ALLEN PARK -- Ron Prince wasn't out of work for long. And he might not even have to move.

The former Detroit Lions offensive line coach has been hired by the University of Michigan, according to 24/7 Sports. He'll be an offensive analyst for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines.

Prince is a longtime college coach that Jim Caldwell brought with him to Detroit in 2014. He served as Caldwell's assistant head coach and also worked with the tight ends, but slid over to the offensive line when Jeremiah Washburn was fired in the middle of the 2015 season. The results were dreadful.

Detroit's offensive line was among the worst in the NFL the last two years. Even after spending $19 million annually to acquire right tackle Rick Wagner and right guard T.J. Lang last year, they allowed Matthew Stafford to be sacked 47 times, a career high and second most in the league. And the running game was last by every major measure, including yards per game, yards per carry and power situations.

Injuries certainly played a role in that -- Detroit cycled through 10 starting offensive line combinations, and had its top unit on the field for just 95 plays -- but people around Allen Park say coaching was to blame as well. And Prince was the only assistant fired with Caldwell on Black Monday.

The Lions have replaced Prince with Jeff Davidson, a former Ohio State offensive lineman and captain. Davidson has lots of experience as an NFL offensive line coach and coordinator, and is expected to play a role in designing the new blocking scheme. He also brings a more personable touch to the field than the fiery Prince.

"I think he understands the players," Quinn said. "He understand what offensive linemen go through. You can't treat everyone exactly the same in a room that big. It's one of the biggest rooms in the building, because you've got five guys that are starters, you have to have least eight on the 53, probably 10 total including practice squad. So your room has 10 guys in it. The only other room quite that big is probably defensive line or secondary.

"So you got to have a presence. And you can't treat the 10-year vet the same as the rookie backup left tackle that you're trying to develop. So you got to have a real way to connect with these guys. And I think Jeff has that."

Prince takes over a spot on Michigan's extended coaching staff left vacated by Ed Warinner, who was promoted to offensive line coach on Thursday. Prince will not have an official coaching role, but instead assist with film review and weekly game preparation.

-- MLive's Michigan football beat writer Aaron McMann contributed to this report.