"He’s One Of The All-Time Great Position Coaches Michigan Ever Had"

Michael Spath covered Michigan football for The Wolverine starting in 2002, which gave him an opportunity to observe Fred Jackson up close for 13 seasons. Jackson hasn't been at Michigan since 2014, but before that, he was a mainstay around Ann Arbor for more than 20 years. During that stretch, Jackson was mainly a running backs coach, but he dabbled as an offensive coordinator and associate head coach as well. Spath is happy to see Jackson back at U-M and isn't surprised at all that Jim Harbaugh and the staff welcomed him back with open arms.

"Fred Jackson was the only holdover from the Lloyd Carr tenure and that’s probably a testament to what kind of guy Fred Jackson is," Spath explained. "He lived through all those changes. He was with [Gary] Moeller, Lloyd [Carr], Rich Rod and [Brady] Hoke. That doesn’t happen very often."

Jackson is back at U-M as an analyst and will reportedly help out with operations and game planning and will work directly with Harbaugh. Spath also believes another coach had a big hand in getting Jackson back into the program.

"I don’t think Jackson's role or his title is all that significant but I think there’s some intrigue with him being back," Spath said. "I think one of his all-time favorite and best players, Mike Hart, is the running backs coach at Michigan right now so that’s relevant. I think this was probably a Mike Hart powerplay move. I would argue that Hart trusts Fred Jackson more than any other mentor he’s ever had. I can imagine that Hart wants to surround himself with people he trusts and people who can make him the best at his job. If Mike Hart is looking to be an offensive coordinator, then Fred is a terrific person to slide into a role and to help him develop. How are you looking at things from a game plan standpoint? Fred Jackson can help with that."

Jackson will actually turn 72 tomorrow, which means his best coaching days are behind him, but Spath doesn't see that as an issue at all. If anyone can get the job done into his 70s, it's Jackson.

"He's getting up there but that itch is still there," Spath said. "I’ve talked to Fred quite a few times over the last few years and there’s always been a little bit of him feeling like he didn’t get to leave on his own terms. When Harbaugh got there in 2015, Fred left and coached high school a little bit in Ypsilanti, and he’s done a couple of other things, but there’s that itch. There’s been that itch forever. He’s a football coach; he’s a lifer.

"This is just a great chance to come back to the University of Michigan. Over the years there’s been probably 10-15 coaches that you identify with the maize and blue more than anything else about their careers, and Fred Jackson is one of them. Guys like Jerry Hanlon and Lloyd Carr are like that and so is Fred. It’s a perfect marriage for him and I’m excited for him."

Even though Jackson won't be quite as involved as an analyst as he was when he was a position coach, Spath still sees the old veteran bringing value to U-M's staff. Spath remembers all the success Jackson had while at U-M and knows that those kinds of experiences and that kind of influence doesn't just disappear.

"Fred is a very likable dude," Spath stated. "He was extremely successful on the recruiting trail. He was one of the few guys who had the chops to go down into the south, into Louisiana, into Alabama, into Texas — there wasn't a spot that Fred Jackson felt like he couldn’t win a recruiting battle. Having someone with that kind of moxie on your staff is very important and he had a lot of successes. Anthony Thomas is one of Michigan’s best ever running backs. He was the No. 1 ranked back in that class from Louisiana and Fred Jackson went and got him. Carlos Brown he got. Chris Howard was from Louisiana. James Hall and Adam Krause were from Louisiana. These are all guys he went down and got. I think his recruiting prowess is one of the things that coaches recognized regime after regime. That’s why he was able to stay around."

The success obviously spilled onto the field as well.

"How many coaches can say what he can say?" Spath asked. "He put out a superstar year after year just about. He went from Tyrone Wheatley, to Tim Biakabutuka, to Chris Howard/Chris Floyd, to Anthony Thomas, to BJ Askew, to Chris Perry, to Mike Hart. Brandon Minor was pretty good but he was banged up a lot. Fitz Toussaint and Denard Robinson were kind of a combo — he just had success after success after success at that position. He’s one of the all-time great position coaches Michigan ever had."

During his time at Michigan, Jackson earned the reputation of being somewhat of an exaggerator. He would compare his guys to some of the best running backs ever to play football. He would often take the best trait of several elite backs and say his guy was a combination of them. When you're as good at your job as Jackson was, people laugh stuff like that off and consider it endearing. That's how it played out for Jackson while he was in Ann Arbor and Spath remembers the chuckles whenever Jackson would talk like that to the media.

"Was he an exaggerator? Yeah, a little bit but the media had a lot of fun with it," Spath recalled. "It was all tongue-in-cheek a bit. It was kind of a laugh because we’d be waiting to see who he’d compare his backs to. Some of his guys didn’t pan out and the media would give him a hard time a little bit but it was all in fun because of how highly he spoke of his guys and Fred knew that. The exaggerations became a soft joke among the media and fans, but I think everyone enjoyed it including Fred."

Jackson returns to a staff that is littered with Michigan Men. Obviously Harbaugh and Hart both wore the winged helmet, as did Mike Elston and Ron Bellamy and Grant Newsome to name a few. With so many former Wolverines working together, the bonds and chemistry seem to be at an all time high.

"With so many Michigan people on the staff right now, there are probably a lot of guys around the building who have very strong feelings about Fred," Spath explained. "There was some hubbub about he and Jim Harbaugh not getting along but I’ll tell you what, if Harbaugh was a grudge holder then Mike Hart wouldn’t be at Michigan either. It seems obvious that everything is all good with everyone there now and regardless of that, Fred Jackson is a great guy for this particular role.

"I don’t know exactly how Michigan uses its analysts, and all teams are a little bit different, but I think he’s there to be a sounding board for Mike Hart and to be a mentor to anyone who needs it. If Mike Hart is thinking about something he can turn around and bounce an idea off of Fred. He can be a supporter to Hart directly because of the position they coach but he can be valuable to everyone. Even the offensive coordinators don’t have a lot of experience so Fred can be there for them too. All of those guys can say, ‘Hey Fred, what do you think about what I’m doing here?’ I think he 100% can be great in a role like that."