It appears Jim Harbaugh has made a significant addition to his coaching staff.
According to reports from Sam Webb of 247Sports and Brandon Justice of The Wolverine Lounge, the Wolverines have hired Cincinnati defensive line coach Al Washington.
Webb tweeted earlier this afternoon Washington will likely serve as a linebackers coach, working with the SAMs and VIPERs, and has already informed Cincinnati signees of his departure.
While relatively young — he was a three-year starter at defensive tackle for Boston College from 2002-2005 — Washington has a wealth of coaching experience and also has ties with defensive coordinator Don Brown, whom he previously worked under on the Eagles’ coaching staff.
After Washington’s playing career, he broke into the coaching ranks right away, with stops at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, North Carolina State (as a graduate assistant), Slippery Rock and Elon.
Following 2011, which he spent as a linebackers coach at Elon, Washington returned to his alma mater, where he was a jack-of-all-trades for Boston College. In 2012, he was the special teams coach. Between 2013-2015, he was the running backs coach, overlapping with the tenure of Brown, who was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at the time.
In 2016, he served as the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator.
This past season, Washington was the Bearcats’ defensive line coach under former Ohio State interim coach Luke Fickell.
Washington has a pedigree as a talented recruiter. At Boston College, he signed Jon Hilliman, a highly-touted running back from New Jersey, and Harold Landry, a defensive end currently projected as a first-round NFL Draft selection. In 2016, Landry led the nation with 16.5 sacks and earned All-American honors.
In his one year with Cincinnati, Washington signed two players — including three-star defensive end Malik Vann, the Bearcats’ second-highest rated recruit in their 2018 class.
It’s entirely possible — perhaps even likely — this will not be the only hire Harbaugh and Michigan make this offseason. According to a report from Bruce Feldman of Sports Illustrated, offensive tackles and tight ends coach Greg Frey is set to leave the Wolverines for Florida State, his alma mater, while the Wolverines have also been linked with former Arkansas offensive coordinator Dan Enos. And thanks to a measure that the NCAA approved last spring, programs will soon be able to hire a 10th on-field assistant coach. The new rule will take effect Jan. 9.