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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Things will certainly look different in Ann Arbor this fall. Gone is five-year defensive coordinator Don Brown, whose mantra of ‘solve your problems with aggression’ resulted in a blitz-happy defense that fell off as the years progressed.
Rather than run it back and see if the defensive production improved after falling off a cliff in a shortened, pandemic year, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh went for holistic changes, relieving Brown of his duties and bringing in former Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach Mike Macdonald.
There was consternation about the move from the fan base at-large. While many were eager to move on from Brown considering how the last two iterations of the Ohio State game went defensively, little-to-nothing was known about Macdonald, so he arrived as a mystery. Of course, Harbaugh poached him from his brother’s team, as John Harbaugh remains the man in charge in Baltimore, so there was a familiarity. But Jim Harbaugh said on Thursday that Macdonald stood out among his interviews, and he appreciates what he did during his NFL tenure.
“Obviously, how good the Ravens defense is and insights from my brother John,” Harbaugh said. “Thought quite a few — talked to a lot of people about Mike and interviewed a lot of other great coaches. But Mike is really good, really smart. Right now, what we’re seeing on the field is putting in the systems, players understanding them, growing. A lot of coaching going on, drill work, installation, on-field coaching — it’s been really good. Really pleased — so far, so good with the way the defensive staff is working together and where we’re at at this time.”
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While Macdonald may have only been an on-field coach for three years with the Ravens, Harbaugh notes he was an integral part of the prominent NFL franchise’s defensive restructuring that took place when Macdonald was elevated. That first year he oversaw the linebackers, the Ravens defense was the best in the league. The defense was fifth and seventh the next two years and was ranked fourth, fifth and eighth in rushing defense during Macdonald’s time with that unit.
But it wasn’t just the track record that sold Harbaugh on Macdonald. When he went to his brother for a recommendation, he knew that whoever John had suggested would be the real deal.
“Yeah, Mike was a part of the defense and they restructured it a few years ago,” Harbaugh said. “John was heavily involved in it, Mike was heavily involved in it, Wink was heavily involved in it. That feedback and John’s recommendation. He really liked Mike. He’d be somebody that would probably be their next defensive coordinator. But, cares about Michigan football and his brother and that was one recommendation I knew I could count on — he would not steer us wrong.
“I respect so many people in football. There’s so many coaches and people that I trust and respect. Get their advice, I take very seriously when they recommend somebody. But no one more than my brother John. He’s at the top of that list. That was the way we went. Glad we did.”
Now the question is what will this new defense look like? How much of a departure will it be from the previous schemes that Brown drew up?
There’s been ample speculation as to what the new-look defense could be, with strong indications that Michigan will move from a 4-3 base to a 3-4. But Harbaugh isn’t exactly ready to give away any details.
“That’s hard to say right now — how different it’s gonna look,” Harbaugh said. “Definitely a different language. There will be different front structures, different coverages, different packages, different blitz patterns. Hope it looks really good.”
He continued, sharing more about if it will be a radical departure (with an insinuation that a 3-4 front is coming being a part of the question).
“It could be. It could be. No sense talking about what exactly specifics of what exactly it’s going to be. It’s in the making. There’s been, starting with the base fronts, the base coverages and how quickly our guys can pick up. Mike’s definitely got the philosophy of mastering a front, coverage before we move to the next layer. We’re still in the process of those first beginning layers. What we want our guys to know best, the principles of first learning.
“It’s good. I see a lot of coaching, a lot of communication. I definitely like, very much, what’s happening in the first few days of practice.”
At this juncture, Michigan has completed two days of its spring practice cycle and will continue into the month of March and April.
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