Michigan Football: Maurice Linguist is a big-time hire as co-DC

It has been a busy few weeks for Michigan football, but head coach Jim Harbaugh landed a big-time assistant coach in new co-DC Maurice Linguist.

The last few weeks have been sort of a whirlwind for Michigan football fans, but finally, we know what the defensive staff will look like and the newest addition of Maurice Linguist might be the biggest yet.

Mike Macdonald was announced by Michigan football as the defensive coordinator on Sunday and it appeared that he alone was going to hold the title.

But on Tuesday, that all changed as the Wolverines hired Maurice Linguist away from the Dallas Cowboys to coach the Wolverines cornerbacks and also be the co-defensive coordinator.

Linguist spent last season coaching defensive backs with the Cowboys and previously worked at Texas A&M and Minnesota, where he was the assistant head coach.

But his run with the Aggies is what should get Michigan football fans most excited and that’s because his track record as an elite recruiter.

Linguist is even the guy responsible for getting Rashod Bateman to Minnesota and in his last recruiting cycle he did wonders for the Aggies.

And what’s even more impressive is that once he was hired, his impact on the recruiting trail was felt almost immediately, offering multiple recruits right away in 2022 according to Brice Marich of the Michigan Insider.

On top of being a dynamic recruiter, Linguist is also known as a very good coach and he’s someone that is being described as a future head coach and I love the pairing of him and Macdonald.

We have no idea what kind of recruiter Macdonald will be, but the Wolverines needed to be better on the trail and with the addition of Linguist, they will be, certainly in the south.

I also like getting two coaches with ties to the NFL. Not only does that help with recruiting, but these guys will have fresh ideas for this Michigan defense, which are desperately needed.

Macdonald wasted no time reaching out to elite 2022 corner Will Johnson and I’m sure it won’t be long before Linguist, who would also be his position coach, will be in contact.

On the field, these moves should help but on the recruiting trail at least, it’s easy to see that Linguist is going to be a home-run hire.

On a final note, it appears that the tinkering with the defensive staff is now complete. Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider ($) reported that Harbaugh has decided to keep Brian Jean-Mary on staff after Christian Robinson decided to stay at Florida. U-M also hired a new safeties coach.

Jean-Mary is another guy with strong ties to Texas and Florida in terms of recruiting. He also previously worked as a defensive coordinator, so having him as a linebackers coach will be valuable. It also means this group can finally hit the trail and hopefully, the transfer portal.

We’ll have some more in-depth thoughts on the entire defensive staff later, but right now, I have to say that I love these moves and the new direction of the defense.