Jim Harbaugh and tunnel vision (Baumgardner at The Athletic)
https://theathletic.com/1331426/2019/10/30/jim-harbaughs-tunnel-vision-is-unwavering-and-thats-no-different-coaching-michigan/
Lots of bemused/befuddled agent stories about how Harbaugh doesn't have an agent - he works with friends/trusted associates when he negotiates a contract, but once he signs he moves straight on to the job.
"His parents live next door. And this summer, Harbaugh excitedly told reporters that all seven of his kids would be living in town for the 2019 season. His oldest son, Jay, works on Michigan’s coaching staff. His son Jimmy is a senior at Michigan. His daughter Grace is a freshman water polo player. His four younger children all live at home with him and his wife, Sarah."
The money quote:
"He does not look for jobs. Jobs look for him."
October 31st, 2019 at 5:54 PM ^
Harbaugh ain't goin anywhere. He is going to raise his kids in Ann Arbor next door to Grandma and Grandpa. Not a bad life at all.
October 31st, 2019 at 6:11 PM ^
My gut feeling is he will be the HC as long as he wants to keep coaching.
When he's had enough, he will retire.
AA is home for him and Sarah and kids.
October 31st, 2019 at 7:44 PM ^
Hopefully the new NCAA "paying players for their likeness" rules evens the playing field out, and the UM brand and deep pockets can counter the bagman. And hopefully this allows us to go from very good to elite so Jim can be coaching in some playoff games over the next decade...
before he moves on to be our AD and whoever his most successful protege is at that point, can come coach UM.
October 31st, 2019 at 7:51 PM ^
Harbaugh is good for about 10 more years. He will be replaced by wildly successful Memphis head coach Sherrone Moore.
Why not?
November 1st, 2019 at 8:02 AM ^
Jim is not cut out to be an AD.
October 31st, 2019 at 6:14 PM ^
Can we literally never talk about the potential for Jim Harbaugh leaving ever again, please? Even when I went through a period of temporary insanity and thought he wasn't the right guy for the job after the Wisconsin game, I still knew he would be here until he couldn't coach anymore.
October 31st, 2019 at 7:41 PM ^
And make 6.5 million a year. Poor guy
October 31st, 2019 at 6:10 PM ^
No way he's leaving/moving/changing jobs. Doesn't need the $, values time with his family more than any other precious commodity. And I can't imagine moving 7 kids unless it was to avoid the zombie apocalypse.
October 31st, 2019 at 6:16 PM ^
forget moving them...i cant imagine having 7 kids, period
October 31st, 2019 at 7:09 PM ^
I have 7 kids. It’s awesome!
October 31st, 2019 at 8:15 PM ^
Can confirm this. Would love to have been blessed with more, but alas, you can't have everything.
October 31st, 2019 at 8:40 PM ^
I have 150. (I'm a middle school teacher-- and in case you were wondering, yes today was insane.)
November 1st, 2019 at 3:25 AM ^
A big <S> to you with 7 kids. Kids are awesome!
November 1st, 2019 at 3:51 AM ^
Gotcha beat with 11..... And no, I've never played in the NBA. ; )
November 1st, 2019 at 5:56 AM ^
11 kids is awesome, but in tokyo? please dish on how that is done.
October 31st, 2019 at 7:45 PM ^
I would say 8 is enough!
October 31st, 2019 at 8:32 PM ^
Yeah, I have two - both in middle school at the moment as well - and this alone drives me around the bend on occasion. I can't imagine what seven kids is like. It certainly must take a fortitude and patience I do not possess.
October 31st, 2019 at 8:44 PM ^
How many more times can he lose to osu and still keep his job?
October 31st, 2019 at 8:56 PM ^
That's the $64,000 question.
November 1st, 2019 at 10:19 PM ^
I say he has this year as a guaranteed year if he loses. If he loses next year I say he is gone.
October 31st, 2019 at 8:46 PM ^
Values time with family? But what about his satellite camps????
October 31st, 2019 at 10:26 PM ^
He is dedicated to both his work and family.
That conflict is one of the reasons he likes Ann Arbor over some place like SF. Everything (work, home, other locations) is close together and saves a lot of travel time. That frees up some time. Also he's said before that his kids can come down and visit him at work.
October 31st, 2019 at 6:22 PM ^
The job of winning the next 4 games is looking for him.
October 31st, 2019 at 7:52 PM ^
That job is coming after him HARD!
October 31st, 2019 at 7:19 PM ^
I can see him one day moving to the AD position at Michigan.
October 31st, 2019 at 7:51 PM ^
I still think after Michigan wins the NC in the next 5 years and once he grooms his successor, Harbaugh could try the NFL once again but I think it would end much like his last go around. That's why he may just remain our coach for the next 15-20 years, then retire.
October 31st, 2019 at 7:55 PM ^
I don't care about MSU, the B1G, bowl games or mythical national championships.
Just beat OSU half the time, sometimes here, sometimes there.
That's all that matters.
Do that, and he can stay forever.
October 31st, 2019 at 9:13 PM ^
I don’t think that Day is a proven commodity yet. I am hoping for Cooper redux.
November 1st, 2019 at 10:54 AM ^
This! Urban took over for a guy who had no intentions of going anywhere ever and had stockpiled talent. JH took over for a bumbling idiot, who took over for a hillbilly who took over for a coach who began his victory tour 2 yrs before retirement. Tressel had a ton of talent when he got there and added to it as did Urban.
October 31st, 2019 at 8:27 PM ^
I love the sense that his focus is on the work. That may seem obvious but life is full of people who operate differently. They certainly do work, and they may talk about their focus, but here's a living, breathing, milk-drinking example of some who simply has a job and works to do it well.
October 31st, 2019 at 10:04 PM ^
Homecoming..... the word he used in the press conference when he was introduced as the new coach. nothing more needs said.
October 31st, 2019 at 10:18 PM ^
Harbaugh isn't going to leave just leave/quit, but it's hard to guarantee he would never want to go back to the NFL. I don't think many people were predicting Beilein to the Cavs...
October 31st, 2019 at 11:31 PM ^
Beilein interviewed with the Pistons before, so although it was unexpected timing it shouldn’t have been a total surprise.
Do you really see Harbaugh ever interviewing for other jobs while here? And if he were going to do that, he’d have a rock solid succession plan in place before.
November 1st, 2019 at 12:41 AM ^
JB also never coached in the pro ranks. And he was getting very close to the end of his coaching career. He had to make a move very soon or he wouldn’t have enough time to try to fill a team with guys he can utilize in his system and then coach them up on it. JH has coached in both college and pro ball, and he came back to college. I have a feeling he has a deep love for the grind of recruiting and the format of college ball (the B1G, the number of teams, student athletes, etc). He also loves Michigan. I think he enjoys being able to help boys become young men and setting an example for them, etc
October 31st, 2019 at 10:48 PM ^
Sometimes I get tunnel vision at the gym.
I looked into it, and apparently sometimes that's triggered by an adrenaline rush.
The more you know.
November 1st, 2019 at 4:44 AM ^
His daughter is a freshman water polo player. Sounds like a bribery situation should be investigated.
/s
November 1st, 2019 at 2:30 PM ^
Plus they like the Dairy Queen on the corner of Packard and Stadium. (The best Dairy Queen in Ann Arbor)