Harbaugh and 49ers have deep rift per Jason LaCanfora/CBS
Of course I recognize this has little to do with Michigan Football, per se. But am I the only one doing the math on the two years remaining on his $5M/Year contract. Adam Schefter reports he's looking for $8-$9M moving forward, so if a certain thing with a certain hot-seat coach were to not work out so well in 2014, would this be a viable (real) option?
This assumes he would even consider coming back to college football.
#HasThatShipSailed?
February 25th, 2014 at 4:49 PM ^
I don't doubt that there were fractures in the family pre-Hoke, and I love Hoke's unabashed enthusiasm. That said, I'm a bit tired of that argument. Why were there fractures in the Michigan family? The reason I know is because a lot people wouldn't accept hiring RichRod since he wasn't a Michigan Man. Who would they have preferred? Debord? English?
I'd like to see Hoke succeed, but that success will be represented on the field,
February 24th, 2014 at 10:16 PM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 11:06 PM ^
Getting a coach like Harbaugh would imply that anyone in this athletic department is capable of putting what's best for the football program ahead of their own agenda.
Seems to be too much to ask. Had there been any competence, Michigan would be heading into year 8 in the Les Miles era.
state wouldn't have gotten to where they are now as a program, the ohio fiasco would've ended a lot sooner than it did, Michigan would probably have more than one win over them in the last 10 seasons and Michigan would at the very least have a division title.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:05 AM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 6:02 AM ^
He's like a shot of nitrous to an engine. Yes, for a short time we'd win. A lot. But I think that it's likely that he'd leave a lot of wrecked relationships and angry people in his wake that would end up hurting the program in the long run. It's very tempting. But I think it would help us in 3 years and hurt is more in 5 after he left.
February 25th, 2014 at 8:23 AM ^
February 24th, 2014 at 11:11 PM ^
He's not coming here. Ever. By the time he's done in the NFL, he's going to be a crazy, out of control egomaniacal lunatic. He is a pretty good coach, though.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:30 AM ^
Just read thru the posts. Harbaugh is a divisive personality. Do we really want that?
The thing I dont really like is that he has pretty much proven at every level that the only thing sacred to him is the dollar. His name will come up in every open coaching job vacancy conversation maybe second to only the inside joke of Jon Gruden, just to put pressure on his current employers to keep raising the bar of his salary. Its even possible that he hosed Brandon once by feigning interest in Michigan when Rod was at the end of the plank.
Again, this smacks of short-term, win-at-all-costs madness. Our program is storied. Its legendary. That does not equate with whiplash from trying to jerk the strings of the HC and the staff like a damn marionette to roll the dice on a gamble for a few more wins. The crater that Michigan is in, I'm convinced of, is due to the Rod experiment and the subsequent trashing of the recruiting class of at least 2 years' time.
Everyone was meh on Beilein, myself included, but look what he's quietly built. Hoke is obviously at the base of a bigger lightning rod due to the larger magnitude of the football program and the amplified expectations. Just keep in mind the bar for 130+ years is set at 9-3 for a season. Nobody has managed to do better than that. Hoke is 3 wins off this pace in 3 years' time (26 of 39; getting to 29 of 39 is right in the range) and there's a huge section of the board ready to release the Kraken.
I don't get it.
February 25th, 2014 at 6:29 AM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 8:14 AM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 12:48 PM ^
O'Brien left after two years and we have no idea how Franklin will do.
February 25th, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
Great post, I'd also add it's probably easier to turn things around quickly in basketball.
February 25th, 2014 at 2:49 AM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 9:41 AM ^
well sadly, to beat Tressel, we needed to get the one guy who could beat him.... his former DC in dantonio. it'd have prevented a lockdown on the state of ohio recruits, too. instead, we didnt replace lloyd, and let recruiting take a huge hit.
so, lloyd passed on jim harbaugh twice, i understand.... sounds he was insecure here.
and bill martin passes on les miles, passes on dantonio... and brandon didnt actually have an opportunity to pass on miles because he wasnt coming here anyway.
February 25th, 2014 at 8:38 AM ^
Regardless whether we believe Hoke has the stuff to head Michigan in the coming years; why is the only viable alternative discussed around here, Harbaugh?
Let me guess, something, something, Michigan Man, something.
The Michigan Man thing just needs to go.
February 25th, 2014 at 8:41 AM ^
He would take the Michigan job in a second. It's his dream job. Michigan would have to pay, but he is the PERFECT coach for Michigan.
February 25th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
That's why he didn't take the job in 2011 when it was open.
February 25th, 2014 at 11:56 AM ^
February 25th, 2014 at 4:22 PM ^
I like Brady Hoke.
Brady Hoke is NOT Jim Harbaugh, and most likely never will be.
Harbaugh may be one of the top 5 football coaches in the entire country. And that might be a conservative estimate. Is he divisive? Sure. But he wins EVERYWHERE he goes, even impossible places to win. And he wins immediately. With whatever he has. The guy is an unbelievable coach.
Tons of big IFs to deal with.
IF he wants to coach Michigan.
IF he's willing to do it for the amount of money Michigan can/will pay, which is going to be less than the NFL
IF he's willing to be here for the long haul and not just have this be a temp job until he finds a better situation in the NFL.
THEN we'd be fools not to want Harbaugh. He's basically Bo Schembechler 2, except probably better in bowl games.
NONE of this is Hoke bashing. Hoke might be a great coach some day. He isn't there yet IMO. He does a lot of things well, but only a handful of coaches have had the kind of instant success at every stop that Jim Harbaugh has had.
February 26th, 2014 at 12:27 PM ^
but only a handful of coaches have had the kind of instant success at every stop that Jim Harbaugh has had.Harbaugh's record at Stanford his first three seasons as head coach was 17-20. Granted, Year Four was outstanding, and taking Stanford into the elite status of the Pac-12 is no small feat, but it his tenure there hardly qualifies as "instant success".
February 26th, 2014 at 2:46 PM ^
Stanford went 1-11 the year before Harbaugh showed up. 1-11. They had won 17 games in 5 years. By year 3 he had them at 8-5, which was their 2nd most wins since 1992 and by year 4 he had them at 12-1 which was the most win IIN THE HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM. Yeah schedules are longer now, but Stanford had only had double-digit wins TWICE before, in 1992 (10), and 1940 (10) and he got them to 12 in year 4.
If you don't call that "instant success", the what the **** is? the guy took a team from 1-11 to 12-1 in 4 seasons! What more could you possibly ask for????
February 25th, 2014 at 4:29 PM ^
Harbaugh could land here I think. If Hoke continues to struggle, Michigan will want to and need to make a change to keep the money machine rolling. At U of M Harbaugh could have obsolute control. People would think of him as a god if he were to post records like he did at Stanford. I do think Harbaugh wants to stay in the NFL though. I would not bet on him coming to Michigan, much as I would like it. Hopefully Hoke kicks butt next year and all that talk would go away, but I would not bet on that either.
February 25th, 2014 at 8:08 PM ^
I see Nuss as essentially coach in waiting, I love Brady Hoke but he's just not the guy that gets it done. He's too straight and narrow too nice. Bad line + no pass rush+ another year of Gardner?
2015 can't be here quickly enough.