Michigan football needs a replacement for Steve Clinkscale and one reported candidate would be a perfect fit for the job.
Michigan football head coach Sherrone Moore is closing in on a new defensive line coach, but he’s also been busy trying to replace Steve Clinkscale as the secondary coach.
Greg Scruggs from Wisconsin looks to be the guy to replace Mike Elston and it seems like a perfect fit. He was the director of player development at Cincinnati before becoming the D-line coach. He also worked for the Jets for a season before joining Luke Fickell with the Badgers.
Scruggs is going to be a great recruiter in my opinion. That was essential because Elston is an elite recruiter. Wink Martindale should be a solid defensive coordinator but I don’t expect him to bring much on the recruiting trail other than playing for a guy who knows how to call defense.
That’s why the other hires need to be home runs on the recruiting trail and one name that has caught my eye among the candidates reported by Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider is Louisiana defensive coordinator Lamar Morgan.
Why Morgan would be perfect to replace Steve Clinkscale
Morgan has spent the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Louisiana. He also spent the three seasons prior to that coaching cornerbacks, spending one season at Vanderbilt under Jesse Minter.
According to Webb, Morgan was on the short list of candidates for Minter if there was ever an opening and Morgan makes a lot of sense. Not only is he familiar with the Ravens defensive system run by Minter and Michigan football, he’s got play-calling experience and would give Michigan another recruiting connection to the South.
In addition to coaching cornerbacks and being a defensive coordinator, Morgan has also coached safeties at Houston and Louisiana-Monroe. He also spent time on the staff at Western Carolina. So he’s experienced in the college game and is familiar with recruiting.
There are some other quality candidates on the list, but I love the fact that he’s coordinated his own defense the past two seasons. That would make him a perfect candidate to be Michigan football co-defensive coordinator as well as secondary coach.
The Wolverines need a linebackers coach too, but they have needed one since November when Chris Partridge was fired. Moore is doing a nice job of building the staff and while it remains to be seen how that helps with player retention, Michigan football hasn’t suffered any notable departures yet.
