Harbaugh Finalizes His First Michigan Coaching Staff



2015 Michigan Coaching Assistants
Name Michigan Job Previous Job Age Harbaugh Tie?
Tim Drevno Offensive Coordinator
/Offensive Line
OL - USC 45 OC/OL @ San Diego 03-06
TE/OL @ Stanford 07-10
OL @ 49ers 11-13
DJ Durkin Defensive Coordinator
/Linebackers
DC - Florida 37 DE/ST @ Stanford 07-09
John Baxter Special Teams ST/TE - USC 51 None
Jedd Fisch Pass Game Coordinator
/QBs & WRs
OC - Jacksonville
Jaguars
38 None
Jay Harbaugh Tight Ends
/Asst Special Teams
Off. QC - Baltimore
Ravens
25 Jim's son
Greg Jackson Secondary Asst. DB - 49ers 48 Asst. DB @ 49ers 11-14
Greg Mattison Defensive Line DC - Michigan 65 None
Ty Wheatley Running backs RB - Buffalo Bills 43 None
Michael Zordich Secondary Safeties/ST Coord.
Youngstown St.
51 None
Kevin Tolbert Strength & Conditioning Asst S&C - 49ers 56? Asst S&C - 49ers 11-14

Coaching profiles blatantly stolen from MGoBlue.com.

Tim Drevno - Offensive Coordinator, Offensive line
Tim Drevno enters his first season as Michigan's Sanford Robertson Offensive Coordinator and offensive line coach following one season at the University of Southern California, where he served as the Trojans' running game coordinator and offensive line coach. Under Drevno's guidance, Max Tuerk anchored USC's offensive line and was one of five Trojans to earn All-Pac 12 first team honors.

Drevno and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh have a long history coaching together, working at three different stops for a total of 11 years prior to this recent appointment at Michigan.

He was the offensive line coach under Harbaugh for the San Francisco 49ers during the 2011-13 seasons. The 49ers won the NFC West two seasons, played in the NFC Championship Game each of those three seasons and participated in Super Bowl XLVII. Drevno coached a pair of Pro Bowl players in 2013 -- Joe Staley and Mike Iupati -- and all five of his offensive linemen were selected to the Pro Bowl in 2012.

DJ Durkin - Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers
D.J. Durkin enters his first season as Michigan's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach following five seasons at the University of Florida (2010-14), including the last two years as the Gators' defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

Durkin, who served as interim head coach for the Gators' 28-20 victory over East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl on Jan. 3, joined Florida's coaching staff as special teams coordinator and linebackers coach in 2010 before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2013. The Gators' defense thrived in two seasons under Durkin's guidance, finishing 15th in total defense (329.8 yards per game) last season and second in the SEC and eighth in the country in total defense (314.2 yards per game) in 2013.

Florida's 2014 squad finished the regular season fifth in the country in yards allowed per play (4.45), ninth in the nation in yards allowed per rush attempt (3.16) and 10th in the NCAA in yards allowed per pass attempt (5.9). Defensive lineman Dante Fowler Jr. and defensive back Vernon Hargreaves III garnered All-SEC first team accolades, and linebacker Antonio Morrison was an all-conference second team selection.

John Baxter - Special Teams
John Baxter enters his first season as U-M's special teams coordinator. Baxter, known nationally for producing extremely-productive special teams play on the field and developing academic success for players off the field, comes to Ann Arbor after spending four years at the University of Southern California (2010-13) as the program's associate head coach and special teams coordinator.

During Baxter's four-year run at USC, the Trojans excelled in a number of special teams categories and a slew of his players collected national accolades. In 2013, USC ranked second in the country in blocked punts (three) and fourth in blocked kicks (six). The Trojans also scored three punt return touchdowns and allowed zero punt return yards in eight of 14 games, while holding two other opponents to five yards or less. Under Baxter's guidance, punt returner Nelson Agholor tied a Pac-12 record with two scoring punt returns at California, and finished the game with a USC-record 168 punt return yards. Baxter also coached USC's tight ends in 2013.

In 2012, the Trojans notched four blocked kicks, including one returned for a touchdown, and posted a scoring kickoff return. USC also ranked fourth in the nation in kickoff returns (26.4 avg.) and punter Kyle Negrete, a finalist for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, helped the Trojans rank 29th in the country in net punting (38.6 avg.).

Jedd Fisch - Passing Game Coordinator, Running backs, Wide receivers
Jedd Fisch enters his first season as U-M's passing game coordinator and quarterbacks/wide receivers coach. Fisch spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Fisch oversaw a young Jaguars offense in 2013-14 that included former Michigan standouts Denard Robinson ('13) and Chad Henne ('08). Robinson enjoyed improved production in 2014, rushing 135 times for 582 yards (4.3 yards per attempt) before an injury cut short his season.

Fisch mentored rookie quarterback Blake Bortles in 2014, helping him to a 58.9 completion percentage and nearly 3,000 yards of passing in 13 starts. Bortles led all NFL QBs with a 7.48 average per rush, and under Fisch's tutelage, cut down his interceptions to three over the last six games of season after throwing 14 in his first eight games. Bortles also completed 37 passes of 25-plus yards, second-most among rookie quarterbacks.

Jay Harbaugh - Tight ends, Assistant Special Teams
Jay Harbaugh enters his first season as U-M's tight ends coach and assistant special teams coach. Harbaugh spent the 2014 season working for the Baltimore Ravens as an offensive quality control coach.

Prior to arriving in Ann Arbor, Harbaugh spent three seasons in working for the Baltimore Ravens, including the 2014 season as an offensive quality control coach, where his work focused on statistical analysis, self-scouting reports and breakdowns of opposing defenses. In 2014, the Ravens posted a record of 11-7, including a wild card playoff game win on the road at Pittsburgh. The offense averaged 25.6 points per game (eighth in the NFL) and 364.9 yards per game (12th in the NFL).

His previous work included working with the video staff and the weight room staff. He was part of the coaching staff that won Super Bowl XLVII under his uncle John Harbaugh.

Greg Jackson - Secondary
Greg Jackson enters his first season as U-M's secondary coach. Jackson comes to Ann Arbor after spending the past four seasons working with defensive backs for head coach Jim Harbaugh with the San Francisco 49ers.

Following a 12-year NFL career, Jackson has built extensive experience in both college and professional coaching.

From 2011-14, Jackson guided San Francisco's defensive backs as the assistant secondary coach. Statistically he helped lead one of the best units in the NFL. In 2013, the 49ers allowed just 221.0 passing yards per game, which ranked fourth in the NFC and seventh in the NFL. The 49ers boasted the NFC's best pass defense in 2012, allowing just 200.2 passing yards per game. San Francisco's defensive backs picked off 22 pass in 2011, the second-most in the NFL.

Greg Mattison - Defensive line
Greg Mattison enters his first season as defensive line coach for the Wolverines. Mattison was Michigan's defensive coordinator for the past four seasons (2011-14). He returned to Ann Arbor in 2011 after spending three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, when in 2009-10 he coordinated one of the NFL's top defensive squads after coaching the linebackers in 2008.

An experienced, proven defensive coach, Mattison brought to Ann Arbor 15 years of defensive coordinator experience at the collegiate level and two seasons in the NFL. During his time at the collegiate level, he has coached 19 future NFL players, including eight student-athletes drafted in the first three rounds and two first-round picks.

From 2011-14, Mattison's defenses ranked among the top 20 nationally in three of the four seasons in total defense, pass defense and scoring defense, turning around a unit that in 2010 ranked 108th nationally in scoring defense, 110th in total defense, 95th in rushing defense and 112th in passing defense.

Tyrone Wheatley - Running backs
Tyrone Wheatley enters his first season as U-M's running backs coach. Wheatley, who had a standout career as a Michigan running back and track athlete, returns to Ann Arbor after spending the past two seasons coaching running backs with the Buffalo Bills.

Wheatley finished his illustrious Michigan football playing career as the program's second-leading rusher (now fifth). He was the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year in 1992, and also earned All-America honors in the 110-meter hurdles as a track athlete in 1995. He enjoyed a 10-year career in the NFL before starting his coaching career.

Wheatley guided the running backs for the Buffalo Bills from 2013-14 under head coach Doug Marrone. During his time with the Bills, he mentored pros like Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller. The Bills averaged 3.7 yards per rush in 2014, and 4.2 yards per rush in 2013.

Michael Zordich - Secondary
Michael Zordich enters his first season as a secondary coach for U-M. Zordich was the co-special teams coordinator and safeties coach for Youngstown State University in 2014.

Prior to joining the YSU staff, Zordich spent four seasons working with the defense for the Philadelphia Eagles (2009-12). He was the safeties coach during the 2011 and 2012 seasons after working as a quality control coach on defense in 2009 and 2010.

A Youngstown, Ohio, native, Zordich worked with the safeties at Youngstown State in the spring of 2009 before accepting a position with the Eagles. He also coached on the high school level as an assistant at Chaney High School and Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown.

Kevin Tolbert - Strength and Conditioning
Kevin Tolbert is in his first year at Michigan as the team's Director of Football Strength and Conditioning. Tolbert previously served as an assistant strength coach for the Wolverines during Lloyd Carr's tenure from 2001-07.

Prior to returning to Ann Arbor, Tolbert spent six years working with head coach Jim Harbaugh, including four seasons as the assistant strength and conditioning coach with the San Francisco 49ers (2011-14) and two seasons with Harbaugh at Stanford (2009-2010). Tolbert was the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Cardinal in 2009 before being promoted to head strength and conditioning coach for the 2010 season.

Before joining Harbaugh's staff at Stanford, Tolbert spent the 2008 season as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Detroit Lions.

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