SEARCHBITS XXXI: Assistant Time

no jerkin' Durkin around

DURKIN SEEMS IN. 247 reports that Durkin has turned down an offer to be UNC's DC and will almost certainly be announced at Michigan in the near future. This is not really news—Durkin's name has been rumored for two weeks now—but it seems likely he's announced ASAP here and starts pounding the recruiting trail. There are reports he's already talking to recruits about coming up to Ann Arbor.

We'll have to wait a few days for it to be official since Durkin is Florida's interim head coach and the Birmingham Bowl is on January 3rd. But that appears to be done-done-done.

MARROW DEFINITELY IN PLAY. Depending on who you listen to, Kentucky TE coach Vince Marrow is either not about to leave Mark Stoops…

Per source, Mark Stoops does not believe he's losing Vince Marrow to Michigan. The two are very close and Marrow is UK's recruiting ace.

— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_CJ) December 31, 2014

…or very much open to the idea of moving.

One of the first assistant dominoes may fall within the next 24 to 48 hours, as Kentucky tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow has been contacted by Michigan and would take a job with the staff if offered one.

Either way it seems likely that chatter about Michigan going after him is accurate.

MICHIGAN MEN OR HARBAUGH HOMBRES? FWIW, soon-to-recommit TE Chris Clark:

Clark said he got the impression Harbaugh's staff will be made up mainly of ex-Stanford and 49er staffers.

— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) December 31, 2014

That's good news for current 49ers, less so for Erik Campbell and Jeff Hecklinski. Exactly who these guys might be is still murky—Harbaugh has a lot of affiliates after his days at San Francisco and Stanford.

INCOMING GOOD IDEAS. The Sacramento Bee threw out a couple of new names:

Several of his long-time allies, including 49ers receivers coach John Morton and Tim Drevno, a former 49ers offensive line coach who last season was at USC, are believed to be joining him in Ann Arbor.

John Morton is currently the Niners WR coach; before that he had a number of roles with USC. He started as a WR coach, added "passing game coordinator" for a couple years, became the bonafide OC when Steve Sarkisian took the Washington job, and then went back to position coaching when Lane Kiffin came in. He was a WR coach a few places before that. He's a Michigan native who went to Western.

remember mapquest you guys

Tim Drevno is USC's OL coach. Drevno is a longtime Har-pal, having coached under him at San Diego, Stanford, and with the 49ers. Drevno was the OL coach for Stanford's two excellent Harbaugh offenses, forging the ass-kicking OL that Stanford came to be known for over the past half-dozen years. At San Francisco, 2012 saw all five(!) 49ers OL selected for the Pro Bowl. His line at USC last year featured three true freshmen and zero seniors; while they did give up a butt-ton of sacks USC's main back hit almost 1500 yards this year at 5.4 a pop.

Drevno was awarded the title of running game coordinator at USC, part of his reason for moving on and  may require a similar title at Michigan. If Michigan is offering the same title that might close the door on Ty Wheatley some since it's been reported he wants to move up in the ranks if he's going to come back to Michigan.

A final cherry on top of this potential hire is that Drevno called USC his dream job less than twelve months ago.

WHEATLEY? The Bills are ominously "evaluating" all their assistants. If Wheatley gets pushed out of there you might as well put him in pen in Ann Arbor.

OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR? Henson says Greg Roman, his current OC with the 49ers. That would make sense. Guy needs a job, knows Harbaugh well, etc. Not sure if that's happening-happening or just a guy who looks like a likely fit. Roman has been exclusively an NFL guy save for a single year in HS and two years with Stanford as the TE/OT coach, also during Stanford's nascent ass-kicking phase.

Roman is in contention for the Bucs' OC job and there's been chatter that he actually prefers the NFL, unlike Harbaugh. His coaching history suggests that. One thing that's not happening: sticking around the 49ers.

WHAT IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE

A guess at the moment:

OTHERS IN PLAY: Erik Campbell (WR), Jerry Montgomery(DL), Andy Moeller(OL), Fred Jackson(RB), Mike Hart(RB).

One problem with this alignment: it only has four defensive coaches. There are five on offense plus Harbaugh. If both Morton and Drevno do come I think that might mean Marrow is staying at Kentucky.