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After having one of the worst offenses in college football last season, the Michigan football team decided that it was in the team’s best interest to move on from offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell. Campbell was fired at the conclusion of the season, and Michigan hired Chip Lindsey to be his replacement. Lindsey has led some explosive offenses in the past, but Michigan has always ran its offense in a certain way.
The Michigan football team wants to run the football down their opposition's throat. That is how it’s always been. Even with a quarterback like JJ McCarthy, the Wolverines were run-first. Will that change with an OC like Chip Lindsey and a QB like Bryce Underwood? It doesn’t sound like it.
“I think you run the football to set up throwing it down the field,” Lindsey said, according to an article from On3. “Ten years ago, I would’ve told you probably the opposite. I just think my experience now … that’s what I believe in. The last two years, the previous stop, we had a 1,500-yard rusher. And then when we had Drake Maye, first round pick, he threw for almost over 4,000 yards at the same time.”
Just because an offense is run-first doesn’t mean that it’s not explosive. Michigan wants to establish the run, and that will open the door for the big plays through the air.
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“When you go back, even at Southern Miss, I was working with Todd Monken there, who’s the OC of the Ravens now, we had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season and a 4,000-yard passer,” Lindsey continued. “That’s probably the most explosive offense I’ve ever been a part of.”
Michigan had a solid rushing attack last season, but it was hard to get it going because the defense knew that the Wolverines didn’t have the option to throw the ball down field. The Wolverines need to add that dynamic to their offense this season.
“Those things are rare, but that’s who you gotta be if you’re gonna win the whole thing, and that’s been proven here before,” Lindsey said. “I think the recipe is the same. We have to be able to run the football when we want to do it. You play on the road, you play late in the season, the weather is different — that’s important. We gotta be physical and we have to have that mindset. At the same time, I want to create explosive plays, and to do that, you gotta be able to throw it down the field — and that’s what we’re really focused on.”
The good news for the Michigan football team is that the passing game can’t get worse than it was last year. With a new OC and a new QB, signs are pointing to a much better offense in Ann Arbor for the 2025 season.
