Mike Zordich to Central Michigan.
Zordich and Warinner landing crappy jobs after not getting renewed at Michigan is really interesting. I had heard that Warinner has a history of clashing with other coaches, but I don't recall anything like that with Zordich. Maybe this just speaks to the importance of recruiting in the modern game.
Excited to announce our staff as we kick off spring practice today.
— CMU Football (@CMU_Football) March 19, 2021
Full Release - https://t.co/r7tOqZMQW6
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I'm surprised by Zordich given his on field results in the time he was at Michigan, which seemed to be outstanding.
Agreed. His recruiting may have left a lot to be desired, but the performance seemed exceptional.
Didn't watch them play last year, huh?
Zordich was the only remaining member or JH original team right? Besides Jay?
Correct. Jay, Zordich, Wheat, Baxter, Drevno, Fisch, Durkin, Mattison, and Greg Jackson I think.
He’s excellent at teaching the position, but The Game has left no question that a pure CB technique coach who can’t recruit the position has limited upside these days.
His best fit might be in a conference where his job is to coach up who-dat 3-stars and he doesn’t have to go up against OSU’s receivers.
Agreed. This could be a good move to CMU. With less pressure to win in a Power 5 conference and getting 3 star players and coaching them up should work well for Zordich.
The timeline probably had a lot to do with that. Wasn’t pursued by other programs as it appeared he was still on staff in mid-January. The other issue is that he’s 57 and not a great recruiter. Teams typically go younger for positions coaches and value recruiting chops as much, if not more than, on-field coaching ability.
Wow! That's a great pick up for the Chips. Good luck Coach Z!
Zordich was the one I was most surprised by that we didn't keep. Really surprised he didn't instantly land somewhere or went to Arizona with Don Brown.
how the mighty have fallen
I see that he spent a couple of years in the NFL earlier. Seems like a better fit for him than college ...
So press man is comin' to Mt Pleasant, eh? I don't know what they're secondary currently looks like, but it's going to improve...
Press Man was more of a staple of Brown’s defense than anything you can pin on Zordich. He simply taught the corners the technique that fit the defensive style of play as dictated by the DC.
Interesting.. he's not even in line to pick up a co-cordinator role. They have an established DC and an assoc HC who's a defensive assistant too.
Surprising but not that much given the McElwain connection.
Seems a good spot to hang out while waiting on a bigger/long-term fit.
McElwain must have appreciated his skills though because Zordich's cb's were going up against McElwain's wr's.
well, it's mid-march...many (most? i have no idea) schools are already in spring practices, so i don't suspect there are a ton of openings right now.
Given his on field coaching ability I fully expected Zordich to end up in the NFL. I was kind of thinking he would end up in Baltimore. Given the Harbaugh relationship, and yes it speaks worlds about how important recruiting has become.
It's so hard for us on the outside to be able to accurately judge how good a coach is. Is the terrible play this year by the CBs Zordich's fault? Is the terrible play by our DBs against OSU the last two years his fault? Or is the development of less heralded recruits like Stribling & Watson his credit? Can we cite Jordan Lewis' great Jr/Sr year to Zordich? Or was Lavert Hill's regression his senior also Zordich's fault? I have no idea. He's had bright spots. But, he's also had a ton of talent. Jordan Lewis (#116), Dymonte Thomas (#70), Peppers (#3), Kinnel (#189), Long (#65), Lavert Hill (#132), Ambry Thomas (#90), JKP (#250), Sims (#170), Dax Hill (#14), Perry (#200), Seldon (#161), Morant (#165), DGW (#190), Paige (#245), Moten (#256) were all elite recruits. That's a lot of talent to work with. I have no idea if Zordich is good or not. The rep is a good coach and a poor recruiter. Is that accurate? I have no idea. But, I have a hard time believe a good coach couldn't get any better out of what we had last year. And, if you've got 3 top 150 players at CB in Hill, Long, & Thomas and you still give up 62 pts, almost 400 yards of passing, and 6 TDs to OSU that is a bad sign.
Zordich didn’t coach safeties, so not really sure why you included safety recruits in there. Partridge coached safeties and then Shoop (well, a grad assistant actually) were safeties coaches.
March 19th, 2021 at 11:57 PM ^
Zordich didn’t coach safeties, so not really sure why you included safety recruits in there.
I think you are sure and that's why you're saying it...I made a mistake, duh. If you're going to call someone out own it.
My mistake aside, it doesn't change the point I'm making. That's a lot of CB talent and those are some head scratching struggles given the talent.
March 19th, 2021 at 10:31 PM ^
MGoStrength,
I’m in the same direction you are. I can’t tell from the on field results if Zordich is good or terrible. I tend to lean towards bad coach because I think anyone can coach Hill/Long/Lewis to be what they are, if anything, they might have committed too many PIs given their talent. Especially against receivers they could eat for lunch. I am not impressed by how unprepared too many other d backs seemed especially last season. I never found him to be particularly sharp in interviews despite having one quip work out very well for him.
we shall see what becomes of his career.
Heh full release.