Michigan has reportedly hired Wisconsin Badgers defensive line coach Greg Scruggs to replace Mike Elston as the defensive line coach.
Scruggs is a former Louisville football player (2008-2011) who spent five seasons in the NFL with the Seahawks, Bears, and Patriots after being selected in the 7th round of the 2012 draft. He then went on to be the Director of Player Development at Cincinnati in 2018-2019 and then coach their defensive line in 2020-2021. He got a job with the New York Jets as an assistant defensive line coach in 2022 and then returned to college football for 2023, working once again with head coach Luke Fickell, whom he had previously served at Cincinnati.
Scruggs is known as a very good recruiter; he landed two 4-star defensive linemen in the 2024 class, including Michigan target Ernest Willor, Jr. And when he was at Cincinnati, he landed former Michigan commit Mario Eugenio. I think his player development is still a question mark, as zero Badgers defensive linemen earned All-Big Ten honors in 2023. He has been a part of some solid defenses at both Cincinnati and Wisconsin, but it’s not clear to me how much that has to do with his development of talent and how much has to do with other aspects of those programs.
Regardless, Michigan seems to have done a pretty good job with this hire. Scruggs’s recruiting abilities might offset the expected recruiting shortcomings of defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, and Scruggs has plenty on his resume – including two Super Bowl rings, one with the Seahawks and one with the Patriots – to command some respect when he walks into the room.
Coaching staff as of now:
- HC: Sherrone Moore
- OC/QB: Kirk Campbell
- RB: Mike Hart
- WR: Ronald Bellamy
- TE: Steve Casula
- OL: Grant Newsome
- DC: Wink Martindale
- DL: Greg Scruggs
- LB: Brian Jean-Mary (expected)
- DB: Stephen Adegoke (expected)
- STC: J.B. Brown
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