Long ago I thought he'd be a solid replacement for Dantonio at MSU. He's an MSU alum, originally hired as a GA by Saban, and then followed him to LSU and Dolphins.
Thank god that never happened.
IIRC, he's an analytics guy, one of the first in football, and basically walked into Saban's office as a student, and pitched what he could offer. I think (a) it's a case of where he was first, but not best, and he's been lapped by guys who came in later but are far better; and (b) he's terrible dealing with players.
He has now run off their two biggest names, with nothing to show for it, and ruined a top 3 QB pick.