Good AnnArbor.com article
I'm not suggesting anything, but it was a good read!
http://www.annarbor.com/sports/former-michigan-quarterback-jim-harbaugh…
November 29th, 2009 at 9:13 PM ^
if you are not suggesting anything then why would you post it? Anyways people would have to wait just as long as they are waiting now for Harbaugh to get things turned around if he were to coach here.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:43 PM ^
I posted it because it's a damn good article. Harbaugh has been successful at every level both as a coach and a player. Although I do think we have made a commitment to Rich Rod and he will also have success, Harbaugh coaches football the way it has always been played at Michigan.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:42 PM ^
Harbaugh coaches football the way it has always been played at Michigan
What do you really mean by that quote? Harbaugh uses quarterbacks and running backs and safeties and sometimes even linemen on his team? GET THIS MAN TO MICHIGAN.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:50 PM ^
REALLY? The way it's ALWAYS been played, champ? He runs the option like Bo did for the first 16 years of his tenure? He runs Fritz Crisler's unbalanced single wing? He runs the virtual rugby defense of Fielding Yost?
Just because you can only remember Lloydball, that doesn't mean it's WHAT MICHIGAN HAS DONE.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:50 AM ^
Actually, I have seen Harbaugh run the option although only sparingly. And don't act like it was a staple of Bo's offense... I'm only 22 but i've seen plenty of michigan football.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:36 PM ^
The option was a staple of Bo's offense, bro.
November 30th, 2009 at 5:56 PM ^
Actually, I have seen Harbaugh run the option although only sparingly. And don't act like it was a staple of Bo's offense...
Are you drunk? What offense do you think we ran in the '70s?
November 29th, 2009 at 9:20 PM ^
"But I would say this that still Michigan is the place that he loves" - Jack Harbaugh
Apparently, he must express this love by pissing off much of the Michigan fanbase and athletic department as possible.
Jamie Morris:
"I said, 'Jim, here's my question for you — do you really believe the comments you said, or are you saying them to make you look good?'
"He said, 'I believe them.' And I said, 'Would you have said it if [former coach] Bo [Schembechler] was alive?' He said, 'That's not the point.' And I said, 'That's exactly the point. You didn't hurt Michigan, you hurt your coach, and you hurt the guys you played with. These are the teammates you turned your back on.' "
November 29th, 2009 at 9:21 PM ^
So far, Harbaugh has deflected questions about other jobs, even threatening to cut short a radio interview when the subject of taking over for Rich Rodriguez at Michigan came up.
But with a three-year contract extension sitting unsigned on his desk and the off-season just under way, don't expect the speculation to end anytime soon.
“I think he’s very, very happy at Stanford and Stanford is where he wants it to be,” Jack Harbaugh said. “But I would say this that still Michigan is the place that he loves ... "
Rich Rod gets another year here, no question, but if next season is another losing one, the rumblings for a new coach will become a roar. Harbaugh will be a candidate, unless he winds up at ND. Somehow I don't see him at ND, though.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:37 PM ^
to be fair, with the amount of LSU fans and alumni that want to dropkick miles out of baton rouge, i would see him as a more likely candidate
November 29th, 2009 at 9:47 PM ^
I agree that Miles will probably be fired at some point, but why would we want to hire a guy who wasn't good enough for another school?
November 29th, 2009 at 11:32 PM ^
a) i said candidate
b) i would take two MNCs in the past decade over 2-3 blown games bc of clock management
c) the South is so eager to rise again it will claim anyone who dares hint at losing a bastard
November 29th, 2009 at 11:51 PM ^
Miles only won 1 MNC, the other belonged to Saban.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:16 AM ^
sorry i was referring to the epidemic of dissatisfaction in the South. even though LSU has won two in the past decade, they expect to win them yearly. i would be happy with two in the decade even if bobby williams was the coach of one and currently.
November 30th, 2009 at 4:18 PM ^
Let's just be clear about this: 2007 LSU was possibly the flukiest national champion ever (with 1990 Colorado being another strong contender). They are the only team in history to lose twice in the regular season and still finish the season #1. If not for an unbelievable slew of upsets the final week of the season, analysts may well have regarded that team as an underachiever.
Part of what makes national championships so special is that they normally require a perfect season. If our 1997 team had lost twice but still finished #1, would we be truly satisfied with that season? I don't know.
November 30th, 2009 at 9:30 PM ^
I think you are always THRILLED with a national title regardless of record, I don't recall the records of the 96 and 98 hockey teams but I sure do have fond memories of the titles.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:55 PM ^
I think if RR gets 4 years he can get this thing up and running. But if he only gets next year to turn it around, then I think hes gone after next year. Think about it, this defense isn't gonna get that much better, plus all our tough games like ND, PSU, and OSU are all on the road next year. Where under RR we have only won 1 road game. If that is the case and RR gets canned after next year, Harbaugh makes the most sense. Despite what he has said about Michigan in the past he is a good coach. I would hope Miles isn't in the conversation.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:18 AM ^
two out of the three of those schools will be starting 1st yr qbs with offenses really run ragged by graduation/NFL. not saying it's guarantees or anything but i don't think UM will be facing the same PSU as they did this year and ND without clausen and with that line...? OSU is always a problem though.
November 29th, 2009 at 9:29 PM ^
If RR flames out at UM, Harbaugh would have to be the top candidate. The dude can flat out coach.
Note to OP: Please use more informative thread titles.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:44 PM ^
has 8 years total of coaching experience, has had great success at just one program and is having moderate but not overwhelming success at another, has already interviewed for an NFL HC job and has a giant mouth which has led him to say far stupider things than that "hick", RR. So i'm not sure he HAS to be a top coaching candidate for any football program anywhere
November 29th, 2009 at 10:06 PM ^
Good article. I'll only say that the reality of the coaching situation here (8-16 record, next year's tough schedule, prolonged cultural dissatisfaction) makes Harbaugh an interesting person to me and I would guess to the administration as well.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:19 PM ^
F... Harbaugh F... Miles Jai Eugene Bo story . If Les Miles is ever M coach we have lost our minds .
November 29th, 2009 at 10:27 PM ^
Harbaugh has had his eye on the NFL. And you guys are totally disregarding the fact that he talked shit about UofM. Why would we want someone that bad mouthed us?
November 29th, 2009 at 11:36 PM ^
I don't really get the vitrol against Harbaugh having "betrayed us." I still support RRod, and have sugarplum dreams of dynasty once our defense settles, but I generally wish Harbaugh well and wouldn't mind him at the helm if RRod doesn't end up working out. I know I personally have bad-mouthed the U publicly a number of times over what I see as valid complaints, and would be even more likely to do so as a cocky young coach trying to pitch my school as the competing academic-athetic mecca for recruits. I'm happy to see another alumn kicking-ass in their field, and if we need him I'd love to see a coach that committed to academics and dominating football at the helm.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:37 PM ^
..his first two years as RR did. He was 4-8 and 5-7, with 8-4 this year. Rather than Harbaugh's record being another excuse to have a referendum on RR's job status, it should be a lesson to those who want to throw RR under the bus so quickly. If RR goes 9-3 next year, which is possible, his record will be the same for his first three years as Harbaugh's is for his.
November 29th, 2009 at 10:53 PM ^
I could be wrong, but I don't think Michigan's and Stanford's standards are quite the same when it comes to football. What passes for acceptable records during rebuilding years or after at one school are not the same for the other.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:02 PM ^
The University of Michigan, from the President to the Regents to the various academic departments to individual faculty members, takes the question of academic integrity extremely seriously. The University, also at the highest levels on down, has also publicly praised the late Bo Schembechler extensively as a representative of the ideal of the student-athlete, notably at the various ceremonies and observances of his death. One is free to mock or disparage those statements or values, but there is no doubt that publicly they represent official University values.
Jim Harbaugh, on more than one occasion, has directly and publicly criticized the academic integrity of the football program run by Schembechler. Explain to me just how the University will then proceed to hire Harbaugh, as doing so would either mean it would blithely disregard a direct assault on its own reputation by an employee, or it would mean implicitly that it agrees with Harbaugh's criticism of Schembechler's football program, which in turn would make a mockery of all the words of praise spoken by University officials about Schembechler after his death. Either one would be hugely and publicly hypocritical, and universities the size and stature of Michigan are not in the habit of exposing themselves in such an obvious way.
This is in no way a criticism of Harbaugh's coaching abilities, which appear to be considerable. But people who think that Michigan will simply ignore his statements when and if RR needs to be replaced appear to be unaware of how universities like Michigan function in the public arena.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:33 PM ^
and, if Harbaugh is the top candidate when the M job next comes open (whenever that may be), some artful backtracking of his earlier comments, and, voila, what some thought as a burned bridge turns into water under the bridge.
Just watch the way politicians backtrack on past statements and positions. All Harbaugh needs to do is something like that.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:15 AM ^
I think you really overestimate the impact Harbaugh's comments had on the administration. I just don't think hiring Harbaugh in any fashion would be "hugely" hypocritical, and I am not sure what the U would "expose" itself to, but I don't think it is very modest. If hiring him means winning (talking hypothetical here), then they can't care what he said once upon a time. Jamie Morris does not equal the administration.
I also think you underestimate the importance of a winning football program to the administration. A lot of University-wide programs depend on income from the football program, and a lot of that income depends on a winning football program. I would guess the money the football program brought in after the '97 season and before the end of '06 season is comparatively vastly greater than they did in the past three seasons (three due to that one game in '07). It boils down to economics, and the administration cares much more about that than they do about the implications of some statements. They need a winning football program - a winning program is institutionalized at UM. That is exactly why they have to give RR more time. But that is also exactly why they cannot afford to give him much more time.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:14 PM ^
Can we just look at him and be happy for a guy who's a product of Michigan University? We have our coach, he has his team, he's doing well. I like to see that. I don't know why all of these deteriorate into 'fire rich rod' discussions (or the less flamboyant, but similiar, "if he flames out next year").
November 29th, 2009 at 11:20 PM ^
Dude...
November 29th, 2009 at 11:25 PM ^
Yeah I'm an idiot. Put in just Michigan originally but went back in to throw that in.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:33 PM ^
That was the best laugh of my evening...for some reason I got to thinking of Pryor's The University of Ohio State announcement.
Best wishes
November 30th, 2009 at 4:48 AM ^
using the "edit" button. Although it's more fun the way it is now.
November 30th, 2009 at 6:34 PM ^
Can't fix once replied to. FYI.
November 29th, 2009 at 11:44 PM ^
Clarkie beat me to the punch.
November 30th, 2009 at 10:02 AM ^
Why are Big XII schools so stupid? YOU'RE NOT CALLED OKLAHOMA UNIVERSITY, YOU'RE CALLED THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA. YOU'RE NOT "OU". SAME GOES FOR MISSOURI, KANSAS AND COLORADO. JEBUS
November 30th, 2009 at 12:00 AM ^
It's funny how this thread wasn't meant to imply anything...
Jim Harbaugh can flat out coach, and yet this season is his best so far and he has four losses. He also has been a jerk in some games and in interviews yet he is the top choice for some people. If Rodriguez doesn't pan out we will have to wait a long time for another adjustment back to pro style ball. Can't we just be patient and hope things get better similar to how other coaches succeeded when they got the time?
November 30th, 2009 at 12:41 AM ^
I hate to say it because I really would like Rodriguez to be given the chance to install his system to the full extent and see what it can do. But... Jim Harbaugh Is a Michigan MAN he is one of the last disciples of Bo, he knows the tradition and he has shown he can beat USC and teams like them, If Rich Rod does not do absolutely better in 2010, I hope Jim is still around and Michigan can land him.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:53 AM ^
How does Jack Harbaugh know what Bo is saying in heaven to Woody?
November 30th, 2009 at 10:47 AM ^
Woody isn't in heaven...
November 30th, 2009 at 4:41 AM ^
lets not overlook the editorial history on JH right here at Mgoblog: http://mgoblog.com/content/destroy-harbaugh. Admittedly, Brian's editorial knives were out when he wrote this, but it would be better that we read what is here and chose to overlook or disregard it, than to rush in un-informed. The comments are also forceful, pro and con, though not all substantiated. #12 contains the following:
"For me, simply seeing the name Jim Harbaugh reminds me of the days when I lived in the same dormitory as this "Michigan Man" and had the opportunity to see that (even as a teenager) he was anything but what names like Gerald Ford, Bo Schembechler, Todd Harmon, and others have embodied for my alma mater. During his stay in the slightly less than hallowed halls of South Quad, Jim Harbaugh distingushed himself as the most ego-centric and arrogant individual I have ever had the bad fortune to meet."
(Sorry I don't know how to do the yellow box quotation thingy.)
I loved JH's UM QB days, and was somewhat saddened by this whole controversy when it erupted. I have no desire to tarnish the name of one of UM's great QBs, but I don't think it's time to close the vetting process on JH yet.
More importantly, I think folks should stop fidgeting over the fact that we are still solidly in the RR era here. Focus for now should be on RR's steps toward restoring our old winning ways, not on who RR's successor should be. The grass is always greener on the other side.