With Michigan hiring Kyle Whittingham to replace the fired Sherrone Moore, the rest of the staff is in somewhat of an upheaval. Coaches typically bring in mostly their own guys, so that means the majority of Michigan's staff members will be on the move.
Here's a ranking of whom Michigan should keep:
- Tony Alford (Running Backs Coach): Alford is an ace recruiter who has landed a few good running backs, including #1 overall back Savion Hiter in the 2026 class. His players have also been playing well on the field over the past couple seasons, like Justice Haynes, Jordan Marshall, and Kalel Mullings. Even Donovan Edwards improved somewhat from 2023 to 2024 after Alford was hired.
- Grant Newsome (Offensive Line Coach): If it were up to me, I would take offensive line coach Grant Newsome and make him tight ends coach Grant Newsome. Michigan's offensive line improved dramatically this season, but that was with the help of analyst Juan Castillo, who has since moved on to become Syracuse's offensive line coach. I don't really think Newsome is ready to be an elite offensive line coach, and Whittingham is reportedly bringing his own OL guy Jim Harding with him. This would keep Newsome on the staff with some of the elite recruits he has brought to Ann Arbor. Keep in mind that Newsome started off as the TE coach (2022-2023) when Sherrone Moore was coaching the line.
- Lamar Morgan (Defensive Backs Coach): Morgan has turned into an excellent recruiter and has landed several star defensive backs, including Shamari Earls, Andre Clarke, Jordan Deck, Jayden Sanders, etc. I think losing Morgan might cause a bit of an exodus from the recruiting class and team, and I think his charges have played well enough to keep him around.
- Ron Bellamy (Wide Receivers Coach): I think Bellamy has got a bad rap over the past couple seasons. Michigan hasn't had much talent in the receiver room, but the talented players (Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, Andrew Marsh, etc.) have played well. Bellamy also has connections in the state of Michigan and is a former Michigan and NFL player. I always think at least one or two holdovers should remain, especially a former Wolverine, because those guys know what it's like to play in rivalry games and in Michigan Stadium. And that's even more true with Whittingham being a foreigner at Michigan and likely bringing several coaches who will also be new to the area.
- Lou Esposito (Defensive Line Coach): I like Esposito and he's known as a good recruiter. His son is also committed to Michigan in the 2027 class, but I don't necessarily think that's a reason to keep Esposito on staff. Michigan obviously had great defensive tackle play in 2024 with Kenneth Grant, Mason Graham, and Rayshaun Benny, but there was nothing special about the DL group in 2025. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons to keep Espo is because he has an excellent defensive line class coming in 2026, particularly at defensive end.
- Wink Martindale (Defensive Coordinator): I do not expect Martindale to stick around in 2026. His fate was basically sealed when Whittingham was hired, because Whittingham has his own defensive system and philosophy from his time as a long-time defensive coordinator himself. However, the quality of Martindale's replacement could be a factor. If Whittingham can bring in his own guy, like BYU's Jay Hill, then so be it. But you could do worse than Martindale, and perhaps the combination of a couple minds like Martindale and Whittingham could actually be beneficial.
- Kerry Coombs (Special Teams Coach): Coombs was hired just before Moore was fired, so I don't feel much allegiance to him. However, he has been known as a great recruiter and he has connections to Whittingham through Urban Meyer. Also, the guy was hired just a couple days before everything went crazy, so I think it would be pretty crappy of Michigan to kick him right back out of the building.
- Brian Jean-Mary (Linebackers Coach): Jean-Mary has mostly been known as a solid recruiter, but this season really felt like the first year where his coaching was on point. I thought the linebacker unit played very well this season with Ernest Hausmann, Jimmy Rolder, Cole Sullivan, etc. However, I think Whittingham can find someone comparable who can bring some connection and familiarity with the head man.
- Steve Casula (Tight Ends Coach): Casula has done a nice job with the tight ends, and he's a good mind to have on staff since he has experience as an offensive coordinator. However, tight end is basically one of the easiest coaching jobs on the team, so I don't think it would be difficult to find a comparable coach.
Chip Lindsey (Offensive Coordinator):Lindsey has already accepted a new job at Missouri.
Note that the above is MY list and MY reasoning. I don't expect that Kyle Whittingham will read my blog post and adhere to it. I think if I were taking over, working hard to keep #1-3 on the list would be a priority, and then things would get flexible:
Keep Alford, Newsome, and Morgan in place, and then let the chips fall where they may; if Newsome isn't a possibility, then work on keeping Bellamy to maintain that Michigan player connection.
Word is Alford is secured going forward.
ReplyDeleteGrant Newsome -- young man, smart man ... do you think he has the potential to be a very good to great coach?
Alford - no brainer and brings the midwest ties.
ReplyDeleteNewsome -- if he's the high potential up-and-comer people are making him out to be I can't imagine he would just sit and take a demotion to TE coach. At least you gotta give him a run game coordinator title, or special teams, or OTs and TEs or something. I mean yeah it's great for Michigan to hold onto a good coach but is it good for him?
Bellomy -- "Michigan hasn't had much talent in the receiver room". Isn't that largely on him? This is like letting Sherrone off the hook for not having a QB in 2024. Bellomy moved from safeties to WRs in 2022. Here are his WR recruits starting in the 2023 class (after he took over at WR): Semaj Morgan, Karmello English, Kendrick Bell, Fredrick Moore, Channing Goodwin, Imarian Stewart, and then 2025 class (2 tall jump ball guys and a "runt" who proved to be the best WR on the team as a college-ready freshman). That's one good player who was WR1 by October of his freshman year. Even if you are recruiting exclusively 3 star guys you should be able to come up with a couple functional starters. Bellomy hasn't done that. And he talked up the height of his WRs as a big factor like Moore did -- meanwhile Marsh, Bell, and Wilson have been the best WRs on the team since Nico. To me he's been one of the most underperforming coaches of the Harbaugh holdovers -- and I'm a guy who thinks Michigan is underinvesting in the WR position. Time to move on.
Coombs -- actually makes a ton of sense even though it's an icky situation all around.
Morgan -- I wasn't so impressed with how the secondary looked this year but he did do well in recruiting and the freshman looked pretty promising so I think Thunder makes a good argument here. If it helps with retention --- keep him.
Esposito -- meh. Had a good year with elite talent developed by his predecessor in 2024 and then a massive dropoff in 2025. The question is if he did enough with the pieces he had in '25? I lean towards no but don't feel that strongly. DL was probably the most disappointing unit on the team this year.
Everyone else will move and that's just fine.
OTHER GUYS
There are a lot of options for guys with Michigan ties and/or Michigan alums. Mike Hart is kicking around as an analyst at EMU. Roy Manning is coaching edges at Nebraska. Many more... it doesn't have to be Newsome and Bellomy as the alumni reps. There are a lot of analyst spots too where alumni can be represented -- they don't have to be coaches.
Our RunFirstRunOften style certainly didn't help WR recruiting, but I'm fine with Bellamy leaving
DeleteAs Roanman discuses below, perhaps he may be interested in an Analyst/recruiting position. Unlike Newsom, the Demand may not be as high
I don't think Newsome is in big demand. I'd bet serious money up to 10 bucks that if not retained here, he gets that analyst gig from a Harbaugh. I don't think he's highly regarded anywhere as a line coach. Recruiter yes, probably. I think people mostly noticed that they brought in help for him.
DeleteBellamy is well respected in Michigan for sure, but also across the country. People know he has come up the hard way and has been successful everywhere he's been. I'm pretty sure people will want him.
@Roanman
DeleteJumping to an NFL role would be something at least. New experience. A sign of growth.
We'll see what happens with Bellamy and Newsome.
Newsome hasn't coached anywhere other than MIchigan but I
am not sure I agree with your assertions about Bellamy having respect across the country. He has connections as a recruiter (e.g., Louisiana where he is from) but has zero coaching experience away from the Metro Detroit area after spending a decade at West Bloomfield.
Newsome is 16 years younger and already more accomplished.
Newsome is far less accomplished as a coach. He's never been a head coach at any level and I think it's fair to say that he was both kept and protected in Ann Arbor. Football people know this, especially if they have sat with Michigan 2024 O line film. I'm sure that he's a fine lad and smart as a whip, but he is far from a hot commodity as a line coach. He'll get a gig but the heavy lifting has yet to happen in his coaching career.
DeleteHaving 16 years on Newsome does give Bellomy a leg up in terms of opportunity. I think the value of being HS head coach is up for interpretation (see Poggi, Biff) when we are talking about a college level position but YMMV.
DeleteMaybe a better way to say it is Newsome reached a higher level (OL coach at Michigan, promoted from TE coach) than Bellomy (WR). OL coaches are generally respected, valued, and paid more than WR coaches.
"The heavy lifting" has yet to happen in either's case as both have been supported at Michigan. Newsome got Castillo brought in, Bellomy got Soup Campbell.
The difference in my eyes is we saw a big jump with the same cast on the OL in '25 and Newsome can at least take some credit for that (even if Castillo deserves most of the credit, we'll never know how to parse that), Meanwhile WR in '25 was primarily about new faces (McCulley and Marsh) with next to no improvement from returning options (Bell, Moore, Morgan, Goodwin). And as discussed the recruiting outside of Marsh has been horrendous. This is not true on OL or TE under Newsome.
The entire trajectory of the OL seems very positive - with elite recruits, talent development, and improved performance from '24 to '25. WR is just not in the same sphere and in fact the WR room continues to look like a big concern. This isn't happening in a vacuum and things like the offensive identity and GM willingness to spend NIL are relevant factors. WR coach at Michigan may be a harder job than OL coach at Michigan. But we've seen people like Gattis do very well too (albeit in a different era of football).
I'm just saying that Newsome has a college-level resume he can point to with some bullet points. Bellomy's is not much beyond "I was lead recruiter on Andrew Marsh". I think if you are talking about being a HS coach then Bellomy will have a decided advantage given his experience and accomplishments at that level. If you are talking about a college position coach the edge would be to Newsome IMO
Fred Whittingham, full brother to Kyle has been coaching Tight Ends for some time now, I believe. He is also the Utes recruiting coordinator. I also think it's reasonably certain that Whittingham is talking to Jim Harding who has been with him 12 years and has been described as an elite offensive line coach.
ReplyDeleteIf indeed the goal is to win championships, Newsome isn't the guy you want anyway ... yet. And truthfully maybe ever.
Grant Newsome who is typically described as smart, looks to have no place on this on the staff. Were I Newsome when I got the Ziggy, I'd look deep into my wallet, and then deep into my heart. I'd take note of the quality of the men coming in think that there's much more to be learned still, and then I'd ask for an analyst job. And yes, that's a huge step backward for a young up and comer. BUT ... He's already made a lot of money for a very young kid, and he has absolutely needed help coaching Michigan's offensive line. Right here is just one hell of an opportunity to spend time improving himself and his trade by working with another elite line coach, actually another elite head coach and staff.
If I'm Whittingham I'd make that deal in a heartbeat.
Newsome could up his chops coaching both offensive linemen and tight ends, he might also up his recruiting skills working with a different recruiting coordinator. He could be the campus guy who ties it all together about how Michigan will take care of you if/when the worst thing happens to you. He would establish himself as a big picture guy and would get the entire sports world's respect as a potential top management type. It's a classic lemonade move.
It would certainly involve a lot of pride swallowing, but it would definitely pay.
If indeed, he is smart.
Because of money, I doubt it would happen, but ... another benefit is, why move the family from Ann Arbor? Taking the year helps the fam too
DeleteFor me it depends who Whitt brings along:
Esposito or Morgan, but get them help by splitting DL/Secondary. If we keep BOTH plus Alford, that's plenty of Midwest familiarity & program consistency
Depends on his ambitions. I don't know if people are knocking on his door to be an OL coach right now so a demotion maybe inevitable. Short term it maybe easiest to stay in AA in some lesser capacity. But if he wants to be a HC one day he maybe better off as an OC or HC at a lower level, or gain NFL experience, or just prove himself again as an OL or TE coach at another school.
DeleteCoombs stays. I guess the recruiting chops helped a bunch here, but Hill is a SpTms guy too, and they brought a SpTms Analyst
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many of this first staff are here a year from now