Even if the first 2 years at BC weren't great, based on FEI he had top 25 defenses at Maryland in 2010, and then UCONN in 2011 and 2012.  With the talent Michigan has returning on defense, and Brown's agressiveness, I think the defense will be a lot of fun to watch next year and can really dominate.

You are welcome on my lawn anytime.

People who would rather have Schiano, the guy who's been out of a job for the past few years, are insane

THAT DEFENSE WAS KILLER!

I won't lie; from my vantage point, this seems underwhelming.

I've been basically scouring the internet like a crazy person ever since Durkin left to try and get a bead on who the next DC would be.  In the process, I worked in parellel to guys like Alum96 to build a list of potential candidates based on resume alone.  Without actually knowing any of these people you're working with an incomplete picture, but looking at history and stats can help you identify massive duds like Greg Robinson before they happen.

I don't like Brown's age.  I don't like the fact that Brown's recruiting acumen has never really been mentioned as a strength.  I don't like Brown's track record absent the last year.  And I don't really like the fact that there doesn't appear to be any upward trajectory to his coaching jobs.

I DO like the fact that his defensive coverage schemes are so multiple.  And although I don't give many brownie points for having one spectacular year, he did have one spectacular year with a bunch of players that wouldn't crack our two deep playing opposition roughly as talented as ours.  I also was impressed by his track record at UConn - two consistent years without superstar players in a then-decent Big East is nothing to sneeze at.  His improvement at Maryland was also decent.

I strongly suspect, having read numerous "end of the internet" DC searchbits, that this may have been a "Plan C" move.  I think it's likely that Harbaugh made a run at Anderson first, was either misinformed or misled about Anderson's willingness to accept the job if he wasn't hired by BYU, and recently was forced to backpedal.  I also think Harbaugh may have seriously considered Pruitt as a backup plan, and that Pruitt may have considered Michigan the same way if he'd been unable to iron things out in Tuscaloosa.  Finally, I really do believe that Leavitt was an option but that somebody nixed that idea because of... his event.  This is all conjecture based on my interpretation of (likely hokum but sometimes useful) internet rumormongering.

Overall, I give this hire a C+.  I would have preferred Pruitt, Aranda, Anderson, and probably Leavitt from the initial names that were linked to interest, but some of those guys turned us down and others may not have jibed with Harbaugh or been feasible candidates.  I do much prefer this hire to other rumored candidates like Pees or Butch Davis, however, so I do give credit for avoiding disaster.

In the end, however, Harbaugh's track record deserves more deference than any Michigan coach probably ever, Bo included.  Even though my eyes can't really see it, I'm assuming that this will work out until I'm forced to conclude to the contrary given actual evidence on the field.