‘Speed in space’ isn’t what Michigan football needed after all

Michigan football fans shouldn’t fret too much about Josh Gattis not calling the plays next season because Jim Harbaugh’s offense fits better anyway. 

Many national media members acted like it was a five-alarm fire when Josh Gattis left Michigan football for Miami and sent some interesting messages to players on his way out.

At the end of the day though, as we said at the time, the sky isn’t falling and it didn’t. The rest of the coaches stayed on staff. Sherrone Moore will take over as offensive coordinator and Matt Weiss will take his old role of co-OC as well as quarterbacks coach.

Ron Bellamy is moving over to coach wide receivers and really, all things considered, Michigan football fans should be happy with how it worked out.

Was losing Gattis a blow? Sure. He improved dramatically as a play-caller. The Big Ten title game and the Ohio State game were two prime examples. He called tricks plays, often at the perfect time, and knew to trust Hassan Haskins and the offensive line when it mattered most.

But his makeover of Michigan football never happened. The “speed-in-space” offense he was supposed to bring when he was hired in 2019 never materialized and it was that approach blended with Harbaugh’s power-based offense that finally got the job done.

Michigan football didn’t need speed in space

And when you think about it, many of the key architects of that offense are back. Moore played a big role last season and did wonders with the offensive line. He’s back and so is Mike Hart as the run-game coordinator.

Grant Newsome can help ease the burden that Moore will have to call plays and take some of the teaching time with O-lineman and tight ends, but the blocking should be just as good.

Moore will have to learn as a play-caller but so did Gattis. And when you read recent comments from Alex Boone, an NFL offensive lineman who played for Harbaugh in San Francisco and is currently on the Vikings, you get an understanding of how this offense has Jim’s fingerprints all over it.

"“He used to sit with the O-line, and he took more notes than anybody,” Boone said. “And he was great, too, because he wasn’t afraid to throw things at [coordinator] Greg Roman while G-Ro was on the spot. I think that showed that their camaraderie was so close because Jim would be looking at something — say it was 97G. That was a big staple for us. We used to run it against a lot of people who used to bring outside pressure or force us because it kind of kicked them out. Jim would be like, ‘you know, I just don’t like the receiver blocking the corner. Randy, do you think you could get in there and cut the safety for us? What do you think?”"

Boone credited Harbaugh with his attention to detail too, not just in the film room but on gamedays and that’s probably one thing he hasn’t gotten enough credit for. After all, there is a reason why he’s been able to make winning programs out of losers at each coaching stop.

"“On the whip, he would change things like that, he’d say, ‘this would look so much better.’ And then in the game, he’d know that cornerback wouldn’t want to tackle, so he’d say, ‘why waste a guy on him? Let’s go cut the safety.’ He was just diabolical in the way he operated. It was awesome.”"

The Wolverines are also loaded with talent on the offensive side of the ball heading into next season and with Michigan getting back to its identity of power football, Michigan football fans shouldn’t worry too much about the offense next season.

It will be just fine. Why? We still have Jim Harbaugh.