According to multiple reports on Wednesday evening, Sherrone Moore has found his new secondary coach to replace Steve Clinkscale. Michigan is set to hire the Houston Texans’ safeties coach Stephen Adegoke.
Adegoke was an analyst with Michigan back in 2021 under Jim Harbaugh. He climbed his way up the ladder by landing an NFL job the next season with the San Francisco 49ers as a defensive quality control coach. He once again made his way on up after landing the Texans job this past season to coach the safeties.
Adegoke is known as a rising star in the coaching ranks. While nothing is official yet, he will head back to Ann Arbor to coach the entire secondary in 2024 and get started recruiting for the maize and blue.
Here is some background information about Adegoke via the Houston Texans.
Stephen Adegoke pronounced add-uh-go-KAY, enters his fifth season of coaching and second in the NFL, joining the Houston Texans as the safeties coach in 2023. He spent last season as the San Francisco 49ers defensive quality control coach (2022) working alongside former 49ers defensive coordinator and current Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans.
In his first NFL coaching role, Adegoke helped coach a 49ers defense that held their opponents to the lowest total yards per game (300.6) and the most interceptions (20) in 2022. The team also surrendered just 17.1 first downs per game and 77.7 rushing yards per game, both of which ranked second in the league. San Francisco’s defensive unit saw second-year player S Talanoa Hufanga reach his first-career Pro Bowl and was named AP First-Team All-Pro, PFWA All-NFL Team and PFWA All-NFC Team. Hufanga finished the 2022 season with 95 tackles (65 solo), 2.0 sacks, four interceptions, nine passes defensed and two forced fumbles.
Prior to joining the 49ers coaching staff, Adegoke served as a graduate assistant for the University of Michigan (2021) working under Jim Harbaugh. At Michigan, Adegoke guided a defense that was led by consensus All-American DL Aidan Hutchinson. As a senior, Hutchinson posted 62 tackles (36 solo) and 14.0 sacks, which set a new school record for most sacks in a single season. The Wolverines defensive unit allowed just 17 points per game and claimed a Big Ten Conference Championship, and a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Adegoke began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for the University of Florida for two seasons (2019-20). He helped the Gators defense finish tied for seventh in the country and first in the SEC with 35.0 sacks on the 2020 season. Florida’s defense also totaled the second-most tackles for loss in the conference (73) and held opponents to 257.5 passing yards per game that season. In 2019, Adegoke overlapped with DL Jonathan Greenard, who spent his fifth-year of eligibility at Florida after playing four seasons at Louisville (2015-19).
Adegoke spent three years at Mississippi State University (2016-18) after transferring from San Diego Mesa College (2014-15). In two seasons as a safety for Mississippi State (2017-18), he appeared in 16 games and registered 14 tackles, three passes defensed, one interception and one forced fumble. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mississippi State followed by his master’s degree in sport management from Florida in 2021.
