Michigan football makes it official, plucks Jay Hill from BYU as DC

After a flurry of hires on the offensive side of things, new Michigan football coach Kyle Whittingham isn't ignoring the defense.

The former Utah coach is bringing a former rival with him from the Beehive State, having reportedly hired BYU defensive coordinator Jay Hill to the same position at Michigan on Thursday, Jan. 1.

ON OFFENSE: Michigan football set to hire Jason Beck as offensive coordinator

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The Hill hire was first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Hill, 50, just helped lead the No. 13 Cougars to a Pop-Tarts Bowl victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando – the site of U-M's Citrus Bowl loss to Texas on Wednesday.

Hill has led BYU's defense under Kalani Sitake the past four years, in addition to duties as associate head coach and safeties coach. Prior to that, Hill led FCS-level Weber State for nine seasons (2014-22), going 68-39 (becoming the winningest coach in WSU history) with four Big Sky Conference titles and six FCS Tournament berths.

But his ties to Whittingham date back before that, with a dozen seasons (2001-13) at Utah, as he climbed the ranks from graduate assistant to special teams coordinator.

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Hill is a Beehive State lifer – born in Lehi, Utah, he went to school in Salt Lake City, where he also coached before he working for WSU in Ogden and BYU in Provo.

This story will be updated.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football hires Jay Hill of BYU as defensive coordinator