It felt inevitable once former star Michigan assistant/Paramus HC/very good LB coach Chris Partridge was returning, but now it appears official. Per Bruce Feldman, current LBs coach George Helow won't be back next year. SOURCE: Michigan and Wolverines LB coach George Helow have mutually agreed to part ways to pursue other opportunities. Helow who arrived in 2021, helped UM rank in the Top 15 in yards per play both YRs and developed Junior Colson into Freshman All-American and an All-Big Ten LB. — Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) February 16, 2023 After bringing back Partridge, who spent the last several years as DC at Ole Miss, Harbaugh was one over the assistant limit, so somebody had to go. Helow, a former Ravens assistant who was Mike Macdonald's choice in 2021, seemed the obvious man without a chair. Though the system had something to do with it too, Michigan's linebacker play under Helow hasn't been great. Helow also struggled a bit in recruiting—the 2022 cycle at linebacker was pretty rough, with Michigan whiffing on several top targets they thought would be in the class before lucking into Jimmy Rolder popping late. Helow was helpful in pulling Ernest Hausmann out of Nebraska. While a bit unfair to Helow, Michigan is getting quite an upgrade. Partridge was a major recruiting asset in his first stint with Michigan, and should resume that role. He also had quite a lot of success as a linebacking coach in 2016-'17, when Ben Gedeon, Mike McCray, Devin Bush, Devin Gil, and young Josh Ross graded out between Pretty Good and Greatest Ever(?). Partridge moved to safeties in 2018 when Al Washington came on staff, before leaving in 2020 for Ole Miss. He was also an superb special teams coach. There is no content after the jump.