Mike Zordich In? Manning Out?
A Youngstown reporter is asserting that Michigan is on the verge of hiring Youngstown State DBs coach Mike Zordich:
I'm told that YSU Assistant Mike Zordich is leaving the Penguins to take a assistant coaching position on Jim Harbaugh's staff at Michigan
— Chad Krispinsky (@ChadK426) January 13, 2015
This would be bad news for Roy Manning. If Zordich is in fact in, there's just one staff member left and that would likely go to some sort of TE/OL coach, whether that's Jimmie Dougherty or someone else.
Zordich is an interesting guy: a Penn State alum who had an 12-year NFL career and only started coaching in his 40s, first in high school and then a brief tenure with the Eagles as a QC coach in 2009 and 2010 and then as safeties coach the next two years; he's been at Youngstown since. Bo Pelini was going to keep him on, FWIW.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:21 PM ^
January 13th, 2015 at 3:23 PM ^
that ring looks a little like this...
January 13th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^
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January 13th, 2015 at 4:56 PM ^
January 13th, 2015 at 3:23 PM ^
With Harbaugh leaning offense, Wheatley being overqualified, Drevno being overqualified, and Fisch being overqualified, and the special teams coach having plenty of experience coaching TEs... Do we necissarily need another offensive guy?
I would not write-off Manning yet.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:35 PM ^
Yes, we do need another offensive guy. Sheer numbers means it's preferable to have another coach on the offensive side of the ball. Manning did coach RBs in Cincinnati and at NIU....
January 13th, 2015 at 3:59 PM ^
We definitely don't need another RB coach. I think getting Drevno some help on the OL would be nice (and maybe ideal), but if not OL, I don't think it's crazy to add another coach on the defensive side. As Mat said, you could squint and see five very good offensive coaches on this staff (Harbaugh-QB, playcalling; Drevno-OL/RGC; Fisch-WR/QB/PGC; Wheatley-RB; Baxter-TE). Then again, I'm not sure that's how they're hoping to use Baxter, since he'll have special teams and academics duties.
January 13th, 2015 at 4:09 PM ^
Baxter was hired strictly has a ST coach. He might help out a bit on offense, but we need another full-time body there.
I was NOT implying that Manning would be another RB coach, I was pointing out that the dude has coached lots of different positions. Maybe he gets named the TE coach, but probably not. Harbaugh wants proven excellence.
If Zordich is hired, it seems likely that Manning is out, but he has wiggled his way into coaching other positions, so we'll see.
January 13th, 2015 at 4:13 PM ^
Harbaugh is supposedly talking about building an Alabama-like recruiting department (or team). My based-on-nothing guess is that he talked to Manning about a leadership position in that department if the assistant coach thing doesn't work out.
January 13th, 2015 at 5:08 PM ^
as a GA. He's been moved around a lot. It's an interesting carreer so far. I've been hoping we'd find a place for him. I don't think he'll have any trouble latching on to another staff.
January 13th, 2015 at 5:12 PM ^
From what information is available, can that be said about Zordich and Fisch? Seems like mixed reviews from what I have read.
January 13th, 2015 at 5:45 PM ^
I have a friend who played in the NFL and at Penn St with Zordich and remains good friends with him still. Of course he said he is a great guy but that should be taken with a grain of salt. FWIW, he has very high character, integrity, and intensity. He also has great connections in Ohio that should help tremendously with recruiting. Of note Pelini definitely wanted to keep on the YSU staff. Durkin is the main connection bringing Zordich in. Harbaugh has obviously signed off on it.
January 13th, 2015 at 5:47 PM ^
Harbaugh's gotta do something during practice right? The standing assumption is that he will focus his attention on the QB. If you count Harbaugh as a de facto QB coach, then Fisch has room to focus on the WRs during practice, maybe TEs too. And if you choose to count Baxter as a TE coach (despites reports he will focus on ST only, Durkin has a lot of experience there too) the numbers are not so unbalanced.
If you count Harbaugh and Baxter as 1/2 each, along with Drevno, Fisch, Wheatley that's 4 total. On defense we also have 4 also (Zordich, Jackson, Mattison, Durkin). So, you have room for a recruiting-oriented position coach (a la Morrow or Manning) on either side of the ball.
In order to need a 4th guy on offense to create balance, you have to assume that Baxter and Harbaugh are both purely agnostic. Given that neither has much (any?) experience coaching defense that seems dubious. [In other words, if you hire another offensive assistant you will have more offensive-oriented staff, regardless of what position titles say.] Furthermore, the younger less experienced staff is on the defensive side of the ball. Jackson is getting a significant promotion. Durkin is very young. Zordich is the least qualified guy on the entire staff. Grandpa Mattison is there, but they could certainly use a guy to help out with DE/OLB still, just as much, if not more than they need a TE coach. Mattison can focus on DTs, Durkin can focus on ILBs and managing the overall D.
January 13th, 2015 at 4:19 PM ^
Drevno's not overqualified. He has never been in a coordinator spot before, and being a coordinator and an OL coach seems like a big job, even with Harbaugh taking a big role in the offense.
January 13th, 2015 at 4:59 PM ^
He was the Offensive line coach and OC at University of San Diego 2003-2006.
January 13th, 2015 at 5:19 PM ^
Drevno hasn't been an OC at this level. However, title notwithstanding, he may not have the typical OC responsibilities with Harbaugh around maybe calling plays and Fisher as the "passing game coordinator".
January 13th, 2015 at 5:19 PM ^
Overqualified for what exactly? Everybody except maybe for Harbaugh himself is at either an equal or possibly better option than they previously had.
Either I don't understand your post or you don't understand what qualified and it's over/under qualities mean. I've been wrong before.
January 13th, 2015 at 5:26 PM ^
Wheatley was an NFL position coach, so overqualified for the equivalent position at college (in the same way that Harbaugh is overqualified to be a college HC.)
Fisch was an NFL coordinator, and now a WR coach/pass game coordinator for us -- overqualified.
Drevno doesn't have extensive OC experience, but was an NFL OL coach, USC's run-game coordinator and OL/coach. Depending on how you view his balance between being OL/OC determines if he is overqualified or not.
Harbaugh, assuming he is the functional QB coach, is overqualified for the job in the similar way that Hoke was overqualified to coach DTs (Insert your snarky joke about Hoke...or don't.) and Mattison is overqualified to coach DL.
Baxter was an assoc head coach/TE coach/special teams coach at USC, and therefore would be overqualified to be JUST a special teams coach at Michigan.
In other words, all these guys (with the exception of Drevno) very likely could get a job that looks better on a resume but are taking a lesser role to coach at Michigan.
January 13th, 2015 at 6:59 PM ^
NFL experience doesn't always translate to being a proven commodity. Yes, it's a very high coaching plateau but you have to be moderately successful too.
To counter your argument:
Fisch was an OC on an underwhelming Jaguars team. He might have been underqualified there actually. He knows WR and has experience with QBs. He's a great pick up.
Drevno is basically taking the same position here as he had at USC. That's a push as he is our OC here. Drevno is considered one of the best OLine teachers in the game, so taking him from another team which he called his "Dream Job" I think shows he's taking a step up.
Mattison's last year as DC should speak to why I think he'll make a great DL position coach. He's very much qualified for the job he has now. His defenses were good but with the addition of Durkin, he can focus on one group.
Baxter I don't know enough about to make a solid judgement but just because he coached other positions doesn't mean he's more qualified. It's about the position you have now.
Either way, I love our coaching staff and our best days are ahead of us. Go Blue!
January 13th, 2015 at 8:33 PM ^
Even if Fisch was underqualified as an NFL OC - he had low talent and experience and is extremely young for the job - that doesn't change the fact that he's extremely overqualified to be a college WR coach. He's progressed beyond being an NFL WR coach years ago, so he's taking a huge step down in the conventional hierarchy.
Drevno is taking a small step up from the USC job (at least in title) but he took a step DOWN from the NFL to take the same job at USC. We're getting one of the best OL coaches in the world. Jury is out if the OC part is warranted or not, but he's an NFL-level OL coach and that's well established.
Mattison is EXCEEDINGLY well qualified to be a DC. He is clearly wildly overqualified for DL. He's overqualified to be an NFL assistant. He wouldn't take such a job at any other school IMO.
While none of their qualifications guarantee success, the point is these guys are great hires for their roles, and their resumes would easily warrant a more prestigious role elsewhere. (Exceptions: Jackson and Zordich).
January 13th, 2015 at 3:22 PM ^
of Zordich and Greg Jackson revealed that they played (started actually) together as Eagles safeties in the mid 90s. "Coaching is all about relationships..." We shall see, but interesting nonetheless. (Posted this on the board as well)
January 13th, 2015 at 3:24 PM ^
One one hand, Manning was a knockout recruiter and could do wonders recruiting mid-Michigan (Saginaw/Flint/Midland/Bay City). On the other hand, Zordich would do wonders for player development.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^
We already know the results when we get a good recruits and poor player development. I'd spring for a step back in recruiting for better player development.
January 13th, 2015 at 4:46 PM ^
which is an unproven assertion. Borges and Funk yes, not talent development--Manning is not in that league.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
Well if there's one thing we learned from the Brady Hoke tenure it's that player development is generally more important than recruiting.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:33 PM ^
One will truly lead to the other, but not the other way around, ifyouknowwhatimsayin.
January 13th, 2015 at 4:03 PM ^
/\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ THIS /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\ /\
January 13th, 2015 at 3:47 PM ^
With Wheatley on the staff, I am not sure that recruiting mid-Michigan is going to be a problem.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:54 PM ^
it seems like Coach Harbaugh wants someone familiar with Ohio. . .
January 13th, 2015 at 4:04 PM ^
January 13th, 2015 at 4:29 PM ^
January 13th, 2015 at 5:00 PM ^
+1 for recognizing the importance of harvesting the prodigious talent hotbed that is the Saginaw Valley. It starts with Brian Cole. It continues with...another recruit maybe 3-4 years down the road.
January 13th, 2015 at 6:27 PM ^
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January 13th, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
If true, this is clearly the better move. Almost always take the guy with more experience, especially that from the NFL.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:40 PM ^
January 13th, 2015 at 5:11 PM ^
Zordich is not that old and he has actual playing time in that position. He was in the NFL a long time so he knows what it takes. A recruit would likely be more impressed with Zordich than Manning. Also, Manning has never played the db position.
Advantage: Zordich
January 13th, 2015 at 6:47 PM ^
in terms of experience. Playing 12 years in the NFL is valuable, especially at that position. Experience being coached to play the position at a high level must have value too. Safeties are a lot like QBs. It is a hard position to learn because they have a lot to read on the field. That should make them more likely to be good teachers than most. I don't think it's any coincidence that so many good coaches played DB.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
/s
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January 13th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^
I hope he can also coach that flow that he's sporting.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^
Between Durkin, Zordich, Tom Sims (who Brian mentioned in passing in a Searchbits), and Marrow, it seems Harbaugh is hellbent on having really strong Youngstown connections.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^
his old hair looks just like mine.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:35 PM ^
At first glance this doesn't seem best for team chemistry. Of course, there's always the possibility that Jim Harbaugh knows something about football that I don't know.
Seriously, we've heard so many good things about Roy Manning through the years, this appears puzzling. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
I'm confident that JH will make the right call.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:38 PM ^
I ain't saying "booo" yet but Youngstown State? Was he happily underemployed there? This is one of the most obvious promotions so I'm really curious what piqued Harbaugh's interest.
January 13th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^
He probably was happily underemployed there. Zordich was born and raised (through high school) in Youngstown. After his stint coaching with the Eagles, he probably had more prestigious options but saw value in going home to coach YSU.
January 13th, 2015 at 4:12 PM ^
January 14th, 2015 at 6:20 AM ^
Nothing wrong with going home and coaching a bunch of kids at YSU who probably look at him like a God, i.e. local guy who played and coached in the NFL.
January 13th, 2015 at 5:10 PM ^
"Of course, there's always the possibility that Jim Harbaugh knows something about football that I don't know."
Surely not
January 14th, 2015 at 10:24 AM ^
Are you intelligent enough to recognize irony?
irony: a method of humorous or subtly sarcastic expression in which the intended meaning of the words is the direct opposite of their usual sense.
Not only that, right after the sentence you quote, there's the word "Seriously", another linguistic clue. Did you really not get that? Other people did.
There are numerous people on this board who have a lot of blog points, but not many I.Q. points. I'm not saying that's you. I just wonder if you actually missed the irony of the statement you quoted.
Then again, maybe you were being ironic by saying, "Surely not."
Who the heck knows?
January 14th, 2015 at 12:17 PM ^
I think the last time "Surely not" has been heard without a touch of the facetious was in the drawing room of a pre-1930s British country estate.
January 14th, 2015 at 6:54 PM ^
Thanks. So we were both being facetious. That makes sense.
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