Jim Harbaugh, Bo, and the Michigan Family

Submitted by stephenrjking on

[ed: bump.]

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan Quarterback

There is a special fondness for one’s earliest sports memories. They form the backdrop of experience against which all future events are contextualized. 

My earliest datable memory is Kirk Gibson hitting a home run in the bottom of the 8th inning in Game Five of the 1984 World Series; from that day until his retirement he was my favorite baseball player. I learned to cheer for Isiah Thomas and Gary Grant. I cheered for Yzerman, and accepted that the Lions were always bad. And I rooted for Michigan football, with Jamie Morris and Mark Messner.

And Jim Harbaugh.

He won the Fiesta Bowl. He beat Ohio State with clutch play. He guaranteed a victory in ’86, and then beat Ohio State again.* He led Michigan to a Rose Bowl. To a young boy, he was a hero, everything that the winged helmet was supposed to be about. To everyone at Michigan, he was a Michigan Man.

*Someone recently argued on the board that Harbaugh essentially rode the coattails of Jamie Morris to the win, belittling his role in the game. That’s acceptable logic, if you’re willing to assert that Denard rode the coattails of Junior Hemingway to wins over Virginia Tech and Notre Dame last season--any takers?

*  *  *  *  *

Fast Forward to 2007. I was visiting Michigan from California, where I was attending school. I was enjoying one of the things I really missed about Ann Arbor--walking around the Ann Arbor-Saline Road Meijer after midnight. As I ambled past the U-Scan lanes, I happened to glance at the newspaper display. And there it was, front page.

Jim Harbaugh Criticizes Michigan Academics

“Jim,” I muttered to myself. “You fool. What are you doing?”

*  *  *  *  *

Jim Harbaugh was calling out the academic integrity of Michigan Athletics. He was dropping Bo’s name (after Bo died, something that sat poorly with myself and others) and using it as a cudgel against Michigan. And, by all appearances, he was doing so in an arrogant way to burnish his own program’s reputation.

Nobody in the Michigan camp liked it. Now, I suppose there could be discussion about whether or not he had any legitimate points. Many blogs, including this one, vehemently refuted his accusations and sharply criticized him for making them. I believe it can safely be said that the vast majority of the Michigan family disagreed with both the content and the method of his message.

But this is not about what he said in 2007. This is not about whether or not he wanted to “come home” after Rich Rodriguez left.* I want to address a debate that has bounced around the Michigan family for more than five years now:

Is Jim Harbaugh one of us?

*Critics will occasionally take a dig at Harbaugh, suggesting that by not coming to Michigan he was stabbing us in the back. I do not buy it--he never indicated that he would come, he wanted to go to the NFL, and the NFL wanted him. And his last two years have proven beyond any shadow of a doubt that the NFL was a good move for him. Now, I have no doubt that Harbaugh would have won and won big at Michigan, and little doubt that he would have left for the NFL after a short tenure; I also believe that he would have left the program in great shape, as he did at Stanford and as Nick Saban did at LSU. But, in retrospect, it is clear that Michigan’s opportunity to get Harbaugh was after Lloyd retired--only nobody knew that he was this great yet.

*  *  *  *  *

As a Michigan fan, I respectfully submit three basic arguments asserting why Harbaugh should be accepted, wholly and without qualification, as a Michigan Man.

1. He's Really Good

Jim and Colin

The first reason is simple: Harbaugh, as a successful ex-Michigan player, is a good advertisement for the University. His past Michigan experiences, his wins, and in particular his relationship with Bo are well-known and frequently spoken of. Michigan alum Rich Eisen is a good example of how this works:

So a well-known NFL Net personality is unreservedly promoting Bo, Harbaugh, and the intrinsic Michigan connection? Outstanding.

It’s a pity that Brady didn’t make it to the Super Bowl this year, because the ex-Michigan quarterback angle would have been unavoidable. The success of Michigan Men in the NFL is unquestionably good for the image of the program. That Harbaugh is a coach who is heavily influenced by Bo is just another bonus. Michigan doesn’t exactly have a large coaching tree, but Harbaugh is carrying on Bo’s legacy both in word and in deed. 

And don’t think that Bo wouldn’t have been beaming with pride watching Harbaugh pound the football down Atlanta’s throat on the ground in the NFC championship game. That was Michigan Football on the field last Sunday.*

*I thought Harbaugh was crazy for trying to turn Stanford into a bruiser team in the era of the spread. Until he took Toby Gerhart and Stanford into the Coliseum and ran up the score on the Big Bad Trojans. Now he's taking a bruiser team to the Super Bowl. I guess MANBALL still works.

 

2. We Are Not Other Schools

I understand irritation at someone who says something against the school, even one of our own. That is natural, and there’s nothing out of the ordinary about it. When Harbaugh made specific, negative assertions against the program, he was rebutted and the reaction was negative. And that’s good.

But a fanbase crosses the line when it attempts to excommunicate one of its own because it doesn’t like everything a former athlete says. And that is particularly true of Michigan, a place that most of us believe is known for knowledge and dignity.

When someone expresses unending loathing for Harbaugh or suggests that he is not a “true” Michigan Man, they are acting in exactly the same way that Ohio State fans did with Kirk Herbstreit. Remember that? Herbstreit, a man so proud of his alma mater that he brought his twin boys on the Gameday platform in OSU gear, had to leave the state and move to Nashville to get away from the Ohio State fanbase.

Is that who we are? 

Much of the fun of sports rivalries is pretending that there is something about our own team or university that is qualitatively superior to our rivals in areas other than the football field. Much of this is in fun--students sing “If You Can’t Get Into College Go to State,” but in real life any reasonable person would accept a Michigan State education in their doctor or teacher. Or landscaper or merchandise packager. But I think we genuinely believe that our fanbase is more rational, more appropriate, and more mature than the fanbase of Ohio State. We all feel this way, and anyone who has attended UM-OSU at the Shoe in Michigan gear absolutely knows it.

Yet, if we cut off our own, if we make membership in our “club” subject to holding only the party line at all times, on punishment of total estrangement, we are no better than them.

3. Michigan is a Family

Families are funny things. Who doesn’t have the weird uncle, crazy aunt, loner brother, quirky sister in theirs? What family doesn’t have its disagreements, its tensions, its struggles?

Michigan is not just a factory of buildings that produce automaton students after four years. It is not a sports franchise whose success is judged solely on wins and losses. It is not just a fancy helmet or a fight song or a giant 110,000 seat hole in the ground with plastic grass on the floor.

Michigan is a family. A family with history. A family with character, and characters. A family that speaks warmly of grandparents like Yost and Crisler. A family of people who are flawed, unique, different, imperfect. Connected by sinews that surpass any one element of its unequalled tradition. 

This is a family that loves Bob Ufer’s hopeless homerism, but still enjoys the bubbly professionalism of Beckman. This is a family that reveled in Woodson’s swagger and athleticism, but marvels at the selfless dedication of Kovacs. This is a family where “Even slower than he looks” Tom Brady and “Dilithium” Denard Robinson can play the same position, and win.

It is a family with success stories. Dentists. Doctors. Businessmen. Long-winded broadcasters. All-time-great quarterbacks. Super Bowl coaches.

It is a family with frustrating flameouts. Tony Bowles. Chris Floyd’s job search. Rick Leach. Drew Henson. 

This is a family that has suffered together. OSU ’73. Iowa ’85. Notre Dame ’89. Colorado ’94. OSU ’06. 2008, all of it.

This is a family that has triumphed together. Fiesta. Orange. Sugar. Rose. And Everest in ’97.

Families have their ups and their downs. And they include people who aren’t perfect and aren’t always as kind and supportive as they ought to be. I grew up in a loving family, raised with good values and strong beliefs and lots of togetherness. As it happens, since my Dad died ten years ago a member of his family has turned away from much of what my parents stood for and has, at times, said things which other family members found (quietly) troubling. Do we reject the person? 

No. They are still as much a part of our family as they ever were; they still receive the same love, the same acceptance, the same participation. A family ought to accept someone as a person, even if they disagree with a choice or an action; accepting a person does not imply endorsement of everything they do. That is part of what love is. 

Michigan is a family. It is a family that has nurtured many great members of the community; it has also produced people that have made poor choices and hurt themselves or others. But a family never cuts off their own. 

Jim Harbaugh hurt the Michigan family with what he said. He offended people. He spoke inaccurately in a way that injured the reputation of the school. There’s no question this was difficult. But, no matter what he said, he is still one of us. Just as you love the brother or father or daughter who said or did something hurtful, Michigan should embrace Harbaugh for what he is.

*  *  *  *  *

He is a great coach, playing football exactly how Bo taught him to.

We are a great fanbase, that does not disown someone for breaking the party line.

Michigan is a family, that will love its own and accept them even when they say or do something that is hurtful.

When Jim Harbaugh spoke against Michigan, he was an idiot. He is, in the course of his life, also frequently abrasive, arrogant, and even mean. He is a jerk.

But he is a member of the Michigan family.

His is our idiot. He is our jerk.

He is our Big Ten Title-winning quarterback.

And, coaching in the Super Bowl, he is a Michigan Man.

harbaugh at michigan

Comments

Bosch

January 23rd, 2013 at 10:03 PM ^

I don't care about the coaching search fiasco.  It was clear from the beginning, for those of us who weren't plugging our ears and closing our eyes, that he wanted to test the NFL waters.  I don't blame him for that.

But I cannot get past what he said after he took the job at Stanford.  He was making a preemptive excuse by comparing the recruiting challenges of Stanford to his Alma Mater.  He was throwing Michigan under the bus for his own personal gain.  The kicker is that the administrators that steered him towards General Studies were protecting him.  He was at Michigan because he could play football and no other reason.  What was he thinking he'd do?  Get an engineering degree maybe?

He bit the hand that fed him.  He's no better than Michael Rosenberg, no matter how succesful he may be.

uminks

January 23rd, 2013 at 11:11 PM ^

But he did a fine job recruiting and developing players for Stanford. I think his average classes were only ranked in the 35 to 30 range in the country. Even under RR we had top 20 recruiting classes. The coaches just failed to develop their talent and attrition lead to lack of depth.

BlueSpiceIn SEC.hell

January 24th, 2013 at 1:21 AM ^

......and when is the last time he said anything positive about Michigan? - it is and always will be all about Jim.  He played well for Michigan  - for BO, a legendary and great man- he benefits from BO by association. He is a successful coach - but not our coach and I don't recall him giving Michigan or Bo credit for helping him be successful.  I don't think the analogy to Herbstreit  is the same - Harbaugh attacked us in a self serving manner - I don't think Herbsteit went that far- they just have an idiot fanbase.

bostonsix

January 23rd, 2013 at 10:00 PM ^

I was in disbelief that RR got hired over Harbaugh, then two years later I remember sitting with my face to the floor, and two fists full of hair wondering when the nightmare might end. Living in Ohio sucks when ur a Michigan fan, especially through those years. But watching Harbaugh Manball-Handle Carroll infused rage and envy within me, and I've wanted a coach with the same mentality to do this Ohio year in and year out. I remember when we owned them throughout the 90's, their mentality was nothing near the arrogance and narcissism they have today.For all of us who live behind enemy lines, (Kettering,Oh here.. Homes hometown) we need Hoke, Borges, and Mattison to find that fire and hatred for Ohio, step on the gaspeddal and don't let up. This will silence the lambs

Bando Calrissian

January 23rd, 2013 at 10:44 PM ^

All I know is Harbaugh got up in front of a crowd of thousands at a pep rally at the Santa Monica pier a couple days before the 2007 Rose Bowl and gave perhaps the most rousing Michigan Man speeches I've ever seen in my life.  

I thought he had a point with the academics comments, though I think it's clear he went more than a bit too far in articulating them, but it's clear to me Jim Harbaugh has his heart in the right place.  And I appreciate that.  

Go Niners.

stephenrjking

January 24th, 2013 at 12:50 AM ^

Bando, can you give more details on that speech? That sounds great.

Several people have suggested that Harbaugh has really never said anything positive about the University or his connection to it recently, but this and other anecdotes suggest that he simply hasn't said anything that people actually heard. I know I read someone discussing an interview Harbaugh had with Rich Eisen in which they shared a mutually hearty "Go Blue!" and I believe there are other instances of this.

B-Nut-GoBlue

January 23rd, 2013 at 10:55 PM ^

Great write-up.  Well put together and great insight (especially for those a bit younger, though I know plenty about what you wrote).  Not much of an opinion of the guy myself.  I see why some worship him, why some hate him (well, I guess I don't really see that but I know thse people exist), but for me he's just Jim Harbaugh and it seems what he does he does well.  Good on him. What he said  about his alma mater sucked.  Oh well.  Much worse one can do.

Again, great piece.  Bravo.

uminks

January 23rd, 2013 at 10:59 PM ^

But I'm wondering at some point under coach Carr Jim would have loved to be hired as an assistant coach. May be he felt rejected that he never got a chance to be an assistant coach for Michigan. It would have been a big leap to hire him ahead of RR given no track record as a head coach. Of course in retrospect, I would have loved to have Jim as are coach instead of RR.

Rick Leach was my favorite Michigan QB.  I was 11 years old when he started as a freshman QB and I was a huge Michigan fan. Back when I was young, I thought I would be the next big QB at Michigan. It never happened.  My next favorite player was Anthony Carter. Jim was probably my 3rd favorite Michigan player!  Denard is my 4th favorite, and then there are too many others to list!

Bando Calrissian

January 23rd, 2013 at 11:17 PM ^

When he could have possibly been under consideration for an assistant position at Michigan, Harbaugh was a D-II coach who got noticed because he was Jim Harbaugh, Michigan Great and NFL Veteran.  He was hoping to turn a lower-tier head coaching position at the University of freaking San Diego into a shot at being a D-I (then NFL) head coach, not coaching late-stage John Navarre, Matt Gutierrez, and Chad Henne.  If he even wanted to be a QB coach at all, which by all indications he did not.

When Coach Carr retired, Harbaugh had just finished his first year at Stanford.  Remember, at this point, the idea Stanford could actually be successful, much less have a player like Andrew Luck come out of their system, was pretty much unfathomable.  Stanford was the Northwestern of the Pac-10.  Even though they upset USC that year ("What's your deal?"), they still didn't exactly finish strong.  When you compare Harbaugh to Rich Rodriguez, even what we know now, I don't think you could have argued that Harbaugh was a better candidate at that point in time than the wizard of the spread offense.  Love me some Harbaugh, but in December 2007, that wasn't even a question.  Honestly, at that point, probably as laughable a candidate as Brady Hoke was.

At the end of the day, everyone ended up where they were supposed to be.  Brady Hoke is our guy, Harbaugh is in the Super Bowl, RR seems to have a pretty decent situation at Arizona.  What happened happened.

uminks

January 23rd, 2013 at 11:28 PM ^

I'm glad we ended up with Brady Hoke and I think in a few years many of the doubters will be won over!  During the coaching search I was highly skeptical about how David Brandon wanted to hire his buddy from San Diego State. I was even hoping Les Miles would change his mind. I knew Jim was going to the NFL and we would not have a chance to hire him. But after reading how Brady said the Michigan coaching job was his dream job and I remember back to the mid and late 90s when be was our DL coach, I knew he would be the perfect fit.

I think he has done a great job as our coach and as soon as the talent and depth slowly6 increases I think he will get the program back to the same level as Bo, Mo and most of the Carr years.

ca_prophet

January 24th, 2013 at 5:04 AM ^

to UofM football ... but Anthony Carter sealed the deal.  It helped a lot that he looked not much taller than I was, but he was the most exciting player I've seen in a Michigan uniform.  Woodson and Howard are great (and Woodson is likely a better player overall), and Tyrone Wheatley's Rose Bowl was something to see, but being able to *hear* the Big House hold its breath when Carter got ready to catch a punt and take off was really something.

That said, Harbaugh is proving himself a heck of a coach.  He was a fine college QB and a serviceable to good NFL QB, so from the advertise-Michigan-to-football-fans he's done quite well for us on and off the field.

I would have loved having him as coach in 2011, even knowing that he'd want to leave for the NFL in 3 years, because I think he'd coach the team well while he was here (he doesn't strike me as the sort to focus on the next job at the expense of the current one, rather the reverse; he wants to win sooo much he'll trade off tomorrow for today) and likely leave the program in better shape than he got it.  Now I don't think it will ever happen; c'est la vie.

As far as ripping the school ... well, Harbaugh might well have believed it when he said it; I can't judge that (and I respectfully submit that no one else can either).  I do resent the fact that he ripped his alma mater for PR propaganda - really almost agitprop - rather than taking a high road, but that's a relatively small nit.

As far as being a Michigan Man and part of the Michigan family ... I would say no to the first (his first loyalty appears to be to himself and I won't fault him for that, but that's hardly a 'deathless loyalty to Michigan') and yes to the second - because, after all, family are the people who when you go to them, they have to take you in :<)

 

 

93Grad

January 23rd, 2013 at 10:59 PM ^

On the staff that was capable of taking over as HC, particularly when he knew for awhile he wanted to retire. Harbaugh would have been a no brainier as a QB coach or a coordinator but Lloyd did not want him.

Oh what might have been the last five or six years otherwise. Sure Harbaugh may have left for the pros, but we would have avoided a lot of heartache in the interim.

saveferris

January 24th, 2013 at 8:48 AM ^

I'm pretty certain Lloyd had a succession plan in mind, just not one that would've excited the fanbase.  If Lloyd had been allowed to name his sucessor, I'm sure he would've handed the reigns over to DeBord without hesitation and considered the Michigan program well-tended.  Very few of us would've probably agreed with him, but it's not like Carr ever cared what the fanbase thought about him.

M-Dog

January 24th, 2013 at 4:56 PM ^

Agreed.  I believe that it was Lloyd's plan to ride off into the sunset after a great 2007 season and hand the reigns over to DeBord.  

He had Hene, Hart, and Long as Seniors going into the season, and was poised to have a special year. 

Then App State happened.  Then Oregon.  Then the injury to Hene.  Carr could no longer just call his shots from his rocking chair, ala Bear Bryant.  The program was caught flat footed.  

 

M-Wolverine

January 25th, 2013 at 1:16 PM ^

Even if the season had gone as planned, his loyalty clouded his judgement. We could have won the national championship that year, and Debord would have been a hard sell. People didn't want him particularly on that staff. But no one else had developed to that point that was still on the roster. He went too far after 2005, and when changing our defense which had been not so great for years he decided to clean out BOTH coordinators leaving no one who'd been around long enough to take over except Debord. And really, Terry Malone seemed like a smart young coach who had some fine offensive output before 2005 where the problem wasn't him, but having so many injuries on the offensive line that year.  There was the guy to groom if he was going to let Hoke go get some head coaching experience, rather than keeping Brady around with the knowledge that when Lloyd was done he'd take over. He was buddies with Debord, and it ok as a friendship but he was kidding himself if he thought it was ever going to be a candidate people would embrace. Setting him up for failure. 

RoxyMtnHiM

January 23rd, 2013 at 11:09 PM ^

Rick Leach and Rob Lytle were my first U of M heroes. Harbaugh seems to me to be the most real link back to Bo. Not that he's not his own dude. His own singular, intense dude.

Wendyk5

January 23rd, 2013 at 11:15 PM ^

I appreciate the sentiment, especially in regards to the family dynamics. I just wish he would reciprocate. I don't really follow him, so I don't know if he ever speaks well of Michigan - or speaks of Michigan at all, for that matter. He lived down the street from me in Ann Arbor when I was in school, and I'd see him hanging out on his porch with some of the other players. He was also in one of my classes (he only showed up a couple times, by the way) but I always admired his unwavering confidence and competitiveness. It was fun to watch he and Bo have at it. 

remdog

January 23rd, 2013 at 11:47 PM ^

Harbaugh is and always will be,  a Michigan man and a Michigan legend.  The guy had a phenomenal career at Michigan.  He played for Bo and Bo both loved and respected him - the feeling was mutual.  He had a very good pro career, even earning the nickname "Captain Comeback."  He may be one of the best football coaches ever - he turned a sorry Stanford team into a national title contender which bullied bad ole USC and then he immediately turned the sorry NIners into a Super Bowl contender.

Yeah, he can be an a-hole but he's our a-hole and it's partly what makes him so #$%^ good.

I have to admit I'm a little biased.  There are a couple family connections.  My late uncle was one of his junior high teachers in Ann Arbor and had some fond memories of him.  Just before my uncle passed away about one year ago, he watched "Jimmy" coach the Niners and it made him smile.

ajchien

January 24th, 2013 at 12:13 AM ^

You come to Ann Arbor to finish something, for most of us, it's an educational degree. For a few, it's preparation for professional sports. No matter what we choose to achieve, in Ann Arbor, we are scrutinized. We're told you're not smart enough. You don't work hard enough, you're not good enough at every turn.

It's up to us to prove Ann Arbor wrong. But we never prove Ann Arbor wrong when we're there. We only prove Ann arbor wrong when we leave and go elsewhere.

Once we are elsewhere. You still know that we were never smart enough for Ann arbor. We never worked hard enough for Ann arbor, we were never good enough for Ann arbor.

But yet, we are damn good compared to the rest of the world.

Ive met many from ivy leagues, to big west coast institutions. Many are full of style and no substance. They smile and are friendly, but cant get the job done.

A Michigan Man was not built to play nice, or be full of style. We simply get the job done right.

That's the Michigan Man, hardened in Ann arbor. Leaders and Best.

Decatur Jack

January 24th, 2013 at 4:46 AM ^

- I really enjoyed reading this (up until the very end). The part about family and Ufer and forgiveness was very heartfelt and excellent.

- But the very end is kind of abrupt and really is a drastically different tone from the "awww harbaugh" that we were getting from the few paragraphs in the middle. Maybe there should have been some comparison to the differing personalities Michigan's family members have had. Harbaugh is a big personality. So was Bo. Maybe end it on that kind of note instead of frankly stating "he's a jerk; bfd; who cares?"

- You refer to "ex-" in the wrong context. Harbaugh is a former Michigan football player. The "ex-" denotes some kind of dismissal. Was Harbaugh expelled? No.

Like so: Denard Robinson is a former Michigan quarterback. Darryl Stonum is an ex-Michigan wide receiver.

Other than that, good job. Write more posts like this, but maybe work on your endings.

Eck Sentrik

January 24th, 2013 at 7:00 AM ^

Dead to me. He has not backtracked or shown remorse for what he did that I'm aware of. If he has, please enlighten me and I'll adjust my opinion. Otherwise I'm not forgiving him just because he's now an NFC champion douchebag coach.

 

He has no love or respect for Michigan. Fuck him.

True Blue Grit

January 24th, 2013 at 8:21 AM ^

at the Big House during his glory seasons of 1985 and 1986.  He'll always be one of my 2 favorite Michigan QB's (Denard being the other).   But I'm one who would not want him to be our HC - not at this point.  Could he win big here?  Of course, but he's shown too many character flaws in recent years to warrant being given the privilege of representing the U-M.  The 2007 interview where he threw Michigan under the bus was the deal killer for me.  I didn't disagree with his general argument of college athletics and academics.  But, the self-serving way in which he singled out Michigan was inexcusable.  And I'd much rather have a cool, and under-control Brady Hoke on the sidelines than the tantrum-throwing child seen on Sunday on the 49er's sideline any day of the week.  

Despite all this I still root for JH and hope he wins in the Super Bowl.  I'll feel much better about him however if someday he apologizes to the Michigan community for his past comments.  Somehow I don't think he ever will, but here's hoping.  

Mabel Pines

January 24th, 2013 at 8:23 AM ^

really nice piece.  I still contend that the reason Jimmy H never would have come here was that his 2nd wife was just about due to give birth and her whole fam. lives in Cali.  No way was she agreeing to Michigan.  And I'm 50/50 on his jerk status.  Still want San Fran to lose.  They already have the World Series. 

And again, I apologize, Steverk, for saying your avatar was "creepin' me out"....it was late at night, hubby was on golf trip to Tx, I was hearing noises,  there may or may not have been a murderer trying to break in.....

2001UofMGrad

January 24th, 2013 at 8:44 AM ^

I grew up in a house that watched Notre Dame on Saturday.  I was a huge fan.  That is until my 1st UofM game in 1997 vs ND as a student.  I am all Blue now, and I have never looked back.  That being said, I have no fond memories of Harbaugh coloring my opinion of him now.  I see a guy that is a great coach, but he acts like a huge prick 99% of the time.  I love the team focus that Hoke brings, and I just can't see that same family feeling with Harbaugh's ego in the room.  I don't think of him as a "Michigan Man", I think he is too focused on himself.

Zoltanrules

January 24th, 2013 at 8:51 AM ^

as Michigan's coach over what we have had since Lloyd. I doubt we would have had a "sh&*(y season" under Harbaugh, and btw Bo was one, ultra competative cocky bastard too ... most of the great coaches are.

Zoltanrules

January 24th, 2013 at 9:28 AM ^

I don't want anyone who is slimey or violates any rules to coach UM, but college football is all about results.My guess is that Brandon agrees.  Why else are we asked to shell our crazy money for this product? Michigan fans want to see our boys kick the crap out of ND, MSU, OSU; win Big10 Championships, and win Bowl Games.

It's just some fan coping mechanism to say the other team's coach is cocky or a jerk when they are successful at our expense. Taking emotions out, results speak for themselves.

I wouldn't turn down Nick $aban either ; )

MinWhisky

January 24th, 2013 at 9:55 AM ^

I see Harbaugh being dissed for his comments re how football players at Michigan were discouraged from majoring in difficult disciplines while he was a player and coach.  What I don't see are any facts re same.  Maybe he's correct.  When I was at UofM in 1962-66,  I only knew three football players.  They were all in LS&A, majoring in Pre-Med, Chemistry, and a third discipline that I can't remember.  Kinesiology was unheard of.   Why are so many football players majoring in it today?

Mgodiscgolfer

January 24th, 2013 at 10:07 AM ^

 Harbaugh that predicted or guaranteed a victory days before the team was to invade the shoe. I remember thinking wait till Bo hears about this one boy is he (Harbaugh) gonna be in the shit. Bo came out the next day or so after the media had it everywhere on the TV and said, I am paraphrasing,  Well I am glad he didn't say we were gonna lose, and that was the end of it publicly. So if Jim says something that, well we don't like, remember he didn't say it because it might ruffle some feathers, he said it because he felt it was true, and I am sure Bo told him to never be afraid to tell the truth, it is what it is.He also had a career day against the Buckeyes in their own back yard and UM won. So personally I am not suprised of anything Jim says cause he believes it to be true. Oh and he will always be a UM alum and one I will always be proud of.

hfhmilkman

January 24th, 2013 at 10:19 AM ^

I find it hillarious that everyone keeps insisting that Harbaugh is manball smash mouth football only.   One of his great innovations that is working so well for the 49'ers is running read option and using James as a complement to Gore.  He is willing to use all tools at his disposal be it smash mouth or spread unlike other closed minded coaches.  I saw a QB in the NFL run for 160 yards in a half and then the read option was used as a decoy to prevent the Falcon DE's from crashing in on the QB.   So by just showing the ball, the 49'ers were able to constrain what the Falcons could do on defense. 

But I agree he is not a very nice person.   I had friends in South Quad at the time and from their accounts Harbaugh was a bit of a bully and tyrant.  So the fact he says hurtful things in a spontaneous manner does not suprise me. 

 

UMaD

January 24th, 2013 at 12:56 PM ^

Yeah, that sounds like Bo, and an argument was made when Rodriguez was brought in that his spread offense was bringing us back to the run-oriented Bo days.  But since then, the narrative has shifted to, more or less:

MANBALL = NOT RODRIGUEZ. 

That's a narrative that the coaching staff has gently encouraged.  i.e., we're going BACK to manball after the Rodriguez hiatus/fiasco/bball on grass business.

What SF is doing is not very dissimilar from Rodriguez's philosophy.  A big part of what’s making the run game work is Kaepernik, who is well versed in reads and making great calls in reading off/blocking the DEs.  So much for it not working in the NFL…  I’m not sure what MANBALL means exactly, but I don't think it just having an extra TE (which Rodriguez did plenty of anyway.) If manball is supposed to be the opposite of Rodriguez’s offensive philosophy, then it can’t be what SF is doing.  SF's OL is a relatively small and quick, their lead back is short, their backup RB is LaMichael James, and they have a skinny run-first QB. 

Maybe that’s still manball but that terms been used very differently here in the past. So, I guess it depends on your definition of MANBALL here.  But I don't think the Bo-oriented view of manball is consistent with the anti-Rodriguez view of manball that is generally taken around here.

I suspect for most people MANBALL boils down to not coaching a terrible defense, but we're talking about offensive scheme here mostly, I think.

MGoShoe

January 24th, 2013 at 10:41 AM ^

...days playing youth football in A2 is instructive as to Jim's personality. Like everyone, he has flaws. He also has other loyatlies. As you go through life and experience other things, you tend to pick them up. For instance, since my two oldest kids have attended UVa and VT, I'm much more interested in these two school's success than I ever was. On the other hand, I earned a master's degree from Oklahoma while never setting foot on the Norman campus. My ties to OU are minimal at best. If you coach at Stanford, you have to give your life to that effort. If you're part of a family that is as close as the Harbaugh family, then when your brother-in-law is the head coach of the IU basketball team, your loyalties necessarily become somewhat divided.

There's also the factor of growing up as the son of a college coach. It's an itinerant lifestyle that requires the coach to shift loyalties in line with the contours of his career arc. Moving from A2 to Palo Alto while in the middle of high school is certainly going to make a kid look at things differently than if the move hadn't taken place. I love A2 as much as the next person, but if you've ever spent a minute in Palo Alto, you know that it's a special place as well. Who cares if Harbaugh at different times in his life thought that U-M or Stanford was his dream school? He ended up making the trek back to A2 and was an integral part of several special teams.

He and Brady Hoke are both channeling Bo in their coaching careers (and Harbaugh is clearly channeling his Dad as well). I don't like the fact that he took a swipe at Michigan's approach to athletics because it was clearly disingenuous. Not in it's substance, per se, but that what he was talking about is endemic across college athletics, and Stanford was not immume from that. The fact is that Jim is a ready, fire, aim kind of guy. Sometimes that works ok, and sometimes that has negative consequences. And his time playing A2 youth football, his career as Michigan's quarterback, his drunk driving record, his marital history, and some of his antics as a coach show that.

Is he flawed? Yes. A paragon of virtue? No. A Michigan Man? Without a doubt.

Aequitas

January 24th, 2013 at 12:17 PM ^

Sorry, I'm not going there with the whole "he's ours" crap.  He did some great things in a Michigan uniform, but has sense excommunicated himself by disparaging Bo.  That last part means he'd dead to me unless he does a 180 on his comments.

He can't be "ours" and say his first choice was Stanford all along.

I'll dismiss his comments as "posturing" for Stanford when Harbaugh himself does.

Would this piece have been written if Harbaugh had gone to the NFL and freaking sucked?  Nope.  So forgive me if I don't feel the same way about him simply because he's a "great coach" right now.

User -not THAT user

January 24th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^

"The tight end. A fullback. Needed. Without those two positions, you tend more to be a finesse type of team.

"Especially if you can get a fullback, a man who lives a spartan life, who goes to bed and dreams about physical confrontation and getting from Point A to Point B to go hit somebody," Harbaugh said. "If you have that kind of face as your identity for your team, then you can play the kind of football that we are talking about."

 

Egad..."a man who leads a spartan life"...he was NEVER one of us...his heart had been in East Lansing all this time.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/tag/_/name/bo-schembechler 

Icehole Woody

January 24th, 2013 at 12:43 PM ^

Of course Jim Harbaugh is a Michigan Man.  More so than most.   He was a fantastic QB for Michigan and I hope he will be the head coach at Michigan some day when he tires of the NFL. 

 

Go Blue!

M-Wolverine

January 24th, 2013 at 3:51 PM ^

And then it was shown that they push players into easy majors too.

He also said he was kept for going for a history degree, which could have been true, but a whole lot of players then and now get tougher majors than history and weren't kept from it. So it sounds very unlikely.

UMaD

January 24th, 2013 at 1:07 PM ^

Nice, thoughtful post.  Good work.  I have a few quibbles though.

POINT 1 is weak.  While NFL success does help Michigan retain prestige and aid recruiting, Eisen (indirectly) talking about Michigan doesn’t really prove your point.  He’s an alum who mentions UM anyway .  More importantly, Harbaugh is a success AS A COACH not a player, and therefore (no matter how Eisen wants to paint it) fans associate him primarily with Stanford, not Michigan.  Harbaugh’s success isn’t moving the needle on how Michigan is viewed, IMO.  Actually, there is a perception that he turned down Michigan, so his confirmation as an elite coach may encourage the view that Michigan’s status as an elite program/job is a thing of the past.

POINT 2 is spot on.  There is a hypersensitivity to criticism in portions of the Michigan fanbase that seems to be growing over the last decade.

POINT 3 is kind of the same thing as POINT 2, IMO. It's about Michigan and what WE want it to mean.  Turning your back on one of your own when they make well-intentioned criticism, regardless of validity, is ignoble behavior. 

“He is our jerk” – indeed.  That doesn’t preclude him from being excommunicated at some point, but he hasn’t crossed that line yet, or even come close IMO.

theanimal

January 24th, 2013 at 1:38 PM ^

M mistake is not hiring Jim as QB coach when he told Lloyd Carr he would take the job for free & "if it does not work out you can fire me at anytime".

M chose to take Scott Loeffler instead of #4. Harbaugh went to coach QB's at Oakland & helped Rich Gannon win MVP & team to Super Bowl. From there his career took off.

Appears LC did not want a bigger name on sidelines for fans to clamour for when offense struggled. This could have been the coaching tree legacy of LC that we did not have.

Appears pettiness & jealousy were big part of LC & M even in 2002

TorontoBlue

January 24th, 2013 at 2:46 PM ^

JH had a DUI in November, 2005 followed not long after by leaving his wallet in a bar.  This effectively sealed his fate in terms of succeeding LC - after the Gary Moeller incident at the Excalibur, Michigan didn't need any more alcohol abuse issues in it's coaching staff.   I do think that Dave Brandon consults with Jim from time to time and takes his advice and input, but don't count on Jim ever being seriously considered for a job here. 

My brothers are both IU grads and love rubbing it my face at every opportunity that Jim is an IU basketball fan and cheers against his alma mater and for the Hoosiers.   Causes me heartburn.

I think he's lost his credential as a "Michgan Man" and I'm pretty sure he did so on his own accord. 

GO BLUE!

M-Dog

January 24th, 2013 at 5:01 PM ^

Jim Harbaugh has the Bobby Knight phenomenon going . . . he's a jerk, but he wins.  As long as he keeps winning people will overlook his being a jerk.  

But as soon as he starts losing, it's over.  Just like Bobby Knight.  He has no goodwill to fall back on.