What they're saying about Josh Gattis' move to Miami

Michigan is in the market for a new offensive coordinator with Josh Gattis off to join the Miami Hurricanes. Coming off of a week of drama with head coach Jim Harbaugh, there were some strong reactions and takeaways from the move.

Here is a rundown of what those locally, on the Miami side of things and national had to say about the saga.

The Wolverine’s Chris Balas: Can Jim Harbaugh repair his coaching staff? This week is critical

Michigan quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss is the favorite to take Gattis’ spot.  Harbaugh hired him last year from his brother John’s Baltimore Ravens staff as quarterbacks coach, and he’s considered an analytics guy and a great offensive mind.

At the same time, Weiss has expressed clear interest in an NFL job and would have gone to Minnesota with Harbaugh. There were reports that Weiss helped Harbaugh prepare for hours in the days before his interview.

The fact that it occurred two days before Signing Day was not lost on many. 

“Let’s not underestimate what his role in all this was,” Chengelis said in our Wolverine TV Podcast. “He had a connection with the G.M. of the Vikings, too. He had a vested interest in making this work. I think he’s a guy that wants to get back to the NFL, as well.”

The Athletic’s Austin Meek: Michigan’s messy offseason continues with Josh Gattis’ departure

The dynamic within Michigan’s staff worked to great effect, but sustaining it would have been difficult. Gattis was primed for a head coaching job or a hefty raise after winning the Broyles Award. Coming from Baltimore, Weiss quickly found a place in Harbaugh’s inner circle and likely would have joined him in the NFL. Hart’s deep ties are to Michigan but not necessarily to Harbaugh — the two have a somewhat contentious history that they put aside when Hart was hired to coach Michigan’s running backs.

Gattis was set to make $1 million in 2022, the final year of his contract at Michigan. Hart was hired on a two-year deal that pays him $430,000 in 2022. Moore is set to earn $575,000 in 2022, and Weiss has a two-year deal that pays him $600,000 annually.

Keeping the staff together would have required a significant investment on Michigan’s part. It didn’t help that when those conversations would have been taking place, Harbaugh was mulling his options in the NFL. With Harbaugh now expressing a desire to be at Michigan for the long haul, Gattis no longer had the carrot of a head coaching position to keep him at Michigan and found an attractive alternative at Miami.

MLive’s Aaron McMann: Josh Gattis’ departure the latest bump in Michigan football’s wild offseason

Now Harbaugh, already tasked with having to replace a vacancy at defensive coordinator, will have to decide on a potential replacement on the offensive side. Reports say quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss is the internal favorite to land the job, but don’t be surprised if there’s shared responsibilities with Sherrone Moore. Harbaugh views Moore as a rising star in the business, evident by the decision last offseason to promote him to offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator. At the very least, Moore’s titles won’t change — but there’s a distinct possibility his duties expand (as could his pay).

Expect another staff reshuffling in the coming days and weeks, one that could move safeties coach Ron Bellamy to the offensive side and coach receivers, freeing up an additional staff position for whoever is named defensive coordinator.

Harbaugh hit it out of the park with his staffing hires last season, and he has long track record of more hits than misses when it comes to assistant, so there’s no reason to believe he can’t do it again. But the goal should be to try and keep as much of the staff intact as possible. Continuity (or lack thereof) has been a trouble spot over the years for Harbaugh and Michigan, which find themselves in a familiar predicament.

State of the U’s Justin Dottavio: Miami side reacts to Gattis’ hiring

Harbaugh’s Wolverines finally got over the hump and beat the Buckeyes, in a snow game in the Big House no less. McNamara averaged 8.4 yards per pass attempt but threw a bad interception in the end zone. Haskins rushed for 169 yards and five (yes, five) TD’s on 6-yards per carry. Corum averaged 14.5 (yes, 14.5) yards per carry against OSU that afternoon. The Wolverines actually scored six times on the ground in the ‘21 edition of The Game.

The other UM had three double-digit receivers, and those three averaged 27.5, 24 and 34 yards per catch. All of these data points sound fabricated but I promise you they’re all as real as the ESPN box score.

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Ladies and gents, Miami has hit a new echelon compared to past hires. I liked the Rhett Lashlee hire, don’t get me wrong, but an SMU OC isn’t a CFB Playoff caliber OC. Gattis is a fast-riser, a big name, and he brings recruiting chops with his X&O skills. Gattis may not stay long, but again, who really will in this modern era? If he’s a head coaching candidate by ‘23 that means something has gone very right in Coral Gables.

Enjoy this one.

Canes Warning’s Alan Rubenstein: Miami Hurricanes offensive expectations under Josh Gattis

One of the mentors for Gattis was Joe Moorhead who he worked under at Penn State. Moorhead was the OC at Oregon in 2021 under Cristobal. Oregon averaged 38.2 runs and 29.4 passes in 2021 with the offense led by Cristobal and Moorhead. Miami will likely commit more to the run in 2022.

Gattis showed his reverence for Cristobal and Oregon last season. After Oregon won at Ohio State, Gattis used that blueprint when Michigan defeated the Buckeyes 42-27 in Ann Arbor in November. Michigan ran for 297 yards and six touchdowns in the victory. Gattis spoke about the Buckeyes’ lack of toughness after the Michigan win.

“They’re a finesse team, they’re not a tough team..And we knew that going into the game that we can out-physical them, we can out-tough and that was gonna be the key to the game, and that’s what we prepared for all year long..

You saw earlier this year in the game they lost to Oregon, Oregon was the most physical team on the field. That’s the way they lost, and we committed to that recipe, and it paid off.”

The uptempo spread offense Miami ran the past two seasons under Rhett Lashlee will also likely be changed. Miami averaged 73 plays per game in 2021, Michigan 69.3 and Oregon 67.6. Cristobal is clearly setting the culture he wants Miami to have offensively and defensively. Miami will be a more physical team than in the past.

CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli: Michigan is having a terrible offseason

Jim Harbaugh’s open flirtation with the NFL might not have impacted Michigan’s recruiting class much (it finished ninth nationally despite Harbaugh interviewing with the Minnesota Vikings on National Signing Day), but it seems to have had a negative impact on his coaching staff.

Harbaugh had already lost defensive coordinator Mike MacDonald to the Baltimore Ravens a year after taking him from the Ravens, and now he’s lost his offensive coordinator, too. Both MacDonald and Gattis played significant roles in Michigan’s turnaround from a terrible 2020 season and helped lead them to the Big Ten title and College Football Playoff.

Now Harbaugh will be in the market for new coordinators, and it’s hard to imagine the job will be appealing to top names — not because Michigan isn’t a great place to coach, but because it’s hard to know what the future holds for Harbaugh. Who’s to say he doesn’t get the NFL itch again next winter?