Michigan found its next defensive coordinator.
On Sunday, Jim Harbaugh’s football program announced the hiring of Mike Macdonald, a 35-year-old assistant coach at the Baltimore Ravens.
Macdonald replaces Don Brown, who was fired on December 22 after five seasons in charge of the Wolverines’ defense.
In a statement, Harbaugh praised Macdonald as an “excellent defensive mind”, who is “highly respected throughout the NFL”.
“He has been a valuable member of the Baltimore Ravens team and has demonstrated a passion for teaching, training and developing his players,” said Harbaugh. “We are excited about everything Mike brings to our defense, team and university, and we look forward to welcoming him and his fiancée Stephanie into our Michigan Football family.
Macdonald has spent the past seven seasons in Baltimore, where he has had a meteoric rise in the coaching profession. The last three were linebacker coaches, while he trained defenders in 2017 and served as a defense assistant in 2016 and 2015.
He first joined the Ravens organization in 2014 as an intern, after serving as a graduate assistant at the University of Georgia for three seasons. Macdonald has no direct experience of coordination at university or professional levels, which makes this hiring unusual for Harbaugh.
“It is an honor to be part of Coach Harbaugh’s team at the University of Michigan,” Macdonald said in a statement. “I firmly believe in your vision and am excited to start working. Our team will work tirelessly to develop our youth on and off the pitch – I can’t wait to meet and develop relationships with our players, team and community!
Macdonald has coached NFL Pro Bowl players over the past five seasons with the Ravens, a broad talent pool that includes Matthew Judon (2019-20), CJ Mosley (2018) and safety Eric Weddle (2017-18). The Ravens’ team is led by John Harbaugh, brother of Jim Harbaugh.
In Georgia, Macdonald graduated summa cum laude in Georgia with a degree in finance and a master’s in sports management. While in college, he also served as an assistant coach at Cedar Shoals High School.
Macdonald takes on a largely young and inexperienced defense, a unit shaped to fit Brown’s fast and aggressive playing style. The Wolverines are about to lose defensive star Kwity Paye and junior linebacker Cam McGrone to the NFL, while Aidan Hutchinson and safety Brad Hawkins, both eligible to leave, announced their intentions to return in 2021.
Details of the contract for Macdonald were not immediately available, but his arrival could bring substantial changes to the Michigan defense team. Two technical assistants, Shaun Nua (defensive line) and Mike Zordich (cornerbacks), are working on expired contracts, while security technician Bob Shoop, hired last year, spent most of 2020 working remotely, a decision made by subject private.