[Fuller/MGoBlog]

News bullets and other items:

• No one is expected to miss the entirety of fall camp
• Harbaugh noted that Chesson can be cleared by doctors and still not “cleared,” as there’s a process every player has to go through in going from being medically cleared to being 100% ready for all football action
• Harbaugh will keep an open mind when it comes to one-off alternate uniforms
• Jay Harbaugh came to his dad with the idea of switching not only to Nike but to Jordan
• Harbaugh called Michael Jordan one of humanity’s most evolved human beings of all time
• Biff Poggi hasn’t signed a contract yet but he’s slated to be either the assistant to the head coach or the assistant head coach and his responsibilities will include “all aspects of being the assistant head coach” so, uh, we’ll see.

So Dana [Jacobson] joked about putting the Jordan logo on the khakis, but--

“Why not? Why not?”

Will you get official pants with the Jordan logo on them?

“That would be wonderful. That’d be wonderful. That would be actually taking it up another notch.”

What do you make of this day for your players, to see the excitement on their faces? How big is it for them?

“You know, it’s big. It’s big. We’ve got a thing where we like to say ‘Who’s got it better than us?’ and the answer to that is ‘Nobody.’ Uh, expect possibly future us. It’s also an affirmation that, you know, we tell them, Jordan, the Jordan Brand, ‘Who could have it better than to have you?’ And then them wanting to have us, they’re telling us that they believe in us as well. It’s a very mutual thing.

“And you see it. You just walk by the aisles here. You see the product that they have and what else do you say? You just know it when you see it. It’s great.”

Jim, when and how did the conversation go down or the idea for you guys to reach out to them and the conversation between you and Michael?

“Second day on the job I said I really want to be Nike. About a month or two after that my son, Jay, younger guy, you know, 26, 27 years old said ‘Hey Dad, I think he we should be Jordan.’ ‘Hey, great idea.’ It all went into motion and ended [when] Michael Jordan called me on the telephone and said that they wanted us to be the first and only football school, program, in the world to be Jordan. I said, ‘You had me at “Hello.”’ We’ve been working for this for a very long time.

“The other thing he said that I thought was profound was that- he told me, you know what Nike means to Oregon, you know what Oregon means to Nike. Michigan will mean that to Jordan. And that, I thought, was very powerful. I thought that was very profound. But he had me at ‘hello’ in that conversation.”

You have a big imagination, but when that conversation happened did you imagine all this buildup and all this lead-up to the thing the other night, today, all this stuff?

“No, I did not. But when you put people that are great at what they do then they just blow you away. They knock your socks, they hit it out of the park starting Sunday night: State Street closed off, M-Den has midnight madness for the opening of Jordan and there’s 4,000 people in the streets with the excitement of a national championship, Big Ten championship, some kind of championship-type of celebration. That was the first thing that struck me: this is really motivating; I want to have one of these to celebrate a championship as well.

“The enthusiasm of the people was next. Everybody that cared about Michigan was showing that enthusiasm at the highest level.

“The next thing that struck me was when I went inside the M-Den and saw the product and the way it was being displayed. I mean, this is first class all the way with a big exclamation point on it (!).

“And today’s another one of those type of days where you walk in and your socks are just knocked off. And you know it when you see it. This is great. Everybody knows something’s great when you see it, so that’s been my impressions.”

Charles [Woodson] said something the lines of ‘We’ve got our swagger back.’ What does it matter what a player wears on the field in your opinion?

“I agree with everything Charles says except for that one. The greatest share is your effort and your talent and the work that you put in. But, as I said at the beginning, as Jack Harbaugh said, you are with whom you associate, and to take that a step further let’s associate ourselves with the most evolved human beings in the world if we are with whom we associate and also the highest level companies, brands, products.

“So, that just goes along with our principles that we have, to be associated with greatness. And to think about having Michael Jordan sharing a sideline with us, to think about being the only team--football team--and that’s the University of Michigan that’s Jordan, to have that iconic logo sharing a uniform, we’re very, very proud of that. You asked me the question and I’m proud. We’re proud.”

Nike likes to do special uniforms. Is there any wiggle room for you in this with this association to do something different?

“Well, we’ll definitely keep an open mind on it. You know, as I said, they hit it out of the park here and everything that they have done up to this point has been hitting it out of the park and knocking our socks off, so definitely going to keep an open mind to what their thoughts are and what their ideas are without question. Haven’t decided anything. Not going to change the uniform design at this time, but I stand open to their ideas because, you know, some people just think of things better than what other people do. And they obviously do a tremendous job, so we’ll definitely keep an open mind.”

I mean for a one-off.

“We’ll keep an open mind. Sure, I’ll keep an open mind. Be dumb not to.”

[After THE JUMP: all the world’s a team]

What’s been the players’ reaction? Seems like they love this.

“Yeah. You see the jaw kind of just drop a little bit. That speaks volumes. People know good. They know quality and great when they see it. People know good, better, best when they see it and I think our guys are seeing that.”

Does this resonate when you’re talking to recruits and they see Jumpman? Even kids who never saw him play live, they’re still turned on by the Jumpman and Jordan?

“It sure doesn’t hurt, I can tell you that right now.”

Was that sort of Jay’s thinking when suggesting that you move over to Jordan?

“I didn’t ask him that, you know. It was just such a good idea it was like, my first reaction—my first impulse was yes, action. It just made sense. To me, the way I look at Michael Jordan as one of humanity’s most evolved human beings of all time, and the chance to team—to be a team with Michael Jordan, to share a sideline, pour our hearts and souls into Michigan football being great was something that was going to be a win.”

You said he’s coming to the Hawaii game. Do you keep in contact with him or have you spoken to him often during this process?

“No, not often. A few textes [sic] and then a phone call, a few phone calls kind of thing. Very much in touch with his organization and his team, but that’ll be a shining-star moment. You know, you talk about one of the greatest competitors of all time being on our sideline, being on our team…that’s incredible.

“We look at everything as a team. Our football team’s a team, that team’s part of the University which is a team which is a part of Ann Arbor, which is a team, which is a part of the United States, which is a team, and to have Michael Jordan as part of our team is as good as it gets.”

You designed your own shirt? Is that true?

“No, I don’t design any of the clothes.”

They said you designed the layout of the shirt.

“Long sleeved, it’s gotta be as dark as possible if it’s gonna be blue or black, with the skinny M and the iconic Jordan logo. I’m very low maintenance. That’s all I need.”

In terms of--

“It’s comfortable, though!”

In your last conversation with Michael Jordan, was he talking to you about the clothes or your team or about you? I don’t think we hear a lot about [inaudible]. What was that like?

“It was about that, about the team.”

Is he a fan, kind of?

“No, I wouldn’t say that. He respects the University of Michigan and he respects his own school, North Carolina. He’s very fond of it and talks about that as well, but I could feel that he respected Michigan, respected the fact that we are pouring our hearts and souls into making the Michigan football program great. That was—that’s one of those compliments at the highest level.”

You’ll be wearing the white pants on the road again? Is that going to be a permanent thing? You like those?

“I like those.”

Last year it was just the one--

“No, we wore them every game.”

I know, but from now on?

“I think so.”

Biff Poggi, is he a part of the staff?

“We’re hoping he will be, yes.”

But not officially on board yet?

“As far as signing anything, I don’t think it’s been signed yet.”

What will he do? What’s his role?

“Kind of an overarching role. I’m kind of looking at it like an assistant to the head coach kind of a role. We don’t have an assistant head coach on staff, and that’s the kind of relationship I have with him now and I think that’ll prove to be very productive for-”

Is it gameday stuff?

“In all aspects of being the assistant head coach. I would like to do that with Biff Poggi. I have that much respect for him.”

Inching closer to Monday and the first practice, any updates on who might not be ready to practice on Monday?

“No, no, no.”

Jehu’s good?

“Well, here’s the thing you’ve got to understand. Somebody could be cleared by the doctors, but that doesn’t mean they are ready for 100% football. So, a player will come back, we’ll see where they’re at. There’s a process that still has to take place.”

So he’s cleared.

“I can’t say exactly where he is in relation to Amara Darboh right now or Grant Perry, but…”

But he’s cleared? If he’s good to go, he’s—if the doctors--

“Yeah, that process is very near. Yeah. Just the thing, that’s the thing. Cleared! What does that mean? There’s still a process that occurs after that to be as you think of it or somebody that…”

For contact.

“Yeah, it’s easily understandable. Cleared doesn’t mean 100%. It means a percentage that you see when he comes back to football. Then you can say okay, he’s at 60% or 70% or 80% or 90% or 100%.”

There’s no one that you know that’s just going to miss it or an extended period of time?

“Correct, correct. The season? You talking about the whole season?”

What about camp, the five weeks or something like that? An extended time where you’re not going to have a guy. Is there anybody that’s going to miss--

“All of camp? I can’t think of somebody right now that’s going to miss all of camp. And the others, it’s get cleared medically and start that process. They may start practicing that first day, they may not start practicing that first day depending on where they’re at in getting-back-to-100% process.”