Getting Chris Partridge Back Is HUGE
Chris Partridge coached alongside Jim Harbaugh at U-M at a couple different positions on the defense and special teams from 2016-19 before spending the last three seasons as Ole Miss' defensive coordinator. Now, the New Jersey native is back in Ann Arbor and it seems like a perfect fit.
Partridge recently joined Jon Jansen on Michigan's "In The Trenches" show this week and talked about his return to The Mitten.
"This thing seems to be humming," Partridge said. "You guys have gotten it rolling since I've been gone. The culture is just awesome. I think it's got to be one of the best cultures in college football. I think the players, how willing, how hungry they are — it's a really good place. Walking in and feeling it, you can feel it as soon as you enter the building."
Partridge has done just about everything on defense now after spending time as a coordinator in the SEC, which should prove extremely valuable now that he's back in AA coaching linebackers under and alongside defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
"I think it's invaluable. It's incredible," he said. "Coaching linebackers first, and then moving to the safety position, made me a better secondary coach. And then I was able to spend the last five years coaching the secondary, and then moving back to linebackers, I feel like it's made me a better linebackers coach. You just see it different, from angles to block destruction techniques, to coverage techniques. You're able to really get in the guts of all that stuff. And I think it just enhances your ability to coach and guide the players on the right tools for their toolbox. I think being a special teams coordinator helped me with that as well. Any time you get those experiences, I think it’s invaluable."
But where Partridge might shine the most, is on the recruiting trail. George Helow was just fine at Michigan, and there should be no negative thoughts about what he did at U-M, but Partridge is a rockstar as a recruiter and it feels like it'll start paying off almost immediately.
"Number one is relationships. I'm a relationship guy," Partridge said. "I love recruiting because I love talking to and meeting different families, different coaches, different size schools, different ways of doing things, different upbringing from the players — that all interests me. So just forming relationships with different people around the country, it really excites me, and I like doing it.
"Naturally, when you like doing something and it fits who you are, you're going to work harder and you're going to be better at it. I just take pride in it and I think relationships can be made anywhere if you work at them.
When I went down to Ole Miss, I was still going to recruit the Northeast a little bit, but it wasn't our main area. So I had to form relationships in Mississippi and Alabama and Louisiana, which I never had before. I was able to stay in Georgia, which I had done at Michigan a little bit, which is a little easier, because I had built relationships."
With Partridge back on the staff, expect the linebacker play to be solid and expect recruiting wins to increase. With Partridge still being somewhat of a star in New Jersey and the Northeast, and now having some clout in more areas of the south, the sky is the limit for how good he can be during his second stint at U-M.
