What to Expect from Harbaugh in Year One?

Submitted by UFM on

Hello MGoBlog,

This is my first time creating a forum post.  Some of you have seen me comment here and there for the last three years.  You'll know from my other posts that:  a) I'm an Ohio State fan; and b) I'm not a troll--I visit here because I love college football and respect the writers and posters on this blog.  

With the introductions out of the way let me start out by saying that I (like many other Buckeye fans) hope you guys get Harbaugh.  The B1G needs Michigan to be its traditional self.  Ohio State is only as good as the strength of its conference in many respects.  And it benefits as much as Michigan if The Game is between two ranked powerhouses that will usually decide who goes to the B1G Championship Game.  

I think Harbaugh can get you guys there more so than anyone else available.  And, from reading this board, it appears that I am not alone.  Assuming this happens, what are reasonable expectations for the Wolverines in year one?  Transition usually takes time, but we have seen programs where the transition is seamless and the new coach has early success.  Oddly, Brady Hoke was one of them in 2011.  Would be interested to hear your thoughts.  Thanks.

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charblue.

December 26th, 2014 at 4:59 PM ^

in this rivalry when Michigan had the upperhand and suggested what you are proposing now. In fact, the pendulum of rivalry success has always been fostered by a change in coaching. We all know this, going back to Bo's hiring, the start of the 10-year war, and then the succession of coaches at Ohio State after Mo, and Lloyd chases out Earle Bruce and John Cooper, giving us the Senator whose between the bball half prediction would turn out to be completely inaccurate except on his ability to throttle Michigan on the football field.

So, it's been one long winning streak for the Buckeyes, who nevertheless have changed coaches twice since the Lloyd Carr era, whether because or as a result of winning at all costs, you can opine. And instead of hiring a stopgap winner, you went out and got a classic leader.

I always say this and it falls on deaf ears everytime: But it's the Midwest and Ohio in particular which has produced all the best coaches, even now. And if Michigan hires Harbaugh it will be the fourth of the last five native Ohioans that the school has employed as its head coach. Lloyd being the exception since Bo. Jim Harbaugh was born in Toledo.

In any case, if you regard Urban Meyer, and Nick Saban as the best college coaches along with Les Miles, you really are talking about Midwest coaching domination. Forget the fucking SEC. These guys are all from the MAC if you really want to distill their backgrounds.

Even Dantonio who is a Tressel associate, and one of the best coaches in the game. Let's give credit where it's due. Dantonio is a great coach.

If Michigan hires Harbaugh, the league will come to reckon wanting that. If you thought Meyer would change the world in Columbus, welcome to your new obsession. He bleeds to kick Buckeye ass with authority and on certain occasions with a warranty attached.

Joined: 05/25/2010

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gwkrlghl

December 26th, 2014 at 5:01 PM ^

Harbaugh is good, but Stanford was still Stanford. I think we started with 4 then 5 wins - which was still better than normal but not crazy good. I'd expect a slight uptick in expectations with the knowledge that we have no great QB heir apparent. I'd say 7-9 wins is reasonable

Joined: 04/13/2012

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funkywolve

December 27th, 2014 at 1:14 AM ^

was a true rebuilding job.  I think the situations at Stanford and UM are apples and oranges.  If you look at the recruiting rankings for the Big Ten the last 4 years, OSU and UM are light years ahead of everyone else in terms of the number of 4 and 5 star recruits they've signed.  The question, imo, is how quickly Harbaugh can develop these recruits.  QB is a definite question mark though.

Joined: 10/08/2008

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SECcashnassadvantage

December 26th, 2014 at 5:38 PM ^

We have 4.4 guys and kids that were 4 and 5 star, going to places like Bama, Florida and Ohio. Did they all lose their speed or were they running poor angles, uninspired, and coached poorly. Coach clap along would agree with you. The kids are slow and we have to do a better job of coaching. Dantonio would blow you to swap our team speed with his. We haven't had a coach for offense since Hoke came.

Joined: 01/25/2014

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Lucky Socks

December 26th, 2014 at 5:36 PM ^

I expect our run game to be A caliber, and our defense to be very strong as well. Our passing game will be a question mark; but if we can get steady play from the QBs, I think Butt and Darboh can be chain movers.

We will be Wisconsin. We play a tough schedule, but home field in the bigger games and a low-variance style of play make me think 9 regular season wins is possible (and since this is a prediction thread, I predict it). Lots of 24-17 type games.

Joined: 01/18/2012

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Danwillhor

December 26th, 2014 at 5:39 PM ^

I want him. He's a very gray coach but he's not a miracle worker. It may take a year just to beat the pansy/entitlement out if the kids. It may take another to get them all on the system as one mind. The first year has a pretty tough schedule. The conference should be largely winnable with coaching alone outside the rivals. I'd be content with a competitive & "clearly learning the game/doing the obvious" 8 win regular season year one. A year where even the losses are competitive & due to things other than an inept staff/players. If it builds from an 8 win regular (maybe 9 with bowl), we'll be rocking hard in year 4 as opposed to falling apart.

Joined: 12/02/2008

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UMFanstuckinOhio

December 26th, 2014 at 5:44 PM ^

It depends on the players attitudes. I have a feeling we are going to have some attrition. Players are going to need to adjust to this new staffs intensity, If they do I say 10 and 2 with losses to BYU and @ PSU. If they act like a bunch of entitled country club brats like I am afraid they will. We will have at least 6 to 8 transfers and we go 8 and 4.

Joined: 10/15/2011

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ESRoss2015

December 26th, 2014 at 5:55 PM ^

I think the defense will carry us through some tough wins in the first half of the season before our offense starts to click for the big games down the stretch. 10-11 wins very possible with the talent on this team.

Joined: 12/13/2014

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snowcrash

December 26th, 2014 at 6:08 PM ^

Better fundamentals, intensity, and conditioning than we had this year.

As for wins and losses, it depends on what we get out of the QB position. With average QB play (e.g. John Navarre as a junior), we should win 9 or 10. Every other position group is average or better, and we are strong at DT, LB, and CB. With shaky QB play (e.g. Navarre as a sophomore), we can win 8. With ugly QB play (e.g. Morris 10% better than he was this year), we're probably looking at 6. 

Joined: 07/22/2008

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taistreetsmyhero

December 26th, 2014 at 6:10 PM ^

I'm as confident as I could possibly be that Harbaugh will eventually turn this program around, but I think year 1 will suck. Similar to this year. I don't think a couple of months of Harbaww is going to fix our qb situation.

Joined: 08/08/2012

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CoverZero

December 26th, 2014 at 6:31 PM ^

I wonder if Hoke would stay as DL coach if offered.  He is close to Jack H.

Personally...I would not want that to happen.

Joined: 08/30/2014

MGoPoints: 14571

kjblue42

December 26th, 2014 at 6:38 PM ^

Wow, I'm seeing 9,10,11 wins year one! Slow down there Wilbur.. It will take some time, he is not Lord Jesus. 8-4 does not seem ridiculous with the talent we have returning if he gets them firing on all cylinders and I would expect steady improvement from there. How bout we get a coach and a qb and then reevaluate from there??

Joined: 01/15/2014

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Jack Harbaugh

December 26th, 2014 at 6:41 PM ^

10 wins is my guess. The only dark spot on the team is the QB position. I expect a spring and fall camp with Harbaugh should give us a competent QB out of Morris, Speight and Malzone.

Joined: 10/31/2014

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mwoody66

December 26th, 2014 at 7:12 PM ^

I believe Coach Hoke recruited good talent but they lacked discipline and execution (we heard again and again how they just failed to execute on key plays). I do not expect many players to leave; JH has too great of a reputation. The defense should continue to improve as it did under Mattison but the OC will be critical. I do not think we need great QB play; we are stacked at RB and if the OL executes well then JH will be content to run the ball and control the game. I expect game preparation to be better; planning and scheming for each team is where JH will really leave a mark,

By year 3 I expect the QB play will become a major factor, potentially year 2. By year 3 we should compete with the top teams.

Joined: 12/07/2014

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PeterKlima

December 26th, 2014 at 7:17 PM ^

With 40 of 44 in the two deep returning and a top ten defense last year and vastly improved running game, I think it all depends on how quickly the QB develops. I think they may drop a couple early ones, but be going steadier by Big Ten season. The only Big Ten team that is scary good is OSU and they are losing Herman. But, Meyer has a track record of success without him. As for MSU, Narduzzi meant more to them and Dantonio has not proven anything as a head coach without him. The MSU game is also a home game (unlike recent years). Overall, I expect 2-3 losses overall and only one in the Big Ten, but unfortunately OSU won't lose any B10 games.



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M.Go.Blue

December 26th, 2014 at 7:35 PM ^

an absolutely stacked running back core and an offensive line that finally started to gel towards the end of the year. A new competent offensive line coach (key). A very competitive defense featuring Jabrill Peppers, Desmond Morgan and Jabrill Peppers with more Jabrill Peppers. I really think Dymonte Thomas finally breaks out. I think we have the talent to compete with top tier teams. I feel that a very conservative power running game with quick read routes is where we're going on offense.

Joined: 01/12/2011

MGoPoints: 462

michelin

December 26th, 2014 at 8:34 PM ^

—we all know what Harbaugh has done with every other team he’s coached.  The really interesting question is: What can Ohio expect from Urban Meyer?  The last time he started losing to a former NFL coach, Saban, he had to retire.  Actually, he had to retire twice.

In 2009, he lost to Saban’s Alabama team 32–13.  The next morning, “Meyer was quietly admitted into a Gainesville hospital suffering from chest pains and dehydration.”   He later resigned.  Then he flip-flopped and told recruits he was back for good.  But he flip-flopped again the next year. He claimed health problems and again retired not long after his team finished 7-5 and lost to former-NFL-coach-Saban by an even more lopsided score:  31-6.

Then, about 10 months after his 2011 bowl game, he flip flopped yet again.  Thinking he would no longer face that former-NFL-coach, he took the Ohio job.  His health miraculously returned as the games got easier.  His team virtually tied with PSU for  the B1G's worst SOS--by far the worst.

But this story may not have a happy ending for Ohio.  In an ironic twist of fate, Meyer now must face Saban, the former NFL coach that he tried to avoid.   To make matters worse, he will soon have to compete with Jim Harbaugh,  who was far more successful than Saban in the NFL.  So how long will it be before Meyer’s record starts falling, he begins losing to another NFL coach, his health problems resurface, and he retires once more?

Joined: 09/22/2009

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bdneely4

December 26th, 2014 at 8:48 PM ^

I am a diehard Michigan fan, can't stand Ohio State fans, and hate Urban Meyer. I have a lot of optimism if Jim Harbaugh becomes our next coach, but we are not even close to being in a position to talk trash to OSU fans. I don't care what has happened with Urban Meyer in the past. Fact of the matter is he has already won a lot of games at OSU and he is 3-0 against us. In my opinion, if JH comes, both teams will have elite coaches who will compete on the field with the best of them which is exactly what I want.

Joined: 01/06/2009

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michelin

December 26th, 2014 at 9:57 PM ^

I responded to this post not with an answer but a question, since the OP comes here not with a simple interest in FB, as he claims.  He comes with an agenda.  If you don't think this guy has an agenda, just look up his prior posts.  He tries to build up Ohio and diminish UM.  He portrays himself in the OP as a fragile--"please be easy on me"--first time poster.  But his writing suggests he is well-versed in the art of internet opinion-making.  Elsewhere, he even admits he has been"lurking" here.

I have no way of knowing if he represents one of the PR firms that Ohio pays to lutk on competitor's boards.  But I do think he has a reason for raising his question. 

He asks how Harbaugh will do his first year--not in later ones-- because the first is usually the toughest.  Harbaugh will be playing with Hoke's recruits, and so it might be expected to have less impressive results.  To him, the thread will sound better to recruits who read these posts if UM fans predict 8 or 9 wins next year than to have them predicting titles during later years. Thankfully, many UM posters did not do what he wanted.

He claims that he welcomes the increased competition, but in so doing, he subtly reminds readers about UM past losses under another regime, which you have unintentionally reinforced.  

He claims Ohio wants more competition.  But if they really wanted that, they would have added tough OOC games.  It was UM, not Ohio that did that.  During Meyer's tenure, UM had the toughest SOS, while Ohio (with PSU) had by far the worst in the B1G.

BTW. Meyer is not 3-0 vs UM but 3-1.  Despite having Tebow, his team lost  the last time we had a decent coach.  Also, as a team leader (starting QB), Harbaugh is undefeated vs Ohio, 2-0. 

 

Joined: 09/22/2009

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Seriously

December 27th, 2014 at 3:53 AM ^

He comes with an agenda ...his writing suggests he is well-versed in the art of internet opinion-making. Elsewhere, he even admits he has been "lurking" here. I have no way of knowing if he represents one of the PR firms that Ohio pays to lurk on competitor's boards.

Since you're on to us, I may as well out myself as a member of a deep cover agitprop team placed here under the direction of Jim Tressel (You think he left OSU? How naïve). We were instructed to infiltrate, to lurk, and to employ the art of internet opinion-making to break your spirit. As UFM's handler I am disappointed with the failure of this op, but I will concede that you're a worthy foe with a keen eye.

Joined: 08/28/2008

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SECcashnassadvantage

December 26th, 2014 at 8:01 PM ^

Team is older and loaded with 4 and 5 stars. We just need a QB to transfer and there's no way Jim is coming without that lined up. He will kill to win and is more like an Ohio fans choice than most of you will like (win at any cost and be a motherfucker if needed). My buddy and I are the same (both over forty Bo guys). Don't bitch when he rips a kid by the face mask, don't call him Jimmy and never ever call a man Sugar if he isn't boxing.

Joined: 01/25/2014

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Durham Blue

December 26th, 2014 at 8:19 PM ^

In many respects the team goes as the QB goes.  It all depends on how quickly the QB's develop.  I believe that Harbaugh is very good at developing QB's and the defense will be very good.  That said, I think we should reasonably expect at least 8 wins with a ceiling of 10 or possibly 11 wins.  And I think victories in 2 of 3 rivalry games is difficult but somewhat reasonable as well.

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Blue in Time

December 27th, 2014 at 11:33 AM ^

and a backfield of Green, Smith, Johnson (we pray), and Issac. Darboh, Chesson, Butt, and Canteen. That's likely more offensive talent than he found at Stanford his first year. Or second. 

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