The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2022 THE WOLVERINE 23 BY CHRIS BALAS W hen defensive coordina- tor Mike Macdonald left Michigan after one out- s ta n d i n g s ea s o n , h ea d coach Jim Harbaugh conducted a na- tional search for his replacement, as ex- pected. Macdonald will be a tough act to follow after his only year at U-M, one in which he helped lead the Wolverines to a Big Ten title. He returned to the Baltimore Ravens (where he came from) when coach John Harbaugh had an opening, and he leaves with a "thanks for a job well done." The younger Harbaugh (Jim) looked at guys like Larry Foote — the former Michigan linebacker who now coaches linebackers for the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Wisconsin assistant Bobby April III and others, but he landed on Vanderbilt defensive coor- dinator Jesse Minter for one big reason. Continuity. Harbaugh reached out to his brother last offseason and again this year for his advice. Though John Harbaugh took Macdonald back after only a year in Ann Arbor, he had another guy in mind dat- ing back to last season. "This goes back to when I was hir- ing Mike Macdonald, filling that D.C. spot a year ago," the Michigan coach said on Jon Jansen's 'In the Trenches' Podcast. "My brother John said, 'Mike Macdonald, linebackers coach, or Jesse Minter. They're both great. If I was you, I'd pick one.' "I looked at both, looked at Mike, and that's the direction I ended up going. Jesse went from the Ravens to Vander- bilt. So … it worked the time before. I figured it would work this time. "I talked to a lot of great guys along the way. Larry Foote. I made a run at Larry, [and] some other guys." In the end, though, Harbaugh landed the right guy. Minter is a former Broyles Award fi- nalist for his work at Georgia State in 2015, and he's also known as a great recruiter. More importantly, he knows the Macdonald defense, having worked with his friend in Baltimore. He im- plemented it during his one season at Vanderbilt. "I'm really happy we have Jesse. What it does do is there's a real continuity that's taking place," Harbaugh said. "It's the same system. Both came out of Bal- timore a little over a year ago, know- ing the same system, running the same system. "It's very similar, pretty much the same system. There are some new nu- ances, but it's the same terminology, verbiage, and it's been a seamless fit so far." Harbaugh also found a perfect fit in Mike Elston, a Notre Dame assistant for the last decade-plus. With line coach Shaun Nua leaving for USC, Harbaugh did his homework to replace him, too. He reached out to Jansen, a former Elston teammate, but only after calling a man he knew would have the scoop. "The first person I did reach out to was Coach [Lloyd] Carr," Harbaugh said. "He raved about Mike, and Mike's here in our footprint. He grew up in Ohio, played at Michigan, coached at Michigan. He coached at Eastern, Cen- tral, Cincinnati and has been at Notre Dame for 10 years. "He's an excellent coach. Look at the people and players he's developed and the players at a high level … not only in college, but also trained to go on to the NFL. There were, again, others that were interviewed. Mike ended up being the perfect fit, and I'm really proud to make that hire and welcome his family back to Ann Arbor." Jay Harbaugh, too, has proven him- self as a coach at a number of positions. Harbaugh has no doubt his son will excel with the safeties, too, after pre- viously mentoring running backs and tight ends. He'll also continue in the special teams role, where he's excelled. "We had the No.1 special teams unit in the country. He was special teams coach of the year, all that kind of stuff," Harbaugh said. "There's a lot of talent there. He's very bright, very talented, and I know he's going to do a heck of a job on the defensive side and should be really well-rounded as a football coach." Just like another Harbaugh he knows. "It reminds me of the résumé of my brother John, who coached lineback- ers, tight ends, running backs, special teams and the secondary," he said. "He's building that same type of résumé." All told, it sets up a nice defensive staff for 2022, with the potential to build on what Macdonald started. DEFENSIVE LINE Make no mistake, though — there's a lot to replace. Michigan end Aidan Hutchinson might be the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, having tested well at the NFL Combine in March af- ter a year in which he finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting. Experts are now projecting that fellow end Da- vid Ojabo could go among the top 20, meaning Harbaugh and his staff will be replacing two elite players up front. But they knew that even before the draft projections, and they're confi- dent in their guys. The defensive line looks thin (for now), but a couple guys are standing out … and, as always, a great defense starts up front. "Mazi Smith, right off the jump," Harbaugh said of last year's Michigan defensive lineman of the year. "He's playing really well. We're expecting great things from Mazi. He looks tre- mendous. [Sophomore tackle] Kris Jenkins, [redshirt junior end] Taylor Upshaw … there's a whole list of guys we're really excited about — [sopho- more end] Braiden McGregor, [redshirt sophomore end] Mike Morris. "The state of Michigan football is scary good right now." Morris is the one who has turned heads on the Michigan edge, Harbaugh continued. "Mike Morris could be the next Aidan Hutchinson or Ojabo," he said. "There are some really exciting things going on, on the defensive line." T h e re we re p re sea so n co n ce r n s there last year, Harbaugh admitted af- ter the season, but they made out for a few reasons. One, tackle Chris Hinton took the next step in his progression and be- came solid as a run stopper. He wasn't overly productive as a stat stuffer, notching only 18 solo tackles among his 32 stops and one sack (two in his entire career) — but he was solid, and Like predecessor Mike Macdonald, Minter worked multiple years for the Baltimore Ravens before taking a college defensive coordinator job last year at Vanderbilt. Minter has also been the defensive coordi- nator at Georgia State and Indiana State. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY