Two years ago, Jim Harbaugh entrusted his offense to a 34-year-old coordinator with no previous play-calling experience.
With his defense in need of an overhaul, Harbaugh is taking a similar path with the hiring of Mike Macdonald, a 35-year-old wunderkind who comes to Michigan after seven years working for John Harbaugh in the Ravens organization. Michigan announced Macdonald as its next defensive coordinator Sunday, a day after the Ravens were eliminated from the NFL playoffs.
After Michigan parted with Don Brown in December, the first names mentioned were established college coaches: former Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason, former Texas coach Charlie Strong and former Florida and South Carolina coach Will Muschamp, among others. Instead, Michigan opted for an outside-the-box hire, betting on the potential of a first-time coordinator instead of bringing in a big name.
In some ways, Macdonald is an even bolder choice than Josh Gattis, who was a co-offensive…
