Interesting view of M football coaches

Submitted by m83econ on January 3rd, 2021 at 8:28 PM

Magnus at Touch the Banner (a great site, worthy of your support) has an interesting recap of each of the coaching positions:

https://touch-the-banner.com/coaching-situation-update-january-3-2021/

Although Gattis has been great on the recruiting side, the other parts of his job (WR development & play calling) have been lacking.  Replacing him with Moorehead may be a pipe dream, but it's a good one.

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Haskin’s Bandaid

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:33 PM ^

While I’m too stupid to go into exact detail of why this team stinks, it’s not too hard to notice the coaching inability of this staff. 

Joined: 07/06/2019

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ldevon1

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:58 PM ^

WR development? He is going into his third year, and every receiver he has coached has looked pretty good IMO. Nico looked better last year, Ronnie Bell, looked better, Cornelius Johnson looked good, and the other receivers looked pretty damn promising. 

Joined: 09/09/2015

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Gulogulo37

January 3rd, 2021 at 10:38 PM ^

I'm not down on him as a WR coach but also can't say he's improved things. How have the WRs looked better? The problem is QB play and the run game has been terrible so it's hard to judge, but none of the WRs put up great stats. Bell looked really good last year, but how was he better this year? Good talent coming in, but we still really haven't seen speed in space for whatever reason.

Joined: 03/16/2010

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Gulogulo37

January 3rd, 2021 at 10:39 PM ^

It's insane. He doesn't know for sure either, but I assumed it was a health thing. Magnus has heard otherwise. The fit was so bad he couldn't even be around the other coaches? What the hell? That's on Harbaugh frankly. I thought he had connections to Brown and Jean-Mary. I could be misremembering. Were they literally worried about him and Zordich murdering each other?

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Twitch

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:38 PM ^

You can add Ben Herbert to the list.  Illinois tried to hire him but they hired Tank Wright so it appears Herbert is staying as well.

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MadMatt

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:39 PM ^

If we can get Morehead as the OC, that would be a no brainer. But, why would he leave Oregon as the OC to be the OC at Michigan? Especially for a HC who will be in a win now or go home season? I don't see it, but I'd take it in a heartbeat.

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uminks

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:40 PM ^

I thought our HC was going to lead us to B1G championships and at least occasional playoffs births. Now I see him as being LC lite with no wins against OSU and only getting back to that 9 win ceiling. 

Joined: 11/10/2009

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trueblueintexas

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:46 PM ^

Hindsight, but maybe Don Brown’s philosophy of solving problems with aggression didn’t translate well when used between staff members. May explain why there has been a lot of turn over with the D staff. May also explain why he was let go as soon as the season was over. If Schoop is retained and he comes back to work on campus, it would answer some questions.

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Hail to the Vi…

January 3rd, 2021 at 8:49 PM ^

Great analysis, always enjoy reading Magnus' stuff. I would agree, that he is an excellent recruiter. I actually think the design of his offense is pretty good as well.

The problem I see when I watch Michigan's offense is on the execution and the play calling cadence. A lot of missed assignments that blow up a play.

And the play calling related to down & distance, clock management (specifically talking about tempo) and attacking opponent weaknesses is flat out bad.

I would also add, the player rotations this year, especially at running back were atrocious. There are some rumblings the Moorhead talks are legitimate. If you can bring him in and keep Gattis, that would be great. Either way, you gotta bring him in if you can get him. 

I think Gattis' concepts are solid, everything else around running the offense is very poor right now.

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My Name is LEGIONS

January 3rd, 2021 at 9:11 PM ^

Why is he mentioning Mike Hart? Why would Hart leave Indiana now in a  lateral move?  Alma mater or not, that is non sensical.  

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bronxblue

January 3rd, 2021 at 9:38 PM ^

I think Hart would come to UM because it's his alma mater and while it may be a lateral positional move, you could see him have a higher ceiling here.  And not to be a downer, but even with Michael Penix at QB IU only averaged about 108 ypg on the ground; Michigan's broke-ass offense averaged 131 ypg, and Michigan averaged a yard and a half (4.59 to 3.12) ypc more.  I'm sure he's still a good coach and decent on the recruiting trail, but people are really discounting Jaybaugh if they somehow believe Hart would be an upgrade on that front.

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Snake Oil Steve

January 3rd, 2021 at 9:33 PM ^

I like Gattis both as a recruiter and position coach (where I like him quite a bit and think he's already killing it), and I think he still has upside as a playcaller and OC.  However, I think that past two years have shown that Gattis isn't there yet as an elite playcaller (not to say he cannot get there or isn't on his way).

I have been vocal on here and on the 247 site that if JH wants to assemble the best possible staff, bring in Joe Moorehead as OC.  Hopefully Gattis can accept a co-OC role, but Moorehead is a clear upgrade as playcaller...and as we all say in the CFB semis, an elite offense is how to win games and recruits. 

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JFW

January 3rd, 2021 at 9:50 PM ^

So, I hear lots of talk about “x guy is okay but a great recruiter...”

Recruiting is very important. But if a guy like Jean-Marie Is great at recruiting but middle to bad at coaching it doesn’t do us any good. You get a kid with lots of talent who doesn’t perform. I’d almost rather have a guy be a decent recruiter and a great coach. 

 

 

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tybert

January 3rd, 2021 at 10:32 PM ^

Based on 6 gnarly games, I'm not ready to dump Gattis but would love somehow a so-called co-OC roles for Gattis and Joe M. The O looked great in the Indy game and also 1st half vs. OSU and Bama. The issue was execution - specifically QB. Shea sucked both 2nd halves - the plays were there to be made, even Haskins would have had a field day in those games. 

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AlbanyBlue

January 4th, 2021 at 12:16 AM ^

I don't want to see co-anything any more. Decide on a command structure, decide on a philosophy and a scheme -- please let it be modern -- and stick with it. Rep the fuck out of it until this hesitation and overthinking stops. Let the players learn the system and PLAY. This team as a whole suffers (seemingly) from having to figure out what the hell to do on nearly every snap. Decide on something, commit to it, and get everyone good at it. We have lesser issues bringing in talent. Decide on your system, recruit to that system, and let the players express their talents on the field.

In essence, let's be Wisconsin with a modernized scheme and better recruits.

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