Notebook: Michigan teams navigating late-stage staff moves

The coaching staff hiring cycle is mostly wrapped up, but not entirely. It’s something all five of the FBS teams in Michigan have dealt with, of late. 

From Western Michigan moving quickly to replace a star coordinator to Michigan’s new defensive line coach opening, there’s been no shortage of late-stage staff moves as the 2026 coaching staffs get settled. 

Here’s a run down of the various coaching machinations across the FBS programs in Michigan over the last few weeks. 

Michigan in the market for new DL coach

Jesse Minter’s arrival as the new head coach of the Baltimore Ravens had far-reaching ramification, including in Ann Arbor, as Minter has tabbed Michigan defensive line coach Lou Esposito to the same job on the Ravens defensive staff. 

Various reports have identified assistant defensive line coach David Denham as a potential in-house replacement at this late stage. 

Denham joined the Michigan staff for the 2025 season, following Esposito from Western Michigan. Denham coached defensive line at WMU, and helped develop future NFL players Braden Fiske and the late Marshawn Kneeland. 

It’s a well-earned promotion for Esposito, who coached the Michigan defensive lines in 2024 and 2025 and was retained by new head coach Kyle Whittingham earlier this year. Esposito began his coaching career in 2003 on the staff of the Memphis Xplorers after a brief stint playing for the Arena Football League team. 

Esposito then made stops at Saint Joseph (IN), where he eventually became head coach, before moving on to coach defensive line at Western Michigan and then coordinate the defense for a year at Ferris State. Esposito then served as the first head coach in program history for Davenport, coaching there for a number of years before returning to the DL coach role at WMU and eventually getting hired at Michigan. 

“I am thankful for my time in A2 and grateful for every opportunity at the University of Michigan,” Esposito wrote in a social media post. 

Esposito’s son, Louis Esposito, a three-star lineman prospect for Saline High School, reaffirmed his commitment to Michigan after the news broke. 

Western Michigan promotes Greer Martini to DC

Western Michigan did what it could to hold on to Chris O’Leary, but when the NFL came calling there was little to be done to keep the rising star defensive coordinator in Kalamazoo. 

And with O’Leary set to coordinate the Los Angeles Chargers defense come fall, WMU head coach Lance Taylor didn’t wait long to promote from within, elevating linebackers coach Greer Martini into the defensive coordinator role. 

“I am excited to announce the promotion of Greer Martini to defensive coordinator,” Taylor said in a statement posted on social media. “Greer has earned the trust of our players and staff through his work ethic, football intelligence and commitment to our culture. His grit and relentless energy show up every day, along with a clear vision for how we attack defensively, and I know he’ll push our defense to compete at the highest level every single day and elevate the championship standard we have created. I couldn’t be more confident in his leadership and what he’ll bring to this defense.”

It’s a logical choice, given the late stage of the coach hiring cycle that O’Leary’s departure took place. And it also reflects a desire for continuity from a defense that was one of the best in the nation in 2025. 

Western Michigan managed unprecedented roster retainment amidst the transfer portal era. And while there will be some rebuilding to be done in the defensive front seven due to graduations, the Broncos are opting for continuity in coaching, however it can come. 

Michigan State finds QB coach to replace Bajakian

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald shared that when he hired Mike Bajakian to be the Spartans’ quarterbacks coach, the possibility of leaving for the NFL wasn’t on the table. 

But then the Cleveland Browns hired Todd Monken and Bajakian got the call. Fitzgerald gave his blessing for one of his longtime assistants was off to the shores of Lake Erie. 

And Fitzgerald found his replacement in short order, hiring John McNulty as the new quarterbacks coach in East Lansing. 

Fitzgerald laid out how he and offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan approached filling the role. 

We wanted someone with coordinating experience, similar to 'Jak to add to the room offensively. Someone with quarterback background, experience. Obviously that speaks for itself with John McNulty. And then someone that maybe either one of us potentially had a familiarity with. And obviously Nick and John have worked together before. Interviewed a handful of candidates. Had an outpouring of candidates interested and I'm very thankful for that. But we kind of set our parameters with what we're looking for and we were able to get that done relatively quickly but very thoroughly.

McNulty has a wide ranging job history in football, and comes to Michigan State from a role as an offensive assistant at Rutgers. He’s been both a coordinator and quarterbacks coach, fitting those criteria, and his crossover with Sheridan came at Alabama in 2024. 

After finishing his playing career at Penn State, McNulty began as a GA at Michigan and has worked extensively at the NFL and college levels. 

He’s coached at UConn, Rutgers, Penn State, Notre Dame, Boston College and Alabama as a coach and analyst. At the NFL level, McNulty has coached for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans and the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers. 

Eastern Michigan hires two, loses one

A former Michigan football player is coaching the Eastern Michigan receivers. Except instead of Mike Hart, who got the role briefly before leaving for an assistant job at Boston College, it will be Erik “Soup” Campbell coaching the Eagles wideouts. 

An assistant coach at Michigan in 2025, Campbell first donned the maize and blue as a player in the mid-1980s. He played mostly as a defensive back during his time in Ann Arbor, but also played some receiver. 

Campbell has coached all over the country, serving in assistant coaching roles at Michigan (multiple stints), Ball State, Iowa, Syracuse, Bowling Green, Navy, UConn, Delaware and even the Montreal Alouettes. He’s coached primarily wide receivers during his career. 

"He has a ton of experience, knows the MAC and has a great group to work with,” EMU head coach Chris Creighton said in a release. “He is going to make us better."

But as Campbell enters, the Eagles have lost another position coach, as cornerbacks coach Munir Prince is leaving to take a defensive assistant role at Army. That news was reported by FootballScoop and Prince posted a farewell message on social media on Sunday.

The Eagles also recently announced the hire of Zac Sias as the assistant defensive tackles coach. 

Sias comes to Eastern Michigan from the Kansas staff, where he was an assistant linebackers coach. He coached at Arkansas State prior to that, and has extensive experience coaching at the junior college level. He also coached the NFLPA College Bowl in 2023. 

Central Michigan’s new running backs coach

The Chippewas only had one staff move of real note to navigate this offseason, replacing running backs coach Sheldon Croney Jr., who took an assistant running backs coach job at Penn State. There, he reunites with Matt Campbell, who he worked for at Iowa State in 2023 and 2024. 

In replacement, the Chippewas hired — perhaps ironically — Penn State assistant running backs coach Charles Walker, who served on James Franklin’s staff in 2025. It is, effectively, a coach swap for the two programs from 2025. 

CMU has not yet announced the hire, but Walker is listed on the 2026 coaching staff page. 

A UMass alum, Walker spent several years on staff there after getting his coaching start at Nichols State. He first coached with James Franklin at Vanderbilt, and did a stint at Penn State in 2019 and 2020 before spending a season with the Atlanta Falcons as an analyst.