint at Streeter being a good fit to Mike hoping something would happen there but I figure he stays in the south. Shame because I think he could really help JJ and bring Davis on. 

Joined: 01/09/2011

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Kevin13

January 21st, 2023 at 9:31 AM ^

A great list and well thought out. I know David Shaw is on the Broncos radar to be their head coach. Supposedly if they don’t land Sean Payton he is their second choice 

Joined: 01/26/2016

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ak47

January 21st, 2023 at 9:35 AM ^

Just going to repeatedly say please god no on Roman. He’s just all of the worst parts of harbaugh with no upside.

From this list my personal favorite would be griese but hard to see him leaving the nfl. After that it’s just make moore the sole OC and find the best recruiter you can on either side of the ball. 
 

Also lol at doing something to keep hart on staff. He’s a dud on recruiting and running back is known as the coach who does the least coaching because it’s the position where just natural ability matters the most.

Joined: 05/05/2011

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King Tot

January 21st, 2023 at 4:54 PM ^

Corum was good enough before Hart that Charbonet fled for greener pastures and Haskins improved but most players do improve year to year. I will believe Hart is as good as people say when one of his recruits is carrying the team. I do think Stokes/Cabana could be the combo to do it.

Joined: 11/29/2016

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MJ14

January 21st, 2023 at 2:23 PM ^

Hart takes the JB approach to recruiting. I disagree with it and have told him as much. Let’s see if he can pull Marshall out of Ohio. But to say he’s a dud I believe is completely unfair. I know Hart personally. I’ve stated before I don’t think he’s THAT much better than Jay, because Jay was able to bring in elite talent.

Hart brings in guys with a slightly lower ceiling and coaches then up. Jay brought in elite dudes and just let them go at it. Hart tightened up the rotation and has immensely helped the run game. I will say I did like Jay better at RB coach, only because recruiting elite RBs is important to me and I think Michigan. But Harts approach isn’t wrong. Just different. I’ve told him how I feel and wish he went after more elite guys. I think this year and next will help his recruiting a lot and also help his own confidence. 

Joined: 01/09/2011

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skegemogpoint

January 21st, 2023 at 9:37 AM ^

Really well done. Thanks for the list. What many people don’t know and what has not been reported (understandably) is that Weiss was not well liked. There is not a single QB on last year’s team who liked the guy. Not one. So whoever Jim adds will likely be a net positive. 
 

I’m betting that Sherrone is going to have a lot of influence on the next hire(s). Imo Tee Martin seems like a home run candidate.

Joined: 07/08/2008

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Vote_Crisler_1937

January 21st, 2023 at 10:33 AM ^

This is a perfect example of how complex a CFB program is. Both Skeg and GOJ have had good info in the past, both have been off on a few things (like every other insider that comes here). Now you have totally opposing views. Please keep in mind that your sources likely don’t have complete info on how the QBs feel about Weiss and can further complicate the info they do have with their own opinion of Weiss. 

Joined: 11/07/2011

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Loid

January 21st, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^

Interesting list, but as an IU grad who is a Michigan fan, the Sheridan inclusion is preposterous.  He was an epic failure at Indiana.  Absolutely awful.  Taggart and Chryst sound like really bad ideas.  Actually the name that popped was Tee Martin.  Need a good offensive recruiter and willing to roll the dice there given his success.  Others?  Not so much..

 

Joined: 05/01/2009

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jBdub

January 21st, 2023 at 10:09 AM ^

One person in the "Harbaugh Ties" category would be Tanner Engstrand, current TE Coach and PGC for the Lions. Played QB at San Diego State, then was a GA and eventually OC for Harbaugh at San Diego.  Was an analyst at UM in 2018 before leaving to become an OC in the XFL.  Started with the Lions in 2020 as an offensive assistant. Campbell retained him and then promoted him to his current position when he promoted Ben Johnson to OC.

Joined: 10/23/2008

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chezfeld

January 21st, 2023 at 10:18 AM ^

Lost me when I scrolled just to see the names and David Shaw's appeared.  No thanks....punting on 4th and 1 inside the opponents 40 would not go over well at Michigan

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