FootballScoop is proud to announce that Greg Mattison is the 2016 FootballScoop Defensive Line Coach of the Year presented by ProGrass as selected by prior winners.
Michigan's rise back to college football prominence under Jim Harbaugh has been centered on the defensive side of the ball, and the Wolverines' defense is led by an exceptional defensive line.
The Wolverines were one of the toughest defenses to run against this season, permitting only 119.2 yards per game on just 3.22 yards per carry, which ranked seventh nationally. Their nine rushing touchdowns allowed was bested by only five teams in FBS, and only one defended more than Michigan opponents' 481 runs.
Michigan also boasted a ferocious pass rush, registering 46 total sacks, fifth-best in college football, and 3.54 per game -- fourth-most in FBS.
Michigan's 120 total tackles for loss and 9.23 tackles for loss per game placed third and second nationally, respectively.
Thanks to that ferocious front, Michigan was the toughest defense in FBS to move the chains against. The Wolverines surrendered only 37 conversions in 176 third down attempts, a 21.02 percent conversion rate that ranked more than three percentage points ahead of any other defense since the FootballScoop Coach of the Year programs began in 2008. The Wolverines actually got stingier against the best teams they faced, limiting Colorado to 1-of-13 conversions, Penn State to 2-of-12, Wisconsin to 4-of-15, Iowa to 4-of-16, Ohio State to 3-of-16 and Florida State to 3-of-13 -- a total of 17-of-85 conversions allowed (an even 20 percent) in Michigan's biggest games. Michigan also boasted the second-best red zone defense in the country, turning nearly 30 percent of red zone trips away scoreless and keeping 50 percent of opponent penetrations out of the end zone.
As a defense, Michigan limited opponents to 261.8 yards per game, 4.21 yards per play and 14.1 points per game -- all of which ranked second nationally.
Three Wolverines defensive linemen garnered All-Big Ten honors. Ends Taco Charlton and Chris Wormley were named to the first team, while tackle Ryan Glasgow earned a spot on the second team.
A graduate of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Mattison's career began at Riverdale High School in Wisconsin in 1971. He began coaching in college as a graduate assistant at Illinois in 1976 and has since served as defensive line coach for Cornell, Western Michigan, Navy, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Florida in addition to two separate stints in Ann Arbor. Mattison has coordinated defenses for Western Michigan, Michigan (under Lloyd Carr), Notre Dame, Baltimore Ravens (under John Harbaugh) and again at Michigan under Brady Hoke before he was retained as defensive line coach under Jim Harbaugh.
"(Greg) is a coach of the highest caliber who has dedicated his life to molding young men into outstanding people," Harbaugh said upon retaining Mattison. "He has strong bonds with our players and within this community. I have known Greg for a long time, and am so pleased that our relationship will continue here at Michigan."
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Inoke Breckterfield [Wisconsin], Dan Brooks/Marion Hobby [Clemson], Karl Dunbar [Alabama], Oscar Giles [Houston], Ed Orgeron [LSU] and Mattison) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Mattison will receive his award and be recognized at an event at the AFCA Convention in January.
Previous winners of the Defensive Line Coach of the Year award are Dick Bumpas (TCU, 2008), Jim Panagos (Central Florida, 2009), Bill Kirelawich (West Virginia, 2010), Brick Haley (LSU, 2011), Randy Hart (Stanford, 2012), Ron Burton (Michigan State, 2013), Craig Kuligowski (Missouri, 2014) and Bo Davis (Alabama, 2015).
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