Over the next few weeks, we’ll take some time to look at what Michigan brings to the table in 2025. Today, we are evaluating if Michigan has the coaching to make a run in the College Football Playoff:
For now, it seems Michigan’s coaching staff is in place for the 2025 season. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed Wink Martindale comes back to keep the defense churning, and we’re looking forward to seeing what Chip Lindsey will bring to the offense.
For the next few weeks, we’ll examine what Michigan brings to the table in 2025 and if it will be competitive enough to return to the College Football Playoff. Today, we begin with the coaching staff.
HC Sherrone Moore
Moore is young compared to other coaches in college football, but he seems like he’s got a talent for rallying his players and keeping them motivated. He was also able to go through an interesting quarterback situation in 2024 — starting three different guys — without ruffling any feathers. That shows some leadership ability, especially in the age of NIL and the transfer portal.
On the other hand, Moore isn’t just new to the position, he’s young. It takes a while to build skills at the job, and with the amount of things he has to manage, it should be expected to take some time before hits his peak as a head coach.
DC Wink Martindale
When it comes to the defense, Martindale improved immensely over the course of 2024, and it’ll be exciting to see what he can do with the guys returning in 2025. His defensive schemes improved over the season. In October, Charles Post wrote about the “alarming” rate of explosive plays given up by the Wolverines. The criticism was justified at the time, fans were praising the defense at the end of the year in large part due to Martindale adapting the scheme to his players.
The only downside to Martindale is if he tries to work in some of his more complex coverages next season, despite seeing results from simplifying things late in the year. If he resorts back to what he was doing at the beginning of 2024, we could be in for a rough season once again.
OC Chip Lindsey
On the offense, Lindsey brings a lot to the table when it comes to play calling and scheme. He’s not going to change the look of the Michigan Wolverines ’ offense completely, but he’ll offer a new perspective on getting players opportunities to have the most success. He’s worked with several players who are finding or have found success in the NFL, and has been a part of teams making championship runs.
When it comes to Lindsey, the biggest thing working against him is whether he’ll be able to work with all the pieces Michigan has on offense. He has done wonders with running backs and dual-threat quarterbacks at his previous stops, but will he be able to utilize tight ends properly? The Wolverines also worked to improve their wide receiver room, but it’s still not the most impressive offensive unit on paper. We’ll have to wait and see how he works that into a game plan.
Position Coaches
Arguably one of Michigan’s biggest strengths comes from some of its defensive position coaches, like defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan and defensive line coach Lou Esposito. Not only are they fantastic recruiters, they have a way of getting the most out of their players. I think we’ll see improvement from that aspect of the coaching staff as a whole.
Similarly to Moore, some of these guys — like offensive line coach Grant Newsome, for example — are still getting used to their new roles. There could still be some growing pains in this area while they work to familiarize themselves with Lindsey, but it’s hard to see any unit on offense taking a step back from a disappointing season.
At the end of the day, despite all the new challenges of today’s college football, it’s not hard to believe Michigan can win at least one playoff game next season thanks to its coaching staff, even if winning it all seems out of reach.
What do you think about Michigan’s coaching staff? Do they have what it takes to make a playoff run? Let us know in the comments!