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A new defensive analyst with coordinator experience is hired by Michigan football.

Michigan football has officially brought Lionel Stokes on board as a defensive analyst, as revealed by The Michigan Insider.

Reports from 247Sports in mid-March initially hinted at Michigan’s interest in Stokes: “Michigan is expected to hire Lionel Stokes as a defensive analyst, sources tell 247Sports,” wrote Matt Zenitz on March 13. Stokes, a former starting safety at Louisiana, has prior experience as a defensive coordinator at Jackson State and as a defensive backs coach at Jackson and Nicholls.

Now confirmed, Stokes has become a part of the Michigan Athletics team.

In addition to Stokes, Michigan football is also set to welcome Pernell McPhee, a former standout with the Baltimore Ravens, to its staff, as previously reported. While McPhee is listed in the University of Michigan directory as a graduate student in the School of Social Work, he is anticipated to join the Wolverines as an analyst.

“McPhee, who played collegiately at Mississippi State, played 11 seasons in the NFL. Has been a longtime favorite of new Michigan DC Wink Martindale, who coached him with the Baltimore Ravens,” Matt Zenitz reported.

McPhee, a member of the Ravens from 2011 to 2014 and 2019 to 2021, clinched Super Bowl XLVII with Baltimore against Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers in February 2013.

These two additions strengthen Michigan’s defensive coaching room, which has undergone a complete overhaul following the team’s national championship triumph in 2023. Led by Wink Martindale, a seasoned NFL defensive coordinator, the defensive coaching staff embraces a scheme familiar to Martindale from his days with the Ravens, which Michigan adopted through Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter.

Martindale remarked, “I think the great thing is that we were all together, Mike (Macdonald), Jesse (Minter) and I and, obviously, others you’ve seen throughout the NFL. I think there’s like six teams that are running this system now. Same thing college-wise, D’Anton Lynn at USC.”

He added, “It’s been a lot of fun, and I think we all have our own personalities but I think we all call games differently than each other. Some are more aggressive, some are less aggressive. The thing that I love about it is the system works. It’s proven that it works.”

Michigan’s full-time defensive staff also includes Lou Esposito, LaMar Morgan, and Brian Jean-Mary.