Greg Mattison Staying On
Bryan Fuller
247 is reporting that three different recruits have been contacted by Greg Mattison in his capacity as a Michigan assistant coach within the last day. It's not clear what his role is, but we're going to guess he ends up as a DL or LB coach with either a co-DC or associate head coach title and put him on the assistant board in ink:
| OFFENSE | Coach | confidence | DEFENSE | Coach | confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OC | Tim Drevno | lock | DC | DJ Durkin | lock |
| QB | Jim Harbaugh | lock | DL | Durkin | lock |
| RB | Ty Wheatley | probable | LB | Greg Mattison | lock |
| WR | Tim Morton | probable | OLB/DE | Roy Manning | probable |
| OL | ??? | ??? | DB | Greg Jackson | none |
| TE | Vince Marrow | maybe | ST | ??? | none |
Drevno may take on the offensive line by himself or Michigan may add a dedicated OL coach. Sam says Michigan is reaching out to OL coaches($), including Oklahoma's. Adding an OL coach would either mean that Michigan goes with just four guys on D or Marrow isn't added—I doubt that anyone would go without an RB or WR coach.
January 2nd, 2015 at 9:38 AM ^
No contradiction. It is one thing to say it is a bad decision and a bad situation. It is another to say how Mattison will handle it. I would, in fact, think he will handle it much better than the average person. But it just puts him in a terrible position and it tempts malcontents to seek him out as potentially sympathetic. Why foster that? And isn't it going to be hard on Mattison when Durkin tells the defense what they've been doing wrong and why he needs to change things? Now, coaches deal with new philosophies without getting their feelings hurt. But still.
Hey, it may work out all right and I don't think it is that big a deal. But when you have a clear change scenario like this -- other scenarios are different -- a clean sweep is usually preferred. Personally, I love Mattison so I hope he gets to be part of something great with Jim Harbaugh.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:55 AM ^
and as a professional, it could work out very well. Your point about him being someone that potential malcontents seek out makes sense. Why couldn't he be useful in that role? He's someone that a lot of current players trust. He could give them good advice. I wouldn't expect him to undermine the current staff while doing so. As much as he respects Hoke, I bet he respects Harbaugh too.
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:20 PM ^
Might I suggest you watch an old WW2 flick, Twelve O'Clock High. It is Based vert closely on a true story so the idea that it's just a Hollywood story doesn't fit. Gregory Peck's General Savage could be Jim Harbaugh, and Dean Jagger's Major Stovall could well be Greg Mattison.
Anyway, watch the movie, I think you'll be impressed at how closely the Michigan football program mirrors the essential parts of the story.
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:04 PM ^
... sometimes a full purge is counterproductive. See Cultural Revolution and The Great Purge.
January 2nd, 2015 at 9:51 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:31 AM ^
"Again, not saying you're wrong I just disagree."
But I was okay with you saying it. Happy New Year, fellow Wolverine!
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:36 PM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
Mattison can't hurt a staff, only help as position coach.
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:13 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:47 PM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 7:15 PM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 11:14 AM ^
January 2nd, 2015 at 12:01 PM ^
Watching some Florida football highlights this morning. Durkin's brand of defense reminds me of Rex Ryan, oddly; but in a good way. Defense looks like it's strength is multiplicity; i.e., show a base and force the offense to make a decision, but be able to run lots of different things out of it. One interesting aspect is the number of guys on the line with their hands in the dirt. Durkin keeps things amorphous by keeping linemen up, though he still typically rushes 4. Probably has a thick defensive playbook. If I had to guess, Durkin would almost certainly coach the DL, where he has lots of wrinkles ostensibly built off traditional 4-3 fundamentals (fundamentally similar to Mattison's defense); while Mattison would coach the LBs.
January 2nd, 2015 at 4:43 PM ^
I hope he stays on:
1. Took RR's defense from #116 nationally to #18 in one season.
2. Can recruit.
3. Man-boobs sideline signals.
January 18th, 2015 at 8:05 PM ^
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