Michigan looks to be eyeing a Tennessee assistant coach for their new-look coaching staff, according to a report from FootballScoop’s John Brice on Tuesday afternoon.
Brice’s report states that Tennessee linebackers coach Brian-Jean Mary has emerged as a candidate and target “for a similar role on the Wolverines defensive staff.“
The added intrigue to Brice’s report stems from the prior history between Jean-Mary and the Michigan Football program. Prior to being hired to Josh Heupel’s Tennessee staff when it was being put together in early 2021, Jean-Mary spent one year as the Wolverines’ linebackers coach during the 2020 season. Jean-Mary went to Michigan after spending the prior three seasons as the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator, and linebackers coach at UCF. Jean-Mary’s final two years at Central Florida were under then-head coach Josh Heupel in 2018 and 2019.
After the Wolverines won the National Championship over Washington this past season, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh left the program to take over the vacant head coaching position with the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. Michigan elevated offensive coordinator and longtime assistant Sherrone Moore to the head coaching position in replacement of Harbaugh.
Sherrone was the Wolverines’ tight ends coach when Jean-Mary was also on the Michigan staff during the 2020 season.
Jean-Mary has been one of the top defensive assistants on Tennessee’s staff despite needing to build up the depth and the talent of the linebacker room over his three years on Rocky Top. What was once a shallow room in terms of depth, Jean-Mary helped sign elite linebacker Arion Carter and brought in veteran Keenan Pili from the transfer portal. While Carter was just a freshman during the 2023 season and Pili suffered an early season-ending injury, both players project to be two of the most important players on Tennessee’s defense in 2024.
The report on Tuesday also comes on the heels of Tennessee losing running backs coach Jerry Mack to the NFL as the former assistant took over the running backs coaching position with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
According to Knoxville News Sentinel’s Adam Sparks, Tennessee linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary received a raise in early 2023 from $590,000 to $665,000 between base and supplemental pay and an extension through January 31, 2025.
Jean-Mary spent the first three years of his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Louisville (2000) and South Carolina (2001-2002) before joining the North Alabama staff as the secondary coach. The 48-year-old Tennessee assistant has been an assistant coach/assistant head coach in the college football landscape ever since joining the North Alabama staff in 2003.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football news.
