After Dan Enos left the University of Michigan, head coach Jim Harbaugh had to find his replacement, and the search seems to be coming close to its conclusion after reports have surfaced who the candidates are. Bruce Feldman sent out this tweet yesterday.
SOURCES: Former #UF head coach Jim McElwain has emerged as a strong candidate to join #Michigan's staff: https://t.co/N7XmHzfnsV
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 11, 2018
Jim McElwain is the former head coach of the Florida Gators (who Jim Harbaugh beat twice in a three-year span). McElwain won two SEC East titles during his tenure with the Gators going 22-12. He has coached wide receivers before at Michigan State and Louisville.
Also, according to Bruce Feldman, another candidate for the vacancy is former New York Jets’ offensive coordinator John Morton. Morton was the offensive coordinator for the Jets for one season. The offense ranked 28th in total yards including 19th in rushing (106.4 ypg) and 24th in passing (198.9 ypg). The one bright spot for the Jets offense was wide receiver Robbie Anderson, who had a career year for the team last season. Before his stint with the Jets, Morton coached wide receivers for multiple NFL teams which included a stop at San Francisco when Jim Harbaugh was the head coach.
Whoever takes over the job for the Wolverines will have their hands full with a raw but yet very talented corp of receivers. Freshman stand-outs Tarik Black and Donovan Peoples-Jones lead the way. Black was on his way to having a good year before being sidelined with a foot injury. In the three games he played in, he led the team in receptions with 11 and yards with 155 including a touchdown against Florida in the opener. As for Peoples-Jones, his year was very underwhelming. The former five-star prospect out of Detroit only caught 22 passes for 277 yards. He scored his only touchdown of the season on a punt return in the early stages of the season against Air Force.
