UM/Harbaugh SI Article
October 27th, 2021 at 10:52 AM ^
I completely forgot about the existence of Sports Illustrated. Remember when the cover of the print magazine was a thing?
October 27th, 2021 at 11:23 AM ^
The swim suit edition, yes...
October 27th, 2021 at 11:29 AM ^
May that former highlight of my year rest in peace.
October 27th, 2021 at 12:12 PM ^
football phone > swimsuit issue
October 27th, 2021 at 4:52 PM ^
clearly you are a man of culture
October 27th, 2021 at 12:55 PM ^
I still have the Marcus Ray - David Boston "Take That" SI in a box somewhere. That was an amazing cover shot.
October 27th, 2021 at 2:57 PM ^
I got that cover along with other photos from the article beautifully framed as a Christmas present from my then-new and still current girlfriend. It's been featured on my bedroom wall ever since. 97 was the best year of my life: I landed her and Michigan won the national championship.
October 27th, 2021 at 5:01 PM ^
Praying we live long enough to see it again. There are Buckeyes on their death beds who only want to stay alive long enough to see “OSU kick the shit out of UM one more time”- HBO UM vs OSU 2006
October 27th, 2021 at 10:53 AM ^
Whoa - talk about a unicorn.
This is a SI article written by an actual, respected writer - Pat Forde. And Pat, for the first time that I can remember, actually writes a positive article about Jim. This is a great read and from a very unexpected source IMO.
I think I need a moment here.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:14 AM ^
Not sure I would go *that* far in describing Forde.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:16 AM ^
I have always preferred SI, however I only read the 4 free premium articles per month. ESPN beat SI to the punch with online content years ago but I'm to the point with ESPN that I mute the volume anytime I'm watching anything. ESPN covers what their loud mouth personalities say and do more than they cover sports.
October 27th, 2021 at 2:21 PM ^
I no longer pay basically any attention to anything ESPN does for this reason and their use of money to essentially kill College Football. It is really sad because I used to love ESPN, but I find it unwatchable now unless it is broadcasting live sports (which is increasingly rare it seems).
October 27th, 2021 at 12:25 PM ^
I wasn't going to read it until I saw your comment. Thank you! I was very pleasantly surprised.
October 27th, 2021 at 10:54 AM ^
tl; dr - old Harbaugh is back.
[J]im Harbaugh is yelling. Like, bellowing. He’s in his office, and Michigan football staffers within hearing range in Schembechler Hall are wondering what the hell is going on in there.
The coach of the Wolverines is answering my question: What were you and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson saying to each other right after time expired in a dramatic road win over Nebraska on Oct. 9?
The answer, as relayed by Harbaugh at top volume:
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
October 27th, 2021 at 11:28 AM ^
And “on the precipice” of a new, even better, Harbaugh.
October 27th, 2021 at 10:59 AM ^
I absolutely will never ever subscribe to a sports news website because I'm too fickle but this was a great use of one of my four free premium articles. Thanks for sharing, OP!
October 27th, 2021 at 10:48 PM ^
Private browsing mode on SI resets your article count every time you open a new private browsing window.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:00 AM ^
Not sure where Harbaugh went mentally for a few years, but this season and this article are proof he’s back. The younger energy the new coaches brought has reignited joy and fun in the program. Good to see! And PS poor Jack, that ain’t gonna be easy
October 27th, 2021 at 11:36 AM ^
I don't like to make assumptions about someone's mental state, but it's undeniable that something clicked for him this year to snap out of a lull. Seems like the coaches and players he's surrounding himself with have a lot to do with it.
Whatever it is, I'm enjoying every second of it!
October 27th, 2021 at 12:33 PM ^
I think he has been consciously subduing himself on the sidelines and in front of the media ever since the 2016 OSU game. There was that penalty he got which extended an OSU drive (I think ultimately ended in a TD, my memory is hazy now) and I think he hasn't been able to forgive himself for that.
October 27th, 2021 at 2:06 PM ^
I hope he's forgiven himself, but I also hope he has NOT forgiven the refs for the, what?, twenty-to-zero ratio of penalties in that game
October 27th, 2021 at 4:51 PM ^
There were some really bad decisions in that game, but that play was not one of them
October 27th, 2021 at 4:01 PM ^
To your point Wampa, there is a link in this SI article about that horrible game, and painful as it was, I actually learned something new: JT Barrett is quoted saying he was "30% sure he'd made the 1st down." Yep, that means he was 70% unsure. I was there that day and all 111,000 of us were sure he hadn't. The 110,500 Ohio slappys were silent as they tried to reconcile what they had just seen during the official review. And the 500 of us in Maize and blue were screaming with joyful anticipation in the silent stadium. Until the refs did exactly what they'd done to M that entire game.
So yes, I for one forgive you for blowing your stack that day Jim. And I kind of feel like you've forgiven yourself and you're back. We need you more than ever. Help us kick the football from that bitch Lucy.
October 27th, 2021 at 5:17 PM ^
Harbaugh got an unsportsmanlike penalty for throwing a clipboard straight down on the ground (the 1st and only time throwing a clipboard straight down has resulted in a penalty) !
Meanwhile Urbz runs out PAST the numbers during the game the next year and doesn't even receive a warning. B1G had it in for Harbaugh during his first 2 seasons ... remember we got called for an intent to deceive penalty (isn't that what football is about?). 2016 refs included 4 refs that grew up in ohio and the referee was in the ohio high school football hall of fame ... yep ! and the B1G KNEW it and scheduled them to work it !!! enough said !
Go Blue!
October 27th, 2021 at 2:13 PM ^
I don't think he's quite all the way back to who he was (and won't be unless they beat OSU), but I'm convinced the weight loss and resultant energy boost have improved his coaching effectiveness.
Football coaches are best lean and mean, not fat and happy.
October 27th, 2021 at 3:30 PM ^
Well Mark Mangino was fat AND mean, and he won Kansas an Orange Bowl. Which these days is the equivalent of winning five national championships.
So there’s that.
October 27th, 2021 at 2:15 PM ^
I say this with no knowledge of what he's really thinking, but I think something really changed in him during that 2016 OSU game. He knows he could've (should've?) won that year, and his sideline outburst that gave OSU a fresh set of downs and TD the following play let them right back into the game, and eventually put them on the path to winning.
Again, I have no true idea, but if you made me guess, he thinks he let his team down in that situation and directly contributed to OSU's comeback, and probably beat himself up over it (maybe he still does) for a long time. So I'm guessing he decided to hold his emotions in check on the sideline in an attempt to not put his team in that position ever again. Which if all of this was true, I can't ever say I'd blame him for.
October 27th, 2021 at 2:54 PM ^
I never really bought into the "he was chastened by the 2016 game," mainly because I don't honestly think it's possible to change your personality deliberately that way.
My personal take was that, over time, he became as frustrated and disappointed as the fan base (the repeated losses in rivalry games and to higher-ranked teams), and it took its toll on him, emotionally. When you're winning -- especially when you're winning seven games in a row -- everyone's happy.
Let's just hope circumstances conspire to keep him in that happy state.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:08 AM ^
I said it earlier in the season, but more than his ability to coach, I'm glad that Coach Harbaugh seems to be enjoying life a little bit more these days.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:10 AM ^
Beat State!
Go Blue!
October 27th, 2021 at 11:17 AM ^
Awesome. Thanks OP. The moneyshots for me:
“It was very painful to go through, having guys who opted out or were—I don’t know, sore, or something. I just can’t go this week. This [in 2021] is just a group of guys who have become gritty, hard, tough. You have to pull them back. No, you can’t practice today instead of talking them into it. Maybe [they] saw some of that with guys who were bowing out. Where’s the fun in that?”
“I like the guys that like football,” he says. “And the guys that like football, they all like me back. And the ones that don’t like me? They’re the ones that know that I know that they don’t like football. They tend to avoid me. You want to get better at football? This is a fun factory.”
October 27th, 2021 at 11:24 AM ^
Not sure I'm in love with trashing the previous players in order to praise the current ones. I think we all know something about last year was "off", but those players were guys that he recruited and coached and he probably owes them a little bit more respect.
I think its pretty obvious that there wasn't any love lost between Giles Jackson and the team and if Michigan ever played Tennessee and Joe Milton got in there I think I would genuinely fear for his safety, but I think you can still point to a "Fresh Start" without explicitly calling out guys who played for you before.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:33 AM ^
my better half is on coaching staff of a DII women's basketball team, last year they had two players that refused to buy into the program, were not team players and were a total cancer in the locker room. underclassmen, who have a ton of talent, were contemplating transferring because it was that bad. The two problem players were not welcomed back and the difference in that team is unbelievable, night and day from last year. They are lining up to have a very special season.....
I can only imagine that is exactly the dynamic that JH is referring to. It only takes a couple bad apples to really handicap your locker room.
October 27th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^
It's not that I disagree with the premise, its that I don't like airing dirty laundry in a nationally published magazine article. Seems like there are ways to say the same thing without going into the weeds.
October 27th, 2021 at 2:06 PM ^
Did he name them? If not, I see no problem in giving a reporter an honest answer that goes beyond coach speak.
October 27th, 2021 at 12:49 PM ^
An underrated aspect to this is that you had little or no chance to repair the damage of the bad apples in a COVID year. If the locker room was broken, it stayed broken last year.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:50 AM ^
Sure, he recruited them. Sometimes recruits and the people around them aren't honest with coaches about their behavior, work ethic, etc. Maybe the coaching staff wasn't aware of all the warts. Maybe the person changed.
Regardless, it's not really a personal criticism. It's a criticism of one aspect of their lives. You can be a great person and humanitarian, but if you don't want to work hard at football, then you might not mesh with Harbaugh or any other number of coaches.
So I don't have a problem with what he said. I think we all saw players who were checked out last season, and that doesn't include the players who didn't play, period.
I said before the season that Jim Harbaugh has always been a good football coach. It's not a coincidence that the one bad season he's had out of the past 12 or so came during the pandemic. What, he magically forgot how to coach and develop kids in 2020 after winning 9.4 games per season at Michigan during his first five years?
There was also some stuff behind the scenes where players probably don't deserve a ton of respect, anyway. Good riddance to them.
October 27th, 2021 at 12:20 PM ^
Amen to this Magnus. So well said.
I was glad Harbaugh became our coach and am glad he remains. This story merely reinforced these conclusions for me.
October 27th, 2021 at 12:22 PM ^
This x100.
I think there's a big difference in what Bielema said two weeks ago, and what JH is saying here. I think it's safe to assume that Jim was being asked a direct question about the differences in last year and this year, the challenges of a COVID season, etc.
"Things are just different this year." has been a mantra that started sometime in the summer and has continued to resonate over the past four-five-six months now. This extends to the coaches as well. When players talk about how accessible and hands-on this year's coaching staff is, they're also alluding to the fact that the previous coaching staff was less hands on, more "CEO" type leadership. It doesn't mean that we don't appreciate the work that Don Brown, or Brian Jean Mary or whomever did. It also worked, to great effect, until it didn't anymore.
All this is, to me, is just a little bit, a tiny bit, more detail about what the real difference in last year's team and this year's team. Because quite honestly, there's not a whole lot different in terms of players. That's why there wasn't a whole lot of optimism going into this season. It's basically the same guys, with a few exceptions, and a bunch of new coaches.
The coaches are resonating more. The players are responding better. Nobody is a bad person (at least so far as I know). That's the difference.
October 27th, 2021 at 12:33 PM ^
This is exactly what “culture” and “leadership” really mean. Buying in, fighting for the team and teammates, loving football, loving the grind to get better.
October 27th, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
I don't have a problem with the principle of getting rid of the bad apples, nor do I subscribe to the idea that a good coach irons that sort of stuff out.
I'm just allergic to throwing other people under the bus and this feels like a bus throwing/deflection.
I agree with almost everything you wrote, I just think there were better ways to say "The attitude and culture is better" without drawing specific contrasts, especially when that seems to place the blame on someone besides yourself.
October 27th, 2021 at 1:45 PM ^
I might agree with you if this were a consistent issue, but that's not Harbaugh's modus operandi. He doesn't seem to be a guy who blames others. So in this case, maybe it was so significant last year that it deserves to be called out.
If I cuss all the time, nobody notices if I cuss this time when I'm mad. But if I never cuss, then you know I'm serious if I start cussing.
October 27th, 2021 at 2:16 PM ^
agreed.... its like people get pissed when we lose and the post game interview is all coach speak, "give credit to them, they out played us today. as a coach we have to do better, we have to prepare better... blah blah blah...."
its refreshing for the coach, JH or whomever, to actually name something that was wrong or went wrong. he didn't specifically name anyone or throw any individual under the bus. he referred to a real issue, involving a number of players who weren't as committed as they needed to be, assumedly they're gone, or changed their ways and its much better now... you can see that in the results. i think what he said was more praise on the team he has today than it was criticism of last year's squad.
ONWARD! GO BLUE!
October 27th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
Like I said, I'm allergic to throwing people under the bus and it seems like a way to deflect accountability.
You can deliver the same message without basically saying, "It's the fault of those other guys who aren't here anymore." It may not be Harbaugh's modus operandi, but it still not a great look. If the team knows it and is responding to it, that's one thing. I just don't love airing dirty laundry to a national magazine.
I'm clearly in the minority here, but I still don't like it and I have a feeling if this was an article about Frost saying the same thing in a turnaround year, he'd be getting torn apart.
October 27th, 2021 at 3:25 PM ^
Except he didn't throw anyone in particular under the bus, did he? Which players did he call out or disparage? Could you definitively name them? JH makes a point about the culture of the team without shaming particular players or throwing them under the bus. I have no issues with how he answered this.
October 27th, 2021 at 4:45 PM ^
If Scott Frost said the same thing, he would be in the midst of another losing season and people would still be wondering, "Why do you still have a losing culture here this far into your tenure at Nebraska?"
October 27th, 2021 at 11:26 AM ^
Aside from Milton, Jackson and maybe McCaffrey, when JH says that some guys were less that committed to the program, any idea who he might be referring to?
I have conflicting feelings on this sort of thing, but Rashan Gary was the first guy who came to mind.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:31 AM ^
I don’t think that’s fair speculation at all. It seemed like he was just talking about the 2020 season.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:44 AM ^
That's my take as well. It has to be tough to go forward when three of your best players (Nico Collins, Ambry Thomas, and Jalen Mayfield) opt out of the 2020 season. Mayfield opted back in only to get hurt not play again after the MSU loss. Cam McGrone opted out in the middle of the season. I don't think I would have worded it the way he did, but I can imagine the team morale may have been down due to things like that.
October 27th, 2021 at 11:51 AM ^
Cam McGrone opted out in the middle of the season? I guess he's still "opting out" in the middle of his rookie NFL year with that torn ACL that made him "opt out."