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One coach leaves for the state of Mississippi, and another comes to Ann Arbor from Mississippi.
The Wolverines lost former special teams coordinator and safeties coach Chris Partridge to Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss staff, where he’ll be taking on some kind of yet-to-be announced defensive coordinator position, but it looks like Michigan has filled his role in some capacity.
According to 247Sports’ Steve Lorenz, the maize and blue went out and hired former Mississippi State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop to the staff, after he wasn’t retained by new Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach.
247Sports confirmed that former Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop was hired by Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan program on Thursday as the Wolverines filled one of their assistant coaching vacancies following the surprising departure of linebackers coach Anthony Campanile. TMI’s Sam Webb reported on Thursday morning that Shoop was expected to join the Michigan staff in some capacity.
Shoop has had stops at Vanderbilt, Penn State, Tennessee and Mississippi State with strong success in Happy Valley and in Starkville. He is part of former Bulldogs’ head coach Joe Moorhead’s staff and was not retained after Mississippi State hired Mike Leach two weeks ago.
Shoop has been a defensive coordinator since 2007, when he spent four seasons at William & Mary. He then coached under James Franklin at both Vanderbilt and Penn State, but he only spent two seasons at the latter before spending two seasons as the DC at Tennessee. When former PSU offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead got the head role in Starkville, Shoop joined him at MSU.
With Anthony Campanile surprisingly departing for the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday night, it’s unclear what Shoop’s role will be in Ann Arbor, especially with Don Brown still retaining defensive coordinator duties.
In 2019, the Bulldogs did not have a stellar defense, finishing ranked No. 73 in the country, but in 2018, he oversaw the No. 1 defense nationally — ahead of just Michigan. His defenses at Tennessee were ranked 82nd and 95th, but he had two solid seasons in Happy Valley, overseeing the No. 2 and 14th-ranked defenses his two seasons there.