Troy Woolfolk played for three different defensive coordinators in his first three seasons at Michigan: Ron English in 2007, Scott Shafer in 2008 and Greg Robinson last year.

Robinson is back for his second season as coordinator, and the benefits of continuity are obvious for players. No new terminology to learn, familiar teaching techniques, and largely the same defense.

“It’s just more of a comfort level,” Woolfolk said last week. “I like his way of coaching and I believe in what he says. That can help out the whole defense as a whole.”

For Robinson, stability has its advantages, too.

Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Robinson looks at the scoreboard during a game against Purdue in November.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

Last spring, he said his “head was spinning” from studying personnel and unfamiliar opponents, installing a new defense and getting acquainted with a coaching staff he had never worked with before.

“It’s night and day different” now, Robinson said. “I don’t need my decoder ring anymore.

“Working with the staff, we know in talking our language, it’s the same. We’re just comfortable, more even than we were a year ago, and I thought we worked very hard together to try to make the transition smooth. And knowing the players is a big difference. Them knowing me, I think they know where I’m coming from and how to read me. So I think all of that, no question I benefit from it.”

Michigan did make one staff change in the offseason, promoting quality-control assistant Adam Braithwaite to safeties coach to replace linebackers coach Jay Hopson, who left to become defensive coordinator at Memphis.

Though head coach Rich Rodriguez had final say on the hire, Robinson said he and Braithwaite clicked working together last year.

He praised Braithwaite’s coaching acumen - “You can tell he’s been a defensive coordinator before (at Division 3 Hampden-Sydney),” Robinson said - and he shows tenacity in recruiting.

“Adam’s good,” Robinson said. “When I came in here, it was interesting to me the confidence that the staff had in Adam as a guy that could do work for you and trust him with this and that, and it all proved out last year.”

As part of the staff change, Robinson also will coach inside linebackers coach this year. Last year, he worked with outside linebackers, and in his previous stop as a college assistant at Texas, Robinson served as linebackers coach/co-defensive coordinator.

“I have coached the inside linebackers a lot in my career and I didn’t last year because Hop had been doing it and done a good job with those guys,” Robinson said. “And I didn’t want to break that up. But I’m comfortable in there with those guys coaching them and I think it’s good because I like working from inside out as opposed to outside in. It kind of just works.”

Dave Birkett covers University of Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached by phone at 734-623-2552 or by e-mail at davidbirkett@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.