Wed Apr 16 10:00:00 UTC 2025: ## Longtime Michigan Football Coach Mike DeBord Passes Away at 69

**ANN ARBOR, MI** – Mike DeBord, a prominent figure in college football and a key part of Michigan’s 1997 national championship team, passed away Tuesday at age 69. His son, Tyler, announced DeBord’s death on Facebook, citing complications from a stroke suffered in September 2021.

DeBord enjoyed a long and varied coaching career, including three separate stints at the University of Michigan. He served as offensive line coach before being promoted to offensive coordinator under Lloyd Carr, a role he held during the Wolverines’ triumphant 1997 season. He later returned to Michigan as special teams and run-game coordinator and again as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach. His coaching career also included a head coaching stint at Central Michigan, along with positions at several other universities and in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears.

Colleagues and former players have expressed their sorrow at the loss. Tom Allen, current Clemson defensive coordinator and former colleague of DeBord’s at Indiana, described him as “one of the best men that I know in the coaching profession.” DeBord’s son remembered him as a man of faith and a loving family man.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Read More