SEARCHBITS XXXI: Assistant Time
no jerkin' Durkin around
DURKIN SEEMS IN. 247 reports that Durkin has turned down an offer to be UNC's DC and will almost certainly be announced at Michigan in the near future. This is not really news—Durkin's name has been rumored for two weeks now—but it seems likely he's announced ASAP here and starts pounding the recruiting trail. There are reports he's already talking to recruits about coming up to Ann Arbor.
We'll have to wait a few days for it to be official since Durkin is Florida's interim head coach and the Birmingham Bowl is on January 3rd. But that appears to be done-done-done.
MARROW DEFINITELY IN PLAY. Depending on who you listen to, Kentucky TE coach Vince Marrow is either not about to leave Mark Stoops…
Per source, Mark Stoops does not believe he's losing Vince Marrow to Michigan. The two are very close and Marrow is UK's recruiting ace.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_CJ) December 31, 2014
…or very much open to the idea of moving.
One of the first assistant dominoes may fall within the next 24 to 48 hours, as Kentucky tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow has been contacted by Michigan and would take a job with the staff if offered one.
Either way it seems likely that chatter about Michigan going after him is accurate.
MICHIGAN MEN OR HARBAUGH HOMBRES? FWIW, soon-to-recommit TE Chris Clark:
Clark said he got the impression Harbaugh's staff will be made up mainly of ex-Stanford and 49er staffers.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) December 31, 2014
That's good news for current 49ers, less so for Erik Campbell and Jeff Hecklinski. Exactly who these guys might be is still murky—Harbaugh has a lot of affiliates after his days at San Francisco and Stanford.
INCOMING GOOD IDEAS. The Sacramento Bee threw out a couple of new names:
Several of his long-time allies, including 49ers receivers coach John Morton and Tim Drevno, a former 49ers offensive line coach who last season was at USC, are believed to be joining him in Ann Arbor.
John Morton is currently the Niners WR coach; before that he had a number of roles with USC. He started as a WR coach, added "passing game coordinator" for a couple years, became the bonafide OC when Steve Sarkisian took the Washington job, and then went back to position coaching when Lane Kiffin came in. He was a WR coach a few places before that. He's a Michigan native who went to Western.
remember mapquest you guys
Tim Drevno is USC's OL coach. Drevno is a longtime Har-pal, having coached under him at San Diego, Stanford, and with the 49ers. Drevno was the OL coach for Stanford's two excellent Harbaugh offenses, forging the ass-kicking OL that Stanford came to be known for over the past half-dozen years. At San Francisco, 2012 saw all five(!) 49ers OL selected for the Pro Bowl. His line at USC last year featured three true freshmen and zero seniors; while they did give up a butt-ton of sacks USC's main back hit almost 1500 yards this year at 5.4 a pop.
Drevno was awarded the title of running game coordinator at USC, part of his reason for moving on and may require a similar title at Michigan. If Michigan is offering the same title that might close the door on Ty Wheatley some since it's been reported he wants to move up in the ranks if he's going to come back to Michigan.
A final cherry on top of this potential hire is that Drevno called USC his dream job less than twelve months ago.
WHEATLEY? The Bills are ominously "evaluating" all their assistants. If Wheatley gets pushed out of there you might as well put him in pen in Ann Arbor.
OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR? Henson says Greg Roman, his current OC with the 49ers. That would make sense. Guy needs a job, knows Harbaugh well, etc. Not sure if that's happening-happening or just a guy who looks like a likely fit. Roman has been exclusively an NFL guy save for a single year in HS and two years with Stanford as the TE/OT coach, also during Stanford's nascent ass-kicking phase.
Roman is in contention for the Bucs' OC job and there's been chatter that he actually prefers the NFL, unlike Harbaugh. His coaching history suggests that. One thing that's not happening: sticking around the 49ers.
WHAT IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE
A guess at the moment:
OFFENSE | Coach | confidence | DEFENSE | Coach | confidence |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
OC | Greg Roman | low | DC | DJ Durkin | lock |
QB | Harbaugh | lock | DL | Durkin | lock |
RB | Ty Wheatley | maybe | LB | Greg Mattison | probable |
WR | John Morton | probable | DE/OLB | Roy Manning | low |
OL | Tim Drevno | maybe | DB | Greg Jackson | none |
TE | Vince Marrow | maybe | Spec. Teams | N/A | none |
OTHERS IN PLAY: Erik Campbell (WR), Jerry Montgomery(DL), Andy Moeller(OL), Fred Jackson(RB), Mike Hart(RB).
One problem with this alignment: it only has four defensive coaches. There are five on offense plus Harbaugh. If both Morton and Drevno do come I think that might mean Marrow is staying at Kentucky.
December 31st, 2014 at 2:50 PM ^
December 31st, 2014 at 2:51 PM ^
December 31st, 2014 at 2:52 PM ^
December 31st, 2014 at 2:53 PM ^
Wow, this guy has more lives than Rasputin...
December 31st, 2014 at 3:44 PM ^
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December 31st, 2014 at 4:15 PM ^
How does he keep surving coaching changes? Since Chris Perry, None of his Running Backs have gotten much better during their tenure at Michigan. It seemed like he was a good recruiter in the south earlier in his career. But there are very few stories of him winning over recurits now a days.
December 31st, 2014 at 2:56 PM ^
Where does maybe rank among lock, probable, and low?
December 31st, 2014 at 3:07 PM ^
Between probable and low.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:11 PM ^
One of Roman, Drevno, and Marrow won't be there. Just can't see an OC that is mostly an OL/TE guy brought on board and then have an OL coach and a TE coach. You either split Interior OL and Outside OL (OT/TE) and receivers (TE/WR) or you go the classic OL, TE, WR route. But there is really only room for two of those three coaches there, especially with Harbaugh handling the QBs himself.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:15 PM ^
It's clear Marrow is mainly a recruiting guy. He could coach RBs under Harbaugh/Drevno's guideance, DBs or OLBs under the guidance of Mattison (like Manning) or perhaps special teams under the guidance of Derkin.
I think the bigger issue is that Roman AND Drevno is a very optimistic scenairo for Michigan given what these guys have done since their time at Stanford. You're asking an NFL coordinator and USC's OL/run-game coordinator to take demotions back to 5 years ago. Unlikely to happen for both IMO.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:02 PM ^
I wonder if Drevno might be the offensive coordinator considering his title at USC and his background as Harbaugh's OC at USD. They're clearly very close and his resume is the most impressive of any named offensive candidate.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:19 PM ^
Would love to see Montgomery back. Although if Durkin is going to take over the DL, that could make things tough. Maybe we bring Montgomery back if Marrow doesn't come.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:20 PM ^
Here's the defensive staff for Florida according to their athletic website (no one is listed as LB coach but I think that is Durkin but they list QB's with the OC so... idk. Maybe it was Muschamp). Just to show that Durkin has coordinated with a small number of defensive coaches so he's probably comfortable with it - then again, he may have secretly hated it.
D.J. Durkin - Defensive Coordinator
Brad Lawing - Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line
Travaris Robinson - Defensive Backs
Head Coach Will Muschamp
Other listed coaches:
Chris Leak - Wide Receivers
Travaris Robinson - Defensive Backs
Kurt Roper - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Mike Summers - Offensive Line
Brian White - Running Backs
Coleman Hutzler - Special Teams Coordinator
December 31st, 2014 at 3:23 PM ^
Why the low confidence in retaining Manning? Seems like someone we should retain especially with his recruiting prowess.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:17 PM ^
He's a bad fit at secondary coach, and if we retain Mattison that's two LB guys.
Also, note it's "confidence level", not "likelihood of staying". Low confidence does not mean low probability of staying. Low confidence means lack of quality information (high variance). We've heard bupkus on Manning so far and he seems to be a coach without a reason, so his chances of staying are as unpredictable as guessing next week's weather in Ann Arbor.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:24 PM ^
John Morton has OC experience...
...you could take out one of the offensive guys by making them co-OC and removing Roman.
Put that spot on the defensive side or at special teams.
OFFENSE | Coach | DEFENSE | Coach |
---|---|---|---|
co-OC | Ty Wheatley | co-DC | DJ Durkin |
co-OC | John Morton | co-DC | Greg Mattison |
QB | Harbaugh | DTs | Greg Mattison |
RB | Ty Wheatley | DE/OLB | Roy Manning |
WR | John Morton | ILB | DJ Durkin |
OL | Tim Drevno | DB | Greg Jackson |
TE | Vince Marrow | Special Teams | ????????? |
Not a fan, but it's a thought.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:26 PM ^
Been jonesin' HARD for some Searchbits. This is awesome.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^
IIRC, at some presser, Mattison had some pretty strong comments about his loyalty to Hoke, and I got the impression that relationship was one of primary reasons he hadn't retired yet. Is he listed as probable because he's a good fit or because he's expressed interest?
December 31st, 2014 at 4:28 PM ^
December 31st, 2014 at 4:57 PM ^
Interesting. If so, it indicates a high measure of professional courtesy and tact in executing Hoke's dismissal.
December 31st, 2014 at 5:35 PM ^
The Hokes & Harbaughs go back a ways. Hoke was an assistant under Jack Harbaugh at WMU. Hoke's out of state on the recruiting trail in bad weather when his wife goes into premature labor. Jack & Jackie Harbaugh were at the hospital with her.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:31 PM ^
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December 31st, 2014 at 4:23 PM ^
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December 31st, 2014 at 6:24 PM ^
holding a grudge against Hart is simply ludicrous. Unless you have some basis for saying otherwise, it's just insulting him.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:36 PM ^
December 31st, 2014 at 3:37 PM ^
Searchbits for assistant coaches? I'm totally cheesing right now.
December 31st, 2014 at 3:43 PM ^
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December 31st, 2014 at 3:48 PM ^
December 31st, 2014 at 3:50 PM ^
It would be awesome to get Montgomery back.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:00 PM ^
Roman seems the least likely of the SF/Stanford guys to come with Harbaugh, if for no other reason than it would be a step down to go from pro OC to college OC, and outside of his stint at Stanford and OC for his old HS for a year between NFL and college.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:04 PM ^
December 31st, 2014 at 4:05 PM ^
Any reason to believe that Durkin is a lock to coach DL as well as be the DC? Wasn't he a LB coach at Florida before becoming DC and do some ST coaching along the way? Is it too much work to be DC and ST instead of a position group? I know Mattison has plenty of DL experience as well so if Durkin took ST, Mattison co-DC and DL and Manning at LB you'd just need a DB coach.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:09 PM ^
Sounds like Drevno already informed USC he is coming to Michigan. USC OL players tweeting goodbyes.
December 31st, 2014 at 4:19 PM ^
PLEASE BE TRUE.
To finally get someone in here to develop these young linemen with massive amounts of potential...
December 31st, 2014 at 7:26 PM ^
Obviously there's the notion of maintaining a little continuity in the staff, but Manning also appears to be a solid recruiter and, more importantly, I imagine he can connect with many players (and recruits) on a level that the other coaches likely wouldn't quite be able to. Being a younger guy is part of it, but growing up in the city of Saginaw and having attended Saginaw High, I'm sure he can relate well with those from similar backgrounds.
And let's be honest, moving to Ann Arbor is probably a bit of a culture shock for some of these kids. If you try and put yourself in their shoes, you've got to figure having someone like Manning on the coaching staff that came from a similar environment can help provide a sense of reassurance. And he would definitely be a guy that understands the added challenges some players may experience when transitioning to college at Michigan.
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