Former Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach Mike MacDonald joined Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh‘s staff as defensive coordinator this offseason, replacing Don Brown.
He has quite the task ahead of him, taking over a defense that ranked No. 89 in total defense and No. 95 in scoring defense last season.
Of course, he was already familiar with Harbaugh, having worked under his brother John with the Ravens.
“It really was a no-brainer in terms of trying to go after it with all my energy in focus while also trying to win a Super Bowl,” Macdonald said Thursday afternoon. “It’s pretty simple: It’s the winningest program in college football, Jim Harbaugh is someone that I really respect and have been familiar with over the years, coming from John Harbaugh meant a lot to me as well. Put those three together, and it’s pretty simple.”
And you can bet that MacDonald is confident in his abilities.
“It’s a big leap I guess, on paper,” Macdonald said. “Just like any problem, you have to approach it by a process and have a goal in mind on how uncomfortable you want to be. I have had a very big influence in what we’re calling and when throughout my history, so I do feel comfortable putting together a game plan.
“… We’ll put together a great game plan every week, I can assure you that. I can also assure you that I’ll be prepared come day one.”
MacDonald has been getting to know his new coworkers and has been meeting with them regularly, and starting their “work from the ground floor”.
“It’s just a blank canvas for everyone,” Macdonald said. “… It should have a feel of all hands on deck and we’re in it together.”
For MacDonald, the defense that the Wolverines will be putting out on the field in 2021 right now is fluid.
“Look, yeah, we’re gonna be multiple,” Macdonald said. “The best way I can describe our scheme is it’s gonna look a lot like the places I’ve been previously. But watch our Baltimore defense and tell me the times that we look like a 3-4. There’s gonna be a certain percentage there, but there’s going to be a lot of times we look like a 4-3, sometimes we’re gonna look like a 6-1, there’s sometimes we’re going to look like a 6-2, sometimes you’re not gonna know what the heck it looks like. It’s hard for me to say we’re gonna be a 3-4, per se.
“The thing about our defense that I think makes us unique is that it is a series of concepts that we teach. For example, there are things that we teach our guys that there’s no call involved with those concepts. We’re teaching this concept today, this concept tomorrow. We marry them together, there’s gonna be more of that, but you layer it over time and now it gives you the flexibility to build certain fronts, certain coverages, certain pressures. That allows you to one, let your guys do well what they do, and two, stop the offenses that you’re seeing.”
– – Quotes via Orion Sang of The Detroit Free Press Link – –
