Exit Greg Jackson
[Bryan Fuller]
Via Bruce Feldman:
#Michigan DB coach Greg Jackson is set to become the new safeties coach for the #DallasCowboys, source tells @FoxSports.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 17, 2016
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.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:45 PM ^
He must demonstrate something approaching Harbaugh's EUTM.
February 17th, 2016 at 10:01 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 2:44 PM ^
I would be all about bringing him back as an OLB coach (or any position that's not DBs).
February 17th, 2016 at 2:39 PM ^
They don't have anyone currently on the staff who only coaches special teams, right?
February 17th, 2016 at 2:41 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 3:41 PM ^
I hear he has a couple glaring blemishes on his 2015 resume. One in particular was an alignment issue that left his squad severly outnumbered on the line. Cost his team a vital game.
February 17th, 2016 at 4:22 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 2:33 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 3:55 PM ^
There will be more of these.
Get used to Michigan assistants moving on to better jobs, as opposed to the past where they moved on to . . . no jobs.
February 17th, 2016 at 7:46 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
but still stings nonetheless.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
I needed more reason to hate Jerry Jones
February 17th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
I needed more reason to hate Jerry Jones
February 17th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
In recent prior regimes, we've not been used to having assistant coaches (and coordinators) poached. Harbaugh hires ambitious people and lets them flourish.
I'll miss Jackson too. But in the grand scheme of things, I'd much rather have the problem of people poaching our assistants rather than people not wanting to poach our assistants.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:41 PM ^
When people finally got let go, pretty much everyone went down a level. Half of Michigan's coaches from the last decade are at San Jose State
February 17th, 2016 at 2:36 PM ^
I don't get it. Being a great player doesn't make you a great coach. I'd bet Jordan Kovacs would be a better DB coach than Woodson would because Kovacs never had the physical gifts a DB like Woodson did
February 17th, 2016 at 2:38 PM ^
You shut your god damned mouth. Just because we don't know something doesn't make it not true.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:46 PM ^
If Woodson can somehow bestow his awesome athletic abilities ono his pupils then sign me up, but I think I'd like it more if we were putting 4 and 5 star guys through the School of St. Kovacs
February 17th, 2016 at 3:10 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 2:48 PM ^
You don't become a first ballot HOFer without knowing proper technique and the nuances of your position.
February 17th, 2016 at 3:08 PM ^
Knowing and being able to teach it are two different things. I think it was Gretzky (might have been someone else) who tried to coach and couldn't understand why the players didn't see what he was seeing.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^
I would imagine that Woodson would be able to pull in legions of highly regarded DBs.
He's about as close to a Beyonce hire without actually hiring Beyonce. And that's if you assume he can't coach the DB position at all.
February 17th, 2016 at 3:16 PM ^
because then Kim Kardashian's ass (the one she calls Kanye) would constantly be around causing problems...
February 17th, 2016 at 2:57 PM ^
You would think he would be able to recuit the best CB's in the country with just his name. If you have any aspirations of winning the Heisman as a mainly defensive player, don't you want to learn from the only person to ever do so?
February 17th, 2016 at 3:12 PM ^
and certainly seems to have the right personality to go with it. I wouldn't want to recruit against him.
February 17th, 2016 at 3:12 PM ^
the modern Nickel position was basically invented for him specifically when he got a little older and lost some of his greath athletic ability - and you know what? He went on to win Defensive MVP there still and make it a meaningful position. He was still a great corner in his later years with Oakland.
You aren't the greatest ever and consistently manage to reinvent your style and adapt to changing game without knowing how to play the position.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:35 PM ^
that is all
February 17th, 2016 at 2:36 PM ^
Greg........ Zordich....... I like that better than Mike, definitely.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:37 PM ^
Might as well get used to this. There's a reason that guys like Meyer and Saban have to go out and find new coordinators every couple years. It's the mark of a good head man in place.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
February 17th, 2016 at 2:50 PM ^
The "testing yourself at the highest level" is the cliche that was and is continued to be used by pro football partisans who can't believe that Harbaugh stay at UM and not return to the NFL. I thought we had ridiculed this sentiment enough to get rid of it.
In Jackson's case, he has already "tested himself" in the NFL so it's doubly silly to say here. I don't know what happened in his case, but my guess is he tried out a year in the college ranks and decided the pros were for him. That's all.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^
Don't have to deal with recruiting in the NFL. I know Harbaugh loves it, but that is a shit ton of time away from your family.
February 17th, 2016 at 3:09 PM ^
He was an assistant DB coach for the 49ers. That means assistant to the position coach, more like a grad assistant in college.
February 17th, 2016 at 3:44 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 3:14 PM ^
He also may have wanted the DC spot and wasn't happy when he didn't get it. Don Brown will probably be around for a few years given his age already so Jackson no longer saw a path to a DC spot here and moved on trying to move his career forward. It would make sense to me if I were in his position.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:37 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 2:37 PM ^
Brian, you have mentioned Jackson as a potential DC down the road. Do you think there was any resentment/dissatisfaction with not getting the DC job this time around?
February 17th, 2016 at 2:49 PM ^
Curious to know this too
February 17th, 2016 at 10:09 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 3:21 PM ^
Wouldn't you be dissatisfied if you were passed up for a promotion? This wouldn't mean there is any connection between that and taking the Dallas job. More likely that he is getting paid more, is from the south, or that he likes coaching at the professional level more than college.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:37 PM ^
F the Cowboys and anyone who loves them
February 17th, 2016 at 3:52 PM ^
February 17th, 2016 at 4:54 PM ^
Bad enough he has to leave, but to the Cowboys? They never have Michigan players,* so there's no reason to follow them besides that there's no reason to follow them.
*At least as long as I've been tracking. One quasi-exception was Ray Vinopal, who might have slipped by because they didn't notice he'd spent time here. [Briefly on the practice squad, but after a stint on the IR he was cut anyway and picked up by the Steelers just last month.]
February 17th, 2016 at 2:39 PM ^
Well hell, I was hoping to get at least one more season out of him, but I suppose this is the new normal. I think we've learned to trust Harbaugh's eye for coaching talent and I am interested to see what comes of this.
He did a great job last year and will definitely be missed. Good Luck coach, and like any self-respecting football fan would say........fuck the Cowboys.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:39 PM ^
What is this 3 assistants gone in one off-season? I hope this isn't the norm moving forward because continuity on the staff is very important imo. That said, it's obvious our coaches are high quality and highly sought after.
I trust Harbaugh will find a more than capable replacement.
February 17th, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
Happy trails to Jackson but dayum he coached up our secondary and it's obvious in pressers that he's a sharp fella. I wanted him to hang around.
I get that Harbaugh's coaching tree is a gateway to great things but this is getting kind of ridiculous. Durkin, Baxter and now Jackson? I'd better not grow any fondness because this cast rotates faster than Game of Thrones.
February 17th, 2016 at 7:16 PM ^
We're turning over 30% of the staff, but that also keeps things from getting stale. Every year will be an opportunity for an upgrade. As long as we're keeping Harbaugh and not making big changes in the type of players needed I think it will work out well. Let's hope I'm right, because we're going to be seeing more turnover.
2015 worked out okay.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:43 PM ^
Rich, famous ex-athletes do not generally jump at the chance to work 16 hour days in retirement. In case anyone thinks Brady or Woodson are going to be position coaches here down the road.
February 17th, 2016 at 2:56 PM ^
And in each of their cases, I think you'll see them expand into the business world before getting into coaching. With Woodson in particular, aside from his ESPN gig and any future television opportunities, he seems to have a genuine interest in wine. He owns a small label in Napa already and it wouldn't surprise to see him focus more time and energy on that...
February 17th, 2016 at 3:13 PM ^
Unless you're Jim Harbaugh.
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