Should Michigan Football have a turnover tradition?

It has been a known fact for a while among U-M fans that Michigan football has lost a lot of its swagger and respect in recent years. The Wolverines terribly inconsistent play over the last four years has made a lot of fans mad and annoyed and for good reason.

This feels like ages ago, but only five years ago, Michigan football was on the doorstep of making the College Football Playoff. We won’t talk about the rest of the 2016 season as we all know what happened, but ever since then, things have pretty much gone downhill.

A lot of fans and former alumni have noticed that U-M just doesn’t have the same confidence and swagger that made it formidable in that 2016 season (and for much of the 2018 season as well).

Whenever the Wolverines are compared to their rivals down south, they pretty much always have something negative to say about Michigan and Jim Harbaugh.

In accordance with the downturn of the football program has been the downturn of the defense.

Once ranked number one in total defense in 2018 (and number two in 2016), the defense has seen a downfall in its defensive ranking, with last year’s total defense finishing 89th overall, which is not good at all, to say the least.

Does Michigan football need a turnover tradition?

One way to get that swagger and confidence back into Michigan football is to create a turnover chain-like tradition.

As every fan knows, defense wins championships. The defense is the most important thing in football (besides the quarterback) because even if an offense is average, the defense can hold opposing offenses in check.

Yes, fans want to see Michigan finally have an elite quarterback and offense (it’s been way too long) but the more realistic chance is the defense being elite. If you think about it, only a select few teams every year truly have elite quarterbacks and offenses. So, defense, defense, and more defense.

University of Miami football’s gold turnover chain is just one example of a great motivating tool for a defense. There’s plenty of other turnover chain-like traditions, but in my opinion, Miami’s is the best. Anbody that creates a turnover gets to wear the chain on the sideline blinged out.

It’s time for Michigan football to change the way it does things. The Wolverines did give their defensive staff an overhaul this season, but more is needed. They can’t just coach these players up. They need to instill confidence and swagger in these players. Give them more of an incentive to go on the field and cause chaos.

Whatever it takes to draw out elite play in these players, the staff should go for it. If a new tradition needs to be created to draw out that confidence, the staff, and administration should make it happen.

Sometimes, that extra little swagger can go a long way towards results.