Michigan football plucks Cowboys coach as new co-DC

The Michigan football team has pried a defensive coach away from the Dallas Cowboys.

Jim Harbaugh has opted to go with NFL defensive assistants to reclaim his sunken Michigan football defense. He hired Mike Macdonald away from his older brother John’s Baltimore Ravens and has now landed Maurice Linguist, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys.

AL.com reports that Linguist will leave the Cowboys to keep coaching up the defensive backs, as well as be Macdonald’s co-defensive coordinator at Michigan. Linguist has ample Power 5 coaching experience, as he has been on college staffs with the Texas A&M Aggies, the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Linguist is an on-the-rise coaching candidate.

Jim Harbaugh is going for broke trying to fix Michigan’s defense

Being able to pry the Ravens linebackers coach and the Cowboys defensive backs coach in the same offseason cycle signifies how seriously Harbaugh is about getting his defense right. Keep in mind this is not Harbaugh’s side of the ball, as he was a former star quarterback at Michigan and a Pro Bowler at the NFL level. Together, Macdonald and Linguist will replace Don Brown in 2021.

Michigan did not win a home game in a COVID-shortened season, but that did not stop the university from giving Harbaugh a five-year extension. This is the longest Harbaugh has spent anywhere in his well-documented coaching career. Though the Wolverines may not challenge the arch-rival Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten East, look for Michigan to still be much-improved.

Adding Linguist to pair him with Macdonald means there are no excuses for Michigan defensively.

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