February of 2019 is when everything changed.
Michael Danna, a former state champion football player at De La Salle Collegiate High School in Warren, Mich., transferred to the school he always dreamed of playing for: The University of Michigan. The Maize and Blue. The Big House. The team he grew up watching with his father.
Michigan had just lost edge defenders Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich to the NFL draft and needed another contributor alongside young upshots Josh Uche, Kwity Paye and another local kid by the name of Aidan Hutchinson.
Enter Danna, who earned First-Team All-MAC honors at Central Michigan during his senior season in 2018 and could have declared for the draft himself. But he wanted another year to hone his craft, a decision he’s glad he made.
“The Michigan strength and conditioning program, the playbook, the dynamics of playing in the Big Ten… that’s as close to the NFL as you’re going to get,” Danna told PFF in an exclusive interview, reflecting on a year that clearly meant a lot to him as a player but perhaps more so an aspirational young man and passionate fan.
Despite enjoying a great season at Michigan, the fourth-year edge rusher was not invited to the NFL scouting combine. Because of the pandemic, he also didn’t get to display his talents at a pro day.
“I welcome challenges. I welcome adversity. You just have to maximize every opportunity to show everybody you’re athletic, that you can ball.”
Michigan had lost seven straight contests to the bitter rival Ohio State Buckeyes, and Danna unfortunately couldn't help flip that script. But he arrived right when the tides were turning.
At the same time, across the midwest in Kansas City, Mo., the hometown Kansas City Chiefs had just suffered a devastating defeat in overtime of the AFC championship game at the hands of Michigan legend Tom Brady, who would go on to win his sixth Lombardi Trophy in early February of 2019. A first-year quarterback named Patrick Mahomes went toe-to-toe with Brady down to the wire, but the team came up just short.
Fast forward to the present, and Michigan hasn’t lost to Ohio State since. The Wolverines are fresh off an undefeated national championship-winning season, and they sent an NFL combine record 18 players to Indianapolis this past week. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs just became the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls in nearly 20 years — and Danna played a pivotal role every step of the way.
Chiefs defensive linemen: Most quarterback pressures since 2020
| Name | Pass-rush snaps | Sacks | Hits | Hurries | Total pressures |
| Chris Jones | 2,301 | 50 | 71 | 212 | 333 |
| Frank Clark | 1,589 | 22 | 32 | 102 | 156 |
| George Karlaftis | 1,084 | 23 | 12 | 96 | 131 |
| Mike Danna | 1,446 | 20 | 25 | 84 | 129 |
| Tershawn Wharton | 1,172 | 11 | 9 | 67 | 87 |
Danna’s NFL journey to date is, at its core, a story of two coaches who have trusted him with a lot of responsibilities.
At Michigan, Jim Harbaugh immediately made him a core member of a talented rotation and exposed him to more usage on the inside as a 4i pass-rusher on the interior. In Kansas City, Danna was trusted to play 30 snaps in Week 1 of his rookie season for the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs despite not testing at the combine or a pro day. It wasn't as if he had excelled in any preseason games, either, because there weren't any preseason games in 2020 because of the pandemic.
“Spags [Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] is a wizard. His game plans for specific teams, specific matchups, are crazy. It all comes down to our trust in one another, our communication, but also his trust in 11 relentless guys,” Danna said.
When asked how Spagnuolo can get so much out of young defenders — Kansas City’s defense this past season was the youngest in the NFL by average age and is arguably the top unit in the league — the fourth-year pro told us, “He gives young guys the experience to grow.”
Mentorship from fellow teammates has also been key to Danna’s continued ascent, as he cites Chris Jones as someone who is “always helping the young guys and everybody.”
Speaking of young guys, Kansas City has used first-round picks on edge rushers in back-to-back draft classes, yet Danna still logged a career-high 745 snaps in 2023. Simply put, “you have to find ways to get on the field in whatever role coaches need.”
The soon-to-be-free agent also deserves a lot of credit in his own right. He describes himself as a “smart and versatile” football player, and that is evident. Five of his seven sacks this past season came on crucial third downs when he was lined up between the tackles as a three-technique or 4i.
Pushing the pocket, reading and reacting and not letting quarterbacks escape, no matter what. Danna is finding ways to get on the field, and Spags is deploying him in more and more creative ways alongside Chris Jones, Charles Omenihu, George Karlaftis and the rest of a stout platoon up front.
The Michigan product kicked his 2023 season off with a win over Ohio State, bull rushing former Buckeyes guard Jonah Jackson several yards backward and utilizing a long-arm with his inside hand to keep his chest clean so he could quickly disengage and bring down quarterback Jared Goff. He set the tone for two championship programs in the first game of the NFL calendar.
It remains to be seen where Danna will take his football talents for 2024 and beyond, but one thing is certain: he’ll show up ready to work and contribute wherever he can. And if he does stick around in Kansas City, he’d get to face his former college coach twice a year.
Asked what to expect from Jim Harbaugh, now the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers: “Never sleep on Coach Harbaugh. He’s always gonna throw haymakers.”
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