Jim Harbaugh reportedly contacts another former Michigan quarterback about open QBs job
Jim Harbaugh has contacted Brian Griese about Michigan's open quarterbacks job, according to John Henschke of Michigan's Rivals site.
Michigan is replacing Matt Weiss, who was fired last week amid an investigation by the University of Michigan police department.
The former Michigan quarterback is in his first season coaching quarterbacks for the San Francisco 49ers, who play the Philadelphia Eagles for the NFC Championship on Sunday. This season marks Griese's first season in coaching, period, and it's been quite a good one: playing rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, who joined the team as the last pick in last April's draft and spent most of the season as the third-stringer, has won all seven starts to date.
It's unknown how deep any conversation went and Griese's interest in the position. The conversation presumably was a short one. If Griese likes recruiting, coaching quarterbacks for his alma mater would be an appealing position. If not, well, there's no reason to take the job.
Should he choose to join the staff, Griese's story would be a compelling one. The son of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese, Brian threw a total of 300 passes in his first four seasons on campus before earning the QB1 job as a fifth-year senior in 1997. That season turned out to be a good one: Michigan won its first and only national championship since 1947.
That propelled Griese to a third-round selection by the Denver Broncos in 1998. Griese took a redshirt as a rookie, then succeeded the retired John Elway for the 2-time defending Super Bowl champions as a second-year player in 1999. In all, Griese lasted 11 seasons in the league and played in one Pro Bowl, which led him to an 11-year broadcasting career for ESPN.
All of the above combined with Purdy's play this season makes it easy to see why Harbaugh approached Griese about coaching his quarterbacks.
A Michigan staff with Griese aboard would give Jim Harbaugh five who are former Wolverines themselves, plus the big man himself. The entire offensive staff sans co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore would be U-M alums, and no one in the offensive staff room would have played together.
Jim Harbaugh, head coach (1982-86)
Brian Griese, potential quarterbacks coach (1993-97)
Mike Hart, running backs coach (2004-07)
Ron Bellamy, wide receivers coach (1999-02)
Grant Newsome, tight ends coach (2015-16)
Mike Elston, defensive line coach (1993-96)
Speaking of Moore, he and Weiss shared coordinator duties in 2022. Moore shared co-coordinator duties with Josh Gattis in 2021, a promotion for him after serving as tight ends coach in 2018-20. Moore has handled the added responsibility extremely well; in his two seasons as Michigan's offensive line coach, Michigan has defeated Ohio State, won the Big Ten, reached the Playoff and won the Joe Moore Award as the nation's top O-line.
So it will be interesting to see if Harbaugh designates Moore his sole offensive coordinator in 2023, or if he uses a co-coordinator title to entice Griese or a quarterbacks coach to be named later.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
