Gattis gets emotional talking about Harbaugh
Here’s Gattis’ Broyles Award speech. Apologies if this has been posted already. I just didn’t see it if it was. Pretty cool what he says about his head coach.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ja3rTCjTjV0
(Disclaimer: I totally doubted him and Harbaugh after last year. I was wrong! Thanks, coach, for sticking with it in spite of Jack O’lanterns like myself. Cheers!)
December 9th, 2021 at 12:41 AM ^
His comments on Harbaugh begin @ the 8:30 mark, btw.
December 9th, 2021 at 9:16 AM ^
That's a beautiful speech. Thanks for sharing Comrade. I hope it means that Gattis sticks around for longer than we originally expected...he should take a page from Venables and hold out for an A++ head coaching job...
December 9th, 2021 at 12:48 AM ^
Wow. I'm moved. Genuine. Much respect for coach Gattis and coach Harbaugh.
Hope Gattis stays with Michigan!
December 9th, 2021 at 7:44 AM ^
Yep. I was doubtful of Gattis but dam he got it done in dominating fashion. For all those who think Harbaugh is some weird soulless ass, Gattis makes it obvious that he’s a good man who cares deeply about all involved in the program. Finish the job young man and prove the doubters wrong.
December 9th, 2021 at 8:08 AM ^
Harbaugh has some serious quirks, but he seems to be pretty authentic. More than you can say about most coaches
December 9th, 2021 at 8:18 AM ^
He seems to have overcome some demons.
Maybe a little less quirky too?
Dunno, maybe it's just winning, but he seems less guarded.
December 9th, 2021 at 8:21 AM ^
As Brian wrote here so many years ago: he's himself, at maximum volume, all the time.
December 9th, 2021 at 8:49 AM ^
"he seems to be pretty authentic. More than you can say about most coaches"
Obviously you're excluding that reknowned Cajun Brian Kelly right? He's as real as seafood gumbo.
December 9th, 2021 at 9:20 AM ^
just wait until he shows up at practice in his farmer fran bibs.
December 9th, 2021 at 9:48 AM ^
Diskidiodo!
December 9th, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
Is there something not real about seafood gumbo?
December 9th, 2021 at 9:13 AM ^
Much of the public perception of Harbaugh is shaped by media coverage of him, and unfortunately Harbaugh's relationship with the media isn't much better than Schembechler's. He's frequently almost comically inarticulate at the typical presser, and it's obvious that Harbaugh doesn't have much use for on-field reporters during games.
I don't blame him at all for his attitude toward the media—I think the average sports journo is a shallow, doughnut crumb-festooned doofus—but there are some costs from that viewpoint.
December 9th, 2021 at 9:16 AM ^
Do you mean much the way most, if not all, the public personnas of coaches are framed by the media?
Again, this weird, "World's out to get Michigan" thing keeps perking up.
December 9th, 2021 at 10:32 AM ^
Sidelines reporters aren’t reporters, they’re stenographers. But there are plenty of good reporters, and part of his job is to deal with them, which has generally done poorly. It’s not the media’s fault that he doesn’t communicate.
December 9th, 2021 at 12:03 PM ^
You could drop the "sports" in front of journo and I'd agree with this.
I don't care how coaches treat journalists. Given how much trouble those people stir up just for the clicks and how generally clueless they appear to be I don't think I would treat them any different than salesmen who won't take the hint to leave me alone in a store. I wish more journalists were like Heiko.
What I do care about is, do their employees and players want to work for them. If so, I'm good with their behavior.
December 9th, 2021 at 12:39 PM ^
Harbaugh is a bit like Eminem or Bill Belichick. Kinda weird/cringey in camera interviews, but nobody doubts their proficiency at what they do.
December 9th, 2021 at 10:07 AM ^
Shirley you mean the purple faced cajun talkin Brian Kelly?
What a joke. Best quality IS authenticity in a coach and Harbaugh is pure columbian authentic.
December 9th, 2021 at 10:13 AM ^
Surely you didn't just call me Shirley, did you????
December 9th, 2021 at 9:08 AM ^
I could be totally wrong, but I think he acts that way to the media more than he does in private. He seems quirky during interviews, but if you've seen him in a public setting or coaching camps he is nothing like the awkward guy you see in interviews.
December 9th, 2021 at 10:16 AM ^
I think he channels his inner Eminem (ND game interview) just to mess...
December 9th, 2021 at 11:04 AM ^
Jim seems to understand that the media is almost always the enemy. This blog, the Free Press, ESPN -- all have long histories of spinning narratives that have undeniably hurt the program. He goes to the media with his guard up and is extremely calculated with what he says. He's not going to give his critics anything to work with.
Occasionally, we get a glimpse of him with his guard down and see what he's really like. He clearly loves football, his players, and his staff. When he's in his element, he's a different dude. Personally, I remember that Stanford vs VA Tech video when he was mic'd up on the field. When recruits talk about their experience with Harbaugh, they seem to be talking about that guy, not the guy we see in front of reporters.
Funny how the people who really love football, seem to have nothing but love for Jim Harbaugh.
December 9th, 2021 at 11:14 AM ^
I teared up on when Gattis mentioned that Harbaugh took a chance on him for his first OC job and made him one of the few minority OCs in college football. Seth a few weeks ago mentioned how the fact that he was a black OC at Michigan was important and was a reason why Seth really wanted him to succeed. I felt the exact same way as a POC. When guys finally break through and get that chance, you want them to succeed for everyone so people who look like him continue to get those opportunities. And Gattis knocked it out of the park.
December 9th, 2021 at 12:50 AM ^
Nice to see. Given the struggles and criticism, it warms the heart to see it pay off and get the results on the field. Whatever the earlier criticisms, you have to respect that he's evolved and improved.
Hoping there's still some more tricks in the bag for CFP, coach!!
December 9th, 2021 at 12:54 AM ^
Incredible speech. His emotions are raw and real. And he's from Durham! I admit that I was down on Gattis, as many others were, but he has vindicated himself quite nicely this year and is deserving of all the accolades he is receiving.
Great job, coach Gattis!
December 9th, 2021 at 1:24 AM ^
I lived in Durham for ten years. Love that place! Grad school at Duke?
December 9th, 2021 at 1:27 PM ^
No, we moved here from San Diego about 10 years ago to be closer to our families in Michigan and Louisiana. Sort of an in between spot geographically. Love it here. I am a Michigan grad (1994) and born/raised in the Detroit suburbs.
December 9th, 2021 at 9:28 AM ^
Bull City! I have a soft spot for Durm. One of the few things I miss about living in the Triangle. Only thing better than Michigan Stadium is a hot July night at the DBAP.
December 9th, 2021 at 1:30 PM ^
The Bulls athletic park is really nice. Almost as nice as any new MLB stadium.
December 9th, 2021 at 2:51 PM ^
Hit Bull Win Steak
December 9th, 2021 at 12:59 AM ^
That was powerful.
Is someone chopping onions in here? Ye gods, what is all this dust doing in my eye?!?
December 9th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
Yeah. Since most of us here know about a lot of the problems and criticisms the staff experienced we can appreciate the emotion they are experiencing now.
December 9th, 2021 at 1:10 AM ^
Yeah, that hit me right in the feels.
December 9th, 2021 at 1:18 AM ^
I had never even see an interview with Gattis until this video. What an awesome feller! Now I can root for him even harder.
December 9th, 2021 at 1:55 AM ^
+1 coach Gattis. Great stuff.
December 9th, 2021 at 3:52 AM ^
May not be a popular opinion, but I like this guy, and I think he's a good coach.
December 9th, 2021 at 4:57 AM ^
I think that's a very popular opinion these days.
December 9th, 2021 at 6:57 AM ^
I remember the vitriol spewing last year.
December 9th, 2021 at 8:04 AM ^
and the year before that....and the year before that....
December 10th, 2021 at 4:19 PM ^
Emphasis on *these*
December 9th, 2021 at 9:39 AM ^
I wanted him fired during the Army game, and I wasn't thrilled by his hiring in the first place, but he really has grown into an outstanding OC.
Gattis deserves a ton of credit, but so does Harbaugh, as the offense we're running these days is clearly a modernized version of what Harbaugh has always done. It took them a few years to get on the same page and mesh their concepts into a single vision, but the end result is an outstanding offense that has the benefit of being unique in CFB.
December 9th, 2021 at 10:23 AM ^
The 2019 season featured two offenses - one that passed, and one that ran. Instead of working together, they were opposite each other in every respect. There was no cohesion, no similarity, no shared formations or player usage. It was a friggen mess. It struck me as a Gattis offense that had no running, with a unfamiliar run game forced on it.
The 2020 season? Well, lets just leave that mess where it lays, smoldering in the ruins of Pompei.
This year... I believe that Harbaugh sat Gattis down and flat out taught him the power run schemes that he has perfected his entire life, to the point that Gattis now understands them well enough to build on them. That is not as easy thing to do! What we see now is a near perfect marraige of Harbaugh's age-old methods of fucking with linebackers, and Gattis' life-learned ability to put the ball into open space.
Gattis has learned how to maximize the run game by throwing the ball to players in great position to succeed with it. He's opened up the pass game by running the ball to places where linebackers aren't occupying because they're chasing some decoy. The down to down conflict he's been putting defenses in the last several games is a thing of beauty.
I have no doubt that he will scheme up something that breaks Georgia's defense. He has the weapons - not one single player is the go-to on any given down. He has the speed - elite speed at both WR (Wilson/Henning/Anthony) and RB (Corum/Edwards). He has the talent - 10 high end players that are all trusted with the ball in pressure situations (5 WRs, 3 RBs, 2TEs). He has the quarterback that can direct all of it - two of them, actually.
I cannot wait to see what they have in store for Georgia's 'generational' defense!
December 9th, 2021 at 12:14 PM ^
2019 was frustrating. We had a complicated gap blocking run scheme in 2018 that just needed a functional passing game attached. Instead we got a functional passing game with a run game that appeared to have 1 run play attached.
About halfway through the year they went back to the 2018 run game schemes and that helped a bunch. I figured that was Harbaugh and the O line coach saving Gattis' bacon.
I guess he has both sides down pat now. Just took awhile.
December 9th, 2021 at 12:50 PM ^
It's one of the more underrated stories of this team. I'm just thinking back to the agonizing number of threads last two years asking whose offense it "really" was, and that people wished harbaugh would get out of it, or on the other side people thought Gattis was overrated and couldn't hack it as the OC calling plays so Harbaugh had to step in to "save" him. I'm so fucking happy that it worked out this year - clearly it wasn't an instant success, and last year was a step back, but both Harbaugh and Gattis learned from each other and in doing so maximized the expertise that each brings to the table. We now finally have the "Stanford pro-style run attack" that we thought we got when we hired Harbaugh, combined with a more modern spread-type passing attack that gets your playmakers in space. It's been so damn awesome to watch, and I don't think a lot of people outside of Michigan or the Big Ten understand that this isn't simply a "bludgeon the other team to death" run-first style offense (although they've proven they can do that!)
December 10th, 2021 at 4:18 PM ^
Hence, *these* days.
December 9th, 2021 at 5:00 AM ^
Thanks for sharing, that was incredible!
Harbaugh took a chance and a young, up-and-coming, minority head coach, there is so much value in that...so much meaning and importance.
Fantastic speech. I only hope we can hang on to Josh for 2-3+ more years while guys on his staff grow under his leadership.
December 9th, 2021 at 5:59 AM ^
Someone cutting some onions in here
December 9th, 2021 at 6:14 AM ^
Great speech and well deserved, Coach Gattis! I could see what this offense was trying to become in 2019, but I'll admit after 2020 I wasn't sure it would ever get there. You emphatically proved all the doubters wrong. Meshing an open passing attack with a power rushing attack is very difficult, and by December your offense made it look easy against a top 10 defense. Well done sir!
December 9th, 2021 at 6:16 AM ^
the way these coaches and players talk about the team, each other, the year and the emotion so many show, i think we have something intangible and very, very special. most all teams have some, but we have more. and i think it might make a difference in how the players and staff don't hit the proverbial 'transfer portal' (raises, new teams, new jobs). certainly we'll lose a few and while there's no way to ever know the exact difference i'm going to guess we lose a lot less than we might because of the cohesiveness of the entire squad, top to bottom, coaches, kids, everybody.
December 9th, 2021 at 6:59 AM ^
They talk with such emotion because they know how toxic this fanbase was and is capable of.
December 9th, 2021 at 7:36 AM ^
And here you are. Again and again and again-taking this tack...twice in this thread alone. Your chosen course in these regards are as toxic as those you are pointing out. Here there is a combination of insecurity and inferiority complex that is, in fact, very negative. Additionally, it is very likely that your projection here is wrong-that the fans have nothing to do with his emotions in this matter. Just quit it. Everyone has opinions that may be/sometimes are proven wrong over the course of time...and then said opinions become informed differently and change-this is not a bad thing...it is simply a part of the human experience. Your position here is an equally toxic one.
Now, Gattis: Has clearly grown significantly into this OC role over the past several years-hats off!!! And congrats to Jim Harbaugh as well in this regard. The road for those of us who have the courage to think and act outside the box can be rough at times but when everything comes together it can be miraculously beautiful. These two have played an integral role in shocking the college football world this year. Two more acts to go!