Harbaugh through 30

Submitted by 1464 on

It was truly good to hear people bitching about covering the spread, beating an up-and-coming B1G team by 3 scores, and complaining that they want Jim Harbaugh held accountable for our dismal offense.  I really mean that.  It means that as a fanbase, we again expect to be elite, which we couldn't say just a few years ago.  I did hear a lot of heat directed at Harbaugh in the first half of last Saturday's game...

That said, here are Harbaugh's stats through 30 games.

He is now 24-6, good for a .800 win percentage.  That is the best win percentage of a Michigan coach since Fitz Crisler retired 60 years ago.  Its a few points better than even Bo Schembechler.  He is 14-4 in conference - good for a win percentage of .778.  This is .001 off of Lloyd Carr - behind only him, Bo, and Yost in that category.  This is in a resurgent B1G Conference, with OSU likely better than nearly any generation before.

He's done it with average QB's, no star RB, a bunch of holes left from the previous administration, and what seems like 6 different OC's.

His losses have all been close.  MSU and the thing we won't talk about.  OSU and the call we won't talk about.  A crazy last minute finish against FSU without two AA players.  The Iowa field goal.   A one score game against surprisingly good Utah in his very first game.  His only bad loss in 2.5 years was OSU at home in the year they finished 12-1 and were not allowed to defend their NCAA title.

In the 100 games before he got here, Michigan was an awful 55-45, including losses to Appalacian State, Toledo, and Rutgers.

So while I applaud that the expectations are back, can we at least admit that Harbaugh could probably lose every upcoming game this year and still not be on hot seat?

UM Fan from Sydney

September 28th, 2017 at 9:46 AM ^

Despite what NFL honks claim, Jim will retire as the UM coach. The other people who claim he will leave are OSU and MSU fans. MSU fans are already desperate for him to leave. OSU fans will claim they don't care if he stays or go cuz Jim is currently 0-2 (one of those wins OSU bought) against them.

maizenbluedevil

September 28th, 2017 at 3:02 PM ^

At the same time, “contending” could end up looking like perpetually finishing top-10 nationally, but second place in our division every year.

As great as things are under Harbaugh - and I absolutely would *not* want a change, I remember the 7 years before he got here - we’re just not going to be competitive with Ohio St. if the current recruiting gap continues, which it looks like it will for at least the next two cycles.

Blue2000

September 28th, 2017 at 9:51 AM ^

but the 30 game threshold doesn’t seem to offer any particular info

The trajectory over those 30 games does.  The third game of Hoke's third season was our near-loss at home to Akron; the 4th game of that season was our near-loss on the road to a terrible UConn team.  Harbaugh's and Hoke's first 30 games don't feel remotely comparable.  

bo_lives

September 28th, 2017 at 2:11 AM ^

C'mon dude, don't live in denial. They may have gotten lucky, but they still won it, something Michigan has not done since 2004. And this season they are ranked #4 in the country with the Heisman favorite on their team. Perhaps Michigan will beat them and they will fall back into obscurity. Or perhaps PSU will win and they will make the playoff. Spot or no spot, Michigan still lost to Iowa and didn't play their best game against OSU. The only OSU team Michigan has beaten since 2003 was the 6-7 Luke Fickell led, scandel-ridden 2011 squad. I am hopeful for the future, but these are the facts of the reality we live in.

truferblue22

September 28th, 2017 at 7:35 AM ^

The second portion of your post is exactly why OP made his comment at the end. No more of this, "I love him, but" bullshit...this team is young. Literally no one else who would coach at Michigan could have made us this good this quickly. But we can't blame him for what he was left with, he has outdone what possibly could have been expected of him in that regard.

Putt4Birdie

September 27th, 2017 at 10:31 PM ^

Harbaugh on a hot seat should have his or her head examined. Their opinions on football won't mean diddly squat to me.

Feeling great about the program and enjoying the ride.

Stringer Bell

September 27th, 2017 at 10:36 PM ^

Anyone complaining about Harbaugh needs to get a grip on reality.  He's as good as we'll get, and quite frankly unless we're getting Meyer, Saban, or Bill Belichick we wouldn't be able to do any better.  He's building something special here.  He has one of the youngest teams in the nation at 4-0 and #7 in the country.  Some truly special years await us.

1VaBlue1

September 28th, 2017 at 8:28 AM ^

Why do you think Meyer, Saban, or Belichick would be any better?  Because they have more experience as a head coach, and thus more opportunities to have won a championship?  Meyer hasn't built anything since he left Utah - he inherited good teams at UF and OSU.  Saban took over a really good team at LSU, and brought that success with him to Bama, where he only needed to reload, not rebuild.  Belichick took many years to build that powerhouse in NE, who's to say he could recreate it at UM?  College isn't his thing, anyway.

Harbaugh built success at universally crappy places - UCSD was so bad, people didn't even know it had a team.  Harbaugh won big there.  Stanford was the poster child for failed footballing at a P5 school.  Harbaugh set them up pretty good...  San Fran was a crappy shell of the Montana/Young years.  JMFH took them to three straight NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl (Saban failed miserably in the NFL).

It's sad to hear people say that Meyer and Saban are better coaches than Harbaugh because they've been around for 10-15 years longer.  Harbaugh is every bit as good as they are.

1VaBlue1

September 28th, 2017 at 8:31 AM ^

I think I misread your post...  On re-read, you're not saying that Meyer, Saban, or Belichick are necessarily better than Harbaugh.  So I'll retract my first paragraph from my original reply.  And I'll take the negs that come with it like Heff would have (ie: like a man!).

I'll leave the rest of my post as it was - because someone will say they're better, and they'd be wrong.

Ty Butterfield

September 27th, 2017 at 10:46 PM ^

Hoke was 23-7 after 30 games, just sayin. With an extra week to prepare, Michigan better not lose to Staee.

Elmer

September 28th, 2017 at 12:14 AM ^

In addition, Hoke went 2-6 the rest of his third season.  His fourth and last season was 5-7.

His 23-7 mark after 30 games, including a 5-0 to start in his third season was exactly the tipping point for Hoke. It was almost all downhill after that.

Harbaugh is gaining momentum.  Hoke, with Denard out of eligibility, was losing ground.

rice4114

September 28th, 2017 at 3:17 AM ^

Whats the point?



Saban had more losses at Bama at this point? Saban>Hoke so your point is null and void.



If this were week 4 in 1997 I bet the same people would be driving home the same message. Cant score, dont blow anyone out, were doomed.

flashOverride

September 28th, 2017 at 8:10 AM ^

Hoke took over a team that had some senior pieces in place on D if anyone could coach them, and Denard Robinson. Harbaugh took over a team that certainly did have a defense ready to break out, but also years of horrendous O-line play and nothing apparent at QB.

Not to mention Hoke took over a team that was trending up (yeah, a lot of people say the two-wins-per-year improvement under RR was a mirage, but I think it's obvious 11-2 had more to do with the existing team than Hoke's coaching), which matters to the psyche of the players. Harbaugh took over a team that, while it had some guys, was unmistakeably on the decline and had to feel pretty beaten down after 5-7. 

Ajcoss

September 27th, 2017 at 10:48 PM ^

Looking for some info. Any news on Crawford's injury? Any news on Collins and Martin? I was excited to see them against Purdue and don't think they saw the field. Still hurt? Any update would be great.