Michigan Football: Top 5 Candidates to replace Josh Gattis
By Kyler Kregel
In surprising news, Michigan football offensive coordinator Josh Gattis is departing the Wolverines after three seasons to accept the offensive coordinator position for the Miami Hurricanes under new head coach Mario Cristobal.
The surprising news of the day comes from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, one of the top insiders in the college football coaching industry, reporting that Michigan football is losing Josh Gattis to the University of Miami:
BREAKING: Michigan OC Josh Gattis is accepting the Miami’s offensive coordinator job, per source. The 38-year-old Gattis who helped the Wolverines to the Big Ten title in 2021, won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. Big addition for the Canes.
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 6, 2022
Gattis just recently won this year’s Broyles Award, which aims to honor the nation’s top assistant coach. The Wolverines offense took a big step forward this year, going from a mediocre 28.3 points per game in 2020 (60th nationally), up to 35.8 points per game (14th nationally).
This helped Gattis garner some interest as a head coaching candidate this past offseason, a reported candidate at both Virginia (who ultimately hired Tony Elliott from Clemson) and Duke (who hired Mike Elko from Texas A&M).
Here are five names to keep in mind for Jim Harbaugh to fill out his coaching staff, which still needs a new defensive coordinator as well:
Liam Coen (Kentucky offensive coordinator)
One of the biggest risers this past season in the coaching industry as Coen turned around the Wildcats offense en route to the 24th ranked scoring offense in the country and a 10-3 record. What was most impressive was the work that Coen did with Penn State transfer QB Will Levis.
Unable to beat out Sean Clifford in Happy Valley, Levis joined up with Coen in Kentucky and turned into an excellent dual-threat quarterback for the Wildcats, throwing for 24 touchdowns and rushing for 9 more.
If Jim Harbaugh is looking to incorporate some more QB-run friendly schemes into his offense, with J.J. McCarthy seeming poised to take over sooner than later, the 36-year old Rhode Island native is certainly a name he should be looking at bringing in. Coen was also an NFL assistant under Rams head coach Sean McVay.