With the end of the NFL cycle taking place and Michigan’s recent coaching transition, there have been a lot of changes for former Wolverine coaches and players in the coaching world:
Joe Bolden, Defensive Coordinator (Southern Mississippi): Bolden finished his first season at Southern Miss as the special teams coordinator and then was promoted to defensive coordinator in December.
Adam Braithwaite, Safeties Coach (Cincinnati): Braithwaite finished his first season as the safeties coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Anthony Campanile, Defensive Coordinator (Jacksonville Jaguars): Campanile finished his first season as an NFL defensive coordinator. The Jaguars are 13-4 and in the playoffs, and they finished the regular season #11 in yards allowed per game (303.6).
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I lose track of what off-the-field staff members are where, when they’re hired, when they leave, etc. There’s so much movement that it can be hard to keep tabs on them all. So I decided to put them all in one post and update it whenever necessary.
ON FIELD FOOTBALL STAFF Head coach: Jim Harbaugh* Offensive coordinator/QB coach: Matt Weiss Offensive coordinator/OL coach: Sherrone Moore TE coach: Grant Newsome*# RB coach: Mike Hart* WR coach: Ron Bellamy* Defensive coordinator: Jesse Minter# Co-defensive coordinator/CB coach: Steve Clinkscale DL coach: Mike Elston*# LB coach: George Helow S coach: Jay Harbaugh
OFF FIELD FOOTBALL STAFF Associate head coach: Biff Poggi Graduate assistant (QBs): Mimi Bolden-Morris# Graduate assistant (LBs): LaTroy Lewis# Graduate assistant (OLBs): Dylan Roney Offensive analyst: Kirk Campbell Offensive analyst: Jack Clark Offensive analyst: Bret Ingalls# Offensive analyst: Fred Jackson Offensive analyst: John Morookian# Defensive analyst: Garrett Cox Defensive analyst: Doug Mallory* Defensive analyst: Rick Minter# Defensive analyst: Joe Staab Special teams analyst: Bradford Banta Special teams analyst: J.B. Brown
STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING STAFF Director of Strength and Conditioning: Ben Herbert Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: Sean Lockwood Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: Ben Rabe Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: Kiero Small Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach: Justin Tress
RECRUITING STAFF Director of Player Personnel: Tom Gamble# Assistant Director of Player Personnel: Denard Robinson*# Director of Recruiting Operations: Albert Karschnia# Director of On Campus Recruiting and Operations: Christina DeRuyter Assistant Recruiting and Operations Director: Paige Shiver Assistant Recruiting Coordinator: Jonathan Herd-Bond# Director of Player Development: Chris Bryant*
*Former Michigan football player #Hired following 2021 football season
Grant Newsome (left, with Chuck Filiaga; image via MGoBlue)
Former Michigan offensive tackle Grant Newsome has been named the new tight ends coach for the Wolverines, replacing Jay Harbaugh, who has moved to the defensive side of the ball.
I think this is my first time creating a second post for a guy whose recruitment I also covered. Newsome was an outstanding offensive tackle prospect in the 2015 class (here’s his commitment post). He played in five games as a freshman and then started the first five games at left tackle in 2016 before a brutal knee injury against Wisconsin ended his career. He attempted a comeback, but by 2018 he had retired from football and became a student assistant, working with the tight ends in 2018-2019. He then moved over to help Sherrone Moore with the offensive line in 2020-2021.
This is an internal hire that should pay off with a pretty seamless transition on the field. Newsome has worked with the tight ends and offensive line, and both of the former tight ends coaches – Moore and Jay Harbaugh – are still on the staff. So all that knowledge and experience is still contained within the team. Newsome is also widely well liked and should be a plus recruiter; he’s young, intelligent, affable, and loyal to the program.
I won’t make a separate post for the finalized staff, so here’s how it shakes out for 2022 unless other things change:
Name: Grant Newsome Height: 6’7″ Weight: 318 lbs. High school: Lawrenceville (NJ) Lawrenceville School Position: Offensive tackle Class: Redshirt junior Jersey number: #77 Last year: I ranked Newsome #95 and said he would redshirt due to his knee injury (LINK). He redshirted.
At this point there’s not a whole lot to be said about Grant Newsome that hasn’t been delved into extensively already. He shredded his knee against Wisconsin in 2016, almost had to have his leg amputated, and missed all of last year. He hoped to be cleared to play this past spring, and he did participate in some drills. However, he was not cleared for contact.
And he may never be cleared for contact. If clearance wasn’t coming by the spring, then I doubt he’ll be able to contribute much on the field this fall, if anything. Would it be best to sit out a second straight season and hope to be cleared in 2019? If he’s not cleared this year, will he medically retire? If anyone deserves a sixth year of eligibility on the horizon, it’s Newsome, who’s on the verge of missing a second full season. Newsome has been a very good, publicly outspoken diplomat for the program, and he seems like a kid who might have a future in coaching. I think he will sit out this season once again, but if he walks on the field to play this fall, he’s deserving of a standing ovation all to his own.
Hi Thunder, Could you address the offensive line situation and how likely you think it is to take a step forward next year? I find it hard to be confident unless one of the redshirts turns out to be a special player or Grant Newsome comes back 100%.
