CC: Does Harbaugh's inaction tell us something?
[Opening note - I hate having to defend CC talk, but here goes: if you didn't want to hear CC talk, then why click on a link marked "CC"?]
About a week and a half ago, Stanford offerred to sweeten Harbaugh's contract at Stanford, solely for the purpose of keeping him there. Nothing has yet been signed. It seems to me that, if Harbaugh truly wanted to stay there, he would try to sign something pretty quickly or at least make some kind of statement to quash all the "Harbaugh to Michigan" rumors, which are surely hurting his recruiting at Stanford.
To me this is evidence that Harbaugh is coming, mostly because I doubt that he would leave Stanford hanging just to wring a few more bucks out of them or if he didn't have strong feeling that the Michigan job could be his. Of course, this is just speculation like everything else, but I haven't seen this angle discussed here. Any thoughts?
December 15th, 2010 at 2:31 PM ^
(This angle has been discussed here)
December 15th, 2010 at 2:39 PM ^
It reminds me of Caddyshack....
"I've often thought of becoming a golf club."
How profound.
December 15th, 2010 at 6:00 PM ^
Don't drive angry!
December 15th, 2010 at 2:47 PM ^
All the proof you need is this picture. Who in their right mind would take the time to take a picture with a creepy buckeye fan? Lloyd or Rich Rod never did this. FACT!
December 15th, 2010 at 6:08 PM ^
...could be a gay buckeye cruise (not that there's anything wrong with that... the gay part... not the buckeye part). You decide.
December 15th, 2010 at 7:31 PM ^
Somebody break into his office already, root though his papers, report back to us. Code word "the fat man walks at midnight".
December 15th, 2010 at 4:18 PM ^
Or it could mean he's going to the NFL or CFL or any other school.
Without getting too douchey it means what most prognosticators have been saying, James is going SOMEWHERE other than Stanford next year. Question is whether its an NFL team or us.
December 15th, 2010 at 8:40 PM ^
...or CFL...
Dateline: Hamilton, Ontario
January 2, 2011
The Hamilton Tiger Cats are pleased to announce their new Head Coach and General Manager, formerly Head Coach of the Stanford Cardinal, Mr. Jim Harbaugh. Mr. Harbaugh also played professionally in the NFL; most notably starting with the Chicago Bears for a number of years. He is an alumni of the University of Michigan.
December 15th, 2010 at 2:33 PM ^
But it could also mean he is waiting on the NFL.
December 15th, 2010 at 2:34 PM ^
After the Stanford bowl game he will resign and come coach our high school team.
December 15th, 2010 at 2:53 PM ^
handling the negotiations. It is very hush hush at this point so do not tell anybody. The only sticking point is his buyout clause from Stanford- at this time our high school team is fundraising $1.2 million via car washes and such- then we will make the big announcement.
December 16th, 2010 at 8:37 AM ^
you already got him the gold toilet? How much does one of those babies cost?
December 15th, 2010 at 5:13 PM ^
Apparently you didn't learn how to read a calendar growing up. It says 2009 in the link you dipshit.
December 15th, 2010 at 5:18 PM ^
time does fly, dipshit.
December 15th, 2010 at 5:25 PM ^
This is the second time you posted the same link in this thread. You were corrected 2 hours ago, yet you still posted it again.
December 15th, 2010 at 5:30 PM ^
the first time, no doubt to save me from being called a dipshit by a dispshit.
December 15th, 2010 at 6:05 PM ^
Do they cancel each other out? Just wondering.
December 15th, 2010 at 6:33 PM ^
a dipshit for making an honest mistake. The other is a dispshit for calling it out. You decide.
December 15th, 2010 at 10:14 PM ^
I feel like someone should photoshop Terrelle Pryor into this.
Probably as the dude on the right.
December 15th, 2010 at 10:30 PM ^
You got hammered with neg votes and OMG Shirtless got up voted. I guess the board did as you requested.
December 15th, 2010 at 5:13 PM ^
that the article you linked to is a year old?
December 15th, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
The link's a year old, but it's still interesting.
In 2009, with rumors of ND and Kansas being interested in him, Harbaugh signed a contract extension at Stanford.
In 2010, with rumors of MIchigan being interested in him, Harbaugh has not signed a contract extension at Stanford, even though he's been offered one.
December 16th, 2010 at 10:30 AM ^
December 15th, 2010 at 5:16 PM ^
That article is from last year.
December 15th, 2010 at 2:39 PM ^
Lynn Henning has an interesting article in today's DetNews about potential Harbaugh NFL angles, and concludes that Carolina may be the most likely destination, with the possibility of landing Luck in the draft.
December 15th, 2010 at 2:44 PM ^
LH said JH would crawl to be Sparty's coach and RR was to be fired already. No matter how interesting, I think I will pass on his articles. Not being Snarky, thanks for bringing it up though.
December 15th, 2010 at 3:01 PM ^
Yeah I saw that and threw up in my mouth a little, then realized that it was the funniest damn joke I'd ever heard.
December 15th, 2010 at 3:17 PM ^
Well, he was referring to Harbaugh's purported interest in the MSU job back in 2006, which I don't specifically recall. The main take-away is that it's impossible to know what motivates Harbaugh--he has deep connections to the NFL, and to Michigan (and perhaps unnecessary, when Michigan already has a coach committed to Michigan, and who has the potential to be very successful).
December 15th, 2010 at 3:20 PM ^
No one specifically recalls it because it didn't happen. Outside of Henning's imagination.
December 15th, 2010 at 5:11 PM ^
Yes, oddly, it is impossible for Henning to know what Harbaugh might do, because that would entail some actual investigation or reporting-like activity, as opposed to just pulling stuff out of his a** and firing off a column that rests upon 100% pure and uninformed speculation.
December 15th, 2010 at 3:19 PM ^
Can we just pretend Lynn Henning and his fruity adjectives don't exist? At least on topics of Michigan. Or MSU. Or the Tigers. Or sports.
December 15th, 2010 at 2:48 PM ^
None of the college programs hiring have gone after Harbaugh, at least in a public manner. I'd have thought programs like Florida might have at least taken a run at him. So I figure its accepted by most of the ADs that Harbaugh is either going to the NFL or going to Michigan and they have no shot at him.
We'll find out in under a month. If this coaching search isn't wrapped up one way or another (RR's contracted extended/vote of confidence or Harbaugh hired) by the 2nd week of January I'm hitting AA Torch and Pitchfork and going looking for Brandon.
December 15th, 2010 at 2:55 PM ^
Miami took a run at him and he said he wasn't interested.
Reported by the Miami Herald.
December 15th, 2010 at 3:02 PM ^
Or I dont believe it... 
December 15th, 2010 at 3:06 PM ^
It's a link from Stanford Daily Twitter account. Second one down.
December 15th, 2010 at 6:11 PM ^
Here is one.
“The trustee said UM inquired about Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh, who wasn’t interested,
http://www.mrsec.com/2010/12/mullens-ego-a-turn-off-for-miami/
December 15th, 2010 at 3:21 PM ^
Who DIDN'T Miami take a run at according to the Herald?
December 15th, 2010 at 3:28 PM ^
I don't know?
December 15th, 2010 at 3:36 PM ^
that other programs thought that there were better options than Harbaugh?
If Harbaugh didn't have any previous ties to Michigan, I don't think Michigan fans would be clamoring for him either. Too many people are hung up on this "Michigan Man" BS, which I find to be absolutely comical after the way he threw Michigan under the bus for personal benefit.
December 15th, 2010 at 3:52 PM ^
Is it possible that DB is waiting on Harbaugh to prove himself? I know Stanford has a great record and in a BCS bowl, but who have they beat? Their best win was against USC on a last second FG and they beat Arizona who had a terrible November. Losing to Oregon isn't that big of a deal to me since they rolled every other team in their schedule save Cal. Stanford at times looked very sharp this season and I do think JH has done a good job there. Maybe DB is looking at both games to see how the coaches perform and makes an appropriate decision after Jan 1st.
December 15th, 2010 at 4:39 PM ^
are you forgetting that in 2007 Stanford beat #1 ranked USC while Pete was still there. Are you forgetting that they did it again in 2009 while Pete was still there. As a matter of fact Stanford has won 3 of their last 4 against USC, tell me another team that has done that. are you forgetting that he is currently the coach at Stanford ("we talkng bout Stanford"). I will grant you that Stanford is a great university from an academic stand point but maybe not so much from an athletic stand point. I would say that the ability to win at Stanford says that he could probably win anywhere.
December 15th, 2010 at 5:00 PM ^
Those USC teams were not the ones we had come to know from earlier in the decade. They did not have any Lienarts or Bushs on those teams. Furthermore USC was good for one let-down per season in the Pac-10 and luckily for Stanford it happened against them in 2007. I think those USC wins say more about USC's downfall than anything Stanford (or Harbaugh) did.
I know you can make the argument against Coach Rod that he hasn't pulled a big upset but you put it clearly that Stanford isn't Michigan when it comes to football tradition. Back in 2007 everybody thought Stanford was a cake-walk. On the other hand nobody is going to let up against Michigan and that's why you haven't seen a good team cough one up against us.
December 15th, 2010 at 5:21 PM ^
Historically, most teams have been able to beat Stanford even when they "let up." Stanford beat USC in 2007 with a backup quarterback making his first career start, and broke a 35-game home winning streak for USC (source).
Interestingly enough, looking at Dennis Green's record, it appears he beat Notre Dame at Notre Dame when they were ranked #1 in 1990 (source). Just like Harbaugh in 2007, Green only won 3 games in that first year at Stanford.
December 16th, 2010 at 12:47 PM ^
MOST teams have been able to be Stanford even when they let up. But that's not a guarantee and once in a blue moon you will have an upset like Stanford's over USC in 2007. But for teams like ND, USC and Mich, please bring up a notable upset. What I'm saying is nobody lets up against the good teams bc they are already circled on the schedule whereas who really cares about Stanford until this year?
December 16th, 2010 at 1:13 PM ^
I think it took a lot more than just a "let up" by USC in 2007 - I think Stanford had to play out of its mind. That's kind of the point about looking at upsets with respect to a coach's performance - a coach who can get his team to play above its expected level will result in occasional, notable upsets.
Really, the argument cuts both ways. A good coach needs to be able to get his team to elevate its level of play against superior opponents, but also needs to be able to get his team to maintain its level of play against inferior opponents.
In that sense, Michigan under RR has beaten one higher ranked team (Wisc in 2008) and lost to 3 lower ranked teams (Utah in 2008, MSU in 2009, PSU in 2010). Stanford, in the first 3 years under JH, has beaten 4 higher ranked teams (USC in 2007, Wash, Ore, and USC in 2009) and lost to 2 lower ranked teams (Cal and Oklahoma in 2009).
Obviously, every football game is an individual event, and there are always extenuating circumstances that can explain any particular win or loss. But looking at upsets, either way, is something that reasonable fans will do.