McCarthy On Potential OC: 'Genius Might Be An Understatement'
With the Jim Harbaugh saga fully in the rearview mirror, the attention turns to replacing two significant losses to the Michigan Football coaching staff. In addition to losing defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald back to Baltimore, Harbaugh will also need to replace his offensive coordinator - and 2021 Broyles Award winner - Josh Gattis.
With Gattis out of the picture, the general consensus - for now - seems to suggest that current quarterbacks coach Matt Weiss might fill the void. Weiss has a long history of working closely with the Harbaugh's, including three years at Stanford as a graduate assistant for Jim and 12 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens as an assistant for John. With another opportunity to work with Weiss in 2021, Jim didn't hesitate.
"I am really excited about reconnecting with Coach," said Harbaugh. "We have a great relationship from our time together at Stanford and he brings a great deal of experience coaching all three phases of the game, in addition to his strength in the area of analytics and game strategy. He is a great teacher and will be an excellent role model for our student-athletes."
While you would certainly expect a head coach to speak glowingly about their new quarterbacks coach, it takes on a whole new meaning when you hear it from one of the players - particularly a player like JJ McCarthy. During an interview with the Wolverine Digest podcast heading into the 2021 season, McCarthy gave a glowing review of his experience in working with Weiss.
"Genius might be an understatement," said McCarthy. "This guy is one of the most intelligent people I've ever been around and what I love the most about him is who he is as a person. What his values are, how he is every single day in the building - so consistent with who he is and how he goes about his business. He's just always been an awesome, awesome help for me. Probably the best thing I've learned from him is just sitting in the film room with him and letting him talk. He's been at almost every position and his knowledge is untouched. It's really awesome to pick his brain and see how he perceives things on the football field."
Earlier this week, Brandon Brown of Wolverine Digest provided a bit of insight into what might be happening behind the scenes in terms of replacing Gattis - and Weiss appears to be in the mix.
"According to someone connected to the program, Harbaugh is going to keep Sherrone Moore in his current role as the offensive line coach with co-offensive coordinator duties. The plan is to pair Moore with Matt Weiss, who coached quarterbacks last year. Weiss will be recognized as quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator. Weiss has been billed as an extremely smart guy with a strong background in analytics and data-driven decision making. It's been reported that it was actually Weiss that helped Harbaugh prepare for his interview with the Minnesota Vikings."
If Harbaugh does ultimately decide to roll with Weiss and McCarthy's words still ring true today, the Michigan offense should be in good hands moving forward.
