Harbaugh: the good, the bad, and the ugly?

Submitted by MGlobules on

I've stated my opinions as to why RichRod deserves another year. But I would like to know more about Harbaugh. What I really want to know: is he an a**hole? 

Obviously, that's a provocative way of putting it. But I believe--media and haters aside--that both Lloyd and RichRod are pretty great people. (In fact, I sometimes wondered whether people hated Lloyd because he WASN'T an a**hole. Obviously, people venerated Bo, and Bo loved his boys, but he was indeed--and often--an a**hole, something I happen to know first hand. A lovable one, but often an irascible person and quite hard to work with.)

I know that Harbaugh brings the bloodline; I know that that and winning are what most people care about. I'm not asking people to gossip about Harbaugh so much as--those who know more than I--to sift through some of the crap that's out there and point us toward the truth--links, personal anecdotes, whatever. Because the stories of toilets, womanizing, screaming fits, ratting out our academics--to me--don't go down too well.

Maybe a lot of that is lies, or overblown. A lot of people think RichRod is some kind of ogre, while I've come to believe he's a good guy who really cares about the kids. (In fact, in some ways I've long thought he was almost the quintessential Michigan guy--good person, great football mind, and I believe a lot of people could be saying that a year from now.) What's really up with Harbaugh--anybody know?

HAIL 2 VICTORS

November 29th, 2010 at 7:20 PM ^

What I noticed as the difference between Harbaugh and RR was at my Thanksgiving dinner Harbaugh had no idea what the fish fork was but RR was all over it as he cut into the smoked salmon appetizer. 

Harbaugh came off as an asshole to me.

bleuadams

November 29th, 2010 at 7:45 PM ^

Harbaugh - the bad:

#1) He's sort of an idiot/a-hole.

...#1a) Remember the Ravens game last season, where John Harbaugh got fined by the NFL because his guest, Jim Harbaugh, was out in the middle of the field arguing with the officials on national television.

...#1b) Remember how he made Stanford spend however many tens of thousands of dollars it was to build a bathroom - with a shower - in his office, when there was already a shower like 20 yards down the hall.

#2) He's sort of a drunk.  There are a lot of "Jim Harbaugh left his wallet in so and so bar" stories out there that we know about.   Possibly a lot more that we don't?

#3) Lloyd Hate.  I actually thought he made an excellent point with his comments about michigan's academic treatment of athletes...but Lloyd hates him for it...and probably always will.  How much does that matter?  Not much, I don't think.  Lloyd prematurely left the athletic department (a job most of us thought he'd keep for decades).  And Gary Moeller has been serving as a consultant of sorts to Dave Brandon.  Maybe I am reading too much into this...but it seems like Lloyd has sort of been pushed out of importance?

bleuadams

November 30th, 2010 at 1:01 PM ^

*****THIS IS AN IMPORTANT POST TO READ BECAUSE IT'S 'THE' TRUTH*****

#1) Michigan is NOT Jim Harbaugh's 'dream job.'  He wants an NFL job, because him and his brother are so competitive.  SD, SF, Oak and Car (and maybe even Dal and Min) are all going to be fighting over him this off-season.

#2) Dave Brandon is going to be doing absolutely everything he can to convince him to come to Michigan over the next month.

#3) In all likelihood, Rich Rod will be brought back (signing a two year extension after the bowl game), and Greg Robinson will be replaced (along with the 3-3-5).  Ron English is supposedly an early DC candidate. 

Big Boutros

November 29th, 2010 at 7:23 PM ^

i think harbaugh might be like 10% more asshole than most coaches, while Rodriguez is 800% less asshole than most coaches. So comparing the two directly yields "Why would you shit on our nice guy coach just to hire this meanie!" from the Rich Rod supporters and "Harbaugh brings the ruckus" from the Harbaugh supporters. It's a tremendous dynamic, no question, Jim

jmblue

November 29th, 2010 at 7:48 PM ^

Honestly, I think most coaches would probably come across as assholes.  They're driven people who want to get things done their way, right away and often don't care what others think.  I don't know about RR being "800% less asshole."   I don't think he's a bad person, by any means, but he's rubbed some people the wrong way.  

Irish

November 29th, 2010 at 7:24 PM ^

At stanford he has decommitted past commits when higher rated recruits wanted to take their place.  I wouldn't call that not being an a**hole 

Blue Bunny Friday

November 29th, 2010 at 7:56 PM ^

Dewayne Peace:

"To tell you the truth, I wanted to play wide receiver," Peace said. "I told the Michigan coaches that I wanted to play receiver. At the beginning of my commitment they said I could play cornerback or receiver. Then as time went on, I went on my visit and told them I just wanted to play receiver and if I could only play corner then I would look for another school to go to. They told me that it was fine and I could play receiver. Then something came up where they didn't land enough corners so that is where they wanted me."

Tom VH on Jordan Barnes:

I talked to him when he said he wanted to take other visits, and figured this was going to happen. The way he was talking, it just sounded like he was interested elsewhere. I'm not sure what's going to happen.

In neither case do I remember people saying RR took the scholarship offer off the table. The classes weren't full either.

mtzlblk

December 1st, 2010 at 2:24 AM ^

not that we should have recruited/kept these players, the point is that they were not players who had already been commits for a few months before having their offers pulled, they chose to go elsewhere based on what position the michigan coaches wanted them to play, or because they didn't have that much interest in UM to being with.

Irish

November 29th, 2010 at 7:50 PM ^

Its more like, hey we don't have room for you anymore after being committed for 2 months* ( or whatever it was) see you later

ND wasn't slow playing Hayes no matter what ND fans want to think, he decommitted on his own.  And has been replaced too

Zone Read Left

November 29th, 2010 at 7:25 PM ^

I've been thinking the same thing myself. Additionally, how can Michigan, who once fired a great coach for getting drunk and punching a cop, turn around 15 years later and hire a guy who has a DUI attached to his name?

Mitch Cumstein

November 29th, 2010 at 7:41 PM ^

but I'm not sure its right to never hire anyone with a DUI attached to their name.  Especially if he paid the fine, and did whatever penalty was attached.  I also don't find it hypocritical in contrast to the Moeller situation.  I wouldn't have fired him, but having something in your past is a lot different than doing something while in the position. 

thethirdcoast

November 29th, 2010 at 9:14 PM ^

I would not have a problem hiring JH if the folks conducting the interview process were able to decisively determine that he has cleaned up his act and discontinued the problem behavior.

This would involve everything - his behavior in court, his attitude toward any community service, his initiative in getting professional help for his problem, and a strong track record of responsible behavior off the field.

People do have the power to change their behavior. Properly vetting a move toward healthier, more constructive behavior is certainly one of the key aspects in approaching JH for the job.

Brandon would be seriously remiss if he does not thoroughly investigate JH's character as part of his process. It is absolutely critical for whomever may wind up filling our University's most visible post.

Waters Demos

November 29th, 2010 at 8:13 PM ^

Raises a somewhat interesting, if slightly different, issue.

Would you like to have a coach who wins a lot and who everyone else hates?  E.g., Tressel?

Could being an asshole, winning a lot, and being hated by the likes of MSU/OSU, etc... be an indication that you're doing right by your team/fanbase, which would, therefore, win their acceptance/adoration?

Or not?

harmon40

November 30th, 2010 at 12:15 AM ^

I work for a company that had some major dealings with Coach Tressel, and all who dealt with him raved about him. Their take was that he was very down to earth, humble, and self-effacing. Knowing that I am a Michigan alum of course they made sure to stop by my office to let me know this personally...

MGlobules

November 29th, 2010 at 7:40 PM ^

who either don't have a clue or are responding despite not given a sh*t, a hallowed Mgoblog tradition. Now let's see if we get some serious answers. 

Ed Shuttlesworth

November 29th, 2010 at 7:25 PM ^

Extremely competitive.  My firsthand anecdote:  Played IM hoop against team with him and mostly other football players winter 84-85, playoff game, lit him up, gratuitous elbows started flying my way completely unrelated to the play.   Well beyond the pale, but that kind of thing is probably how he got where he is. 

umchicago

November 29th, 2010 at 9:35 PM ^

i was a pretty good IM ref, i think.  fyi - basketball officiating is by far the toughest of the sports.  running your ass off while trying to stay out of the way and keeping your eyes on the action isn't easy.  i liked umping baseball much more.  i think i missed my calling there though.

i liked refing womens games though, for obvious reasons...they rarely complained about calls.

freshmen games were the worst.  i did let a lot of hacking go though.  i remember one game when a kid said that i should call all the fouls.  i responded by saying "if i did that, there would be no one left to finish the game".  and that's not far from the truth.

on the other hand i reffed a semi-final game i think.  got some early bitching for some "cheap" foul calls, but it was amazing how the players changed their game and stopped making those silly fouls.  kind of fun to watch and ref dudes that could actually play.

oh the good 'ol days.

stanevich

November 29th, 2010 at 7:26 PM ^

Does anyone else think Rich Rod's job would be 100% safe if Harbaugh was not available? Seems like most people want him because they know he will leave for the NFL and this is our last chance to bring back a "Michigan man".

MGoCards

November 30th, 2010 at 9:50 AM ^

Seriously. Bobby Petrino is, by far, the best and worst example of this. I will continue to believe that Petrino is one of the 6 or so best coaches in college football but the guy is the slimiest character imaginable. The guy left Louisville for the Falcons and, before the season was even up, left Atlanta by leaving a note on the locker room wall saying he was already in Arkansas. NFL coaches are takable, especially if they're no good at being NFL coaches.