Michigan Football: Jim Harbaugh and Josh Gattis talk offensive changes

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh and new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis spoke about the Wolverines offense on Harbaugh’s podcast.

One of the best sources for information about Jim Harbaugh is Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh, who hosts his weekly podcast with his father Jack Harbaugh “Attack Each Day.”

This week’s episode, which was released this morning also featured new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, who detailed how he left Alabama and ended up on the Michigan football staff.

According to Harbaugh, once the Wolverines realized that Gattis was leaving Alabama and going to Maryland, they decided to reach out and see if there was a deal to be made. It turns out there was and within five hours, an agreement was in place.

That’s interesting because it means Gattis was not what certain Michigan staff members were hinting at last week. That was the hire of Boston College co-DC Anthony Campanile. Gattis seemed to come out of the blue but at the very least, it shows that Harbaugh was looking to make that kind of change.

Harbaugh and Gattis did talk about the offense, but Gattis also talked about how Nick Saban did his best to try and keep him. It also sounded like Saban yelled a lot, but at the end of the day, Gattis chose Michigan football.

Harbaugh took the chance to talk about his new offensive coordinator and mentioned that the two had been working over the weekend on a new scheme. But the Wolverines head coach also confirmed that the keys to the car belong to Gattis. Here’s what Harbaugh said:

"“So that was getting the right person on the bus, somebody I felt could coordinate our offense and run the whole offense. Very excited about that. We got better.”"

Of course, the part that should be interesting to Michigan football fans is where he says coordinate and run the whole offense. I take that to mean Harbaugh will still have some input obviously, but Gattis is going to be the guy and that’s what we have all wanted.

Jim needs to be more in the executive role. He could be useful coaching quarterbacks and just managing the game from a higher level. Certainly, he will have input on play calls. If he wants a run or to take a shot, Gattis can dial up the specific play, while also going with the concept of what Harbaugh wants. That seems like a better structure than what was previously in place.

Gattis also spoke at length about the offense and how it would stick to a foundation of running the football, while also working on getting the ball to skill players.

"“Obviously, we’re not going to get away from some of the base foundations that we truly believe in, with it starting with the run game and being able to impose a physical presence. That’s where it’s going to start for us. But it’s also about getting our skill players involved and having answers for what teams want to be able to do defensively.”"

All in all, it’s about what you expect but it’s a good listen if you want to hear the entire podcast. We learned a few things about how Gattis actually got to Michigan and also heard even more positive news concerning what Gattis role will look like.

Harbaugh brought in Gattis to run the offense and from everything we have seen and heard so far, that’s going to be a great thing for the Wolverines.