Tag: Josh Gattis

Josh Gattis, Ex-Wolverine

Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is headed to Miami to be the Hurricanes’ new offensive coordinator under new head coach Mario Cristobal. This is a slightly surprising development for an assistant coach who won the Broyles Award in 2021 as the nation’s top assistant coach.

Gattis was at Michigan from 2019-2021, hired away from Alabama. Gattis had so-so success at Michigan, really. His first two years were mediocre, and even in this season of success, his offense was #24 in total offense, #22 in yards per play, and #16 in scoring. That represents a peak in each category during his three seasons in Ann Arbor.

I was often critical of Gattis. His initial #speedinspace mantra turned into . . . well . . . nothing more than a mantra. He did a poor job of getting speed in space during his first two years. When he finally hit his apogee, it was with the heavy influence of newly hired quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss, who brought a lot of elements of the Baltimore Ravens’ run game. The condensed sets, the tight end motions, the jet motions turning into lead blockers, etc. are all directly from the Ravens’ playbook.

There are various rumors floating around about why Gattis felt his time at Michigan should be over, and I won’t get into them. I’ll just say that this change might be best for both parties.

I have no insight into who the next offensive coordinator might be, but Michigan has a couple potential internal hires that would make sense in offensive line coach Sherrone Moore and Weiss. That being said, Jim Harbaugh does not always seem to make the most obvious choice, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

As for the optics of Gattis leaving Michigan in a huff, well, coordinators don’t stick around forever. There are various things that get in the way, whether it’s hurt feelings, poor job performance, taking what seems like a promotion elsewhere, etc. Keep in mind that the last Michigan offensive coordinator to stick around for three years was Al Borges from 2011-2013. Since then Michigan has gone through Doug Nussmeier (2014), Jedd Fisch (2015-2016), Pep Hamilton (2017-2018). The last offensive coordinator to stay four years was Terry Malone from 2002-2005.

Michigan’s National and Big Ten Award Winners

I thought about putting together a post for each of the national awards that Michigan players have won, but that would be a bunch of different posts and a lot to keep udpated. Instead, I’ve decided to compile a bunch of national awards into one post while listing the Michigan winners and their season.

NOTE: If there are any awards you think I should add, please let me know.

NATIONAL AWARDS

HEISMAN TROPHY

• 1940: HB Tom Harmon
• 1991: WR Desmond Howard
• 1997: CB Charles Woodson

AP NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR

• 2021: Jim Harbaugh

BROYLES AWARD (Best Assistant Coach)

• 1997: DC Jim Herrmann
• 2021: OC Josh Gattis

LOU GROZA AWARD (Best Kicker)

• 2021: Jake Moody

TED HENDRICKS AWARD (Best Defensive End)

• 2006: LaMarr Woodley
• 2021: Aidan Hutchinson

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan 42, Ohio State 27

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Holy Mary, Mother of God. I don’t think I have been that anxious about a Michigan victory since the Wolverines beat Washington State following the 1997 season. I predicted an Ohio State win (shame on me), but I thought Michigan had a chance. What I did not expect is, well, an ass-whooping. When I say an ass-whooping, I don’t mean on the scoreboard or really physically (although there was some of that). I just mean it was like Michigan did whatever they wanted to do the whole game. Run the ball? Yes. Trick plays? Yes. Get after the QB? Yes. Stop the run? Yes. Prevent big plays? Yes. This wasn’t a fluke victory whatsoever. Michigan looked like the better team from start to finish.

Michigan 29, Indiana 7

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Eat your vitamins. My biggest takeaway from this game is that Michigan needs to get healthy. Going into the game, Michigan was missing RB Donovan Edwards and TE Erick All. And here are the players who got injured during the game: QB Cade McNamara (lower body), RB Blake Corum (lower leg), CB Gemon Green (shoulder), WR Andrel Anthony (unknown). Luckily, the Wolverines had a big enough advantage in this game that it ended up not affecting the outcome, but the toughest stretch of the schedule is coming up, with Penn State next week and Ohio State in three weeks.

Hit the jump for more.

Michigan State 37, Michigan 33

Do more. Say less. I’m pulling out the phrase from John Beilein’s basketball team from several years ago, but there’s a mentality permeating Michigan that Michigan State is the “little brother” and they’re a giant mess. I see this happening on Twitter, among parents, among former players, among Michigan-centric radio personalities, etc. You absolutely will not find it here. I don’t think Michigan’s players took the opponent lightly – they played hard – but I don’t know if Michigan’s 50/50 fortunes against MSU are going to change until the Spartans program gets more respect. I know a lot of people love him, but I hated when then running back (and current running backs coach) Mike Hart disrespected the Spartans in 2007 by calling them “little brother.” (Of course, MSU head coach Mark Dantonio’s response was equally childish if not more so, considering he was in his 40’s or 50’s at the time.) The rivalry has not been the same since then, and I really do think that comment was more significant than what some want to admit.

Hit the jump for more.