Chris Partridge Explains Exactly Why Michigan Football Is Elite Right Now

Chris Partridge was a big part of Jim Harbaugh's staff a few years ago but then the New Jersey native spent some time in SEC country as a defensive coordinator. Now, he's back and he sees some major differences.

After a three-year hiatus down in Oxford, Mississippi, Chris Partridge is back in Ann Arbor. The hiatus was filled with co-defensive coordinator duties, but Partridge admits to being very comfortable now that he's coaching linebackers again.

"Now I'm back home coaching the linebackers," he said. "It has made me such a better linebacker coach to have been with the safeties, to have been in the SEC, coordinated a defense and seeing how an offense is attacked down there. I've developed a lot as a type of coach I am. I've grown a lot."

While Partridge was down south developing himself, Jim Harbaugh was in Ann Arbor developing his entire program. Now that Partridge is back, he seems to think that Harbaugh's program is fully mature and running as smoothly as possible.

"I think that's what this team is like — they're Jim," Partridge stated. "I mean, they embody him — hard working, blue collar, consistent, they play with no fear. 

"They know he has their back and they have his back. And that's what you feel when you come in here. It kind of started to happen, and then I left and then it happened. I think that's the best way to look at it."

Obviously, Partridge has missed a lot — two wins over Ohio State, two Big Ten titles and two trips to the College Football Playoff. Now that he's back, he's hoping to be a part of all three of those things and potentially more.