Michigan football: Josh Gattis' departure and what it means for the staff

Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis was once the Vegas favorite to replace Jim Harbaugh at U-M. Now he’s the offensive coordinator at Miami, which some would consider a less-than-lateral move.

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On the surface, it indicates Gattis was ready for a change of scenery. The Broyles Award winner had an outstanding year, but there were rumblings that some of the coaches were reeling a bit from Jim Harbaugh’s latest NFL flirtation.

It makes sense that Gattis was one of them.

“There are hurt feelings,” the Detroit News‘ Angelique Chengelis said in our recent podcast. “There are people who are feeling like they were going to be left behind, too — like, ‘why am I not going to go the Vikings with Jim Harbaugh?’

“… My first thought was that Jim Harbaugh was going to come back in like, ‘what? Nothing happened.’ Kind of head in the sand. And he can’t … the coaching staff, can he keep it intact? That’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out. I do think there are people waffling now on what they should do, and is this worth the headache it is sometimes working on this staff.”

But there were signs it was headed this way at Michigan dating back to last year. Harbaugh overhauled his staff, bringing in younger talent and replacing OL coach Ed Warinner, CBs Mike Zordich and others. He brought in Matt Weiss, who everyone suspected would be the next O.C. when Gattis eventually moved on.

Most assumed that would be as a head coach somewhere. Gattis had an outstanding year, but it was with an offense similar to those Harbaugh ran at Stanford — more “old school” than speed in space. And while the odds favored him as U-M’s next coach after he got passed up at Virginia and Duke, it wasn’t likely.

Gattis was always a straight shooter with the media, and a charismatic young coach. Folks in the locker room after games said he had a way with the kids that really resonated. He was a great personality.

But from an Xs and Os standpoint, he did a great job running what, frankly, looked like Harbaugh’s offense in 2021.

How the Michigan staff might well shake out

So now, Harbaugh has a couple of hires to make, and they’re both coordinators.

We expect Weiss will get the promotion to offensive coordinator many thought would happen sooner than later. Ronald Bellamy could very well move from defensive backs to wide receivers. That’s something we’ve been suggesting could happen for a while.

That leaves defensive coordinator.

There are rumblings that Tampa Bay linebackers coach and former Michigan standout Larry Foote is heavily leaning toward staying in the NFL. Vanderbilt’s Jesse Minter, then, might emerge as the frontrunner.

Minter has ties to the Baltimore Ravens and knows former Michigan D.C. Mike Macdonald’s defense well. He also happens to coach safeties there. If Bellamy moves to receivers, as expected, Minter could help Steve Clinkscale with the safeties, too.

Clinkscale should be co-defensive coordinator with Minter, as well (per his contract), so there could be great synergy on the defense.

Harbaugh poached Mike Elston from Notre Dame to coach defensive line —we’re sure he’s relieved to be staying — and George Helow appears to be staying to coach linebackers.

Sherrone Moore is proving to be an elite offensive line coach (and is co-coordinator), and Jay Harbaugh has done a good job with tight ends. He’s been outstanding as Michigan special teams coach, too.

It also wouldn’t surprise in the least if Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart got a promotion. Associate head coach, the title he held at Indiana, and run game coordinator seems to fit.

All of this still has to play out, of course. As we’ve found in the last few days, things don’t always go as planned. And if Weiss is promoted, Harbaugh will still be looking for another coach, as well. He’ll have to decide which position (perhaps another DBs coach and let Minter focus solely on D.C.).

But one thing is certain: the Michigan head coach has some work to do to smooth things over in the locker room.

On a positive note, it seems like he’s already begun.