Michigan football has found its replacement for Lou Esposito.
The Wolverines are expected to hire Vanderbilt defensive line coach Larry Black as the school’s new defensive tackles coach, two people with knowledge of the situation but not permitted to speak publicly on the decision since it’s not yet official, confirmed to the Free Press.
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The hiring was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Black, 36, served as Vanderbilt’s defensive line coach for the past four seasons, with the addition of run defense coordinator duties in 2025. He was recently promoted to co-defensive coordinator heading into the 2026 season.
Vanderbilt defensive line coach Larry Black and Vanderbilt defensive lineman Khordae Sydnor (96) celebrate Sydnor’s second-half fumble recovery during their game at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.
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Black played at Indiana (2009-13), where he finished with 127 tackles in 48 games. He has some Midwest ties as a coach, too, having served as both a graduate assistant and assistant defensive line coach at Notre Dame (2016-18) and then as defensive line coach for for Toledo from 2019-21.
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While much of Vanderbilt’s improvement the past two seasons came on offense, there was a notable step forward on defense, too, with the Commodores‘ run defense going from 104th nationally in 2023 to 18th in 2025, allowing just 108.2 yards per game last season. Likewise, the Commordores’ per-game sack average jumped from 1.75 (101st nationally) in 2023 to 2.39 (36th) in 2025.
He replaces Esposito, who departed for the Baltimore Ravens’ defensive line job under former U-M DC Jesse Minter, now the coach in Baltimore. Esposito spent two seasons in Ann Arbor after his hiring from Memphis, producing several NFL players (including first-round NFL draft picks Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant and third-round pick Josaiah Stewart).
Black will work with edge coach Lewis Powell, who joined U-M’s staff after having worked for new coach Kyle Whittingham in Utah.
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football set to add Vanderbilt’s Larry Black as DT coach