UPDATE: According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Macdonald will be taking the job after the NFL playoffs have concluded. Michigan has its defensive coordinator.
Original story follows...
The plan is for #Ravens LBs coach Mike Macdonald to accept the #Michigan DC job following the playoffs, source said. Macdonald spent time in college at UGA, now heads back with Michigan. https://t.co/uF0aYRlIrx
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 8, 2021
It looks all but official that Jim Harbaugh will return as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines with an extension sitting there to be signed. With that comes the next item on the to-do list of filling the vacant defensive coordinator position left by Don Brown and a new name has emerged for the Wolverines.
According to Matt Zenitz of AL.com, Harbaugh has targeted Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach Mike Macdonald as a candidate for the defensive coordinator job. He has spent the last three seasons in that position and seven seasons overall with the Ravens organization working with John Harbaugh.
Macdonald, a Georgia alum, never played football but worked his way through the ranks and wound up being the Bulldogs’ linebackers coach from 2011-13. As of now, that is his only collegiate coaching experience.
What would things look like with Macdonald on the staff? It seems like that might be a scenario where someone like Tim Banks from Penn State comes in and splits responsibilities with him. That is speculation for now, but Michigan does have a new voice on defense as they work to round things out for 2021.