Jim Harbaugh predicts Michigan football assistants will land head coaching roles

Michigan football’s coaching staff is loaded, and head coach Jim Harbaugh knows it. The 59-year-old coach made a bold statement regarding his assistant coaches earlier this month.

“Everyone of our assistant coaches will be a head coach, and I would even say probably four after this season,” Harbaugh told the media on June 2. “The coaching acumen and talent is really good.”

Harbaugh isn’t bluffing. At his right hand, Harbaugh has offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore. Moore runs the offense while also coaching the offensive line. This year will be Moore’s first as the sole offensive coordinator. Moore led Michigan’s line to win the Joe Moore Award, honoring the most outstanding offensive line in college football, in 2021 and 2022.

On the opposite side of the ball, Harbaugh employs professional experience. Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter was the defensive assistant for the Baltimore Ravens from 2017-2020. In his final season with the team, the Ravens ranked third in the NFL in fewest yards/passing attempt (6.4).

Harbaugh is happy to see his assistant coaches’ growth, even if it means they’ll eventually move on from the program. However, Harbaugh admitted he didn’t realize they’d be this successful.

“You plant those seeds and you don’t know which ones will be the ones that grow,” Harbaugh said.

Grow is the perfect word to describe the Michigan football program. The Wolverines went 13-1 last season, winning their second-straight Big Ten Championship. The team came up just short of reaching the National Championship, falling to TCU by six points.

With quarterback JJ McCarthy and Blake Corum returning for the upcoming season, many insiders expect Michigan to be even better this season. The excellent roster and coaching staff motivates Harbaugh to bring his A-game everyday.

“It motivates me and I know the other coaches too. When they’re all so good, you wake up in the morning, it just gets you out of bed. I got to get ready,” Harbaugh said. “To contribute something good and positive to this football team when there’s that many other good coaches in the room, it’s inspiring. It challenges you to compete to be a better version of yourself.”