In his first press conference of the 2024 season, Michigan linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary talked about his return to Ann Arbor, his hopes for the Wolverines’ defense, and a lot more.

After three seasons in Tennessee, Jean-Mary, who served as the Wolverines’ coach in 2020, returned to the maize and blue. In addition to his 23 years of coaching expertise, he is well-known for being an outstanding recruiter.

His mission is to improve the U-M linebacker room, which lost two studs to the NFL. Jean-Mary stated the following on Monday:

Coach Brian Jean-Mary of the Michigan linebackers discussed his return to Ann Arbor, his expectations for the Wolverines’ defense, and a host of other topics during his first press conference of the 2024 campaign.

Jean-Mary, who coached the Wolverines in 2020, returns to the maize and blue after three seasons in Tennessee. Apart from his 23 years of coaching experience, he’s also a highly regarded recruiter. He wants to make improvements to the U-M linebacker room after two talented players left for the NFL. On Monday, Jean-Mary said the following.

Regarding his initial thoughts of the Michigan linebacker room.

It’s gone well. The problem before we even began to practice was that we lost two big-time linebackers, Michael Barrett and Junior Colson, two of the best linebackers to come out of Michigan in the last 20 years. I mentioned that I was observing these two guys intently since I knew them personally, even if I was only an admirer from a distance. They, in my opinion, performed at the highest level among all the linebacker groups in the nation. We therefore understand that the bar was high, and that presented a hurdle. The boys seem to be attempting to reach that level, in my opinion. Of course, we haven’t arrived yet.

Ernest Hausmann has been the key figure, taking up that leadership position. And as a linebacker coach, there was one thing I always appreciated about them: their flexibility. And then coming here to witness the real games, which were clearly played in a very muscular and effective manner. However, as a coach, I’ve never seen a squad that was as adept at making last-minute adjustments and modifications as this one. And I believe that these guys are facing that struggle. As I mentioned before, Ernest Hausmann has been excellent thus far, but in order to get to that level, we need to have a few more folks in the room.