Michigan coach Mike Hart's status gets long-awaited update

Mike Hart, Michigan's all-time leading rusher, joined the Wolverines football program as Jim Harbaugh's running backs coach after four years at the same post with the Indiana Hoosiers. 

He's also one of the final puzzle pieces to new head coach Sherrone Moore's post-Harbaugh coaching staff. As one of the Wolverines' most well-known and successful position coaches, fans have wondered for weeks about Hart's status with the team. 

On Tuesday, longtime Michigan football reporter Isaiah Hole gave an update on Hart's status on his "Locked on Wolverines" podcast. 

According to Hole, Hart is currently on a "leave of absence" from the Michigan football coaching staff for undisclosed reasons.

Hole shared the update as part of a discussion on whether Moore's coaching staff had been completed or not.

“The only thing we're really truly waiting on is what happens when Mike Hart comes back from his leave of absence,” Hole said about Moore's new staff. “And I don't know if there's anything to worry about there or not.

“He is on a leave of absence, I have been told.”

Hart collapsed on the sidelines of an Oct. 8, 2022 game against the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind., after a health scare and spent time in an area hospital before returning to the sidelines the following week against Penn State. 

He later became the architect of one of the best rushing attacks in the country, coaching Michigan team captain Blake Corum to second-team All-American honors in 2023.