Whenever there is a coaching change in college football, questions constantly loom surrounding the new system, how the players will acclimate, and if there will be familiarity between the position coaches with that new system.
Before the 2021 season, the Michigan Wolverines brought in a young linebackers coach from the Baltimore Ravens named Mike Macdonald to be their defensive coordinator. Macdonald didn’t have any coordinator experience, but he was highly spoken of by Jim Harbaugh’s brother, John, and turned a lackluster 2020 defense into one of the best in the country the next year, helping Michigan to its first win against Ohio State in a decade and its first Big Ten Championship since 2004.