Josh Gattis details why he left Wolverines for Miami Hurricanes
Michigan football lost one of its top assistants last week following Josh Gattis’ move to Miami to join Mario Cristobal’s first-year staff as the Hurricanes’ new offensive coordinator. Gattis was college football’s Broyles Award winner last season after taking Michigan’s offense to new heights and leaves as a three-year member of Jim Harbaugh’s staff.
“I’m excited just to be here at the University of Miami,” Gattis said this week at his introductory presser, via InsideTheU. “Obviously, it was a very emotional week — as far as leaving. Any time you go through change, it’s always hard because I felt like I didn’t leave players behind — I feel like I left friends behind. I’m a person that’s built on relationships. And coaches that have worked for me, they’re always going to tell you, ‘It’s about relationships.’ I left a tremendous amount of friends.
“My family is still back in Michigan right now. So that’s always hard, going through change. But the thing that helps you get through change is surrounding yourself with great people.”
Gattis said he appreciates working under a head coach who shares a similar vision and sets the tone throughout the building with his energy.
“And being here with coach Cristobal and the staff he’s putting together, the energy, the excitement — I walk past coach every day and just say, ‘Thank you,'” Gattis said. “And he pops in, checks on me,” Gattis said. “And when you’ve got a guy like that leading your program and you believe in his vision, he sets the tone and energy and excitement throughout the program. And so, I’ve just been so blessed to be here. Each day has been eye-opening to me, but I’m still running on fumes. I mean, it’s been — I’ve exhausted everything I have into this program, and I won’t stop until we get the job done.”
Tom VanHaaren reported that Gattis texted players at Michigan about his departure and expressed that he does not feel appreciated by the Michigan administration. The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb delved deeper into detail, for VIP subscribers, on the reasoning behind Gattis leaving the Wolverines.
News of Gattis’ departure came shortly after Michigan nearly lost Harbaugh to the NFL ranks. After interviewing with the Minnesota Vikings for their head coaching job, a position many expected him to get, Harbaugh decided to return to his alma mater and continue coaching.
While not confirmed at any point, it was believed that Michigan would likely have promoted Gattis to the head coach position had Harbaugh left. But Gattis’ text to players appears to have perhaps painted a different picture.
Riley Gates contributed to this story.
