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Any time you can get an experienced, solid former defensive coordinator as a position coach, it’s a win.
Such is the case for Michigan, who hired two former DCs to fill the vacant safeties and linebackers position groups.
The more notable of the two is Bob Shoop, who comes to Ann Arbor from a successful stint at Mississippi State, where he oversaw the No. 1 defense in the country in 2018. He has a long track record of producing top defenses, including in 2014, when he and Penn State had the No. 2 defense that year.
Now, he’s coaching safeties for the Wolverines, and he’s elated to have joined the program, he tells Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast.
“It’s been great,” Shoop said. “I’ve been on the job for a little over a month now and had the opportunity to finish recruiting and get to know some of the players on the roster and the coaches on the staff. It’s a great honor to be a part of such a prestigious program.”
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But, while Shoop doesn’t have previous coaching experience that saw him overlap with Jim Harbaugh much — he was the DC at Penn State when Michigan beat the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley in 2015 — he does have a lot of familiarity with various names already on the staff in Ann Arbor.
Don Brown was the defensive coordinator at Yale during Shoop’s senior year playing offense there. They coached together there in 1989, when Shoop was a graduate assistant. Further down the line, Shoop was a defensive backs coach under Brown when he was the head coach at UMass. He coached with Josh Gattis for two years while at Penn State and against him when Gattis was the co-offensive coordinator at Alabama.
So there’s a lot of familiarity for the Yale graduate in Ann Arbor, even if the surroundings are somewhat new.
“Unfortunately – or fortunately – in my career, I’ve had a lot of unique experiences where I’ve changed jobs, I’ve moved around a fair amount and I’ve been at a lot of great, historically traditional programs,” Shoop said. “I think the first thing you do is you try to identify the culture of the program and it’s very clear that Coach Harbaugh has set a great culture for this program as an alumnus, someone who’s very proud of the brand, very proud of the Block M. And I played for Coach Brown, so I know the culture that Coach Brown is trying to create on defense. It’s comfortable to me a little bit in that I’ve worked with Coach Brown, I’ve worked with Josh Gattis, I’ve worked with Ed Warinner. I worked with some of the analysts, so I knew those guys.
“But, like you said, it’s about – I consider this to be a relationship-based industry. And trust, honesty, respect are words that mean a lot to me. So the first week on the job, what I tried to do is get to know the ten players I’ll be coaching at safety. And not just to get to know them as football players – I sure did watch the film. I’ve watched a lot of practice film and I’ve watched them with Coach Herb in the weight room and on the field. But more getting to know their families, getting to know their background, getting to know their journey – how they got to Ann Arbor. And I’ve really enjoyed that as much as anything – developing relationships.”
But, naturally, it’s different taking on a position group rather than overseeing a defense as a whole. Which, has its advantages and drawbacks.
Shoop loves the lore of Michigan, which is part of what drew him to Ann Arbor to coach safeties instead of seeking out another defensive coordinator opportunity. He hopes his experiences leading the charge will help open up Brown’s eyes to things he might be missing on one hand, but there’s the other challenge.
He hasn’t been known as a great recruiter, so that will take some time for Shoop to get acclimated. However, he’s aware that’s a big part of his new job, so he’s taking on that challenge head-on.
“At this stage, I’m just trying to fit in and trying to get a feel for my role!” Shoop said. “As a position coach, your role is different than as a coordinator. So I’m looking forward to being involved with the big picture part of the program. As a Yale graduate, I truly believe in the combination of academics and athletics and I think Michigan provides one of the unique experiences with regard to that – the combination of academic achievement and athletic excellence. The tradition and history of the program – I’ve already read two books on the history of Michigan and Michigan football since I’ve been on the job here. So I’m excited and very proud to be a part of that.
“And then, helping on Coach Brown’s side. I have unique experience as a coordinator, as does Brian Jean-Mary. So I think we can bring some unique perspective and maybe help Coach Brown with any blind spots he might have. There are very, very few. And certainly as a teacher, leader and role model to the young men I have the opportunity to coach and work with on a daily basis.
“Probably the biggest thing when you go from a coordinator to a position coach is I think there’s a different level of expectation in regard to the recruiting aspect, too. I’m really looking forward to jumping in and competing with the guys on our staff and the guys around the country to be one of the top recruiters as well.”
Now that he’s in Ann Arbor, Shoop is soaking everything in.
He’s come here once before when coaching under James Franklin, but now that he gets to go to Michigan Stadium as a member of the coaching staff, he’s in a different level of awe.
As he tells Jansen, he’s just proud to be a part of an institution that has so much tradition as well as a culture that’s dedicated to winning on the field and in the classroom.
“In 2014, when I was at Penn State, we came here and played Michigan when Coach Hoke was here,” Shoop said. “That was my only other experience in The Big House. Twice now, we’ve had recruiting events where we’ve gone over there. I feel like I’m one of the 2022 or 2023 recruits. I’m sitting there, staring out the window, looking at the Block M, imagining running out of the tunnel and touching the sign. Now, I’m in the press box on game day, so I might not have that experience actually getting to run through there. But, when I think about it, I think about the tradition. I think about the history. I think – whether it’s being the winningest program in the history of college football, whether it’s the largest stadium in The Big House. Whether it’s the largest indoor facility, the largest weight room. Just to be a part of something as special as this place, I just feel very, very fortunate to be a part of this family and a part of this university.”
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