Official: Mike Macdonald takes defensive coordinator position with Baltimore Ravens

He wasn’t here for a long time, only a good time.

Michigan football took a chance a year ago on a position coach in the NFL who never had any coordinator experience, and it helped the Wolverines reach new heights, beating Ohio State, winning the Big Ten, and making it to the College Football Playoff semifinal. However, after just one year, defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is returning to whence he came — with a promotion.

Macdonald, the former Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach, was suggested by John Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh’s brother and coach of the Ravens, and he ultimately proved his mettle, helping improve from the 84th-rated defense in the country in 2020 to No. 20 overall the following year. He helped produce the Heisman Trophy runner-up in edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, who went from being a likely mid-to-late first-round pick to potentially the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft.

But John Harbaugh and Baltimore came calling once again, now making him an NFL defensive coordinator, replacing Wink Martindale, and just like that, Macdonald is out of the college game.

With Macdonald out, the Wolverines will have some choices to make. Jim Harbaugh has yet to re-sign with the maize and blue, casting doubt upon his future longevity in Ann Arbor, which complicates things. If he does return, as expected, will he hire internally or look for another home run hire outside of the program? Will he attempt to keep a similar scheme, or revamp it for the third time in as many years?

It’s not an ideal situation that Michigan football finds itself in, but it’s the one it currently has to deal with.

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