In the Michigan community directory and on the athletic department’s website, Ryan Osborn is listed as an analyst. It’s a vague title with a job description even more nebulous. The role was created more than a decade ago as deep-pocketed football programs invested their money in personnel and built outsized staffs that numbered in the dozens.
The men who hold these positions tend to operate in the shadows while scouting opponents, formulating detailed game plans, crunching data and consulting with the on-field assistants.
What they can’t do, according to the NCAA, is coach.
But multiple people inside the program have said Osborn was doing just that.