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Brian

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[Bryan Fuller]

Via Bruce Feldman:

Jackson had been previously rumored as a potential Bengals assistant and has apparently found a landing spot in the NFL. That's not great news since Jackson did a terrific job with Michigan's cornerbacks in his first year in Ann Arbor; at least Michigan returns all those guys and should be able to maintain performance. Michigan does already have Greg Zordich as a DBs coach and could hypothetically go in any direction with the assistant opening, but I do expect them to add another secondary coach given the importance of DBs in the modern game.

No, it won't be Charles Woodson. Woodson already got a job with ESPN.

Comments

CoachBP6

February 17th, 2016 at 2:29 PM ^

This stinks. I really, really thought Jackson did a phenomenal job last season. I would like coach Harbaugh to grab a young up and comer that can learn from Zordich, and Brown.



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alum96

February 17th, 2016 at 8:46 PM ^

How many high level athletes become coaches nowadays?

I think it is going to be very rare - they make enough money as players now that it is different even from 20 years ago when Stevie Y and I. Thomas were playing.  I mean some of these pro players should have $50M banked so taking a position with this much workload for $300K a year doesnt make economical sense.  You will have the few who have maybe a yearning to teach but that is going to be very few guys.  The landscape has just changed a lot the past 20 years as these guys make so much bank during their playing career it is not like 1986.

This doesnt apply to Woodson - I am just making a general statement.  I doubt many top echelon athletes who got paid ever go into coaching go forward.  Much easier to sit on an ESPN set making 80%-120% the cash and talk.

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ifis

February 17th, 2016 at 9:21 PM ^

for many people money is not about economics.  It's about getting paid more than everyone else in a comparable job (i.e. acknowledged as the best at what you do).  All that money just means players get to do what they love, and it might be working with the next generation of athletes.  I'm not saying Woodson's going to coach, but I think he's probably going to do something he's passionate about and it wouldn't surprise me if it was coaching.  

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MinWhisky

February 18th, 2016 at 10:01 AM ^

I'd love to see UofM recruit players like Jordan Kovacs as an assistant coach.  He has played at a high level (NFL) but is not an elite player like Woodson.  As a former walk-on, Kovacs had to work extremely hard to get where he is today.  Question: if one has to force themselves to learn what may come naturally to the truly gifted athletes, does it make them a better teacher?

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LSA Superstar

February 17th, 2016 at 2:59 PM ^

You're right in that we can't be sure whether Zordich or Jackson is the "better" DB coach.  But if you had to bet on which one was the superior coach, Jackson would be the safer bet.  Points in his favor include:

  • A totally nutty track record of development of pass defense efficiency stretching back years;
  • Hot pursuit by multiple other college programs and professional franchises over the past year; and
  • Actual, legitimate consideration for the DC vacancy prior to the hiring of Don Brown.

Depending on who the replacement is, this could be a huge loss.  I'd also be pretty pissed if I was Lavert Hill right now.

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dragonchild

February 17th, 2016 at 2:58 PM ^

But TBH great player does not always equate to great coach.  If anything, there's almost no correlation one way or the other.  Some great players become great coaches, some become terrible coaches, some marginal players become great coaches, some bad ones.

In the case of Woodson, he was able to do things many athletes simply couldn't do, both mentally and physically, and thus played the game at a level that leads me to question what he can do with mortal minds and bodies.

He should still be given a call, but it shouldn't be his job to lose.

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Danwillhor

February 17th, 2016 at 4:00 PM ^

most great players were great due to things you can't teach. There is a reason the number of coaches that were unheralded players out numbers coaches that were star players in their day by a huge margin. I'm also counting guys that didn't go on to NFL Millions. Most guys that truly know the depth of the game and work well leading others were the guys that didn't have the physical tools and had to win with intelligence far more than talent. He'd be an amazing recruiter (!) but as a coach I'm not sure.

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Space Coyote

February 17th, 2016 at 2:32 PM ^

Don Brown has coached each level at some point in his career, but most of his experience is with DBs, particularly CBs. So Michigan may prefer to go out and get a OLB coach (WILL/WDE and SAM) or perhaps a dedicated Special Teams coach.

I'm not sure what Brown's preference is (he coached LBs at BC, DBs/CBs mostly previously), but Michigan has a lot of options to grab best available. Still a shame though, Jackson did quite well in his first year at Michigan.

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Space Coyote

February 17th, 2016 at 2:41 PM ^

But there isn't a direct connection between Harbaugh and him. He would have to come highly recommended from Mattison in my opinion to have a shot.

Other possibilities: Look for Brown to possibly recommend a BC coach. If they go the OLB route, look for Wisconsin OLB coach Tim Tibesar, who did a really good job with OLBs the past few years, and just lost Aranda. Obviously, those are shots in the dark, lots of options out there, and they may go with a true CB guy as well.

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