Special teams coordinator and safeties coach Chris Partridge left the Michigan football program Thursday morning, taking a coaching position at Ole Miss under Lane Kiffin.
Though Partridge’s job title was not named in Ole Miss’ press release announcing the move, it’s widely expected that he will be named co-defensive coordinator with D.J. Durkin, another former Michigan assistant whose hiring the Rebels announced Thursday morning in a press release.
In Partridge, a former high school coach Jim Harbaugh hired from Paramus Catholic High School in New Jersey, the Wolverines lose their best recruiter on staff. Partridge won 247Sports’ National Recruiter of the Year in 2017. He was instrumental in landing five-star defensive end Rashan Gary — the top-rated player in the country at the time — and flipping five-star safety Daxton Hill back to Michigan from Alabama last season.
“I don’t really know where my head was at, at that time,” Hill said in October, describing his recruitment process. “That’s what happened right there.”
Having just finished his freshman season, Hill will be an instrumental part of Michigan’s defense moving forward. The Wolverines will have Partridge to thank for that.
Harbaugh’s staff has undergone turnover every offseason. It took less than 24 hours after Michigan’s season ended with a Citrus Bowl loss to Alabama this time around.
In terms of replacing Partridge, the Wolverines have an experienced safeties coach in Devin Bush Sr. already on staff. They could look there, or to an outside hire.