Former Ole Miss co-defensive coordinator Chris Partridge has been officially re-hired by the first FBS program to give him a job, and that's the Michigan Wolverines.
Partridge was the head coach at Paramus (NJ) Catholic for five years, a school that sent the likes of Jabrill Peppers, Rashan Gary, and Juwann Bushell-Beatty to Michigan. He was then hired in a recruiting role in 2015 before becoming an on-field coach from 2016-2019, working with the safeties, linebackers, and special teams. He was hired away by Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss to be the co-defensive coordinator in 2020 and 2021, but after being let go by the Rebels after the 2022 season, he was in search of a new job.
Partridge's next role at Michigan is undetermined as of yet . . . or at least Michigan hasn't released their plans for him. He was announced on Twitter as having joined Michigan's staff, and while that could be at an analyst position, rumblings suggest that he will be replacing a current coach on the staff. Since he has only ever coached defense, most likely there will be movement on the defensive side of the ball.
Partridge's most noteworthy asset is probably his recruiting prowess. While at Michigan, he was the primary recruiter for three 5-star players (Gary, Chris Hinton, and Aubrey Solomon) and seventeen 4-star guys (too many to list). Michigan's recruiting efforts in New Jersey have tailed off some since he left, but I would imagine some of those connections will be renewed now that Partridge is back on the staff.
Peppers was a hoke guy, but I love this addition
ReplyDeleteYes, you're right! Peppers did go to Paramus, but Chris Hinton was the third 5-star guy Partridge recruited, not Peppers. Thanks.
DeleteJay, back to the RB room?
ReplyDeleteHow'd he do recruiting wise at ole miss. I wonder if those connections in NJ have gotten loose over time. Missing on the CB transfer from miss to OSU wasn't a great sign imo. I wonder how much of his rep is tied to rashan.
ReplyDeleteNew Jersey has to be tougher to recruit if only because Schiano is back to building his wall around it after the sieve administration he replaced.
ReplyDeleteGary aside, two 5 stars and seventeen 4 star recruits during his previous tenure here. Pretty hard to argue with.
Over the last two years he has brought in a bunch of stud defensive linemen, including the top kid in New Jersey, Tyrone Malone, from Bergen Catholic. A kid I wouldn't mind seeing in the portal.
Roanman
DeleteHard to argue? Sounds like a challenge!
DeleteJK - glad to hear he has kept it going. That's encouraging. We'll see who the departure is but otherwise it's hard to grumble about a coaching addition especially a fairly proven one. I do think fans tend to overrate returning guys with connections to the program but Partridge seems well regarded generally and beyond our local interests.