Former University of Michigan staffer Connor Stalions got a chance to see how it felt to be a head coach Friday night and it proved to be a rough debut.

The 60-0 loss to Flint Hamady could be considered a learning experience for Stalions, who in the future might believe it’s a good strategy to punt at times.

William McMichael took the head coaching job at Detroit Mumford this spring and brought Stalions, who is well known for his part in the sign-stealing fiasco at Michigan, in as his defensive coordinator.

Mumford lost its opener to Redford Thurston 47-6 last week and McMichael suffered a stroke last Friday, putting him in the hospital for three days, but with the great news that there was no permanent damage.

When asked who would run Mumford’s team this Friday against Flint Hamady, McMichael texted back that Stalions was “the lead coach for today’s game.”

Stalions - dressed all in black with a Mumford logo on his chest - took the job as interim head coach seriously, working with his players on kickoff drills five minutes before game time.

Stalions then put on his headset, and with notes of his game plan in hand, paced up and down the sidelines while watching Hamady take a 40-0 halftime lead.

“I came to Mumford because I wanted to help flip the culture,” Stalions told The Detroit News after the loss. “They are not used to winning and I wanted to help show these guys the actual process of what it’s going to take to win, because they eventually will win, and for me that’s more gratifying than going to a program that’s already winning.

“I’d rather have 15 guys who love the process of football than 30 guys where they’re kind of halfway in and halfway out, because they’re driving back the 15 guys who are in.”

Hamady scored on its second play from scrimmage on a 63-yard TD run by Devion Holloway.

Then, on the ensuing kickoff, Mumford never picked up the ball or pounced on it either, allowing Hamady to grab it at Mumford’s 30.

Stalions shouted at players, making sure history wouldn’t repeat later in the game while Hamady scored again to open a 13-0 lead before the game was six minutes old.

Stalions’ coaching philosophy was unorthodox to say the least when it came to special teams. Mumford went 0-for-6 on fourth downs, constantly giving Hamady a short field.

On the first one, Mumford faced a fourth-and-20 from its own 30, failing to convert, which led to a TD pass for a 20-0 cushion with 2:35 left in the opening quarter.

It rained heavily near the end of the first quarter, and Stalions continued to pace the sidelines, calling plays and shouting encouragement.

Stalions continued to go for it on fourth down, the sixth and final time of the half on fourth-and-5 from Mumford’s 22, which resulted in a pick-six with 40 seconds left for Hamady’s 40-0 lead, putting in play the running clock for the second half.

“Success doesn’t come overnight and the first three or four opponents we play are playoff teams, so the schedule is frontloaded,” Stalions told The News. “By no means is that an excuse, but we know we’re in for some dogfights at the beginning of the year and it’s about getting these guys to buy into the process.”

Stalions praised the effort of Mumford’s Lamont Dexter after the game.

“Lamont (Dexter) plays multiple positions and he loves football,” Stalions said. “We put him at quarterback when our starter (Ryan Banks) got injured early in the game. He doesn’t give up. We got 60 yards on our final drive and he didn’t quit.”