Michigan Football Assistant Interviews For Head Coaching Position

Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh has assembled an incredible staff, and it comes as no surprise that many of them will have head coaching opportunities elsewhere.

According to a report by Tony Paul of the Detroit News, Michigan Football assistant coach Mike Hart interviewed for the head coaching position at Western Michigan shortly after the Big Ten Championship game. According to Paul, it doesn't appear that Hart will be taking the position and will remain at U-M for the time being. 

Hart is in his second year as running backs coach at the University of Michigan and has had a huge impact on the development of guys like Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards.

Here's more on Mike Hart's coaching history, via MGoBlue.com:

The all-time leading rusher in Michigan football history, Hart returned to Ann Arbor after four years as running backs at Indiana University (2017-20). He was elevated to associate head coach in 2020 after serving as the Hoosiers' assistant coach during the 2018 and 2019 seasons.

In his 10 seasons as a coach, Hart has tutored four 1,000-yard rushers, two Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year recipients and the 2014 MAC Offensive Player of the Year, Jarvion Franklin.

As a member of the Indiana coaching staff, Hart was a 2018 Broyles Award nominee and received recognition as a Top 25 recruiter by Rivals.com for his work on the 2019 signing class.

Hart was instrumental in the development of Indiana's running game, with the program gaining 1,888 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns in 2018. IU followed up by producing 1,695 yards and 24 TDs in 2019. The Hoosiers gained 869 yards and scored 12 TDs during the shortened 2020 campaign.

Hart developed Stevie Scott into an all-conference performer with the tailback earning second-team All-Big Ten accolades the past two seasons (2019-20) after collecting honorable mention honors as a freshman. Scott set Indiana's true freshman rushing record with 1,137 yards on 228 attempts and 10 rushing touchdowns in 2018. He had six 100-yard rushing games as a freshman and became the 19th Hoosier to reach the 1,000-yard rushing mark.

In 2020, Scott gained 561 rushing yards and scored 10 touchdowns in eight contests. He became the 14th Hoosier running back to surpass 2,000 career yards (2,543 yards) and is currently fourth in IU history with 30 rushing TDs.

Hart returned to his home state as the running backs coach at Syracuse University for the 2016 season before accepting the running backs post at Indiana.

He spent two seasons in Kalamazoo (2014-15), helping Western Michigan earn consecutive bowl bids for the first time in school history in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl and 2014 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Hart coached a pair of Broncos' running backs to MAC Freshman of the Year honors after 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Jamauri Bogan rushed for 1,051 yards and was second in the league with 16 TDs in 2015.

Jarvion Franklin gained 1,551 yards, the second-highest total by a freshman, and set WMU single-season records for points (150) and rushing TDs (24) in 2014. Franklin was also named the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and earned USA Today Freshman All-American honors.

Hart began his coaching career at Eastern Michigan, serving as an offensive quality control coach during the 2011 season before being elevated to running backs coach for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Under Hart's tutelage, the 2013 ground game racked up 1,896 yards after gaining 1,960 yards in 2012. Bronson Hill eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in 2013 to finish 31st-nationally and earn third-team All-MAC honors.