San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans before an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Michigan football reportedly hiring Houston Texans’ Stephen Adegoke as next DBs coach
Another familiar face is returning to Ann Arbor for a spot on Sherrone Moore’s new-look coaching staff for Michigan football.
Stephen Adegoke will be joining Michigan’s staff as the defensive backs coach according to a report from 247Sports. He will be replacing Steve Clinkscale, who followed Jim Harbaugh to take a job with the Chargers. Adegoke spent the last two seasons working on defensive staffs in the NFL as a defensive quality control coach in 2022 with the 49ers and as the safeties coach for the Houston Texans in 2023.
Before moving to the NFL, Adegoke spent one season on Michigan’s coaching staff during the 2021 season as a graduate assistant. He began coaching in 2019 as a graduate assistant with Florida and spent two seasons there before joining the Wolverines for a year.
RAINER SABIN:The pro and cons of Wink Martindale as Michigan’s new defensive coordinator
In his one season in charge of the back line for Houston’s defense, the Texans ranked 23rd in passing defense (234.5 passing yards allowed per game) and recorded 16 interceptions during the regular season.
As a player, Adegoke spent three seasons with Mississippi State (2016-18) after playing two seasons at the junior college level for San Diego Mesa from 2014-15. In two seasons as a safety for Mississippi State during his final two collegiate seasons, he appeared in 16 games and registered 14 tackles, three passes defended, one interception and one forced fumble.
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Adegoke joins a long list of new hires for Michigan, as the program reshapes in the post-Harbaugh era. The former Michigan skipper left for a job in the NFL at the end of January, and he brought along four assistant coaches with him — Clinkscale, defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, defensive line coach Mike Elston and strength & conditioning coach Ben Herbert. Jay Harbaugh also left for the NFL, taking the special teams coordinator job with the Seattle Seahawks after serving in the same role for U-M.
Adegoke joins defensive coordinator Wink Martindale as the new coaches on Moore’s staff who were previously in the NFL. The rest of the staff hiring includes Kirk Campbell as offensive coordinator, Grant Newsome as offensive line coach, J.B. Brown as special teams coordinator, Steve Casula as tight ends coach and Justin Tress as the strength and conditioning coach.
Though there was plenty of attrition from the 2023 national championship team, the Michigan secondary will be returning plenty of contributing talent, headlined by cornerback Will Johnson. Rod Moore, Makari Paige, Keon Sabb, Ja’Den McBurrows and Zeke Berry are also returning.
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Which key free agents do the Houston Texans keep?
And which ones will walk away in 2024?
Not only is the off-season about adding to the success of the 2023 Houston Texans roster, it’s also about retaining the right pieces to continue building for the future.
With star free agents from other teams such as New York Giants tailback Saquon Barkley and Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs defense lineman Chris Jones seeing their names tied to the Texans in the rumor mill, it’s easy to forget the in-house talent.
But head coach Demeco Ryans and general manager Nick Caserio need to work on contracts for the players they want to keep before the free agency period begins next month.
The list of noteworthy free agents starts with defensive end Jonathan Greenard, who had 12.5 sacks (tied for 10th). There’s also linebacker Blake Cashman, who led the team in tackles (109), tight end Dalton Schultz, cornerback Steven Nelson, kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins.
Greenard is the highest profile in this batch, having tallied 12.5 sacks last season. His on-field performance was a big help for Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr.
The first question: do Ryans and Caserio see Greenard as part of the future?
Second question: does Greenard see himself staying in H-Town?
Then the price of admission comes into play.
Overthecap.com currently has the Texans with $57,744,290 in available space. Once the 2024 salary cap is announced, that number is expected to rise into the $61 mil range.
OTC has Greenard valued at $11.7 mil for 2024. Does he mean enough to the Texans plans to eat up nearly 20% of their available cap space?
Next up, tight end Dalton Schultz who meant an awful lot to Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud. OTC has Schultz penned in at just under $8.4 mil in 2024. That’s just shy of 14% of the available cap.
With Greenard and Schultz, Caserio could erase roughly 35% of the available cap cash.
Are the 2 players that integral to coach Ryans’ future plans?
Blake Cashman ($7.4 mil), Steven Nelson ($11.8 mil), Ka’imi Fairbairn ($2.8 mil) and Sheldon Rankins ($7.4) would eat up a combined $29.4 mil of the remaining $40.9 mil, leaving just $11.5 mil to sign another tailback, defensive line interior help and any other positions Caserio and Ryans deem necessary.
Keep in mind, contracts get front loaded, back loaded, side loaded and/or signing bonus loaded all the time to jigger the salary cap hit.
All that to say, these numbers are certainly not set in stone. And, at least one of these players is likely to play for another team in 2024. Plus, Caserio has proven adept at generating cap space by negotiating new deals with existing players to kick the cap can down the road.
No matter how he does it, the man has a lot to do and not very long to do it.
And there’s always the Spector of the Unexpected:
