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Switching Sides: Former Michigan team captain under Jim Harbaugh joining Ohio State staff
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A former Michigan football captain is going to earn the label of “traitor” in Ann Arbor.
Kyle Rowland of the Toledo Blade reported that former four-year Michigan football player and team captain Joe Bolden has joined the staff at Ohio State. He’ll be in a quality control role with the defensive staff. Bolden was a co-captain on Jim Harbaugh’s first team in Ann Arbor in 2015.
Bolden grew up near Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs in Cincinnati and played under Greg Mattison at Michigan.
Joe Bolden, a captain on Jim Harbaugh's first Michigan team in 2015, is a defensive quality control coach at Ohio State. The Cincinnati native grew up next door to Kerry Coombs and played under Greg Mattison and Matt Barnes at Michigan.
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) March 2, 2020
Bolden was a graduate assistant on Harbaugh’s staff in 2016 and later became a graduate assistant at Washington State, where he worked under head coach Mike Leach.
Bolden was a linebacker at Michigan from 2011-15. During his career with the Wolverines, he collected 270 stops, 18.5 tackles for loss and recovered a fumble.
This is another big move by head coach Ryan Day, who swiped Mattison and Al Washington from Harbaugh’s Michigan staff last spring. The Buckeye defense improved dramatically with those two additions, along with a few other changes Day made on defense.
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