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New Michigan defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald has already worked under some prolific names across football. From Mark Richt and Todd Grantham to John Harbaugh and now his brother Jim, he has been around a lot of top minds in the sport.
Now Macdonald hopes to grow and emerge as one himself, especially considering he is in a top spot, overseeing the defense for one of college football’s blue bloods.
Macdonald just had to assemble a staff for the first time, but before he did, he harkened back to what he learned about being a coach with the Baltimore Ravens.
“I think it’s important to be yourself, and that’s one thing that (his former boss, John Harbaugh) preaches, trying to be your best self,” Macdonald told Jon Jansen on the “In the Trenches” podcast.
“I believe in that as a leader. If you can get a whole group of guys being their best selves, that’s a powerful thing. The best teams, no matter who you study are diverse teams. So if you get a lot of people thinking and acting alike, then all of a sudden, you’re not bringing a lot to the party.
“But, in terms of John as a leader: he’s the real deal. Like I said, organizationally. He’s got tremendous energy, he’s got tremendous passion. He cares about his people. I know he has our back as coaches and players. You’ve seen it this year. He almost fought another team’s coach because of what they were doing pregame. That’s just a small example there, but tremendous energy, tremendous passion. Respect is a principle of his. He’s got your back. He’s gonna tell you the truth. I think that just trickles down through the rest of the organization where, if he walked into this room right here and told me to go run through that wall, I would say, ‘Hey, I’m there, I’m doing it.’ He’s just — can’t say enough great things about how he operates.”
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With that in mind, when it came to assembling a staff, Macdonald went to that same well, recognizing he didn’t want an echo chamber, a group of coaches who all had the same thoughts or the same philosophy. Sure, he wants everyone to be on the same page, but what he felt was best was having a diverse group with diverse approaches to the game.
“The first thing is I want to — just like we talked about with teams — I wanted people who weren’t just like me,” Macdonald said. “You want guys with different backgrounds, different sort of schemes they’ve been a part of, different areas of the country they’ve come from, different experiences that all come into the same room — and use that to our advantage. That’s the first thing.
“The second thing is: it’s about getting the right people on the bus before you go anywhere. So you’ve gotta be the right type of person. You’ve gotta be a great teacher. You’ve gotta be a great communicator. You’ve gotta have high character. Those are all things — the X’s and O’s thing, all that stuff is really secondary, it really is. I know you want: ‘This guy is an expert at whatever!’ But, that’s secondary. But that’s great, that’s like the cherry on top. And we’ve got great guys that are really smart coaches that know what they’re doing. But, from my perspective, it’s getting the right people and the right type of person in the room, because those are the guys that are communicating with our players the most. And they’ll take on the personality of their coach. So if it’s the wrong personality or it’s the wrong type of guy, that’s not a good start.
“I believe in the guys that we have and I believe that they’re all high-character individuals and have the players’ best interest at heart. And it’s all about team first. As long as we can stay on that path and stay together with it, we have a chance. The minute you get guys going in different directions, you’re in trouble. I can say I’m excited about the people in our room, our staff room, because I know we’re starting out on the right track. So I’m fired up on that end.”
As far as Michigan’s defense is concerned, Macdonald was one of three new hires — co-defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach Maurice Linguist came aboard after a year with the Dallas Cowboys and safeties coach George Helow was most recently the linebackers and special teams coach at Maryland. Defensive line coach Shaun Nua and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary are the holdovers from the Don Brown regime.
In terms of coaching, unlike his predecessor, Macdonald has no intentions of overseeing a single position in addition to his coordinator duties. Instead, he feels that it’s better for the defense if he works a little with each group, truly getting a holistic view of how his scheme is being implemented. With that in mind, it will allow him, he feels, to help give the defense the best chance to succeed.
“I’m not gonna have an actual position, I call it ‘get in where I fit in,’” Macdonald said. “I think it’s important with a new scheme and coaches, where we haven’t worked together for awhile, like — ‘Hey, OK, this is how we decided we’re gonna do it when we met.’ Let’s see how the players get it. I just feel like I have a better feel of what’s going on with the defense as a whole if I’m not married to one position. Then, when we’re on the field, I’m not just gonna be standing there watching. I’ll be in the drills now, alright. There will be times where we’ll take the outside backers and I’ll grab them to work something or work on a certain concept. Grab a couple of DBs, a couple of linebackers. That’s where I see myself getting in on the field. And in the meeting rooms, I’m hopping back between each room, stuff like that, as well as talking to the entire team. I just feel like I have a better feel, pulse of the defense, if I didn’t have one particular position group.”
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