Michigan football's champion celebration: Behind the scenes, you find joy and vindication

HOUSTON — The smell of cigar smoke hung thick in the Michigan football locker room.

As the Wolverines celebrated their first national title since 1997 after a dominating 34-13 victory over Washington, several players grabbed their folding chairs — the ones with the College Football Playoff national championship logo — and carried them to the team bus.

Another player walked through the locker room carrying a pile of confetti that had rained down on the Wolverines.

Everybody was trying to grab their own slice of this moment.

Because it meant something different to all of them.

Behind the scenes of the celebration, as I walked from the field to the locker room, I found a range of emotion and meaning — surprise and redemption, satisfaction and joy.

This victory meant something different to all of them.

The defensive mastermind

Here was Jesse Minter, the Michigan defensive coordinator, leaning against a door frame.

Michigan’s defense was one of the most important stories of the game, shutting down Washington quarterback Michael Penix, Jr., holding him to 255 yards, just one touchdown and picking him off twice.

“Honestly, it was another week of hearing all about the other team's offense, and how good they were,” Minter said.

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His voice carried no anger, but you could sense the chip on his shoulder.

“You know what, nobody really talks about how good our defense was, and so we took that personal,” Minter said. “The players took it personal. You know, we were at media day, and all we got asked about was how good their quarterback was, how good their receivers were, how good the O-line was. And we answered the bell.”

Yes, they did.

And it’s time to give Michigan’s defense the credit it deserves.

U-M was able to generate a pass rush with just four defensive linemen, putting pressure on Penix, making him uncomfortable, while hitting him several times.

Body blows, Minter called them.

“I thought that was the biggest key to the game was our ability to rush with four,” Minter said. “I thought if we hit him enough, and those are like body blows, you know, those things add up over the course of the game. Our D-line man just was relentless. Did what they said they were going to do, and really out-physicalled that offensive line. It allowed us to play a lot of people in coverage, and we were able to disguise a lot, try some different things, try to keep a roof on the defense.”

At halftime, Minter told his defense that it needed to come up with some turnovers.

“We talked at halftime that we needed to get two in the second half,” he said. “And lo and behold, I mean, first play of the second half, Will (Johnson) makes a great play.”

Heart and soul

Here was Zak Zinter, the heart and soul of this team’s offensive line, walking slowly toward the tunnel, with no crutches, but he was carrying a national championship plaque.

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Who can forget his gruesome injury?

Zinter suffered a broken tibia and fibula in his left leg while playing against Ohio State.

“This means everything,” he said. “The reason we came back was winning a national championship, and we just did it.”

Zinter has become a fallen hero, unable to help his teammates, other than giving them encouragement and guidance.

“It's bittersweet,” he said. “I’d give anything to be out there with the guys. But, you know, they got it done without me. They didn’t need me out there.”

Of course, those linemen would disagree with him on that.

Zinter played a huge role in getting this team to this moment.

Vindication for the AD

Here was Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, walking across the field toward the tunnel.

“It means the world, man,” said Manuel, who was smiling broadly. “I’m just so proud of the character of Jim (Harbaugh) and the staff and these kids and the perseverance they showed through all the roadblocks that were in our way. And to me, that means the world.”

“You took heat over the years — from myself included,” I said.

For years, Harbaugh struggled to get this right. He couldn’t develop a quarterback, couldn’t get his staff right and I wrote about it several times. I wondered if Manuel should make a change but he didn’t. He stuck with Harbaugh through all of it: his yearly tease with the NFL, all his quirks, the NCAA investigations.

“It means my gut was right,” Manuel said.

If ever there was a moment to take a victory lap, this was it. He was right, indeed.

“I give all the credit to Jim and what he did to turn this around,” Manuel said. “Jim was a great coach before COVID, and I wasn't gonna judge him on playing six games with opt-outs. I wasn't going to sit there and have judgment on my coaches during that period. Because it was so tumultuous. There was so many roller coaster rides, ups and downs, and I believed in him, and the rest speaks for itself.”

Then I asked him about Harbaugh’s future.

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“You know what I'm gonna do?” Manuel said. “I'm gonna celebrate tonight and I'm gonna deal with that, starting tomorrow.”

The beaming president

Here was University of Michigan president Santa Ono, beaming with pride.

“Applications are up, donations are up, school pride is up, so it's incredible,” he said. “Whether you're in the laboratory, or the performance hall, or the classroom, the pride in the university is very palpable. It brings us together like almost nothing else."

“How important is it for you guys to keep Harbaugh?” I asked.

“I want to keep him,” he said. “I'll just leave it at that. And, you know, deal with any other eventuality, if it if it becomes necessary. … I care about him as a human being.”

It's clear Michigan wants to keep Harbaugh. But if there is an NFL team that is the right fit and Harbaugh wants to jump, there will be nothing it can do to stop him.

Besides, Harbaugh has done what he set out to do.

The stunned wide receiver

Here was Roman Wilson, sitting at his locker, looking like he was stuck in a dream.

"This doesn't even feel real," he said. "Like, we didn't lose a game?"

He looked stunned.

"We played a lot of good teams," he said. "This year, we played a lot of guys who are gonna go to the league and do really good and you know, we just had this amazing season, a lot of clutch plays and made it to the natty. It's unreal.”

“What are you going to remember the most?” I asked him.

And then, he said the most interesting thing.

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“Probably who I was when I got here as a freshman and who I am now I mean," he said. "When I got here as a freshman, bro, I didn't even know if I want to continue to play football and now I love this game. I was taking it for granted and I wasn't excited to go to practice; I wasn't happy to be here. But now, I just I love coming to practice. I love being on this team."

The most unlikely of all

And finally, here was Joe Taylor, playing on a national championship team, making a contribution.

Who is Joe Taylor?

A special team’s guy. A walk-on from Chelsea.

He played on every single special teams on Monday night. He is one of the glue guys, making contributions nobody seems to notice.

“I've kind of been thinking about this all week,” he said. “Just kind of like, this really isn't supposed to be happening.”

He went to Michigan to play baseball.

But he blew out his elbow and went out for the football team, and he worked his way into becoming a contributor.

“I mean, if you would have told me a year ago or when I first came here in high school that I'd be playing for a national championship, playing for the Michigan Wolverines, I would have said, 'you're lying,'" he said. "It's been unreal. So hopefully it sets in at some point.”

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Yes, it will set in for them at some point.

It might take years.

But this is real. The confetti and the cigar smoke and the chairs.

Somebody, go grab the chairs.

And grab a piece of history.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.

To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's celebration: What I found behind the scenes