We anticipated that the Wolverines would lose some of their coaching staff in addition to their head coach when Michigan lost head coach Jim Harbaugh to the Los Angeles Chargers. The expected players were special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, but strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert was a mystery. The announcement on Monday that Herbert would also be joining Harbaugh in the NFL dealt a serious blow to the Wolverines’ recruitment and development efforts.
Herbert was mostly responsible for creating the Wolverines’ culture of toughness, unity, and overcoming adversity over the past three seasons, as Michigan finally overcame Ohio State, began regularly defeating the Buckeyes, won three Big Ten titles, and ultimately won a national championship. It’s been generally known that one of Michigan’s main selling factors to recruits on the recruiting path was the allure of training with Herbert. As we previously stated, One cannot overstate the significant contribution Ben Herbert made to Michigan. was outstanding in developing a number of Freaks while assisting in the establishment of the culture that eventually became the center of a championship program.
Arguably, Sherrone Moore’s first major task as head coach following his promotion was to retain Herbert. There was hope that Michigan may continue using Herbert’s services. The conventional wisdom held that a strength coach may have a greater influence at the collegiate level than in the NFL by helping to develop players between the ages of 18 and 23 as opposed to more seasoned professionals. Nevertheless, Moore and Michigan were unable to overcome Herbert and Harbaugh’s close bond.
With Herbert out of the picture, Michigan will have big shoes to fill. As they did with Moore, the Wolverines decided to promote Herbert’s second-in-command, Justin Tress, to head strength coach. Since Harbaugh brought Herbert on board in 2018, Tress has served as Herbert’s right-hand man. Michigan must hope that Tress can carry on creating the foundation that his predecessor was so successful in doing over the previous three years.
