Is the Don Brown "firing" unusual?
The assumption about Brown being let go is that it means that Harbaugh is back. Because no one would fire a coordinator and then later fire the head coach, right?
I have looked on the Googles and found nothing from the university acknowledging that Brown was fired. Only 2nd or 3rd hand reports. This strikes me as odd, especially considering Harbaugh STILL has not been extended. And there have been no ramblings that I know of about pursuing a DC.
Am I missing something? Am I reading too much into this? Am I a tinfoil hat conspiracy theorist?
January 1st, 2021 at 10:01 AM ^
Presumably they're waiting to announce staff changes until they can also announce that Harbaugh has re-signed. Harbaugh's agent is (also presumably) exploiting the calendar to improve the contract they've offered him. Just chill.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:07 AM ^
Harbaugh doesn't have an agent.
And I seriously doubt Harbaugh is the type who would want to "exploit" Michigan.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:12 AM ^
Not like he's taken a hometown discount either. He did pretty well those first 6 years, especially considering the results.
January 1st, 2021 at 11:03 AM ^
The hometown discount is a message board myth. He took a college job when he could have gotten an NFL job almost anywhere he wanted, and probably could have gotten way more money at an NFL job. That's as close to hometown discount as you can get.
January 1st, 2021 at 11:15 AM ^
"And probably..."
Let's rewind the clock. He was making $5 million a year at San Francisco. By around 2017 Super Bowl Winning Coaches were making $7 million, which is what Harbaugh signed on for at Michigan in 2015. So tell me about how he was going to make way more money than coaches who won multiple Super Bowls in 2015.
When he was hired, he was making over $1 million more than Meyer and only $80,000 less than Saban. Had he hit his incentives, he would've been the highest paid coach. But then again, I am now constantly reminded that Harbaugh was hired to make Michigan a 3rd Place Big Ten East team and not a national contender, playoff contender, or even a Big 10 contender.
- National title bonus: $500,000
- CFP semifinal appearance: $300,000
- Conference title bonus: $125,000 for appearing and $125,000 for winning
January 1st, 2021 at 11:27 AM ^
I don't get this borderline personality disorder that so many college football fans seem to have. Everything is either all bad or all good. There isn't a single fan that thinks that Harbaugh had been a success thus far. And you can't retroactively alter contracts based on performance
It's such a stupid thing to argue about. People were talking like Michigan going to have to pay upwards of $10 M per year to get him. He wouldn't have gone to coach at any other college, certainly not for the contract that Michigan gave him. I'm not sure what you're trying to prove other than that you hate Harbaugh more than Satan.
January 1st, 2021 at 11:42 AM ^
Laying down the facts on 2015 coaching salaries and contracts in the NFL rather than speculating isn't "hate." But sure, salaries don't matter at all and are not tied to expected performance or what others are getting at that pay grade. Why not just give him $50 million a year.
Also, had he met expectations and hit his incentives, he also could have gotten $10 million at Michigan. But please keep telling everyone how generous he was in his contract to Michigan.
January 1st, 2021 at 12:33 PM ^
There are plenty of fans on here who think Harbaugh has done a good job and try to retroactively change the expectations from when he was hired and say all the time how unreasonable it is to expect to beat OSU once.
January 1st, 2021 at 12:36 PM ^
You mean to tell me his contract had no incentives for Big 10 East 3rd Place finishes, 8-10 win seasons, or beating Rutgers and Maryland?
January 1st, 2021 at 1:27 PM ^
I read somewhere Harbaugh received a $1,000,000 bonus for going .500 against MSU. Apparently he took that literally.
January 1st, 2021 at 1:47 PM ^
And a secret $2 million bonus for not beating OSU.
January 1st, 2021 at 2:58 PM ^
What about is Big Ten east co title ?
January 1st, 2021 at 1:32 PM ^
Maybe I don't read deep enough into threads then. I mean, yes I suppose there are some loud ones repeating the same things in every thread. I just haven't seen more than maybe two of them. But whatever ?♂️ that isn't really the point I'm trying to get at.
January 1st, 2021 at 1:33 PM ^
No, there aren't. Absolutely nobody is satisfied with the OSU record. You're doing what you always do, which is mischaracterizing the views of people who don't want to see Harbaugh fired. You are further proving evenyoubrutus's point. The people who have been throwing a prolonged tantrum about Harbaugh in every thread seem incapable of comprehending a reality where every aspect of everything associated with Harbaugh isn't a flaming disaster that's worse than it could possibly be.
January 1st, 2021 at 2:02 PM ^
Hail to the at least we are not a flaming disaster, Hail to the....
January 1st, 2021 at 2:28 PM ^
In year 6 not having an adequate secondary, not having an adequate interior defense line and losing to an MSU team with a new coach and bad recent recruiting is pretty bad. This season was in fact pretty much a flaming disaster.
The only thing that salvages it is that it did not completely crater our recruiting class, so that does save 2020 Michigan football from being a complete flaming disaster.
January 1st, 2021 at 3:11 PM ^
Chunkums, that is bullshit.
There are posters that seem to be the white knights to appear after each loss just to defend Harbaugh then leave for a while and repeat after the next loss.
Their go to is "OSU is on a historical run, we shouldn't expect to beat them, they'll never overlook us, they cheat, 8-10 wins is our ceiling given our academic standards".
January 1st, 2021 at 3:28 PM ^
Give me the username of someone who is fine with our record against OSU. That person doesn't exist. Some people acknowledge that beating OSU is not the same as beating OSU at any point since Woody Hayes was on the sidelines, but nobody is happy with the OSU results. Absolutely, positively, zero posters.
January 1st, 2021 at 2:27 PM ^
Jim has underachieved period. He has not even come close to getting done what he was hired for OSU, MSU, Bowl games, QB play not ready to play road games and on and on, if you think he has you are related or friends no stats back up his accomplishments period.
January 1st, 2021 at 4:30 PM ^
This is 100% correct. I got all kinds of shit during the 2019 season when I said Harbaugh has not met expectations.
January 2nd, 2021 at 4:30 AM ^
I don't think Harbaugh has done a good job here but the names of coaches out there that would be willing to come to Michigan probably would not do a better job than Harbaugh. Face it we are in a division with a death star program and we are scrapping for 2nd in the east with PSU and at times the western division teams may be just as good as UM and PSU. But OSU is far superior and that does not look to change over the next decade.
January 1st, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
Oh man! Your post makes me want to cut on my arms.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:32 AM ^
I can only dream of having the “clout” Harbaugh has with Michigan.
Get paid a ridiculous amount, totally under deliver, then have the majority of your fan base waiting with baited breathe in your return.
If only my year end review could look the same way. I need Warde for my boss.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:34 AM ^
Yes, failing upwards.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:40 AM ^
The Peter Principle.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
His publicly available contract in 2016 included $30k for his legal fees in negotiating the contract. So replace "agent" with "lawyer" if you want.
I didn't say he was the type who would want to exploit Michigan. Read again.
January 1st, 2021 at 11:23 AM ^
Who needs an agent when they got Michigan Men Cronyism at their disposal?
January 1st, 2021 at 2:13 PM ^
He’s waiting to see what, if any, NFL interest is before either going there or returning
January 1st, 2021 at 10:33 AM ^
I love people who talk without knowing what they're talking about
January 1st, 2021 at 10:49 AM ^
That is why the internet has blogs, deal with it!
January 1st, 2021 at 12:35 PM ^
no...
January 1st, 2021 at 11:03 AM ^
I don't love people who make utterly irrelevant comments. What of what I said isn't presumable? You can replace "agent" with "lawyer" if you like this Harbaugh-doesn't-have-an-agent fantasy.
January 1st, 2021 at 11:18 AM ^
A lawyer and an agent are not the same thing. An agent is generally involved in contract negotiations, a lawyer could act as an agent, but they could also just be reviewing the legality of the contract. If Harbaugh’s entire contract was only $3,000,000, a $30,000 fee would only be 1%. I’m pretty sure that Harbaugh expects more than $3,000,000 and an agent expects more than 1%. Therefore if Harbaugh’s contract includes $30,000 for legal fees, they are probably related to legal review of the contract and not negotiation.
January 1st, 2021 at 2:49 PM ^
What show was this clipped from? I would love to see the whole exchange with sound.
January 1st, 2021 at 2:52 PM ^
Between Two Ferns
January 1st, 2021 at 10:15 AM ^
I thought this was a "Michigan handshake." Better go find a new job before we announce, "We've let you go."
January 1st, 2021 at 10:17 AM ^
1) you are missing information that is not available.
2) yes. how would you expect to know the answer here?
3) ask again later, like when you've provided a picture.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:19 AM ^
Drew Sharp has posthumously filed a FOIA request. He feels confident that he can make Michigan look bad with the right implicative wording/ framing.
January 1st, 2021 at 11:20 AM ^
I’m pretty sure he could make Michigan look bad with the right implicative wording/framing even if he didn’t have a FOIA request.
January 1st, 2021 at 11:32 AM ^
He could certainly try - and you are right: a lack of information might not slow him down! But I always wondered who looked worse after his efforts: Michigan or him
January 1st, 2021 at 11:53 AM ^
Drew Sharp has been reincarnated and now goes by the name, “Rainer Sabin.”
January 1st, 2021 at 11:59 AM ^
This is the truth.... Happy New Year!
January 1st, 2021 at 12:33 PM ^
Don't you all worry. The sports editorial staff at the Freep is working through the weekend to come up with ways to sensationalize the piss out of this and rag on Michigan all through next week. It will be in Wednesday's special "Honoring Mark Dantonio" edition.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:20 AM ^
Are these just some drunken ramblings or do you at least have a conspiracy you want to sell us?
January 1st, 2021 at 10:22 AM ^
The assumption about Brown being let go is that it means that Harbaugh is back. Because no one would fire a coordinator and then later fire the head coach, right?
It doesn't mean JH is back. It means JH is not being fired. But, he was offered a lower salary on his extension which is quite unusual. Even though people expect more money when they are successful based on performance, it's very unusual to accept less money if they are less successful based on performance. People are usually either improving and warranting a raise or promotion, doing as expected and maintaining their current rate, or not doing enough and getting fired. So yes, that is unusual. But, Brown being fired does not mean JH is back, it only means he's not being fired. His low offer means he's probably a lot more likely to play the field than in the past, which I'd guess is the reason for his delay in signing his extension. He is either fielding interested from NFL teams, assessing his market value from them to use to negotiate a better offer from UM, or just in the process of deciding if he's willing to take a pay cut to retain his job. But, Brown was gone no matter what. If JH leaves Brown would be gone by default. If JH stays he had to fire Brown. So, he's just acting now to give Brown a better chance to find a landing spot for 2021. But, Brown was going to be gone either way, he's just doing him a favor by doing it now rather than waiting to see if he signs his extension or moves on to the NFL.
January 1st, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
What's even more unusual is that he even got an extension. Harbaugh is raking in $4 million per win versus a ranked opponent. That has to be the highest in the NCAA.
January 1st, 2021 at 12:05 PM ^
Harbaugh is raking in $4 million per win versus a ranked opponent. That has to be the highest in the NCAA.
I think that's a bit misleading. JH's record against ranked opponents is an obvious problem that he deserves criticism for. But, less than 20 coaches throughout the nation even make $5 million a year. So one, you have to be one of the few highest paid coaches to even qualify for this sort of evaluation and two, you have to play in a conference that has the opportunity to play that may ranked teams. FWIW I'd guess there are still several coaches that are faring worse like Scott Frost making $5 million a year, Pat Fitzgerald making $5.2 million a year, Mel Tucker making $5.5 million a year, Tom Herman making $6 million a year, Jeff Brohm making $6.6 million a year, Gus Malzhan making $6.6 million a year who was just fired, and while Oregon ($8.7 million a year) did great in 2019, he was putrid in 2020. So, basically all you're saying is he's overpaid, which I agree. But, the market in major CFB is willing to pay some pretty average coaches a shit load of money.
January 1st, 2021 at 12:32 PM ^
Pat Fitzgerald's average was $3.3 mill and since Harbaugh started he has 9 wins against ranked opponents, so that is about $1.6 mill per win.
Mel Tucker is too early to tell but he already has 2 wins over ranked opponents so that is $2.75 mill.
Tom Herman has 9 wins over 4 years so that's $2.67 mill a piece.
Malzahn has 12 wins and a much harder schedule (wins over #1 Georgia and Alabama), so that's about $2.5 mill a win.
Oregon has 18 wins, including a National Championship, and got $17.5 over his first 5 years so that's $1 mill per win.
Brohm was in the 4 to 5.5 million range last 4 years, and has a blowout win against OSU, which would be worth 10 wins to Harbaugh. But yes he only has 3 ranked wins and is making $5 million per. Also, got me on Frost. I am feeling much better now ;).
January 1st, 2021 at 6:21 PM ^
Also, got me on Frost. I am feeling much better now ;).
Well, one out of seven ain't bad ;). Out of curiosity did you use the team's rank at the time they played or post-season rank? And, are you going off the tenure of their current position (like JH at UM) or their entire tenure? If you go by their entire tenures JH's time at Stanford helps a bunch. And, if you go by their final ranking only at their current position Tucker is 1-3 against ranked teams with his only ranked win against NW since that would give him a loss versus now ranked Iowa who and takes away his win against now unranked UM. So, that gives Tucker $5.5 million per win. I won't keep playing this out, but final ranking instead of ranking at the time they played changes things.
Anyways, I still think the logic is a bit misleading because the more you make you more you have to lose. Basically all we are saying is that UM overpaid for JH. My response to that would be like duh, hence why he's being offered a lower deal with more incentives. This also removes success against poor teams, which prior to this year JH was really good at. But, you are 100% correct in that he deserves criticism for not playing well against good teams and fundamentally underachieving and never playing above his talent level nor upsetting anyone as the underdog.