Michigan OC reportedly was in Charlottesville on Thursday night

By Jerry Ratcliffe

According to Wolverine Digest, a publication that covers Michigan football, Josh Gattis, the team’s offensive coordinator, interviewed for the Virginia football job Thursday night in Charlottesville.

Gattis, 37, who is in his third year as Jim Harbaugh’s play caller, was the 2021 recipient of the Frank Broyles Award, which recognizes the top assistant coach in the nation.

Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was in Charlottesville on Thursday morning but left town after negotiations for the job hit a “snag.” Apparently Elliott was offered the job.

Upon arrival back home, Elliott told “Clemson Insider,” that it was “his decision,” on whether to take the Virginia job and that he hoped to reach that decision no later than Friday morning. There is no word on that decision.

Elliott said he would weigh Virginia’s offer along with possibilities to become head coach at Duke. He also said he may return to Clemson, where he has been Dabo Swinney’s play caller for the past seven seasons.

Back to Gattis, who enjoyed his best season as the Wolverines’ offensive coordinator this past season …

Michigan decided to go with a a power running game this past season, which led to a Big Ten championship, a dominating win over rival Ohio State, and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

The Wolverines presently rank No. 13 nationally in scoring (37.7 points per game), No. 19 in total offense (451.9), No. 9 in rushing offense (223.9 per game), and tied for No. 3 in runs longer than 40 yards (nine), No. 20 in third-down conversion percentage (45.4 percent), first in fewest tackles for loss allowed (27), tied for second in fewest sacks allowed (10) and tied for No. 15 in fewest turnovers (11).

Harbaugh and Gattis decided to go away from spread concepts that Gattis had brought to Michigan from Alabama and instead convert to a run-heavy philosophy behind a dominant offensive line.

“When everyone said we can’t do anything (through the air), it’s not that we couldn’t do anything, it’s that we were choosing to do things differently,” Gattis said on the “Inside Michigan Football” radio show. “I think that’s the biggest narrative that needed to be changed. A lot of people thought we couldn’t throw the ball just because we didn’t choose to throw the ball, not because throwing the ball wasn’t successful. A lot of people thought we can’t throw it deep. It’s because we were choosing not to.”

Gattis said the offensive staff was doing what they felt allowed the team to be most successful.

Gattis has ties to the ACC. He’s a native of Durham, N.C., and played at Wake Forest. After a short NFL career, Gattis started his coaching career at UNC in 2010.

He was a member of James Franklin’s staff and both Vanderbilt and Penn State before moving on to Alabama in 2018, serving as Nick Saban’s co-offensive coordinator. The Crimson Tide played in the College Football Playoff that season.

Harbaugh quickly lured Gattis to Ann Arbor.