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Michigan may have secured a national championship in what turned out to be Jim Harbaugh’s final season in Ann Arbor, but the program is going to face an uphill battle in its attempt to defend that title—especially after losing yet another member of its coaching staff.
Most fans of the Michigan Wolverines were probably disappointed to hear Jim Harbaugh decided to take his talents back to the NFL after the team topped Washington to secure its first title since 1997, but it’s easy to understand why he decided to move on after officially bringing the program back to its former glory nine years after taking the helm.
Only time will tell how the Los Angeles Chargers will fare with Harbaugh as their new head coach, and while you can say the same about Michigan, it’s a bit hard to believe they’re going to be able to pick up where they left off after promoting Sherrone Moore from his position as offensive coordinator.
Michigan was already going to lose a number of key players to the NFL Draft—including quarterback J.J. McCarthy, running back Blake Corum, and a few key players on defense—and there was little doubt Harbaugh was going to take some members of his coaching staff to Los Angeles.
That was confirmed when Jesse Minter announced he’d be stepping into the role of the defensive coordinator of the Chargers after taking the position at Michigan in 2022, and Harbaugh’s son Jay (unsurprisingly) decided to join his dad in L.A. (the team hasn’t officially parted ways with its current special teams coordinator, so his specific role remains unconfirmed).
Now, the Maize and Blue Review reports another notable name is following in their footsteps, as strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert told players he’ll be departing during a morning lift on Monday.
At first glance, that departure seems comparatively less debilitating than some of the aforementioned moves, but Herbert was a widely respected member of the staff who played a key role in the team’s success since joining in 2018.
It’ll be very interesting to see how the Wolverines bounce back from the flood of changes they’ll be forced to deal with.