Michigan Football: 3 potential replacements for Maurice Linguist
Steve Clinkscale
Even before the news of Linguist to Buffalo was official Steve Clinkscale’s name was being mentioned as a candidate by Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider (subscription required).
Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic also reported the same thing Friday night, which is that the Wolverines will target the Kentucky defensive backs coach for the role of cornerbacks coach and co-defensive coordinator.
Fully expect, per source, that Kentucky DB coach Steve Clinkscale will be a candidate to replace the recently departed Maurice Linguist at Michigan. Linguist briefly held the position of co-defensive coordinator/DB coach.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) May 7, 2021
Clinkscale is first on the list because he’s a no-brainer. He’s been a candidate for jobs in the past and he’s recruiting a number of the same kids. He’s got a solid rapport with Will Johnson and it feels like if there is one hire that can calm the waters there — it’s Clink.
He’s from Youngstown, Ohio, and was the defensive coordinator at Cincinatti before going to Kentucky. Clink is now the defensive passing game coordinator at Kentucky and the Wildcats have had a top-four pass defense in the SEC in each of the last four seasons.
Clinkscale has also coached cornerbacks at Illinois and Toledo. The strong ties to Ohio make the hire almost obvious. Now, it’s just a matter of getting it done.
Kentucky surely will do what it can to keep Clink, so Harbaugh has to do whatever it takes to get him. If it doesn’t happen, the two other names mentioned so far make sense.