Jay Hopson is "Walking in Memphis"

Michigan's linebackers coach Jay Hopson has taken the defensive coordinator role at Memphis.

“Yea,” he replied when asked if the internet reports were true. “It was an honor and a privilege to coach for Coach Rodriguez and be a part of his staff. They are wonderderful coaches and even better men. They will make Michigan very proud."

Hopson leaving makes a possible difficult decision for Coach Rod and easy one. The poor state of the Michigan defensive can be pointed to 3 things: lack of depth, inexperienced players and very poor linebacker play from experienced starters.

So why does highly ranked experienced players fail on the field? Most of the time, you point towards coaching. Ask Charlie Wies.

Jay came to Michigan two years ago with a reputation for being a strong recruiter in the Southern states like Mississippi and Louisiana. His biggest recruitment was probably his biggest recruiting failure with the signing day losses of two (much needed) defensive lineman in the 2009 class. The two young men in question picked Texas Tech and Arkansas over Michigan after verbally committing to the Wolverines for months.

Many had expected that Jay would be relieved of his duties during this off season. I assume he saw the writing on the wall and found a new job. Sorry Memphis fans, this isn't the most glowing report card for your new DC.

Brian at Mgoblog suggests that Corwin Brown a former Wolverine player and recently departed DC at Notre Dame will be a candidate to replace Hopson. I agree that Brown would be great on the Michigan staff and he would also bring a strong recruiting reputation. Brian puts it perfectly in saying that: This makes Rodriguez 0/2 on his new hires since coming to Michigan, with Greg Robinson currently sporting an incomplete. If Rodriguez doesn't make it at Michigan the guys he picked to run his defense will be a primary factor.