Michigan is hiring Mike Hart, the Wolverines’ all-time leading rusher, as running backs coach, the school announced Wednesday.
Hart set Michigan records for rushing yards (5,040 yards) and carries (1,015) and scored 41 rushing touchdowns as a four-year starter. He won Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors in 2004 and was a three-time first-team All-Big Ten selection. He also twice was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2006. Hart set a team record with 28 games with 100 rushing yards or more.
“Michigan has always held a special place in my heart,” Hart said in a statement. “It is a place that always believed in me and a place that I have always have believed in. I am excited to join Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan staff, and can’t wait to get to work with a talented running back group.”
Hart, 34, spent the past four years coaching running backs at Indiana.
A sixth-round pick of the Indianapolis Colts in 2008, Hart played three NFL seasons before entering coaching at Eastern Michigan. He later coached running backs at Western Michigan and Syracuse before joining Indiana’s staff in 2017. The Hoosiers promoted Hart to associate head coach in 2020.
Michigan last week announced a new four-year contract for Harbaugh, who is 49-22 in six seasons but went 2-4 in 2020.