MICHIGAN PASSING GAME COORDINATOR \ WIDE RECEIVERS COACH HIRED: Jedd Fisch from the NFLs Jacksonville Jaguars. MICHIGAN SPEACIAL TEAMS COACH HIRED: John Baxter from USC. By Nick Baumgardner; MLIVE. ANN ARBOR -- Jim Harbaughs new Michigan coaching staff continues to inch closer toward completion. Over the weekend, two more assistant coaches appeared in Michigans online directory as officially registered employees of the school: Former Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, and former Southern Cal special teams coach John Baxter. Fisch will reportedly become Michigans passing game coordinator at wide receivers coach, while Baxter will focus solely on special teams -- as he did at USC. Both hires are a bit of a new wrinkle for Michigan, at least compared to the Brady Hoke era. The Fisch hire may likely mean that Harbaugh will handle the teams quarterbacks himself, while letting Fisch and new offensive coordinator Tim Drevno (also the offensive line coach) develop the finer points of the pass and run game schemes together. From there, who will call Michigans plays remains unclear. Harbaugh has called his own plays during his college coaching days, even at times when current Stanford head coach David Shaw was his offensive coordinator. Baxter, meanwhile, will give Michigan a true special teams-only coach with no other position responsibilities. Michigans special team units havent exactly been terrific of late, as the Wolverines ranked No. 92 and No. 88 nationally in punt and kick return numbers last season, respectively. Additionally, the 12.7 yards per punt return opponents gained against the Wolverines last season put the squad at No. 115 overall. Michigan allowed a punt return touchdown last season, and hasnt returned a kick for a score itself since 2009. The only two hires Michigan has confirmed itself are defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin and offensive coordinator Tim Drevno. Defensive backs coach Greg Jackson also appears in the directory, and multiple reports have confirmed that Greg Mattison will return as a member of the coaching staff. Also, Scouts Sam Webb reported Friday that former Michigan star Tyrone Wheatley has agreed to become the teams new running backs coach. College coaches are allowed to have nine full-time assistant coaches, which leaves a pair of unconfirmed spots. Reports have tied San Jose State offensive coordinator Jimmie Dougherty to a spot on Michigans coaching staff, as well as 49ers wide receivers coach John Morton, though nothing has been confirmed. Scout has also reported that ex-Michigan linebackers/cornerbacks coach Roy Manning has met with Harbaugh about the possibility of retaining a spot on the staff.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 23:15:50 +0000
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