Harbaugh a genius?
September 8th, 2022 at 6:36 AM ^
There's an underappreciated point about Cade lurking in your post, because given the relative lack of crazy-good athletes, Michigan has to maximize every other advantage against OSU. One of those, clearly, is not coughing up the ball. A certain kind of testes-high-up-in-their-sockets caution just comes with that territory, methinks, dating back to Lloyd.
I'd like to see the advanced stats people take a stab at whether it pays off--has paid off. But arguably, it's the application of a certain kind of wisdom about how you win. And our least successful period, during the long Rodriguez march through the wilderness (touches scars for good luck), was when we went away from it.
P.S. Harbs is our Moses. We shall not want. He maketh our opponents lie down in green pastures.
P.P.S. Don't be surprised if JJ gets yoinked fast when/if he looks sloppy with that crazy oblate sphere.
September 8th, 2022 at 8:16 AM ^
Generally agree with this. The strategy only ran into a wall against Georgia, where we needed every bit of athleticism available. Putting in McCarthy sooner may have kept that closer but it's all hindsight - he also could have turned it over. It was a great year regardless.
September 7th, 2022 at 9:28 PM ^
Sorry to burst the feel good bubble but lots of people here were ready to fire Harbaugh at the beginning of last year, and hadn't been happy for a while. Good coach? Yes. Genius? No.
September 8th, 2022 at 7:18 AM ^
Wendy - so - perhaps Harbaugh IS a genius and the people who wanted him fired prior to last season - aren’t.
September 8th, 2022 at 8:27 AM ^
I sure wouldn't use quantity of people here who were ready to fire Harbaugh as the metric for his coaching ability...
September 7th, 2022 at 9:28 PM ^
Well, it's not every coach who can have an Orji in the end zone.
September 8th, 2022 at 6:40 AM ^
I heard Vandy had one the other day?
September 7th, 2022 at 9:29 PM ^
Must have meant Cowher, right?
September 7th, 2022 at 9:51 PM ^
Dan P. > Rich I. > Colin C. > Jim R.
But Rich is rising
September 7th, 2022 at 10:04 PM ^
You forgot Doug Gottleib
September 8th, 2022 at 7:15 AM ^
Rich Isen?
September 7th, 2022 at 10:21 PM ^
Cowherd was saying what we already know. Harbaugh has won everywhere he has coached including the NFL, which he says is where the best coaches are. Harbaugh's critics liked to emphasize the struggles he has had at Michigan, but they conveniently ignored what he had done elsewhere. Now that he has won a Big Ten championship, they attack his personality "quirks" because questioning his coaching ability is obviously absurd.
September 8th, 2022 at 4:59 AM ^
It took Harbaugh a minute to adapt to how much college football has changed since he was at Stanford. He kept trying to recreate Stanford at Michigan. His was exclusively an under-center "body blows" scheme until just a few years ago.
But he finally did adapt and then we were on our way. It will be interesting to see how he keeps up from here, especially in the new Portal / NIL era.
I believe, however, that he will still ultimately wind up back in the NFL. That is where his heart is. But if he takes care of business here first, and leaves a stable program on top, I'm OK with that.
September 8th, 2022 at 9:24 AM ^
Dog, it will be interesting. I think Michigan’s strategy is, will be, to recruit and develop players - using the portal to fill an unanticipated short term need - or add select players that can fit into the culture and team chemistry.
Georgia’s approach seems to be similar - though, we’ve seen highly regarded prospect QBs leave with some frequency.
The team in EL - it’s almost like the “Hokey Pokey”… “this in…this out”. It’s portal city there.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:23 PM ^
No more cow herds.
September 7th, 2022 at 10:34 PM ^
i can’t think of a single reason i’d click on that link…oh…never mind.
September 7th, 2022 at 11:55 PM ^
Unfortunately, I'm Cowherd intolerant. A bit of a case of irritable Colin syndrome.
September 8th, 2022 at 1:20 AM ^
This conversation is a bit bovine for my taste.
September 8th, 2022 at 4:04 AM ^
Bo: "I have no use for the media. I don't need them if I'm winning, and they can't help me if I'm losing."
September 8th, 2022 at 7:04 AM ^
the misque in the OP is unfortunate. But I will make the claim now for posterity. This new landscape of NIL and the transfer portal will make Jim Harbaugh a legend.
It can maximize his NFL skill set of managing players and bringing it to the college game.
Do not fret about poor recruiting rankings. He will fill the adequate gaps in the portal. The future of Michigan football with Harbaugh at the helm has never been so bright.
September 8th, 2022 at 7:21 AM ^
I caught this one a while back. Harbaugh > cowherd.
September 8th, 2022 at 8:10 AM ^
Maybe he's just a really good coach - one of the best in the sport - that's good enough
September 8th, 2022 at 8:20 AM ^
fuck cowherd..... he and fienbaum both..... we win a few games and they'll talk up JH like they were always big fans of his..... we lose a game and they go on about how over rated and over paid he is and how he should be on the hot seat.
Both blowhards....
September 8th, 2022 at 9:20 AM ^
PA - I agree with you. I’m no fan of Paul “let me tell you how great Bama and the SEC are” Finebaum.
But, last year- after Michigan made the playoffs - he actually said, for a few seconds, Harbaugh did it.
What frustrates me is - the lack of objectivity. Maybe I’m too structured - and think of analysis before commenting on something. And, I also know the only thing that matters to the media is “clicks”.
It is one reason why I like some of the analysts on BTN. Howard Griffith seems to blend analysis, observation, and comments. Revsine is pretty good too. Jake Butt seems to be off to a good start.
September 8th, 2022 at 10:12 AM ^
Colin Cowherd looks like a rodent.
September 8th, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
When referring to Harbaugh, “Crazy like a fox” - might be an appropriate phrase.
September 8th, 2022 at 1:46 PM ^
I would say Cowherd is far from a genius. In an interview with another idiot named Urban Meyer, Cowherd asked Meyer how he let Joe Burrow get out of Ohio when recruiting. Cowherd had absolutely no knowledge that Burrow had indeed been on Ohio State and had transferred to LSU. I’m not saying Cowherd should know where every kid that attended college went to school and for how many years and if they transferred where they went throughout their entire career but when talking about a kid that had a season that was maybe one of the best that a college QB has ever had Cowherd should have at least that knowledge that Burrow had indeed been on Meyers roster. Especially when you are interviewing Meyer. The interviewer should have done a little bit of homework and known that before asking the question to Meyer and looking like a complete dope on tv in front of a national audience. So in conclusion Cowherd is a moron and Meyer is an asshole and not for letting Burrow transfer to LSU without giving him a shot to play but for so many more reasons that I would get carpal tunnel trying to list them and even if I did list them I’m sure I couldn’t list them all because the list is longer than anyone knows. Harbaugh is a genius as far as I’m concerned. He has won pretty much everywhere he’s been and doesn’t have to cheat or be standing on third base when he takes the job to be successful. He has taken several programs that were basement dwellers and turned them into winning respectable programs. Sure interviewing for the Vikings job probably was not the smartest move as far as recruiting goes but even geniuses make mistakes. The key is that you learn from your mistakes and don’t repeat them. He’s the only coach to take an NFL team to the playoffs and a college team to the playoffs. Very few guys have a resume that Harbaugh does.
Go Blue!!
September 8th, 2022 at 2:12 PM ^
A valid take as written. Cowherd is probably deluded enough to believe this about himself.