It hasn't been the best season for Michigan so far. Seven games in, and the Wolverines sit at 4-3, but let's face it, it is not because of the defense. Defensive coordinator Jay Hill has his guys playing at an elite level every weekend, and it could have his name starting to circle as a head coaching candidate.
Hill is in his first season with the Wolverines, coming to Ann Arbor with Kyle Whittingham after spending two seasons at BYU. Through those two seasons, the Cougars were 23-4, taking BYU from the No. 109th-ranked defense in his first season to the 13th-ranked defense in his second. Hill knows how to get his unit going, and now he is starting to be asked about head coaching opportunities.
Hill spoke to the media on Thursday, and while he would love to be a head coach at the power conference level, he is more worried about focusing on getting his team where it needs to be right now.
#Michigan DC Jay Hill when asked if he has aspirations to become a head coach at this level, he stated that he does, but just concerned with this team and doing everything he can to help this defense.
— Brice Marich (@BriceMarich) October 28, 2026
Jay Hill could be one-and-done at Michigan, but for the best possible reason
Hill has some head coaching experience throughout his career, spending nine seasons at Weber State, where he is the winningest head coach in program history. In those nine seasons, Hill had eight consecutive winning seasons, won four consecutive Big Sky Conference titles, made six FCS playoff appearances, and won Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in 2020.
After the 2022 season, Hill took the defensive coordinator position at BYU, and now the rest is history. When Whittingham brought in Hill as the DC for the Wolverines, there was immediately a sense that this defense was going to be elite, especially knowing the history of Michigan's defenses.
It has been even better than anyone could have hoped for in Ann Arbor, with Hill coaching his defense to be ranked No. 3 in the country in total defense, No. 21 in opponents' points per game, No. 23 in opponents' yards per play, and No. 2 in opponents' yards per game.
The Wolverines are coming off a game where they held the reigning National Champion Indiana Hoosiers to just 13 points, only six points in regulation. Granted, this wasn't the Fernando Mendoza -led Hoosiers, but I bet this defense would be able to put up a great fight against the 2025 Indiana offense too.
It feels like Michigan should be one of the best teams in the country with a defense like this, but the offense simply hasn't been able to play complementary football.
With numbers like this from the Michigan defense, it would come as no surprise if Hill were offered a couple of head coaching positions in the offseason. That would make him one-and-done in Ann Arbor, but this is a better way to go out.
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