The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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24 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2021 mater, before moving to the NFL. He helped the Bulldogs finish fifth in the nation in total defense in 2011 (277.0 yards allowed per game). The squad notched another top-10 na- tional showing the following season in the category (No. 8). Doug Karsch, Michigan radio side- line reporter, Detroit sport talk show host (97.1 FM The Ticket) and regular contributor to The Wolverine, assessed Macdonald's potential impact. "The defensive coaches' default position is young, energetic, pound the pavement on the road and re- cruit guys," Karsch said. "I think they need to show results and show results quickly." Karsch also addressed the concerns of some regarding Macdonald not having called Baltimore's defenses in the past on game day. "It's an unpredictable variable," Karsch noted. "The one thing I will say is, it's a rare occurrence that you can lean on your brother to give you the full scouting report. I don't think Jim Harbaugh hires Macdonald with- out John giving him the true rundown. "This is a guy that is an up-and- comer, this is a guy that can abso- lutely get it done. Nobody would know better than John Harbaugh. It wouldn't happen without John Har- baugh's recommendation." Overall, Karsch indicated, the ré- sumé remains solid. "Coaches that young tend to re- cruit very well, because they can relate to the athletes," Karsch said. "He's got it in the SEC, at Georgia. Your job isn't to win the press confer- ence. It's to get the best guy." CO-DEFENSIVE COORDINA- TOR/CORNERBACKS COACH MAURICE LINGUIST Linguist is a 36-year-old Texas na- tive with a knack for high-level re- cruiting and a firm foundation in his home state. He began his coaching ca- reer as a grad assistant at Baylor, after his playing career for the Bears ended. He's enjoyed stops at Valdosta State, James Madison, Buffalo, Iowa State and Mississippi State as a de- fensive backs coach. He coached two national top-40 passing defenses dur- ing his time in Buffalo, headlined by a No. 31 finish in 2012 after giving up 208.3 yards per game. He was at Minnesota in 2017, then got promoted to assistant head coach, but departed before actually han- dling that job. However, his one year with the Golden Gophers resulted in the program finishing No. 11 nation- ally by allowing just 174.5 passing yards per game. Linguist returned to Texas, guiding the A&M defensive backs in 2018-19. After a No. 98 finish in passing de- fense in year one, he helped them im- prove to No. 41 the ensuing season. His year with the Cowboys led to a new role with the Wolverines, where he'll help coordinate the defense while coaching U-M cornerbacks. Nothing has been defined yet as to how the co-defensive coordinators will coordinate with each other. Harbaugh released a joint state- ment on Linguist and Helow, com- menting: "Maurice and George are outstanding additions to our defen- sive coaching staff. They are highly regarded and well-respected coaches who have worked with some of the top defensive minds in college foot- ball. Their experience at some of the top programs in the country will ben- efit our team and student-athletes. Michigan football welcomes Maurice, George and their families and look forward to them joining our football family and university community." Linguist echoed that respect, not- ing: "I have always had an appreci- ation and an admiration for Coach Harbaugh and his accomplishments at the University of Michigan. The Uni- versity of Michigan is full of college football's best traditions, and I cannot wait to get started. I look forward to leading and serving the young men in the program, developing life-long relationships and competing at the highest of levels on the field. My fam- ily and I look forward to getting to Ann Arbor, and we are beyond excited to join the Michigan family. Go Blue!" The Cowboys' defense struggled a bit this year, but most placed the blame on the front seven. Linguist headed a secondary that surrendered the fifth-fewest first downs via the pass in the NFL, at 180, and finished 11th in the league for passing yards allowed per game (227.6). The Cow- boys also picked off 10 passes. Another indicator of issues up front involved three of Dallas' four leading tacklers this year being de- fensive backs. Those included for- mer Michigan player Jourdan Lewis, whose 59 stops established a new career high. Linguist's Texas A&M secondar- ies picked off 19 passes in two sea- sons and helped allow a 31.2 percent third-down conversion rate during that period. The new Michigan co-defensive co- Maurice "Mo" Linguist joins Michigan as co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach, after coaching defensive backs at Texas A&M in 2018-19, followed by a year with the Dallas Cowboys. PHOTO COURTESY DALLAS COWBOYS