Michigan football: Why Jay Harbaugh moved from tight ends to safeties
Michigan starts spring ball tomorrow (Feb. 21) with several new coaching responsibilities — some expected, some not so much. One move, Jay Harbaugh from tight ends to safeties, has raised eyebrows, but it probably shouldn’t.
The younger Harbaugh, head coach Jim Harbaugh’s son, has more than proven himself as a capable Division I coach. Special teams have been his forte — Michigan had the No. 1 unit in the country this year — but he’s been versatile enough to move around.
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Though he didn’t play college football, he’s on the same path as another family member. His work at other positions made his dad comfortable to move him to where he had a need.
“It reminds me of the resume of my brother John Harbaugh, who coached linebackers, tight ends, running backs, special teams and the secondary,” Jim Harbaugh said. “He’s building that same type of resume.”
Jay worked for his uncle, too, and started an internship program that helped last year’s defensive coordinator, Mike Macdonald, get his start. Even if he weren’t his son, the Michigan head coach would be impressed with his career.
“I’ve been really impressed as a dad, as a coach,” Jim Harbaugh said. “The way he’s coached, how he’s recruited. The loyalty to Michigan and to the football program. I think it’s been phenomenal. He’s done it all under a nepotism type of environment, too. You’re coach Harbaugh. You’re Jim’s son. Automatically, what goes off in everybody’s mind is, ‘well — he’s just here because he’s my son.’”
So, he realizes that he’s going to have to prove that’s not why he’s here, he continued. Not only has he had to overcome that, the coach noted, but to watch him do it the level he’s done it has been impressive.
“I cannot be more proud of him and the job he’s done, whether it was coaching tight ends, developing and recruiting tight ends,” the Michigan coach added. “A lot of the guys we have now — Erick All, Joel Honigford, Luke Schoonmaker. Before that, Zach Gentry, Jake Butt, Sean McKeon. We’ll probably have three drafted this year. Maybe it happened back in the Jerame Tuman, Mark Campbell, Jay Riemersma days, but looking at this year what he did …”
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Well, it’s been impressive. He’s also got an eye for under the radar talent, like his father. He’s a relentless recruiter, and he connects with kids on the recruiting trail.
Receiver Ronnie Bell was another he helped identify, and he watches a ton of film.
“He’s the only person who saw [running back] Hassan Haskins to be the player he is. He saw that and coached him, recruited Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards. Then, all along he was involved in special teams, either assistant on the special teams to Chris Partridge, but then the special teams coordinator.”
He’s embraced it, and he’s made the most of his time learning from some greats. He’ll have the same opportunity on defense with outstanding secondary coach Steve Clinkscale working with him. Having former Michigan safety Doug Mallory as an analyst is also a coup.
Watching all the new staff work together in the early going has made Jim Harbaugh optimistic for the season.
“Guys are getting better every day,” he said. “As I go around to the players and the coaches, too, who are all doing a tremendous job … I just say, ‘keep doing you. What you’re doing is working. Now if you want to get a little bit better, work a little bit harder [even].’”
That’s never been an issue for his son, considered one of the up and comers in the profession and ready for a new challenge at Michigan.
