Michigan staff turnover continued this week with Mike Zordich’s apparent departure.
Zordich, who was one of the two remaining assistants on Jim Harbaugh’s original team in 2015, refers to himself as a “Free Agent DB Coach” and lists the University of Michigan as a former employer on his Twitter account.
Michigan, nor Harbaugh, formally acknowledged the move, but the school hired Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Maurice Linguist to serve as a defensive co-coordinator and coach for the cornerbacks.
Zordich was one of six Michigan technical assistants whose contract expired on Monday, January 11. Quarterback coach Ben McDaniels has since departed, while other changes to the team are expected. Defensive coordinator for the Wolverines, Don Brown, was fired on December 22.
More: Michigan DE Luiji Vilain enters the NCAA transfer portal
Harbaugh hired Zordich to join his team on arrival in Michigan in December 2014, after two seasons as a safety coach and co-special team coordinator in Youngstown State and four years on the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles team.
He was a talent development success, turning Channing Stribling and David Long into NFL draft choices. Lavert Hill and Ambry Thomas also played with Zordich, who was sometimes not afraid to criticize his players publicly.
But tough times came in 2020, with Thomas giving up and Michigan forced to play against two first-year holders as a cornerback. The unit was the target of opposing teams from the start and served as the main points in the Wolverines’ defeats to Michigan and Indiana.
“We have to adjust as coaches,” Zordich told reporters in November. “We just can’t keep banging our heads against the wall. We need to give our people a chance to develop and adapt to the fundamentals and techniques, and I think we have succeeded. “
Zordich, 57, had a 12-year career as a player in the NFL, where he started 125 games and collected almost 600 tackles and 20 interceptions. He was an All-American security guard, a team captain at Penn State and chosen in the ninth round of the 1986 draft of the San Diego Chargers.
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