Steve Clinkscale Praises Mike Macdonald, Defensive Staff

One of Michigan's biggest and best hires is vibing well with Mike Macdonald and the rest of the staff.

Steve Clinkscale has been around for a minute. The veteran defensive backs coach mentioned earlier today that he's entering season No. 22 as a coach, while his "boss" and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald is in just his early 30s. Clinkscale said it with a laugh and then explained how the two have bonded and how the energy and camaraderie have spread throughout the entire staff.

"Mike is not a dictator," Clinkscale said. "He wants everyone to do their job. I've been very impressed. I really like him and I've learned a lot of football."

I think that line about learning a lot of football is special. Clink has seen it all and been part of many different staffs — like he said, dating back to when Macdonald was in middle school. But that hasn't kept Clinkscale from being open minded and learning new things from a much younger Macdonald. 

When Macdonald arrived in Ann Arbor from Baltimore, he was an unknown as a coordinator. He kind of still is, but at least we've seen one game's worth of what he's about. He mixed up schemes and coverages, he disguised looks and most importantly, he adjusted. Clinkscale is certainly a big part of the defense as a very veteran and experience coach, but he seems very confident in what Macdonald is doing.

"I think Mike did a great job [on Saturday]," Clinkscale said. "He's a really good coach and a really good organizer. He's the coordinator so he has adjustments for everybody. You get the big picture from your coordinator and then we have to break it down into a smaller picture for our players."

That formula definitely seemed to work on Saturday. Western Michigan had some success on its first two drives, but Macdonald adjusted, relayed the information to the position coaches, they implemented it and the players executed it. Three and a half quarters later and Michigan wins 47-14. 

Every time Clinkscale talks, it's worth a listen. He's a very cool and calm guy, but you can tell he's about his business and he's got the track record to back it up. Hearing him speak so highly of Macdonald is another endorsement for the young coordinator. At this point, it's still hard to form an opinion about Macdonald and his defense, but how it looked and how it evolved over the course of the game against Western was beyond promising. It's going to be a different animal on Saturday against Washington, but with Clinkscale and the rest of the staff backing him, Macdonald is poised to make a big statement against the Huskies.