balas: harbaugh briefly accepted UM job in 2011

Harbaugh "sure I'll come be the Michigan coach" Search firm rep "ok we'll set up the meeting to finalize with Mr Brandon for tomorrow" Harbaugh "wait Dave Brandon will be my boss? Aww hell no!"

He may have said something like "Uh, sure, I guess," but that evaporated over two days. Go back and check the coaching fiasco posts from 2011.

This time, there is a unified front, an organized plan, no phumphering around, and no serious alternative candidates. As far as the rumor mill goes, Hoke was pretty sure the job was his all along in late 2010/2011.

Nothing from 2011 suggests a serious effort by Brandon to get Harbaugh.

With head cocked, scratching side of face, one eye starting to go lazy on me, mouth agape, breathing shallow, slumped in chair. 

particular snippet of news, suggests that isn't well sourced but that it came from the search firm that is working with Michigan now. Otherwise, how would he know?

Brandon made some passing references to an attempt to land Harbaugh after Rodriguez was fired, and did say at one point in connection with that effort, "All that glitters is not gold."

In any case, there was never a face-to-face on that past offer with Michigan just like there likely hasn't been one yet. So, saying Michigan didn't make an all in attempt to get him would be accurate, because they accepted his "no" as the answer then.

I actually think that the past brief acceptance stands as a strong reason why he will follow through this time and take the latest Michigan offer.

Was just a lot of confirmation bias on the part of a lot of people. The "negative" tone of the past 1/2 day may just be cooler heads prevailing (or at least damping down the irrational exhuberance). Brian, Balas, Webb have been pretty consistent in their views that no one really knows anything for certain at this point, despite rumors to the contrary.

The Victors Blog and edge of the internet stuff is just putting gasoline on the fire. It's really not helping.

The timing didn't really work for Harbaugh to have "accepted" the Michigan job.  If I recall correctly, he was announced as 49ers coach only a couple days after Rich Rodriguez was fired.  He would have been going through that process with the 49ers probably before there was even an official opening. 

My guess is that Harbaugh said through back channels that he would have been interested, but as it became apparent that he was in play for NFL jobs, specifically one that would not require him to move, he never really became involved beyond that point.  

This morning, Sam Webb said he was confident in JH, but not too confident. He gave a vague statement that Michigan "missed" on coaches last minute in 2007 and 2011, so maybe the 2011 "miss" was with Jim?

Who knows, but baby seal seems confident, so who are we to question it???

Well Schefter said that Harbaugh is leaning towards Michigan as of today so that's not negative chatter. The other guy discredits himself by saying we're going after Garrett and Marrone which are two names I've not heard from any other respective source.

This guy is always posting positive articles but claims it's still 50/50 chance.

for another SEARCHBITS

It's been like 20 hours!

What was the evidence that Brandon never seriously considered Harbaugh?

I'm curious, because I'm wondering if it contradicts my working model of events:

1. Brandon contacts Harbaugh (perhaps indirectly)
2. Harbaugh expresses interest
3. San Francisco contacts Harbaugh
4. Harbaugh contacts Brandon, says "Sorry, Dave, I've got a better offer and it's not about money so don't bother. I don't want to leave the bay if I don't have to and when the NFL calls you have to answer."
5. Brandon offers Hoke, who accepts
6. Brandon and others shape perception so that Hoke, who was probably the #2 choice, seems to have been #1 all along

I think it's well established that Brandon was interested in Hoke early on--I haven't seen anything that clearly establishes that he wasn't also interested in Harbaugh. What have I missed?

seems to have worked out in his favor given the success with SF and the ~$6-8+ million/yr offer on the table to coach UM now just 4 yrs later.

 

May also be best for us if he has satisfied NFL urge for a while and comes back to UM for long run (of utter dominance).

The prevailing wisdom seems to be that he sort of had a 'handshake' agreement that could have been interpreted as a 'deal' or 'not a deal' mid-way through the season. Kind of a, "yeah I'd want to coach at Michigan", but no contract in place because it was still RR time.

Once Harbaugh became the top ticket in town, I heard Brandon wouldn't 'sell' him enough on the back-end (e.g. more money, stroking his ego, etc), so the window opened for the Niners.  Maybe he would've taken the Niners gig either way, but it probably would've been close.

Several people do swear up and down that this time is different and much further along.  I also think Hackett is infinitely more competent than Brandon in this particular situation.  

Or I have no idea what I'm talking about! Who knows?!

Well here's the good news guys re the 2011 "did he or didn't he" talk today.  Once Jim accepts the job to be our HC we can ask him the question directly.

I nominate Heiko to come out of retirement for a presser to ask Harbaugh that very thing.  One think for sure - that dude was fearless in a presser.

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

SEARCHBITS!!

Some of the people will be disappointed even if Harbaugh comes without winning a CFB Championship in his first year.

I think people really need to calm down and view Michigan is just another football school - not too big, of course not small.

Michigan will have a fine coach - be it Harbaugh(s), Miles, Stoops (Bob that is)- hey, even Hoke has done some nice things except he had had some crappy QBs - and we will beat Bucks and Spartans regularly.

Gave indications he would accept a job is vastly different than accepeted a position.  I would believe the former, ie what's going on right now, the latter seems like revisionist history from a disgraced AD.

It's the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle applied to sports -- the closer we look at this, the less certain anything is.

I'm going to go make some chili ...

In the fall 2010, sometime after the MSU game, Harbaugh had verbally informally agreed to coach Michigan.  As the season progressed, his stock rose and at the same time Brandon took for granted that Harbaugh was his and didn't really cater/recruit him at all after that - kind of left him alone for a long while.  Harbaugh also got some bad vibes about Brandon from some close time him, telling him the environment might not be the best for him and that advice along with the seemingly low level of interest Brandon showed him, he went ahead and took the SF job.  

Word is that Brandon never spoke directly to Harbaugh and never actually put forth a concrete offer.  The way Hackett has been operating is way different from Brandon's arrogant way of doing things. 

 

Bollocks.

If you are David Brandon, hypothetically, why wouldn't you announce it immediately if somebody accepts the job?  What is to be gained in keeping a true "acceptance" secret?  It makes zero sense, even for a person like Mr. Brandon, to do that.

Unless it is actually not a true acceptance, but something short of that.  And if it is something short of that, then Mr. Balas and Mr. LaCanfora are either lying to us or (at a minimum) exaggerating in order to get attention, and deserve to be ignored.