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On Sunday, the news came fast: not only were the Miami Hurricanes targeting Michigan football offensive coordinator Josh Gattis for the same position, but just as quickly as the report surfaced came confirmation — Gattis has accepted the role in Coral Gables.
That means that Michigan now has the unenviable task of hiring both a new offensive and defensive coordinator, in the offseason after winning the Big Ten championship and advancing to the College Football Playoff.
While the defensive coordinator position is likely to be an external candidate, the same won’t be likely on the offensive side of the ball. Last spring, after linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary departed for the same role with the Tennessee Volunteers, instead of hiring a new LB coach, Jim Harbaugh went back to the Baltimore Ravens well and plucked away run game coordinator Matt Weiss, who came to Ann Arbor as the new quarterbacks coach. According to Angelique Chengelis of the Detroit News, Weiss will quite likely be the Wolverines’ replacement at offensive coordinator.
If Gattis moves on to Miami, I suspect Harbaugh would elevate Matt Weiss to OC https://t.co/TdjHoDOzWw
— angelique (@chengelis) February 6, 2022
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Weiss oversaw the most prolific rushing attack in the NFL in his tenure in Baltimore, with Lamar Jackson at quarterback and multiple tailbacks leading the charge. After coming to Ann Arbor, the Wolverine offense was less ‘speed in space’ and more variations of the run, perhaps following his influence.
While he doesn’t have any offensive coordinator experience, neither did former Michigan and now Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. Generally, NFL-level assistants are more than qualified to take over coordinator duties at the college level. Should Weiss be promoted, it would also maintain consistency with with the maize and blue were running a year ago, as well.
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