Bob Shoop's and Brian Jean-Mary's Career Paths
I wrote this up for my notes for an article on the new direction Michigan's defense might be going. It's too long and off topic to include in the article but not too uninteresting for the board. Plus now I can link it to reference it later.
BOB SHOOP
- 1985-1987: Wide receiver at Yale under Carmen Cozza (the Yale HC from 1965-1996), all-Ivy in 1987, Don Brown's first year as Yale defensive coordinator. Also pitched for the Yale baseball team. Graduated with a degree in economics.
- 1988: Played a year in the UK (Birmingham Bulls)
- 1989: Joined Cozza's staff as a grad assistant under Don Brown
- 1990: Grad assistant under Frank Spaziani at Virginia for that one year UVA had Herman Moore and beat Clemson.
- 1991-1993: Defensive backs coach at Northeastern (faced Fordham QB Joe Moorhead twice). Job set up by Cozza.
- 1994-1996: Replaced Don Brown as Yale DC through the end of Cozza's career.
- 1997: Landed at Villanova as DC under Andy Talley. Nova went 12-0 before losing to YSU in the D-IA quarterfinals
- 1998: Moved up to D-IA as DBs coach under Bob Sutton at Army.
- 1999-2002: DBs coach under Tom O'Brien at Boston College.
- 2003-2005: Head coach of Columbia, a very bad program. Fired after going 7-23 in three years.
- 2006: Landed at UMass as (HC) Don Brown's DBs coach
- 2007-2010: Defensive coordinator and secondary coach under Jimmye Laycock (W&M's HC for like 40 years). Named 2010 FCS coordinator of the year.
- 2011-2013: Hired by new Vanderbilt HC James Franklin as DC and safeties coach. Defenses finish 16th, 23rd, 37th in S&P+
- 2014-2015: Moved with Franklin to Penn State in same role. Defenses finish 2nd(!) and 15th in S&P+. Signs contract extension in early 2015.
- 2016-2017: Unexplained lateral move to Tennessee under Butch Jones. Defenses finish 44th and 55th in S&P+
- 2018-2019: Joined Joe Moorhead as Mississippi State's DC/safeties coach. Defenses finish 1st(!!!!) and 70th(???) in S&P+
BRIAN JEAN-MARY
- From Apopka, FL (Jeremy Gallon), swampland west of Disneyworld/Orland
- 1993-1997: Outside linebacker at Appalachian State under Jerry Moore
- 1998-1999: ???
- 2000: Assistant strength coach at Louisville under John L. Smith
- 2001-2002: Grad assistant (linebackers) at South Carolina under Lou Holtz and DC Charlie Strong.
- 2003: Secondary coach at North Alabama under Mark Hudspeth
- 2004-2009: On Strong's recommendation, hired as linebackers coach by DC Jon Tenuta (under Chan Gailey) at Georgia Tech. Tenuta runs an extremely blitzy 3-4. Helps recruit Calvin Johnson.
GT classes rank: 48th (includes Megatron), 70th, 62nd, 15th, 51st, 41st - 2010-2013: Reunites with Strong at Louisville, under DC (and Lloyd's DBs coach from '95-'98) Vance Bedford. LBs and Assistant Head Coach. De facto recruiting coordinator. Class ranks: 44th, 27th, 45th, 36th
- 2014-2016: Follows Strong to Texas. Linebackers/recruiting coordinator. Class ranks: 17th, 10th, 7th
- 2017-2019: Follows Strong to USF as defensive coordinator/linebackers. S&P+ 29th, 80th, 62nd
January 22nd, 2020 at 12:58 PM ^
The short version is they hired a pseudo Don Brown replacement in case he leaves soon and a recruiting guru to replace Partridge.
Sounds good to me.
January 22nd, 2020 at 4:19 PM ^
Feels more like Shoop is a short-term rental a la McElwain, who will be serve fine as an overqualified position coach while adding to the brain trust on defense for a year or two at most.
Jean-Mary looks like a solid coach and a plus recruiter who might stick for a while.
January 22nd, 2020 at 1:18 PM ^
2018-2019: Joined Joe Moorhead as Mississippi State's DC/safeties coach. Defenses finish 1st(!!!!) and 70th(???) in S&P+
The drop to 70th is concerning, though he isn't going to be the DC here so not as big of deal. Worth mentioning Miss St had 4 defenders drafted last year, 3 of them in the 1st round so they lost quite a bit of talent at a school that usually isn't flushed with it.
January 23rd, 2020 at 12:29 AM ^
Todd Grantham was the DC at Mississippi St for one year, in 2017, the year before Shoop took over as DC in 2018. Mississippi St's defense was ranked 110th in the Nation in 2016, the year before Grantham took it over. In that one year he was there he brought the defense up from 110th in the Nation to 10th. That 10th ranked defense was what Shoop took over in 2018.
Grantham coached with Nick Saban when he was at Michigan St. He's now the DC at Florida.
January 22nd, 2020 at 1:29 PM ^
But when do we get 5*'s?
January 22nd, 2020 at 2:14 PM ^
Most of our 5 stars haven't lived up to the hype.
Rashan Gary
Donovan Peoples-Jones
Aubrey Solomon
Jabrill Peppers was the last player to validate the hype and we only got him for 2 seasons but 0 bowl games.
January 22nd, 2020 at 1:38 PM ^
Booyah!
January 22nd, 2020 at 1:46 PM ^
Thanks, Seth, great timelines. These two hires look like HUGE upgrades in terms of talent evaluation, player development and X&O experience.
January 22nd, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
hey seth i noticed a typo maybe you can edit oh wait nevermind lol
January 22nd, 2020 at 1:49 PM ^
Don Brown has gotta be one of the last people to coach two major sports at a Division I school. Doesn't happen much anymore, but a cool bit of bar trivia.
January 22nd, 2020 at 1:52 PM ^
recruiting seems to be something harbaugh needs to focus on a little more these days.
i want michigan to be the next dynasty in college football.
January 22nd, 2020 at 1:55 PM ^
Not trying to minimize what Shoop did his first year at Miss State, but when they took that job they took over the single most talented roster on the defensive side of the ball in school history. That was the year they could have really done some damage in the SEC, because they managed to nail some bigger recruits than normal and hit on a bunch of diamonds in the rough. Then they all graduated and the defense crashed to the earth.
January 22nd, 2020 at 1:57 PM ^
Just hold OSU under 45, that's all I ask. I don't feel like it's too much. I may not like it, but I can accept a 42-30 loss, but 62-39...no.
January 22nd, 2020 at 2:01 PM ^
Anyone see Partridge land Clowney's cousin at Ole Miss? That was quick
January 22nd, 2020 at 2:10 PM ^
I've always wondered how recruiting goes when guys are recruiting someone for one school and then take a new job. Imagine it's like being in sales when you take a job at a competitor - "Remember all that shit I said about the old place? forget all that....THIS place is where it's at."
January 22nd, 2020 at 2:02 PM ^
Concerning that defenses under Shoop get worse every year he's there. PSU and MSU(NTMSU) first years indicate he can scheme a great defense but he has never maintained top 10 or gotten better each year the way Brown did. Great hire as a position coach but not sure he would currently be a good DC hire.
Hopefully Jean-Mary stays around for a few years, seems like a great recruiter and with earlier and earlier offers recruiter continuity would be great.
January 22nd, 2020 at 2:17 PM ^
I noticed that as well, though I do think he's been the victim of some recruiting misses outside of his control. So like with Miss. St., he lost a ton of guys off his first team and there weren't guys of similar ilk behind them because, in part, Mullen's recruiting has plateaued a bit toward the end, especially defensively. I honestly don't know if that would have changed dramatically with more time, but the SEC is a meat grinder in the best of times and fielding maybe the least talented defense in your division against teams like Bama and LSU isn't helping.
January 22nd, 2020 at 2:23 PM ^
We have a good stable of young S / LB that need to be developed, so for the next couple of years these guys are upgrades. Both coaches are way more experienced as position experts.
Here is how I would grade it:
Recruiting ... Jean-Mary = Partridge / Shoop < Campanile or Partridge
Player Evaluation ... Shoop + Jean-Mary > Partridge + Campanile
LB Development ... Jean-Mary > Campanile
S Development ... Shoop > Partridge
X&O position training ... Shoop + Jean-Mary >> Partridge + Campanile
On Brown's staff, this could be an unbelievable couple years for on-field performance. Can they also attract the right recruits to create a legacy ? Time will tell.
January 22nd, 2020 at 3:08 PM ^
I always go by the Apopka exit on my way to Disney. I always say, hey that’s where Jeremy Gallon is from !
January 22nd, 2020 at 3:57 PM ^
What is each of their respective philosophies on fucking sharks?
January 22nd, 2020 at 4:34 PM ^
I did not know that Brian Jean-Mary had a hand in Calvin Johnson's recruitment to Georgia Tech. Interesting factoid.
Thanks for sharing these timelines.