The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/798849
APRIL 2017 THE WOLVERINE 39 BY CHRIS BALAS S ome believe the best coaching staffs are those that have been together for a long time, and there's a case to be made for keeping groups together. Chemistry can be huge, and once coaches learn each other's tendencies and person- alities, a team can really click. On the flip side, there's also some- thing to be said for turnover and new ideas. The legendary Bo Schem- bechler surrounded himself with as- sistants so good they often left for head coaching or coordinator jobs at other schools. Former assistants Larry Smith (USC) and Bill McCart- ney (Colorado) led their programs to great heights, and there were several others who also experienced enor- mous success. Schembechler, though, was able to find fantastic replacements dur- ing his 21-year career, and it appears head coach Jim Harbaugh will have to go the same route. He had to re- place special teams coach John Baxter after one year, passing game coordi- nator Jedd Fisch and running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley this year, and has recently had to make even more hires. In February, the Michigan family lost defensive analyst Dave Adolph to cancer. Another defensive analyst, Rick Finotti, left the program to take the head coaching job at John Car- roll University, and director of player personnel Tony Tuioti took an as- sistant coaching job at Fresno State, before eventually leaving for Cal. Harbaugh replaced Tuioti, who left on good terms, with Sean Magee, who came to Ann Arbor after work- ing in the same capacity at the U.S. Naval Academy. "Sean brings a strong recruiting history and an experienced person- nel background to the University of Michigan," Harbaugh said. "We are excited to have his military experi- ence, leadership skills and organiza- tional talents help make our program great. "Throughout the interview pro- cess, I felt that Sean answered my questions about how to improve our program before I could even ask them. Michigan football looks for- ward to having Sean, [wife] Sarah and their children, Miles, Stella, Brooks and Colt, join our university family." IMPRESSIVE ADDITIONS Jim Harbaugh Adds Some Big Names To His Coaching Staff Sean Magee, U-M's new director of player personnel, comes to the Wolverines after serving in the same role at his alma mater, the Naval Academy. PHOTO COURTESY NAVY