Jim Harbaugh's Stanford teams went 1-3 against Oregon during his tenure. Chip Kelly was OC at Oregon the first two of those 4 years and the HC the last two of those 4 years. RR is 2-1 against Oregon. Remember the 2007 Oregon team waxed manball Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Morgantown, WV can't be much warmer than Ann Arbor. A quick google search shows that the average low temperature in Morgantown, WV is ~35 degrees in November and the average low temperature in Ann Arbor is ~32.1 degrees in November.
RR's speed seemed to do well against teams in the tropical climates of Pittsburgh, Cincinatti, Rutgers (New Jersey) and UCONN.
You might want to look at a climate map before regurgitating cliches.
Coughlin, Parcells, Bill Walsh, Jimmy Johnson, Dick Vermiel,and Barry Switzer are examples of college to pro coaches who had more success than Pete Carroll and Harbaugh did in the NFL.
Harbaugh until his 4th year at Stanford to field a respectable defense. The first 3 years the defenses there were terrible. If you look at the numbers and the way Stanford won games in Harbaugh's first 3 years, Stanford was in a lot of shootouts. Following your logic, would you say Harbaugh only cared about the offense his first 3 years at Stanford? RR is only in his 3rd year at Michigan. A lot can change in one year, especially with the youth of our defense. Just look at the dramatic change Stanford's defense experienced this year when Fangio was brought in (Harbuagh's 3rd DC in 4 years btw).
While an argument could be made that Harbaugh is a better coach, it is a stretch to say that without any doubt. Coach Rodriguez has a longer track record of success at the FBS level than Harbaugh. I think it is unfair to compare Harbaugh's results after 4 years at Stanford with RR's after only 3 at Michigan. A lot can happen in one year to change perceptions. This is the first year Harbaugh has fielded a solid defense at Stanford. In fact, during RR's tenure at WVU, he had defenses ranked much higher than JH ever did at Stanford.
Since people insist on quantifiable measures, comparing records is one way. Another is to look at Stanford's steady improvement each year nationally in total offense, total defense, turnover margin and wins against top 25 teams. Or you could ask NFL GMs who are lining up their offers for the guy. Or AD's looking for a new head guy.
In 2006, they year before Harbaugh took over the position at Stanford, the Cardinal gave up 387.5 ypg in total defense. In 2007, Harbaugh's first year, the Cardinal gave up 435.5 ypg in total defense. In 2008, his 2nd year, 379.6 ypg was what Stanford gave up on average. In 2009, the defense at Stanford gave up 396.5 ypg. This year the Cardinal give up on average 330.4 ypg. These numbers don't reflect steady improvement on the defensive side of the ball under Harbaugh's watch. Stanford has had 3 different DCs under Harbaugh's watch. The first three years the defense was terrible. The dramatic improvement in the 4th year can be attributed to the hiring of Vic Fangio as DC. To say Stanford steadily improved under Harbaugh on the defensive side of the ball is wrong. It would be more accurate to say Harbaugh's first three years were marked by little to no improvement on defense, but with the hiring of Vic Fangio Stanford's defense made a dramatic improvement.
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Jim Harbaugh's Stanford teams went 1-3 against Oregon during his tenure. Chip Kelly was OC at Oregon the first two of those 4 years and the HC the last two of those 4 years. RR is 2-1 against Oregon. Remember the 2007 Oregon team waxed manball Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Morgantown, WV can't be much warmer than Ann Arbor. A quick google search shows that the average low temperature in Morgantown, WV is ~35 degrees in November and the average low temperature in Ann Arbor is ~32.1 degrees in November.
RR's speed seemed to do well against teams in the tropical climates of Pittsburgh, Cincinatti, Rutgers (New Jersey) and UCONN.
You might want to look at a climate map before regurgitating cliches.
team did Rodriguez actually inherit?
Harbaugh until his 4th year at Stanford to field a respectable defense. The first 3 years the defenses there were terrible. If you look at the numbers and the way Stanford won games in Harbaugh's first 3 years, Stanford was in a lot of shootouts. Following your logic, would you say Harbaugh only cared about the offense his first 3 years at Stanford? RR is only in his 3rd year at Michigan. A lot can change in one year, especially with the youth of our defense. Just look at the dramatic change Stanford's defense experienced this year when Fangio was brought in (Harbuagh's 3rd DC in 4 years btw).
While an argument could be made that Harbaugh is a better coach, it is a stretch to say that without any doubt. Coach Rodriguez has a longer track record of success at the FBS level than Harbaugh. I think it is unfair to compare Harbaugh's results after 4 years at Stanford with RR's after only 3 at Michigan. A lot can happen in one year to change perceptions. This is the first year Harbaugh has fielded a solid defense at Stanford. In fact, during RR's tenure at WVU, he had defenses ranked much higher than JH ever did at Stanford.
In 2006, they year before Harbaugh took over the position at Stanford, the Cardinal gave up 387.5 ypg in total defense. In 2007, Harbaugh's first year, the Cardinal gave up 435.5 ypg in total defense. In 2008, his 2nd year, 379.6 ypg was what Stanford gave up on average. In 2009, the defense at Stanford gave up 396.5 ypg. This year the Cardinal give up on average 330.4 ypg. These numbers don't reflect steady improvement on the defensive side of the ball under Harbaugh's watch. Stanford has had 3 different DCs under Harbaugh's watch. The first three years the defense was terrible. The dramatic improvement in the 4th year can be attributed to the hiring of Vic Fangio as DC. To say Stanford steadily improved under Harbaugh on the defensive side of the ball is wrong. It would be more accurate to say Harbaugh's first three years were marked by little to no improvement on defense, but with the hiring of Vic Fangio Stanford's defense made a dramatic improvement.
The numbers can be found at yahoo.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/stats/byteam?cat1=defense&cat2=Total&sort=1137&conference=I-A_all&year=2007
Offensively Harbaugh's teams at Stanford have consistently improved each year.
Since when does being mentioned for NFL jobs and other college job openings make one undoubtedly a better coach than another?