Pernell McPhee details journey from NFL to Michigan football: ‘It’s my next chapter’

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Sherrone Moore had little time to assemble a staff when he took over as the Wolverines head coach in late January 2024. It wasn't until February that he got his defensive coordinator, Wink Martindale, ensuring that there would be a continuation of the system that his acolytes installed beginning in 2021. But with Martindale came another assistant, one of his former players, in linebacker Pernell McPhee.

McPhee played for Martindale in the tail end of his career with the Baltimore Ravens, and once his NFL days were over, he returned to his Florida high school to coach up younger players. So, how did he end up at Michigan? He explained in his first Michigan media availability on Wednesday.

"I thank the good grace of God," McPhee said. "I was sitting at home one day, I was praying, reading the Bible. And next thing you know, Coach Wink called me. I was coaching high school football at the time at Pahokee High. And coach Wink called me and said, 'Hey, you want to come coach at the University of Michigan?' And that was like an exciting moment. And that was like, this definitely is my stepping stone to coaching at the next level. So I just took the opportunity, and I’m running with it."

McPhee is working with the edge rushers in Ann Arbor now, which has been one of the standout groups on the team this season.

As for coaching as a whole, it was something that McPhee knew he eventually wanted to do, even while he was still playing. He shared why he gravitated toward imparting the game to others and what makes coaching so important to him.

"I always loved the game of football. I still do love the game of football," McPhee said. "I love the violence of the game of football. I’m a very violent person. So I love violence. And I think the game of football is all about being violent and things like that.

"But when I was playing, I used to always coach — especially in my older years — I always coached the younger guys. I’m a big formation guy. So when we play games in the league, I used to always tell the guys, you see this formation, see this back lined up like this, just expect these type of plays, this play, that play. So I always loved that about the game. And it’s just a challenge of just competing. Like, I’m a very competitive guy also.

"So just getting back in and staying in it. I got two young boys myself. And, one day I hope to hopefully coach them, but it’s just always just staying around the game of football. I think it’s fun. I think it’s easy. I think it’s very emotional. I’m just a football junkie. Like I go watch film all day. So that’s what’s keeping me in."

McPhee and the Michigan football defense will take the field again on Saturday when the team travels to Chicago to face Northwestern at Wrigley Field. Kickoff is at noon EST and will be broadcast nationally on Fox.

This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: How Pernell McPhee joined Michigan's staff under Wink Martindale

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