Jim Harbaugh’s arrival at Michigan signaled another shift at the top of the Big Ten with immediate results last season. The Wolverines won 10 games in Harbaugh’s first year on the sidelines and expectations are even higher heading in to 2016 now that his staff has put his fingerprints on the program. How do Harbaugh and his staff match up against the top coaching staffs in their conference right now? Here is a look at the best coaching staffs in the Big Ten heading in to 2016.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The fact that the Buckeyes lost their offensive coordinator Tom Herman and defensive coordinator Chris Ash to head coaching jobs over the last two years is testament to the strength of Urban Meyer’s staff. After all, Meyer is the only coach in the Big Ten with a national championship on his resume and after winning the Big Ten in 2014, Ohio State fell just short of repeating as conference champions in 2015. The Buckeyes reloaded in the offseason with a considerable amount of skill and now it’s on the coaching staff to develop and plug in the right pieces in order to get the most out of the talent on the roster. Ohio State appears poised to challenge for another Big Ten title in 2016 and that is a testament to the job Meyer and his staff has done.
Michigan Wolverines
The fact that Harbaugh is already slotted in here at the No. 2 spot is testament to the job he has done turning things around at Michigan after just one season. Harbaugh made an immediate mark for the Wolverines and there has been plenty of talk about how Michigan has the potential to be even better in his second season with the team. The departure of defensive coordinator DJ Durkin was expected to have a negative impact but Harbaugh managed to replace him with former Boston College coordinator Don Brown, so it might actually work out to be an upgrade. Harbaugh has assembled an impressive staff an turned things around in short order so it only makes sense that the Wolverines’ staff is locked in to this spot.
Michigan State Spartans
The fact that Michigan State has won two of the last three Big Ten titles will have some arguing Mark Dantonio and his staff should be higher on this list but it’s hard to argue against Meyer and Harbaugh as 1-2. The reality is that Dantonio’s staff has done a tremendous job overall even despite the fact that the Spartans haven’t been able to keep up with OSU and Michigan on the recruiting trail. Dantonio owns a combined 3-2 record against Meyer and Harbaugh but the fact that Michigan State barely scarped past Michigan last year combined with the job Meyer and Harbaugh have done on the recruiting trail has us holding Dantonio’s staff back in the third spot on this list.
Illinois Fighting Illini
There is no doubt about which teams are in the big three for the Big Ten right now but as far as coaching staffs go Illinois is a major player after a busy offseason. The Fighting Illini landed Lovie Smith after he spent 11 of the past 12 years as an NFL head coach and they invested $4 million in cash in to their assistant salary pool. Smith hired former Louisville offensive coordinator Garrick McGee and brought with him a number of ex-NFL assistants including defensive coordinator Hardy Nickerson and offensive line coach Luke Butkus. It might take some time for Smith and his staff to turn things around on the field but there is clearly no doubt right now that Illinois has one of the more impressive coaching staffs in the Big Ten.
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