10 Candidates to replace Mike Macdonald as Michigan Football’s DC

9. Jim Leonhard (Wisconsin)

A bit of a pipedream hire for most programs these days, Wisconsin alum Jim Leonhard is one of the hottest names in the coaching industry. He turned down an offer to become the defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers last offseason, opting instead to remain at his alma mater.

His defenses have been a fantastic year in and year out at Wisconsin, and Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines have seen those units up close, averaging just a measly 20.8 points per game against the Badgers since Leonhard joined their coaching staff.

While a move from his alma mater at this point seems unlikely, Leonhard is certainly a name that Harbaugh should at least reach out to and gauge his interest.

10. Jimmy Lake

Formerly the head coach of the Washington Huskies, Harbaugh, and the Wolverines actually beat Lake’s team this past fall, a 31-10 win in the Big House.

However, Lake has been a very good defensive mind over the years, working as an NFL defensive backs coach in Tampa Bay and Detroit before joining Chris Petersen and Boise State in 2012. He followed Petersen to the University of Washington, becoming his defensive coordinator in 2016 before eventually replacing Petersen following his retirement in 2020.

As a defensive mind and secondary coach, Lake has been terrific, consistently developing elite NFL prospects out of Montlake, notably, guys like Marcus Peters, Sidney Jones, Budda Baker, Kevin King, Taylor Rapp, Byron Murphy, Elijah Molden, and now Trent McDuffie and Kyler Gordon have all thrived under Lake’s guidance.

Lake is schematically a bit different from what Michigan runs, but is certainly a name that the Wolverines will want to look into as a potential defensive coordinator.