Friday, January 27, 2023

Michigan Friday: Speed in Space is Dead on South Beach

Michigan thought they had a future coaching star when they hired Josh Gattis from Alabama.  He had done a nice job at Penn State and then in Tuscaloosa with a bunch of 5-star athletes.  He came to Ann Arbor with his Speed in Space offense hoping to tear up the Big Ten.  You have to give a bit of a hat tip to Jimmy for trying something he didn't believe in.  Jimmy of course likes a power run game with a full back and a talented tailback.  That is the opposite of Speed in Space. 


Josh struggled as Michigan's OC and probably clashed football sensibilities with Jimmy at every turn.  The one thing he did do well was recruit and bring offensive talent to Ann Arbor. 

Things are not always as they seem. 

In 2021, Michigan won the Big Ten Championship and headed to the CFP for the first time.   It was a compete program 360 from the COVID season prior.  Josh Gattis wins the Broyles Award for top assistant in college football.  

What actually happened is Jimmy took over the offense and relied on Sherrone Moore and newly hired Matt Weiss.  Gattis and his Speed in Space became an afterthought in Michigan's program.  Rumors were flying that Harbaugh wanted Gattis out and that Josh had made a "non-professional" mistake on the recruiting trail.  Doesn't sound like a Broyles Award winner, does it?

Then Harbauary began and as he was flying to Minneapolis, it looked like he was gone for sure.  Jimmy then changes course and comes back to Ann Arbor.  The insiders believed that Gattis wanted to replace Harbaugh and in his mind should have been the 1st choice as his replacement.  Clearly, Warde did not feel that way and would've looked elsewhere if Jimmy had left.  

Jimmy comes back and gives raises to most of the staff and Gattis doesn't get one.  Then Miami comes knocking and allows Michigan to get out of a bad situation.  

Miami fans were excited to have a new "hometown" head coach, promises of new facilities, better recruiting, and a top offense with the Broyles Award winner on staff.   That excitement was quickly lost as the Canes struggled on the field and the offense looked terrible.  Miami's offense finished ranked 86th in total offense in the country and the team didn't qualify for a Bowl Game.

If you read this blog daily, you got tipped off to a Gattis firing a few weeks ago.  It seems Mario Cristobal let Gattis look for a new role before he made his firing official today.  The rumor is he was interviewing with Iowa, where Michigan's former QB and TE transferred to.  

It will be interesting to see where Gattis lands.  There is zero chance he will come back to Ann Arbor with the new opening on the offensive coaching staff.   If anyone makes it back to Ann Arbor, it would be for Jimmy to find a way to bring Chris Partridge back on the defensive side of the ball.  

  • It appears the reports that Jimmy reached out to Griese and Tee Martin about the open offensive coaching position are false and confirmed by Jimmy himself.   That leads me to believe that 
    Kirk Campbell, the former OC at ODU and current Staff member will get that role. 
  • A Jet-less Wolverines lost to Purdue last night 
  • RIP Billy Packer 

3 comments:

Brady2017 said...

Excellent read today! Tons of inside information. Love it!

Rudy said...

Signing Day next Wednesday. Going to need a couple of miracles to save the 2023 class. Getting the 5-start QB out of NC is one. Snagging Harbors would be the other. Throw in a couple of other surprises as well and maybe we make top 10.

Thom said...

Hey Rudy....there is a big difference between Hope and Reality.