Couple small football updates.
Nothing too earth shattering but I have heard a couple Michigan people on the radio and podcasts say that right now it’s business as usual and Harbaugh is busy recruiting and doing his day to day job as usual. I don’t subscribe to the premium sites but i check out thread titles on occasion and if there’s an update from Sam or Balas or whoever it seems like the reactions are positive. Also heard some players were told not to worry. So I would say it’s like Bacon says, no one knows for sure but things seem to be trending in a positive manner. When there is complete resolution I do not know.
On another note it appears Hongiford is coming back for another year. Which is good because he was important to our run blocking, but it makes me wonder about young guys like Hibner and Hansen and if they will be patient enough to wait their turn.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:30 AM ^
And let us not forget the story of (now US Senator) Tommy Tuberville and his "recruiting visit" when he found out he was getting a new job.
January 12th, 2022 at 9:57 AM ^
Really loved Hibner's high school film and hope that he makes a big splash. Might not be this year, but if he's TE1 in 2023, I would like that.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:08 AM ^
All, Schoon, and Honigford are all gone next year for sure so Hibner has a great chance of being TE1 next year.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:17 AM ^
Good point -- hopefully they can get the young guys some run next season in preparation for taking over. Wouldn't be shocked if Honigford takes on the blocking TE role but gets passed over somewhat by the young guys.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:04 AM ^
I'm still dubious that he is leaving, but the longer this goes, the more I think he could be waiting on something....LV. That was always the rumored place and them getting in the playoffs may have postponed any decision. All speculation obviously, but JH knows that waiting and not signing a new deal is bad for recruiting. Sure, he may be out recruiting, but other teams are hammering any UM prospect right now seeding doubt that he will be around. I know JH gives no fucks, but it still isn't a great situation.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:06 AM ^
ah yes.... the jive turkeys doing jive turkey stuff
January 12th, 2022 at 10:13 AM ^
He also never addressed the contract last year and he only had a year left last year. He now has a long term contract so what would you like him to say?
January 12th, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^
This right here! He’s under contract. Any extension of said contract, if it exists, would be announced by the AD. It is entirely probable, however unlikely, that there is no contract extension. There may indeed be a contract renegotiation happening that we are not privy to, but to speculate that there is a contract “extension” on the table waiting to be signed is pure speculation.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
Signing day isn’t for another 3 weeks. Seems people can say whatever they like about Harbaugh, and so long as this gets resolved favorably at least a few days before 2/2, it shouldn’t affect our recruiting much at all.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
The AD/boosters are thinking the exact same thing as you. The longer he waits to agree, the more leverage he has.
Negative recruiting against Harbaugh going to the NFL right now would be about the stupidest move you could make as another team. By the time late signing day comes, the decision will have been made. So you'll either be right (he gone) and not needed to do it, or wrong (he stays) and you look like an idiot/asshole.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:28 AM ^
As much as I love Harbaugh and want him to stay, at a certain point, my attitude becomes much like my mother's when my dad dragged his feet on the marriage proposal: "Shit, or get off the pot."
January 12th, 2022 at 11:31 AM ^
Eh, I think waiting a few more days is worth it in the long run. We've had three coaching changes since 2007 and the first two didn't exactly work out.
January 12th, 2022 at 12:36 PM ^
I'm not at the point where I'm ready to tell him to make up his mind, but I'm getting there.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:37 AM ^
Do we know what Harbaugh's demeanor has been like? Is he acting normal or is he acting like a man keeping a big secret?
January 12th, 2022 at 10:52 AM ^
Can confirm that he has been rubbing his hands together profusely with his eyes nervously darting around the room. Also keeps getting phone calls directed to him from his “pool guy” which is odd for January.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:59 AM ^
Has he spent the night at a recruits house, climbed a tree or went shirtless throwing a football around?
January 12th, 2022 at 10:50 AM ^
Chris Balas reports that Harbaugh has been telling players, coaches, recruits and families of recruits that he will be staying at Michigan. Assistant coaches are making family plans in Ann Arbor with the knowledge that they'll be staying. People close to Harbaugh say that he believes this will be his final contract (last stop) and so he just wants it to be the "right" contract. Balas thinks it's now just a matter of time until the extension is signed.
January 12th, 2022 at 10:59 AM ^
These are my favorite rumors. So they are the ones I chose to believe!
January 12th, 2022 at 10:59 AM ^
wow, this is big news. very good news even if there is certainly more than a little doubt as to its accuracy.
on an unrelated note, not thread-worthy but still interesting, i have high school coaches conference to attend later this week. as providence would have it, none other than sparty's $95MM man is going to be a featured speaker:
Big Ten Coach of the Year
A session by Mel Tucker
Head Football Coach, Michigan State University
i'll take harbaugh every day of the week and twice on sunday, thank you very much.
January 12th, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^
The only thing that annoys the fuck out of me about Tucker, is that every time the camera flashes on him, it looks like he is going out of his way to present a face that appears like he is entering a boxing ring and attempting to intimidate his opponent. Or, he is taking a shit after eating a block of cheese. That pic above shows a smile, and not once have i seen that out of him.
January 12th, 2022 at 11:10 AM ^
Even with the smile, he looks like a man ready to kick someone's ass. There can be no joy in his life with a face so devoid of good humor...
January 12th, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
I bet he talks a lot about toughness and skips the part where his team was built by taking a record number of players from the portal.
January 12th, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
This is an update I like. Please point me to your newsletter subscription service!
Is it 'heisenberg.subscribe'?
January 12th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
haha, I signed up for a trial subscription to on3.com ($1 for 1 year) because I was tired of the paywall getting in the way of me reading the latest updates from Chris Balas. :-)
January 12th, 2022 at 11:37 AM ^
I'd be a little surprised if Balas' reporting is entirely accurate. Things are looking much better than they were a few days ago, but that's almost entirely due to the fact that Harbaugh's phone hasn't been ringing. Still, if you'd asked me last week which way I would bet, I would have said he's gone. Right now, given the silent phone, we could be in good shape.
The only reason for nerves at this point is if the Raiders lose this weekend and Mark Davis picks up the phone. But by reputation, he's a bit of the cheap bastard that his old man was. That works in our favor, but not as much as it would if we had a coach who was driven by $$$. JH isn't.
EDIT: I shouldn't have said that is the "only" reason for nerves. It's still a fluid situation but looking better and better.
January 12th, 2022 at 1:37 PM ^
He has shown some nonsensical inconsistencies with his frugality. His dad was steady with it but the offspring (see 10 years $100 million for Gruden) can be weird. It would be best if he still owed the full $40 million to Gruden but I know they settled south of that. If he sees JH as his best option of getting a ring in the next five years, I'd expect a ridiculous offer and levels of control Harbaugh wants. It will tempt him, I'd assume.
January 12th, 2022 at 12:29 PM ^
An alternative reading of the assistants making family plans is that the plan B to Harbaugh is in-house and would keep the assistants.
January 12th, 2022 at 1:52 PM ^
I like you
January 12th, 2022 at 11:03 AM ^
Not to be Captain Obvious, but it's January 12 today. I sincerely hope we get a decision from Jim, officially, very soon.
January 12th, 2022 at 12:54 PM ^
I’m with you, preferably before Junior Day. I want Dante Moore and the c/o23 knowing Harbaugh is the man in charge!
January 12th, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
I’m rather disappointed on how this is going. I honor Harbaugh’s ability to choose and do what he wants. I’m disappointed because when all these other coaches jump ship for more money or better chance of winning, I’ve thought to myself that my coach loves it here and wants to retire at M going down as one of the best M coaches ever and cementing is legacy.
I’ve always thought that he would never leave on his own and that this was “just the beginning” as he described it. Well, it’s pretty apparent he’s interested in other opportunities enough to wait and hear them out. And man, for how much I thought he loved the job, it sure is disappointing as someone who has backed him and believed in him through it all.
We will find out hopefully soon, but I’m starting to realize it’s not necessarily M for life. No reason to wait if it was.
January 12th, 2022 at 11:16 AM ^
Don't be so down on the whole situation. He's allowed to call Michigan his dream job and destination, and even make Ann Arbor his ancestral home, all the while craving the opportunity to win at the game's highest level. He's been to the Super Bowl as a coach and a player. If he still has that itch to compete for it as a coach, it doesn't detract from his right to call UM his home.
It would sure suck for us. But I'd also welcome him back the moment he scratched the itch with a SB win. (Unless, of course, UM's replacement coach was winning CFP Championships!)
January 12th, 2022 at 12:07 PM ^
So very.........................deep.
The situation has...........depth.
January 12th, 2022 at 1:32 PM ^
Feverish depth for you.
January 12th, 2022 at 11:45 AM ^
He never said it was a lifetime contract. What else is he supposed to give to UM that he hasn't? He came back even though he could have had almost any NFL job he wanted at that point. He completely turned around UMs moribund, listless program and made us nationally relevant again. He still has a competitive fire to compete and win at the highest level of his profession, and on a more level playing field than he will ever get in college ball.
The entitlement mentality of fans here is just so... so... Michigan.
January 12th, 2022 at 12:30 PM ^
We're back on brand as UM fans. Much better than the noodle branding of Dave Brandon.
I hear you--I'm grateful and I'm sure most fans are, too. We just like the gravy train now that it's rolling
January 12th, 2022 at 1:06 PM ^
Sopwith,
You seem to know a little bit more about this than the rest of us. Any particular reason you feel a little less optimistic than others? Are you getting your information from sources that Balas would not have access to? It just seems like he is making it sound like it’s a done deal, and you don’t seem to think it is. Just curious as to what your take is.
January 12th, 2022 at 1:24 PM ^
I mean, I'm way more optimistic than I was a few days ago. But if it's a "done deal," it must have happened in the last 24 hours. I won't get into a battle of whose source is better, but I trust mine given that I was hearing things well before there was any media smoke... and the source turned out to be accurate. No one thinks this is going to drag on forever and we should know one way or the other soon enough. I'll be doing deep breathing exercises until then.
January 12th, 2022 at 1:30 PM ^
"I won't get into a battle of whose source is better, but I trust mine"
Who's your source? Where does he work?
January 12th, 2022 at 1:37 PM ^
Nanny, nanny boo boo, my source is better!
January 12th, 2022 at 2:22 PM ^
A source measuring contest?
I see that your source is bigger than mine
January 12th, 2022 at 2:22 PM ^
Dbl post. Nothing to see here
January 12th, 2022 at 11:30 AM ^
I saw the thread title about “small football updates” and thought:
Have they (1) decreased the size of the football or started using Nerf Vortex footballs, (2) moved to maximum-weight limits for football players, or (3) started an intercollegiate 7-on-7 football league or a football league for “small people” (apologies to all those offended by Randy Newman’s song about “short people”)?
Decreased Football Size: Would a Nerf Vortex football league attract followers like the intercollegiate Ultimate Frisbee, Cornhole, Quidditch and Spikeball competitions?
Maximum-Weight Limits League: I’m old enough to remember when Army, Navy and several Ivy League schools fielded what were called lightweight or 150-pound football teams back in the sixties – a league that typically was dominated by Army and Navy. Today I learned that there is now what’s called an intercollegiate Sprint Football League with a maximum weight limit of 178 pounds.
7-on-7 Football League: Now that we’ve become accustomed to the 7-on-7 tournaments for high school players that colleges have been using a recruiting tool, why not also have 7-on-7 tournaments for college athletes?
“Small People” Football League: Today I learned that there is a Dwarf Athletic Association of America that enables people with dwarfism to compete in international competitions similar to the Olympic and Paralympics. So-called "gridiron or American football" is not among those sports. Maybe it's time for a new league.
January 12th, 2022 at 11:43 AM ^
I had a dream and in that dream harbaugh clearly will not be leaving Michigan. Mark this post.
January 12th, 2022 at 11:52 AM ^
Sam isn't too worried about it.
January 12th, 2022 at 11:56 AM ^
Warde & Harbaugh’s timeline is not MGOBLOG’s or Michigan fanbase’s timeline. You can read various “insider” reports, but we’ll just have to wait for an official announcement. Have a little patience. A 10 year or so contract (seems about right for Harbaugh to retire in 10 years given his age) takes some time.
January 12th, 2022 at 12:11 PM ^
Honigford staying is a bit of a nothingburger for me. Appreciate the hell out of a guy willing to stick around he contributed. But I would be lying if I said it didn’t create a logjam at the position and he provides approximately nothing in the passing game. Have to believe one of the younger guys in Hibner or Hansen can do as much as Honigford if not more.
Sidenote, we sure have a lot of “H’s” in the tight end room.
January 12th, 2022 at 12:39 PM ^
Couldn’t be more wrong about what he provides! He’s played TE for one season converting from Oline. Someone with the footwork for blocking already well coached in blocking is an example to the rest of the te’s.
you forget there were games where All and Schoonemaker were horrible blocking and Honigford put in! He has time to improve in the passing game and will always be an excellent 2nd or 3rd te to put in for the run game, esp the pull/pin series. But not just that, he gets better he will be available in the passing game. He doesn’t have to be great in the passing game,
January 12th, 2022 at 12:33 PM ^
It’s all speculation. Till a contract is signed it’s just speculating while Harbaugh is working on a big recruiting weekend…. He will have to answer this to recruits just to get them on campus.
January 12th, 2022 at 12:55 PM ^
JH prob just giving WM time to get the new guy hired behind the scenes.