Michigan football hires its new defensive coordinator

Jim Harbaugh got an assist from his brother John, as Michigan football hires Baltimore Ravens’ LB coach Mike Macdonald as the new DC.

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At long last, we now know who will be leading the charge on the defensive side of the ball for the Wolverines.

Five-year defensive coordinator Don Brown was dismissed from the program in December, but was quickly hired up by former Michigan pass game coordinator Jedd Fisch, the new head coach at Arizona. While there were some big names out on the market, Jim Harbaugh opted for an off-the-beaten-path choice.

As intimated by earlier reports, Michigan was targeting Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach Mike Macdonald to fill its defensive coordinator post. As a hire couldn’t be made official until the Ravens were eliminated from the NFL playoffs, with the loss to the Bills on Saturday, it seemed to be only a matter of time before a move was made.

And it now Macdonald will be named Michigan’s new defensive coordinator, as expected.

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Macdonald has spent seven years in the Ravens system and has been an on-field coach since 2017, when he started as the team’s defensive backs coach. He quickly moved in 2018 to oversee linebackers, where he continued into the 2020 season.

33 years old, Macdonald graduated from Georgia, but did not play football at the school. While a finance major in Athens, he coached at his high school before working as a graduate assistant with the Bulldogs, working first with the offense for one year before working on the defensive side of the ball. He was just 26 years old when he joined the Ravens staff.

It’s unknown what his defensive philosophy will be, but as a student of Todd Grantham, and given his time in Baltimore, it would be no surprise if he moved Michigan from a 4-3 front to a 3-4 scheme.

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