Sherrone Moore, Michigan football’s new coach, has been working assembling a coaching staff. This week, he hired
Kirk Campbell as offensive coordinator, as well as a new special teams and tight ends coach.
However, there are still some significant hires to make. First and foremost, it would be ideal if Michigan football
could retain Steve Clinkscale and Mike Elston. Both have played important roles on the team in recent years, and
their departure would be a shock.
Yet, there has been no official statement on either, so we must wait. However, a new name has emerged in the
defensive coordinator search, according to Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider: Joe Cullen of the Kansas City Chiefs.
According to Webb, Moore and Cullen have made contact and have “mutual interest.” Cullen is the Chiefs’ defensive
line coach, but he has previous coordinator experience in the NFL, dating back to the 2021 season with the Jaguars.
where was the season where Urban Meyer was the head coach, but it did not go well.
But Cullen ended up in Kansas City. He also has college football roots, having served on the Ravens coaching staff for
five seasons (2016-2020) before taking over as coordinator in Jacksonville. He has worked with Mike Macdonald
and Jesse Minter and should be familiar with Michigan’s defensive strategy.
Moore has stated that he wants to maintain the current defensive strategy in place, and hiring Cullen should allow
Michigan football to do so. If Elston leaves, Cullen is also a great defensive line coach, but I’d rather have both on the
coaching staff.
Cullen was Indiana’s defensive coordinator back in 2004. In addition to the Jaguars and Chiefs, he has previously
played for the Lions, Browns, and Buccaneers. With the Super Bowl coming up next week, you wonder whether the
hire will have to wait until afterward, which is not ideal.
