Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon wanted a defensive-minded coach to take the reigns when he was looking for a replacement for Rich Rodriguez. Brandon joked he even wanted the ball boys to be defensive minded — so he hired Brady Hoke.

Then Michigan's new coach needed someone to coordinate his Wolverine defense — someone who could turn around a unit that finished last season ranked 110th in Division-I football. So Hoke hired Greg Mattison.

Who, you may ask?

The coach who served as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator for the past two seasons, in which his units finished 3rd and 10th in the NFL in total defense. He coached Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, Terrell Suggs, Haloti Ngata — those Baltimore Ravens.

Once upon a time, Mattison was Hoke’s superior when Hoke first came to Michigan in 1995. Mattison was the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator in 1995 and 1996 seasons while Hoke coached the defensive linemen.

“Greg loves Michigan, loves recruiting and is excited about coming back to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan,” Hoke said on Tuesday. “Greg is one of the top defensive coordinators in football, and his defensive units have always prided themselves on stopping the run. He will be a great asset to our program and an excellent addition to our staff.”

When Hoke was hired, he stressed the need to surround the players with people and coaches who were going to “work for” the players.

“Everyone who is going to touch this program and deal with these kids are going to have a fanatical love for the University of Michigan, or they won't work in the football office, I can tell you that,” Hoke said at his introductory press conference.

That shouldn’t be an issue for Mattison, who coached at Michigan for five seasons under Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr.

The Ravens ran a 3-4 defense during Mattison's three seasons in Baltimore — he coached the linebackers during his first season there. But Hoke ran a 3-3-5 defense during his tenure at San Diego State, and the Aztecs jumped from a one of the worst defenses in the nation pre-Hoke to 43rd in the country in 2010.

Former Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson used a 3-3-5 in 2010 and the Wolverines struggled to stop opponents all season. On average, opponents scored 35 points and racked up 450 yards of offense, and the best of the Big Ten did the most damage against Michigan. Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State beat the Wolverines by an average of 22 points.

Season-ending injuries to defensive backs Troy Woolfolk and J.T. Floyd forced younger and less experienced players to step in. Michigan’s primary scheme called for five of those defensive backs to be on the field at one time.

It’s unclear at this point what scheme Mattison and Hoke will decide to implement for next season. The new Michigan defensive coordinator brings a reputation though — he continued the Baltimore tradition of stopping the run (94 yards allowed per game) and preventing opponents from scoring (17 points per game).

But throughout the coaching search after the firing of Rodriguez, who is known as a pioneer of the spread-option offense, Brandon said it was important that the schemes maximized the players’ talents and strengths.

The Wolverines return depth on the defensive line with defensive linemen Mike Martin, Ryan Van Bergen and Craig Roh. And the secondary should improve, with younger players taking their lumps in 2010.

Hoke answered critics of the 3-3-5 defense during his press conference and sounded a lot like Rodriguez did when the former Michigan coach was questioned about his defensive scheme — they both preached its flexibility.

“You can talk about the 3-3-5, you can talk about a 4-3, you can talk about a 3-4, you can go back and play a 6-2,” Hoke said last week. “I mean, people need to be educated on what (the 3-3-5) is, because there's multiple ways to play that with depending on the personnel that you want to have on the field.

“We played with four guys on the line of scrimmage, five guys on the line of scrimmage, three guys on the line of scrimmage. It just depends. It's flexibility that it gives you, is something that was good for us.”

Mattison hasn't had any shortage of high-profile coaching experience.