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Maurice Linguist says ‘incredible opportunity’ at Buffalo only thing that lured him from Michigan

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

The stop in Ann Arbor for Maurice Linguist didn’t last much longer than a cup of coffee. Just a few months after being named the co-defensive coordinator at Michigan, the 37-year-old got his first opportunity to become a head coach.

It was too good of an offer to pass up.

Linguist was named the next head coach of Buffalo over the weekend, replacing Lance Leipold, who left the school for the job at Kansas. With such little time to make a change, the Bulls pulled the trigger on an experienced coach with ties to the program.

During his introductory press conference on Monday morning, Linguist said that the offer was the only reason he decided to leave Ann Arbor.

“I would still be at Michigan if it wasn’t for this incredible opportunity here,” Linguist said.

Linguist has been coaching in some capacity since 2007, when he was a graduate assistant at Baylor. He arrived at Michigan after serving as the defensive backs coach with the Dallas Cowboys during the 2020 season.

Part of the appeal of Buffalo hiring Linguist was his previous ties to the program. He was a member of the staff from 2012-13, starting out as the defensive backs coach before adding passing game coordinator to his title. Linguist also had stops at Iowa State, Mississippi State, Minnesota and Texas A&M.

Linguist’s departure leaves Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh looking for a new staff member with less than four months until kickoff.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB