Finebaum explains recruiting ethics to John U. Bacon on OTL

I want JH to do anything he can to compete with the slimy SEC schools. If he wants to hire some kid's dad because it may help him in recruiting that player, I say go for it. This bugs the hell out of the SEC and I love it. They don't want to lose their monopoly on their recruiting territory or their recruiting methods. They want to go out and buy any player they want. They don't want another school or coach to be able to compete with that. The SEC and NCAA are hypocrites and it it's obvious.  

Finebaum does not care about ethics. He covers the sec for Christ's sake. I could not get the segment to play, but I am sure it does not matter as I have heard the weasel run his mouth before. The real issue with Finebaum is why does Harbaugh bother him so much. It is the same thing with msu and osu fan bases. First they make fun of him in childish way, and then they say he has'nt won anything and he isn't all that, but it always ends the same way with Harbaugh going back to the pros. It has been touched on several times and not only do they fear Harbaugh, I think the man just flat out annoys them and I am loving that. To validate himself he has to win, but when Michigan wins the NC it will send rats scurying for what ever hole they can hide in. I ussually don't revel in other peoples pain, but in this case I will be more then satisfied as I am sure all of you as well.

Here's my opinion, in decreasing order of importance.

1) Harbaugh is ethical here, primarily because he does things in the light of day. Satellite camps, spring breaks at IMG, hiring his son, hiring qualified parents of recruits - it is all OK, and the #1 reason is Harbaugh tells you he's doing it. It's also ethical because these are qualified hires, and the kids are free to go where they want.

It's also good because we're hiring Johnson long before his son is going to make any binding decision. If there was an under the table deal that we'd only hire him if his son would guarantee he'd come, that would be shady, but I'm sure there's no such deal. If we tended to hire parents the week after their kid signed an LOI, that would raise some eyebrows. But that's not the case either.

The difference between Harbaugh and a bagman is that Harbaugh tells you what he's doing. (And also that he wins games.) First rule of ethics - if you'd be uncomfortable if your behavior ended up on the first page of the paper, maybe you shouldn't be doing it.

2) I could see the NCAA putting some kind of a dead period on recruiting kids whose parents you had hired, and/or hiring parents whose kids you had signed. I'm 100% convinced that Harbaugh only hires qualified coaches, but it does have the opportunity to function as payment to players' families, so I wouldn't complain if they passed some kind of bright line rule.

3) On the other hand, I've heard they're also considering banning recruiting kids from schools where you hired the high school coach? What's the point of that? If you hire someone with recruiting connections, so be it.

...in this interview, given the time and the situation.  He basically pointed out how trivial this JH accusation was given all of the BS going on that the NCAA ignores. He kept to the high ground and defended, with excellent arguments, the merits of the hire.

I don't get it.  That means he's obviously qualified and Harbaugh has paid him to be an assistant when his son had nothing to do with his team.

 

Bottom line that Feinbaum doesn't get is that Harbaugh isn't saying he won't push the envelope.  This is one of the things I love about Harbaugh and that makes him transparent and able to openly speak to his tactics as well as criticize others that break the rules.  JH makes no bones about the fact that he will be aggressive, tireless, and creative about competing to the best of his abilities within the rules, but he won't break rules.  

 

You can be damned sure that if he's allowed to do something that other's aren't doing that gives him an advantage that doesn't require him to lie or be dishonest, he will absolutely do it and do so unapologetically.  If the rules change, he'll change with them and continue to look for creative ways to beat you within them.  There is nothing wrong with that and I think most people will say that is the kind of person they want to play/work for/with and hate playing/working against.  And, that is the bottom line is that JH and Feinbaum have opposing interests and that is all this is about.

It's hilarious that Finebaum's first couple of lines are "this isn't against any rules or anything, but it feels like cheating to me."  Yep Paul, that's totally how breaking rules works.

What an asshole.  

Recruting rules according to Finebaum:

Rule 1 - Nick Saban gets who he wants

Rule 2 - If Saban doesn't want a guy, whoever is willing to pay him the most from the rest of the SEC gets him

Rule 3 - If nobody in the SEC wants him, I guess Urban Meyer or one of those other non-SEC coaches can have him

Rule 4 - Jim Harbuagh recruting any player outside the State of Michigan is an ethical violation

Rule 5 - Paying recruits, forced "medical" retirements, grey shirting, and lying to recruits is just part of doing business; coaching recruits, camps, and going outside your campus' immediate confines is an abuse of the system and dangerous to the players

everyone in the SEC hates Harbaugh and these pieces are created just to achieve viewer / readership ... more click bait. Maybe JUB will be the new "point, counterpoint" guy ... again, designed to get more UM folks to click on the bait given we have all otherwise tuned-out whatever Finebaum says (thus, a lot of ESPN content).