It appears Michigan has tapped Philadelphia Eagles asst LBs coach Brian Smith to fill the vacant secondary coach spot opposite Mike Zordich.
Sam seemed pretty certain last night:
Chip Viney & Aubrey Pleasant interviewed for U-M's vacant DB post, but hot name I'm hearing is former Philadelphia Eagles asst Brian Smith
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) February 25, 2016
And various media have picked it up this evening.
Quick bio: Don Brown brought in a familiar face. Smith played for Brown as a defensive back at UMass then coached linebackers under him before jumping to the NFL with Eric Mangini's Jets. Smith shifted around positions there under Rex Ryan (offensive quality coach, defensive quality coach, asst. DBs coach). Chip Kelly--who has a history of looking to the Northeast for his coachin talent--made Smith the Eagles assistant (to the) linebackers coach last year. He's only 36, which is very young I say. Quite young. Spring of his youth.
Quick react: Unlike the last time a linebacker coach moved to the secondary, at least Smith played defensive back (cornerback and safety) and has some history of coaching the position. This may be a return to his natural habitat. It does appear to be a Don Brown hire all the way--his former player (when Don was the DC at UMass), and a guy Brown as head coach elevated to coaching before losing him to the NFL.
