With the departure of defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin after the 2015 season, Jim Harbaugh hired Don Brown away from Boston College to be his replacement. Brown did not disappoint in his first season as Michigan posted the nation's #1 ranked defense.
Don Brown comes from the northeast where he spent the majority of his tenure as defensive coordinators of schools such as Boston College, Connecticut, and Maryland. While coordinating Boston College, the Eagles had the #1 ranked defense in 2014 and #9 ranked defense in 2015, all while having little offensive presence.