Harbaugh ranked #1 NFL HC candidate by 45 analysts

Submitted by SolidSmeef on

And so it begins.  I guess at least they put his face in the upper left of their front page picture, instead of directly in the middle.  So we got that going for us, which is nice.

 

1. Jim Harbaugh: 95 points

Current job: Michigan Wolverines head coach

NFL experience

Former 49ers head coach (2011-14) In Harbaugh's one NFL stop in San Francisco, he took over a 6-10 team and went 44-19 over the next four seasons -- which included a heartbreaking three-point loss in Super Bowl XLVII.

Before that, he inherited a 1-11 Stanford team and went 29-21 over four seasons.

Most recently, he inherited a 5-8 Michigan team and has gone 28-11 in the three seasons since.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/21947511/nfl-head-coaching-candidates-hire-45-espn-analysts-rank-their-choices-jim-harbaugh-leads-way

JHumich

January 3rd, 2018 at 6:46 PM ^

Of course Harbaugh isn't leaving, and anyone who thinks so is ignorant.

But, I love the "Harbaugh is the most desired coach in the NFL stories."

Why?

Because it's good for a kid with NFL dreams to see that the University of Michigan Wolverines are coached by man whom the NFL would love to steal but cannot!

Mr. Yost

January 3rd, 2018 at 5:47 PM ^

Folks have to calm down...

1st off...Mork won 3 games last year...his team was in complete disarray this summer...his 1st 4 years he went to bowl games, you know what? HE LOST ALL 4!

We have such recency bias and act like we don't follow the program like we do.

1. As I've said for years...there are THREE elite coaches in college football. That's it. Let's stop acting like so many other team have something we don't. Add Peterson and Patterson for the next level of coaches #4 and #5 in whatever order you want to put them in.

After that...it's a mismosh of coaches and Harbaugh's in that group. His OCs? Not so much. But Shaw, MORK, Petrino, Leach, Kelly, Franklin, Chryst, Richt, Gundy, are coaches in that next group with HARBAUGH...and you can make any argument you want for one over the other. I probably left off a few (Smart?), but you get the point.

There are THREE coaches clearly better than Harbaugh right now...two probably better...everyone else? Meh, we're right there. It's not like we've got Hoke. It's not like we've got some MAC coach who had 1 hot year.

Fix the offensive staff, finish the recruiting class, get better and let's roll. Harbaugh's the perfect coach for Michigan. Beilein isn't Coach K, Izzo, etc. - but we're getting by in other ways. We don't have to have Nick Saban to win a national championship, but we need to right assistants, recruiting the right players and calling the right plays...so far, we're not there. But we're not 3-9 or 4-8 with a shit ton of players getting suspended either.

Bubba

January 3rd, 2018 at 7:56 PM ^

Why do we compare the first 4 years of Mork to Harbaugh as a form of comfort food?

Pull your head out of your ass. Harbaugh inherited a roster with 20 NFL players. Can you imagine what Dantonio would have done with that roster? Stop pretending that Hoke ran us into the ground, he isn't head coaching material but he held strong with our brand.

We keep reaching deeper for excuses to justify why Jim hasn't got got it done so far. He is culpable for Peters not working out and us claiming year 4 is his first chance to run "his" program. Why are we waiting on ncaa clearance to have a real QB for Harbaugh on year 4? Urban won what, his first 20 games at OSU? Come on.

MonkeyMan

January 3rd, 2018 at 11:45 PM ^

this is a great post- Hoke recruited well. I keep wondering at all the people out there saying we can't do better than JH- there are real good coaches out there. I do believe that JH can get us a Big10 championship- I am not so sure CFB motivates him enough to actually do it. 

big john lives on 67

January 3rd, 2018 at 8:56 PM ^

The coaches you listed require the competitive advantage of a superior roster to be successful. They fail on the brutal level playing field of the NFL. That is why Harbaugh is a superior coach to all of them. He has succeeded on the level playing field and at SD and Stanford where the playing field was tilted significantly to his disadvantage. You can go ahead and add Saban with his NFL failure to the list above.

SpilledMilk

January 3rd, 2018 at 5:12 PM ^

He's most definitely not the worse COA in the B1G. That's just stupid to say.

That being said - there doesn't seem to be a definite correlation between a great NFL coach and a great NCAA coach. Some coaches are more suited to the professional game and some are more suited to the college version. I think JH may fall in the former category but that's not to say he can't be an all time great college HC in time

In reply to by SpilledMilk

uminks

January 4th, 2018 at 2:18 AM ^

Several 49er players said he treated them like college players instead of pros, and they went to complain to the owner and the owner dumped Harbaugh. I'm glad he did and I'm still enthusiastic like nothing known to mankind that he is our coach. Give him a few years, once he starts winning a lot of games and reaching the playoffs, Harbaugh will have his pick of the top recruits. It seems like many people on this blog do not have the patience for the Harbaugh recruits to mature and become champions. if I had to wait 6 years and through two underwhelming coaches I sure as hell can wait another couple years for Harbuagh.

Heywood_Jablome

January 3rd, 2018 at 4:59 PM ^

He's the new Jon Gruden.

But to be realistic, if some NFL team really wanted him, they could get him.  Offer him personnel control and an ownership stake and he's gone, IMO.

I doubt he wants to leave UM right now, but everybody has their price.

Swayze Howell Sheen

January 3rd, 2018 at 5:20 PM ^

"I doubt he wants to leave UM right now, but everybody has their price"

nope. once you get paid a certain amount, salary doesn't matter. Harbs makes more than any person will ever need (or even their children will ever need). Money shouldn't be a deciding factor.

Therefore:

You Only Live Twice

January 3rd, 2018 at 11:13 PM ^

It wouldn't matter how badly any NFL team wanted him.

Harbaugh isn't going anywhere.  This does strike fear into the hearts of certain fanbases even with the bowl outing we just had.

Neversatisfied

January 3rd, 2018 at 5:00 PM ^

I love OSU trolls that tell me how terrible of a coach he is, then the next time any NFL job is brought up they say he is taking that job.  He is such a terrible coach that every NFL job wants him?  Makes sense.