It's been about 24 hours since the hire of Chip Lindsey to be the new Michigan football offensive coordinator and the hire has continued to grow on me.
Lindsey isn't Dan Mullen or another big-name hire, but big-name hires don't always work out. Michigan football fans changed their tune at the end of the season, especially after a second-half shutout of Ohio State, but plenty were ready to jettison Wink Martindale as the defensive coordinator.
Jason Candle, the Toledo head coach, seemed like another serious candidate, but Lindsey makes a lot of sense. He's got the experience and the pedigree that Sherrone Moore was looking for and here are three reasons to like this hire.
This isn't just about Bryce Underwood
This hire was about QB development and we'll get to that in just a second but Michigan is all about the "smash" mentality too. That's what has won the Wolverines four games in a row over Ohio State. It also won Michigan a national championship.
Under Lindsey, Omarion Hampton has put together back-to-back seasons of more than 1,500 rushing yards, and this season, the Tar Heels did it with backup quarterback Jacolby Criswell.
Criswell had 58 pass attempts before this season but threw 15 touchdowns and for 2,452 yards. He also had six interceptions.
Still, the running game didn't skip a beat. Despite Hampton being the focal point for defenses, he still found success. At UCF in 2022, the Knights averaged 228 rushing yards per game. They didn't have a 1,000-yard rusher but had three over 750 yards.
Lindsey also coached Kerryon Johnson to SEC Offensive Player of the Year at Auburn back in 2017. So as much as Lindsey knows about quarterbacks -- he's an offensive coordinator who can develop Bryce Underwood -- I do not doubt that the "smash" mentality will remain.
That was a key part of this hire and can't be overlooked.
A strong history of developing quarterbacks
Beyond the fact that Lindsey got a ringing endorsement from Drake Maye according to Sam Webb of The Michgan Insider, who was the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, Lindsey has a long track record of helping quarterbacks be successful.
Just since 2017, even including Troy, Lindsey has coached four different quarterbacks who led their conference in passing yards or passing yards per game.
Jarrett Stidham threw for over 3,000 yards with Lindsey at Auburn. Kaleb Baker also threw for 3,628 yards and 30 touchdowns for Troy in Lindsey's first season.
Maye threw for over 3,600 yards last season and even this year, with an unproven quarterback the Tar Heels averaged 423 yards per game and 32 points. John Rhys Plumlee threw for 2,586 yards in 2022 and rushed for 856 more. Even Gunnar Watson led the Sun Belt in passing yards per game (237) in 2020.
That's six different quarterbacks who played well under Lindsey, which feels like a strong omen for his ability to develop Bryce Underwood.
A recognition from Sherrone Moore that the offense has to improve
The best thing about this hire is that Sherrone Moore recognized what Michigan needed to do. The Wolverines excel at running the football, so Moore needed an offensive coordinator who would be true to that identity.
But not to make any changes in the play-caller or the scheme after last season would be crazy. The pass offense never reached its full potential with J.J. McCarthy under center, even though Michigan won a national title, and that can't happen with Underwood.
Moore was also smart not to bring in an offensive coordinator who runs the air raid or something entirely different. Michigan football won a national championship with its brand of football. It just needed a tweak.
The Wolverines needed to get more meat off the bone in the passing game and Lindsey will help them do that, without having to abandon their identity.