Mike Macdonald is back in the NFL after one season of genius coordination in Ann Arbor. As understandable as that is, it also puts Michigan back in the market. I don’t know whom they’re targeting, but I can produce a list of names of varying plausibility. Note that making this list in no way should be interpreted to mean Michigan is looking at him, or that he would have any interest if they did. I’m compiling this based on names the fans are throwing around. We know the internal candidates and don’t know whom Michigan’s spoken to yet, so I’ll start with the big names, and then keep moving down the list as they fall off the table. Who knows—last time I did this they went and got the first guy. I’m more doubtful they will this time, but let’s say his name anyways, because it frightens the children. LARRY FOOTE, TAMPA BAY(?)
CURRENT JOB: Outside linebackers coach, Tampa Bay Buccaneers SUMMARY: 42, brilliant up-and-coming NFL position coach and former star player for Michigan. Expected to be the DC pick under Byron Leftwich (currently the Bucs OC) when Leftwich gets an HC job. That could be any day if it’s Jacksonville. History: Foote is the most Detroit person, a Pershing graduate who named his son Trammell and whose first tattoo was a 313. Throughout his career, Foote has come back to his city, and has been instrumental in keeping the Conant Gardens community going. He was a big part of the reason the entire city was rooting for Steelers over the Seahawks when Detroit hosted Super Bowl XL. Before that of course Foote was part of the legendary Michigan recruiting class of 1998 that included Drew Henson, David Terrell, Seth Fisher, Marquise Walker, and Victor Hobson, to name a few, and was the epitome of the tiny linebacker genre before Devin Bush Jr. took the mantle and Khaleke Hudson broke Foote’s single-game TFL record. Foote finished his brilliant NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals in 2014, following former Ravens assistant Chuck Pagano with the offer of stepping into a coaching role after the season. Pagano made good on his promise; Foote was the assistant LBs coach in 2015, then was promoted to linebackers coach under James Bettcher, and stayed on through one year of Al Holcomb. He followed Pagano again to Tampa Bay in 2019, now under DC Todd Bowles (they overlapped in Zona in 2014), and there Foote won his first Super Bowl as a coach after two as a player. His next move is expected to be to NFL defensive coordinator, with Leftwich’s rise seeming an obvious route to that. HISTORICAL DEFENSIVE RANKINGS: Tampa Bay was 6th, 5th, and 9th out of 32 teams in Football Outsiders’ comprehensive fancystat DVOA the last three years. They were 2nd, 2nd, 20th, and 12th in Foote’s four years of coaching in Arizona. PLAYERS: Probably don’t need to throw all the names at you. Foote’s credited with turning Chandler Jones into a 1st team all-Pro in Arizona, developed Shaquil Barrett into a regular all-pro and Jason Pierre-Paul into a new one at Tampa Bay, and probably had a hand in developing Lavonte David and Devin White into one of the best ILB pairs in the game. CONNECTIONS: Played here with Bellamy (who’s a year younger than us). Outside of the Lions—which is such a terrible organization Foote had to stomp out of there in disgust after asking to complete his career at home—Ann Arbor is the closest job to home, and the heart is definitely there. PROS: Up-and-coming defensive mind, would solidify Michigan’s credibility in Detroit and would be a big draw in recruiting. Brings another Carr guy in-house, though Foote hasn’t always caucused with that faction. Linebacker coach when we need LB coaching. CONS: Hasn’t been in college since Foote received his degree just a few spots after Fisher in December 2002. Hasn’t been a defensive coordinator. Has never recruited. SYSTEM FIT? The Bucs’ system is not that far off from the Ravens, in that there and in Arizona Foote was a part of defenses that really leaned on the secondary. They base out of a two-high and bring a lot of pressure from the OLBs or nickels. But very much unlike the Ravens, the Bucs’ defense really shined against the most dangerous offenses, crushing the Chiefs and the Brees-led Saints. Having Ndamukong Suh helps. WOULD HE TAKE THE JOB? Probably not. Sam says Michigan’s reached out($), and Foote’s name will be pushed by the Carr Revolt, but I think Leftwich is getting the Jacksonville job and pulling Foote up with him. If that doesn’t happen though, yeah, it’s a real possibility. [After THE JUMP: Lost in the West]