Michigan assistant departs for Ole Miss position

The Wolverines just lost their ace assistant.

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Michigan lost the final two games of the 2019 season, and now it’s lost its ace recruiter.

Earlier this week, ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren reported that new Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was targeting Michigan’s safeties coach/special teams coordinator Chris Partridge for his defensive coordinator vacancy. On our WolverinesWire forum, we posted that we had heard from one person close to the Michigan side of things, who had requested anonymity, that Partridge was likely to depart as soon as Jan. 2.

Well, that turned out to be a reality, as Partridge did indeed agree to become the Rebels new defensive coordinator.

Partridge had a hand in nearly every major recruit Michigan has brought in since he was promoted to an on-field coaching position in 2016 after spending 2015 as the Wolverines’ recruiting coordinator. Once he became Michigan’s linebackers coach, he oversaw Devin Bush for two years, and then helped Josh Metellus develop once he switched over to the safeties coach.

The former head coach of powerhouse high school Paramus (NJ) Catholic, Partridge also did wonders with the special teams unit after some debacles under John Baxter in 2015.

Going to Ole Miss, it’s a promotion for Partridge, but he goes to arguably a more difficult division, as the Rebels have to face both Alabama and LSU every single year.