CC - Mortensen Harbaugh Rumor
More crap to add to the fire. Chris Mortensen thinks Harbaugh wants to coach in the NFL and stay on the West Coast.
In other words, the only real way to lure Harbaugh out is to get him hired by an NFL team (or another college team). The Panthers stand out as an obvious location for both guys, because they'll need a new coach after 2010 and are likely to hold the top spot in the NFL Draft.
However, Mort notes the Panthers would need "a stroke of luck" to get Harbaugh, who apparently would prefer staying on the West Coast.
In other news, Jim's brother John says he thinks Jim wants to stay at Stanford:
"I think he wants to stay at Stanford, I think he’d love to stay there, but then again, you just have to see what happens. He’s not the kind of guy that’s going to make any kind of commitment until he’s ready to make a commitment. I think his commitment right now is having a baby and winning the Orange Bowl. So, we’ll see what happens."
Personally, I think this is much ado about nothing. RR will be back next season. We will win many games. The hot seat will cool to a very comfortable temp. RR will stay for a long time. We will look back at this as very amusing while we count our NCs.
December 20th, 2010 at 10:58 AM ^
A pickup game of basketball, say, shirts vs. blouses?
December 20th, 2010 at 11:02 AM ^
Blouses.
December 20th, 2010 at 11:43 AM ^
Where ma pancakes?
December 20th, 2010 at 12:25 PM ^
"Shirt! Shirt!"
December 20th, 2010 at 1:48 AM ^
Love.
December 20th, 2010 at 3:11 AM ^
Good analogy
December 20th, 2010 at 8:12 AM ^
"negged in to Bolivian" - still trying to figure this out...are you saying "negged to oblivion"??
December 20th, 2010 at 9:28 AM ^
Boooooooo
(If you're being "negged to" somewhere, it must be a physical location, right? And Bolivia is a physical location. But it needs to fit "oblivion" somehow so it must be Bolivian, right?)
December 20th, 2010 at 10:41 AM ^
Forgive him, he must have missed the memo.
December 20th, 2010 at 10:44 AM ^
+1 to him in this season of giving.
December 20th, 2010 at 8:49 AM ^
I just want the Gator Bowl to be here. Regardless of what side(s) you fall on in the arguments, if someone would have said that Michigan would be in a New Years Day game on August 31, most of us would have been enamored.
Can't we just accept that (for now) and stop over-analyzing until we get information that hasn't been analyzed 300,000,000 times since 2008.
Great post, btw. Love a holiday armistice.
December 20th, 2010 at 9:56 AM ^
But I do have to say, New Years day bowl games aren't what they used to be. 10 yrs ago a bowl matchup between two teams with these resumes would not be on New Years day. Not to take anything away from the season, but I can't honestly say playing on New Years day means a whole lot anymore.
December 20th, 2010 at 1:43 AM ^
Where does this link say Harbaugh wants to go to the NFL? If I am reading the link right, it's saying that Luck may not declare if Harbaugh stays. There is no quote saying he wants the NFL or, except for the following, he wants to stay on the West Coast.
However, Mort notes the Panthers would need "a stroke of luck" to get Harbaugh, who apparently would prefer staying on the West Coast.
That "apparently" comment sure is a definitive statement. All we can say for sure is that no one knows anything but Dave Brandon and maybe Harbaugh. Anything else is just conjecture and speculation. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
December 20th, 2010 at 2:13 AM ^
Obviously everything is speculation. I assume every Mgoblogger would like DB to provide something definitive but until then speculation is all we have.
The second article linked above suggests the NFL is more likely than Michigan.
Rumblings persist, however, that Jim Harbaugh's preference is for his next job to be in the NFL. As the Detroit News' Lynn Henning wrote earlier this week, Harbaugh reportedly has very specific ideas of what he'd be looking for, and if a NFL team met those criteria, perhaps that would supersede an offer from Michigan.
However, since Lynn Henning seems lack any real insight, this should be taken with a grain of salt.
December 20th, 2010 at 9:10 AM ^
If Harbaugh chooses to remain a college coach he will be either at Stanford or Michigan next year.
December 20th, 2010 at 3:12 AM ^
Lynn Henning's "insight" is being used as some sort of evidence? Hahahahahaha ...
In other words, the only thing of value from that link is the quote from John Harbaugh, who said basically nothing by giving a very politically correct response.
Chris Mortensen is usually very reliable, but "apparently would prefer" is so vague and noncommittal that I'm surprised he even threw it out there without some sort of specific backing like "I'm hearing he'll probably stay at Stanford" or "most NFL people believe he'd prefer the 49ers job to the Panthers job" or something.
I always click on these links hoping for something interesting, and I always close them with a sad feeling that I just wasted a minute of my life.
December 20th, 2010 at 7:25 AM ^
According to Henning Dantonio is going to retire b/c of heart related issues and Harbuagh is going to try to fill the MSU job, but they will turn him away b/c they are such a football power now.
December 20th, 2010 at 3:18 AM ^
How did this JH to the NFL thread get hijacked by all of the anti-RR grumblings with so little talk of JH coming to A2.
December 20th, 2010 at 3:19 AM ^
Godwin's Law of any and all Michigan Football related topics.
December 20th, 2010 at 4:30 AM ^
It might have something to do with the OP flippantly projecting multiple NCs. Just a guess.
December 20th, 2010 at 3:31 AM ^
Dude.... i really want to believe that RR can win an NC at UM and we can be great once again as a football team. But seriously, PLEASE beat OSU once before we start talking about multiple NCs.... Get real.
December 20th, 2010 at 7:24 AM ^
Or beat MSU or Iowa or Wisconsin other than by a stroke of good luck or PSU.
One would think that if Brandon felt RichRod was "the man" that there would be a sign, however little, indicating support for RichRod beyond this year. The other part of the equation which i find surprising is that Harbaugh has not signed the new contract extended to him by Stanford nor has there been any noise on that front whatsoever. That, as much as anything else makes me wonder about the rumors.
Probably the worst D in our history, ditto for special teams and an offense prone to turnovers. Next year's D should be better, simply because it can't be worse, but it will still be very young. Any kickers on our recruiting board? I don't see any. Look, you have to love Denard, but I am not yet convinced that after two years of extensive playing time, he will suddenly stop fumbling next year. Denard IS the offense; every time he carries the ball I wonder if he will get up. This is not idle speculation; he was hurt virtually all year and we were most fortunate he came back each week. Denard can't help it if he is small, but unless someone shows me otherwise, I would think a small, running QB has a much greater risk of injury than guys like Newton or Pryor.
This is not intended to be an indictment against RichRod. Personally, I like him, but that is not the point. I, like many here, live and die by Michigan football. I love the program and most things Michigan and was on board until PSU. Now, I have serious doubts that RichRod will take us to the promised land.
December 20th, 2010 at 7:40 AM ^
and the rest of a very good OL. You can't dismiss them b/c it's convenient to your argument. If WRs stop dropping balls, they're also very good. "Denard is the entire O" is a tiresome meme
<br>
<br>He needs a playmaking running back. This isn't too much to ask: Henne had Hart, Harbaugh had Morris, and so on. If a top flight back emerges, a lot of the hits fall off Denard.
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<br>And we need a new D coordinator and staff, even strong RR supporters know that
December 20th, 2010 at 9:21 AM ^
I will agree with you on that we have a very good Offensive Line. Plus the lack of consistent running back play hurt the offense and forced Denard to be the majority of our running game. Though at times Denard probably made either the wrong read or felt more comfortable keeping the ball rather than handing it off.
As for the overall offense, there are concerns as in the five losses to the better teams in the Big Ten, the offense was not consistent and did not put points on the board. The receivers dropped / didn't catch too many passes and we made or were forced into too many mistakes. I would be more optimistic if the offense had done better in those games, but the good defenses were able to neutralize Denard and the rest of the offense.
December 20th, 2010 at 10:04 AM ^
in the five losses to the better teams in the Big Ten, the offense was not consistent and did not put points on the board.Inconsistent? Yes, but what Michigan offense in the past 10 years HASN'T been inconsistent? I object to the blame you put on the offense for those five losses. The PSU game was entirely the fault of the defense, in my opinion. Brian seems to agree, if you read his posts after the game. The Wisconsin game wasn't terrible offensively either...we were shut out the first half only to shell out 28 in the second. We won that half and Wisco never went to a prevent defense. What I REALLY don't understand is how you can blame the offense for the Iowa game, of all things. I shouldn't have to go into detail. I have a hard time putting blame on the offense when they are forced to play from behind and go into high-variance mode with playcalls. That's not how Rich Rod (or any coach) likes to operate.
December 20th, 2010 at 8:41 AM ^
"Next year's D should be better, simply because it can't be worse"
If the last two years have taught us anything about the defense, it can always get worse.
December 20th, 2010 at 9:29 AM ^
Next year's front seven will be younger than this year's group with the departure of Banks, Sagesse, Ezeh, and Mouton. If the coaching is as poor as it was this year, Michigan could be just as bad on defense next year. The best case scenario is a drastic rise of 40 places in the rankings to finish a bit below average. Expecting more improvement than that would be insane.
December 20th, 2010 at 11:17 AM ^
The only real loss of that group is Mouton. And don't even try to tell me the defensive line is poorly coached.
December 20th, 2010 at 6:46 PM ^
It isn't good and coaching is part of it.
December 20th, 2010 at 7:34 AM ^
Of defending rr. Im not sure i could take another year of it.
December 20th, 2010 at 8:54 AM ^
Who gives a crap, at this point, what the man did at wvu? That was four years ago. He needs to be judged on what he's done at Michigan.
December 20th, 2010 at 8:57 AM ^
And turnovers reflect poor preparation. Good teams don't fumble.
December 20th, 2010 at 11:15 AM ^
I'm pretty sure every good team fumbles at some point. Turnovers are part of the game. Excessive turnovers are either issues with fundamentals or the result of youth.
December 20th, 2010 at 9:33 AM ^
"I think his commitment right now is having a baby and winning the Orange Bowl. So, we’ll see what happens."
Jim Harbaugh is capable of having children? I realize the guy is a good coach, but we're getting into Bill Brasky territory here.
December 20th, 2010 at 9:42 AM ^
or any other for that matter. It's S.F. in the NFL, (if not this year, then next) otherwise he stays at Stanford.
December 20th, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
Yep, Michigan's seasons in 1969, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1989 didn't mean shit because Bo's teams didn't win their bowl games those years. And you might as well include 1970, 1972, 1973, and 1974, since they didn't even make it to a bowl game those years.
So, by your standards, 16 of Bo Schembechler's 21 seasons didn't mean shit because they didn't end in a bowl game victory.
Congratulations—you win the internet today.
December 20th, 2010 at 10:55 AM ^
I pretty much agree with that
December 20th, 2010 at 11:06 AM ^
I used to think Bo was pretty good.
December 20th, 2010 at 6:44 PM ^
People on this blog tend to over think things to meet their view of reality. I guess we all sort of do that. Harbaugh to Michigan is the simplest scenerio and his love of this University runs beyond deep. He can go coach in the NFL any time and now is the worst possible time for any coach to take an NFL job because of the CBA situation. He has a serious and very important job to do here at Michigan. A one of a kind opportunity.
If that redemption of this football team wasn't necessary, Rich would have been renewed.
What started looking like an either/or scenerio has probably gotten worse for the Rodriguez supporters. Rodriguez might not even be back even if they can't land Harbaugh. He did huge damage to himself at that banquet. Prior to that display, he was widely disliked as a coach by very powerful people in the alumni and by average older fans. Now he even looks sort of pitiful to them.
I really hope the Jim Harbaugh hire to take place. This program is treading water, even going backwards against our main competition. We can beat Bowling Green and UCONN with any offense, so a switch away from this doesn't worry me. The recruiting is the same old underwhelming smallish guys in that back 7. MAC and Big East level athletes.
We need our program back. I believe Harbaugh is the best guy for the job. His record beating up quality teams with less talent proves it. Right now, we're MSU and Iowa's whipping boys. That's sickening. I have serious doubt we can be much better than a flashy offense that beats lousy teams under this coach.
Maybe he'll prove me wrong. Hope so, but pretty doubtful he is going to get the chance.
December 20th, 2010 at 6:46 PM ^
and his love of this University runs beyond deep.
Is that why he was bad-mouthing it to Bolivia and back?
December 20th, 2010 at 10:43 PM ^
December 20th, 2010 at 11:20 PM ^
fuzzy-math.