Brian- full story of the recruitment and eventual hiring of Harbaugh?

Submitted by SAMgO on

Now that it seems to be over, I'm sure more than a few on here would appreciate some sort of story or column on the actual truth of how this all went down. With so many wild rumors flying about where his heart is or what his motives for coming back to Ann Arbor are, getting the real story of the Harbaugh recruitment out there would be refreshing. Brian, from all you heard from sources and insiders over the last couple months, do you think there is enough verified information that you've collected to put the true narrative together?

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creeBlue2

December 29th, 2014 at 2:54 PM ^

I'm hoping that portions of it will be covered in the podcast. I thought i read somewhere that Brian and Ace would be posting one today... Could be mistaken also. 

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JClay

December 29th, 2014 at 2:56 PM ^

I also would be interested in a full post-mortem of what you knew when and just how locked up this was 2-3 weeks ago. It'd be a fascinating read.

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LSAClassOf2000

December 29th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^

I suggested weeks ago in jest that all the sources need to get together on stage for a reunion-type special, but now part of me thinks that - for the benefit of the fans - that something like this actually wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea, even if improbable. I would definitely be satisfied with a detailed dissection of the last 4 weeks, including any information on what became apparent and when. Possibly, it would be the greatest intrigue story in Michigan history to date.

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03 Blue 07

December 29th, 2014 at 3:24 PM ^

It would be awesome if someone compiled the tweets and info into sort of an "oral history," or, barring that, a timeline with commentary would be great. I imagine the "oral history" idea wouldn't work too well and would require a ton of legwork to get fresh quotes from people and ex post facto commentary. Perhaps just a timeline with embedded tweets and quotes, along with BCook's commentary (or whomever the diarist) would be a good way to go?

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TennBlue

December 29th, 2014 at 3:30 PM ^

seemingly reliable message board comments:

(a bit edited for brevity, contains some speculation to fill gaps)

Schlissel initially had no clue as to how to deal with a major sports program and was not ready for the firestorm that erupted from the boosters after the Notre Dame game. He thus commissioned a study on the impact of Michigan in the community that looked at various options and how it would impact the University as a whole.

 

The options included a) hang on to Hoke b) get a cheap, above-average coach, or c) go all out for a top-line coach (Harbaugh). The study concluded that the best option was c), so Schlissel went all in on it.

 

Jim was contacted through his dad Jack so as to keep the SF media out of it, and they eventually negotiated a set of conditions under which Jim would seriously consider taking the job. Those conditions included a) getting rid of Brandon, b) bringing in an interim he could work with, c) treating his old friend Hoke well, and d) having full control of the football program.

 

Schlissel spent a couple weeks getting things lined up, then pulled the trigger on Oct. 31. Hackett spent the rest of the season keeping in touch with Jim through Jack and gradually working down the list of conditions to make sure everything was set.

 

Formal contract negotiations started around the time Hoke was fired, again going through Jack so as to keep all the NFL people out of the loop. The possible difficulty was going to be if the 49ers made a run in the playoffs, as it seemed likely that Jim would stick with his team rather than jump in that case. The Niners' dive out of the playoffs saved that decision point.

 

Final contract was approved ca. 12/15, with the severance package with the 49ers negotiated with the Board of Regents and Jim's agent at the 12/22 meeting. Hence Brian's tweet that Jim was effectively signed then, pending the final 49ers game.

-----

I may not have it all exactly right, so anybody who knows anything more feel free to correct it. I'm pretty sure that's the basic narrative of how it went down, though.

 

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treetown

December 29th, 2014 at 4:34 PM ^

The bits and pieces fit and it seems logical and fits the security aspect as to how there were so few if any leaks - working through his family makes the most sense. It is almost like one of the LeCarre spy novels where George Smiley sorts out the puzzle.

Here is the question I am most curious about beside the details of the Harbaugh hire and it is: What was Hackett's Plan B? He must have had one since everything else was so well done, he couldn't have just put all his eggs into one basket - what if the 49er's squeaked into the playoffs, then got lucky and were in the NFC championship game again. No way the management would let Harbaugh go and he probably wouldn't want to leave with the Super Bowl being so close. So who was Hackett's Plan B?

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bamf16

December 29th, 2014 at 4:52 PM ^

I think we'll find out the truth about Natalee Holloway and a couple Malaysian Airliners before we hear who Plan B was.

 

If the University's administration was truly all in on option C, going for a big name guy and paying to get him, have to figure Plan B was from the pool of Bob Stoops, Les Miles, and Dan Mullen.  No one else I can think of would satisfy those requirements.

 

Dark Horse: Doug Marrone.  News today that he has an out clause in his contract b/c of the Bills' change in ownership.  I wonder if UM knew of that and would have sought to exploit it had Harbaugh turned down the UM offer.

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Heptarch

December 29th, 2014 at 3:42 PM ^

First time posting here.  Nice article from Ty Duffy at the BigLead talking about why Jim made the decision he did and what it means for the school and B1G.

http://thebiglead.com/2014/12/29/jim-harbaugh-to-michigan-a-transformative-hire/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=referral

Best line, IMO:

"We can concoct narratives. We can shoehorn the outcome into extant ones. But, the most plausible explanation is simple. Harbaugh cares about Michigan."

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swamyblue

December 29th, 2014 at 5:17 PM ^

I hath one question. Who art thou in this illustrious matrix by which the initial contact was cast upon Sir Jedi Hackett to serve as interim AD? (Pause)

For he or she is "The One".



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TennBlue

December 29th, 2014 at 6:29 PM ^

but I strongly suspect Hackett was Jack's suggestion. He'd played under Jack and they had remained close through the years.

 

I was initially baffled by Hackett and why he was chosen. As I dug into his history and learned of the connection to the Harbaugh family, it became clear as to why he was there. Everything about this points to Harbaugh being the primary target from Day 1.

 

Jack's fingerprints seem to be all over everything.

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