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RE: dressing the 19th skater…

RE: dressing the 19th skater.

I don't really see a downside here. That skater is a buffer against an on-ice injury or a different guy struggling.

Yeah, it's hard to get into the flow of the game if that guy isn't getting ice time and the coaches shouldn't be putting him out there just to get said ice-time, but there's really no downside. The guy gets to dress when he otherwise wouldn't and he has an outside shot of playing for the reasons mentioned above.

I don't have a problem with it.

Also, was anyone else really annoyed by MSU's backup goaltender standing the entire time at Munn? Every time Michigan was in the offensive zone on the left of the broadcast and the puck would come out to the blue line near MSU's bench, there would be a white sweater right there. A few times I thought Michigan was about to give up a breakaway and the other times you couldn't see what was going on at that part of the ice.

Old, out of touch man yells…

Old, out of touch man yells at clouds.

Everyone (not literally) loves, LOVES deep tourney runs by cinderellas. What a stupid statement to make as though it's fact.

And wet fart noises on the financial comment. The financial incentives and constant pursuit of additional dollars is what has continued to degrade sports.

O sure, can't complain about…

O sure, can't complain about the BTT trophy and their runs in the tournament over the last 2 seasons.

Though tournament runs are more random (BTT slightly less so with the 1st round being best of 3). You'd think a program with the ceiling Michigan has had these last 3 years, one of them would have seen consistency across the entire regular season to put them 1st in conference standings.

Minnesota has had a very…

Minnesota has had a very good program for the last... name a timeframe. But it has been slightly irritating that Michigan hasn't won a single season conference title these last 3 years (haven't won it since the conference came into existence).

This year, I get it because they lost a lot of talent but if you look at the Big Ten leaders in goals, assists, and points, it's a TON of Michigan guys. The top 6 point getters in conference are all Michigan guys. That being said, the defense has been downright bad at times and Barczewski isn't great.

The 2 years before that, with the talent they had? Ugh. Slow starts, random losses to inferior teams, olympics/christmas roster issues. Portillo's controller disconnecting. Mel being a dick. All of that played a role, but when you look at all that talent from the 2020 recruiting class onward, it's just kind of nuts it never happened.

Team is going to be…

Team is going to be unrecognizable next year, but that's not a bad thing necessarily.

Assuming the hire is a current CBB coach given the portal, would assume he brings a few guys with him. Maybe a recruit or 2 as well. Still going to be a bad team next year again.

I'd go to war with that …

I'd go to war with that little person!

Yeah, obviously context is…

Yeah, obviously context is different for Gallon and Wilson. Saying "better than Gallon" doesn't necessarily mean 1:1 production numbers.

That '13 offense was pathetic. They couldn't run the ball or protect Gardner, and Gallon only had Funchess as a 2nd banana so Gallon got force fed the ball a bit. He had 89 receptions in 13 games. Wilson was in a run first offense and only had 48 receptions in 15 games.

But if you were old enough to remember watching Gallon, the guy had "it" as a college WR. He was small. Didn't matter, he had rocket boots. He wasn't super fast. Didn't matter, he was quick and smart. He made practically every catch possible in his career. Routine catches. Back shoulder fades. Catches in traffic. Pliko deflections. Hilariously underthrown balls where he had to come back through a DB. He broke tackles. He re-routed through traffic. He was just awesome.

Also, he didn't just do it against the likes of Indiana. He put up good single game numbers against ND (2013 - 184 yards), Alabama (2012 - 107 yards), Iowa (2012 - 133 yards), and OSU (2013 - 175 yards) just to name a few.

Going to take this…

Going to take this opportunity to say Gallon was more than good. 

Pound for pound one of the best players in that Michigan football wasteland (and would be if he came along later as well) that was 2008 - 2014. Gallon had almost 1,400 yards and 9 TDs his senior year in that decrepit excuse of an offense. He was 5'8" and a better jump ball target than 6'4" Devin Funchess.

I WILL NOT HAVE THIS GALLON SLANDER!*

*not really slander, just needs more pumping up

Edit: Shit, now I'm in on this. Ignore the Imagine Dragons and yeah, this has a lot of Indiana stuff on it, but look at those catches. How many of those balls were outside of his frame and how many was there a DB draped all over him? Sooooo many great, quiet catches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL5yu-MkoUw

Shit, did anyone think to…

Shit, did anyone think to post this when Alford left?

"The Catapult data breach was real. It was OSU and they had data on all their teams handed to them by the company directly. Alford knows OSU is under super double secret investigation and will have to shut the program down for 10 years."

I saw guys not even attempt…

I saw guys not even attempt to box out, jog back in transition, and fail to stop the ball/look at each other to do it.

That didn't just happen in the last game. It happened constantly.

What about my analysis was…

What about my analysis was wrong? I didn't say he wouldn't take the job or that he wouldn't be a good hire. I simply didn't know why he would take the job given it's a lateral move given those facts.

Michigan may outspend OSU for his services, but most of this seems like an OSU coaching staff experiencing turnover and him not being happy with his situation.

It's a conversation going on…

It's a conversation going on Reddit right now.

Is Alford the best RB coach and recruiter in the nation? Probably not. But this is turning into what happens when a program loses a commit. All the fans suddenly say "he wasn't a take, wasn't good enough anyways."

Born in Ohio (didn't play…

Born in Ohio (didn't play for OSU) and has been at OSU since 2015. Has never coached at Michigan.

Not sure what the offer would have to be to get him to move over. Can't imagine Michigan would significantly out-spend OSU and he won't get a promotion out of it.

Haha true. I don't know if…

Haha true. I don't know if we'll ever know what happens there. Seems like CMU went quiet and the NCAA hasn't really come up with much after.

Yeah, this stuff happens…

Yeah, this stuff happens. Rules are not set up to account for every possible scenario. It's why the NFL changes their rules every offseason and further clarifies what a catch is. Because when they wrote the first rule, they didn't foresee every possible situation playing out.

I'm fine with punishment for the whole Stallions thing. Harbaugh was suspended for 3 games, 2 of which were the biggest of the year. That's a more severe punishment than coaches who... covered up sexual assault, covered up multiple player arrests, covered up assistant coaches beating their wives, coordinated direct funneling of money from boosters to players, companies to players. I could go on. It's not whataboutism. It's proportional punishment for the violation and the NCAA has never been consistently proportionate.

The burger incident was dead…

The burger incident was dead-period contact. During Covid there was a years long in-person dead contact period and those 2 recruits coming to campus (on their own) and meeting with Harbaugh caused the violations. The LBJ receipt proved he met in-person with 2 guys during that period.

It's still BS. OSU reported 20+ violations including dead period contacts under Day and they self-imposed some recruiting suspensions for assistant coaches for like 2 months. The NCAA didn't do anything else. Then OSU violated more rules 2 years later. NCAA didn't impose more punishments. And unsurprisingly, OSU just reported more violations like 2 weeks ago. So, break rules, self-report them, impose joke punishments, and then repeat. You can keep violating rules for years.

When people scream "cover up" or "scandal" at that, you know they're idiots because dead period contacts are violated constantly and are usually met with milquetoast punishments.

a member of the staff cannot…

a member of the staff cannot use an electronic device to record an opposing team's game.

This has been addressed by a lot of people, Seth, Bryan Mac, Raj (the last 2 being lawyers) and the recording rule is clearly for games that you are participating in. As in, Michigan cannot record OSU signs while playing OSU.

The advanced scouting rule has a bunch of holes in it, which is part of the problem/annoyance here. Did Stallions violate the spirit of the rule? Absofuckinglutely. But he didn't break the letter of the law with the exception of the CMU game.

Additionally, if Stallions breaking the spirit of the rule is the line in the sand that's to be drawn, well OSU/Purdue/Rutgers all participated in the same effective scheme. They used each other to coordinate sign stealing of a common opponent in advance.

The roster is bad and poorly…

The roster is bad and poorly constructed. They guys coming in next year won't elevate the team. Currently there's poor coaching, mediocre talent, and mediocre effort. Getting rid of Howard fixes at least 1 of those problems, maybe 2.

As for the Fab 5, I mean who really cares? They're not relevant to recruits or culture anymore. It was cool when Michigan was on the rise and bringing those guys back, but Rose and Weber aren't relevant to 17 year olds.

It's not just the results that are fireable, it's the entire operation. Guys jogging back, not picking up the ball handler. Not boxing out. Just general lack of effort and it starts with the HC.

2 things

The McMillan quote…

2 things

The McMillan quote is awesome. ThE SiGnS!!!!! Don't need signs to know what other teams are doing you complete morons. OSU runs 95% out of Pistol. Boy, I wonder what they're going to do when the line up in Pistol. Huh, run 100% of the time. Shocked Pikachu face.

The Hart / Harbaugh thing is not great. Kind of past the point of it mattering now, but a "there was an issue... and it will never be spoken of again" thing is a bit frustrating. Feels like we get a lot of there's a story here that people know about, but we'll never tell situations.

https://i.kym-cdn.com…

Not a perfect metaphor for this situation, but "you can't complain/want something unless you personally also do the thing you're advocating for." Even if that person has 1/10000th of the power to do so. Seth donated 1% of his wealth to an NIL. No one signs. Ross donates 1% of his wealth to an NIL (he's given way more for other things) and he gets like 5 recruits signed/year no problem.

I think Craig's point on NIL…

I think Craig's point on NIL and it devolving into Texas A&Ms everywhere is that you cannot have full free agency for all 85 scholarships (and walk ons) every single offseason.

The pros work because contracts have guarantees and players cannot hit the market every single offseason. In CFB, if those structures are not set up, then you cannot expect a player to be around for longer than a single year at any given time. Every offseason is a new contract negotiation with every single player.

The thing to note here, is…

The thing to note here, is that OSU has reported some sort of recruiting violations, I think 3 separate times under Day now?

So they break multiple rules, report it, NCAA doesn't enforce any greater punishment. OSU goes on their merry way. Like what happened after Day's 1 season when they reported 20+ violations all at once including dead period contacts.

OSU breaks more rules 2 years later, reports it, NCAA doesn't enforce greater punishment.

OSU breaks ANOTHER rule 2 years later, reports is, NCAA doesn't enforce greater punishment.

Self-reporting is valued to encourage "compliance" and reduce the administrative burden on the NCAA to carry out investigations and enforcement (what the NCAA argued was disproportionate when they debated removing the advanced scouting rule). But when a school violates a recruiting rule, secures the recruit, and receives a 2 week reduction in team events by 30 minutes each (or something that laughable) then the self-reporting doesn't really matter. It's "hey, we broke a rule but we're going to tell you we broke that rule so... we're done here. See you in 2 years where we do this whole charade again."

That's why when people pee their pants about Michigan's "scandal" regarding burgergate I roll my eyes. Michigan violated a rule that is widely violated. They suspended their HC 4 games because of his lack of "cooperation." There should be punishment. He was punished. More than OSU has been punished collectively for more than 30 violations under Day.

Sainristil's "weaknesses"…

Sainristil's "weaknesses" are uh.... not something I agree with.

Requires more seasoning? He had like 6 INTs and never got torched in coverage to my recollection. He played better in 2 seasons at CB than most do in 4 seasons.

Needs to get his head around faster in man? Again, when did he get hit with a DPI or miss an interceptable ball because he didn't turn his head?

Just weird.

2020 was a global pandemic…

2020 was a global pandemic that completely eliminated large parts of practice and development time, coupled with a coaching staff that was on its way out/didn't even set foot in the building (Safeties coach). It was also an outlier in the totality of Harbaugh's tenure. That being said, had covid not happened that team was still likely to end up in the 8/9 win area because they didn't have a QB, Brown should have been gone a year earlier, and the OL was young.

The basketball program has been on a consistent decline for years.

Year 1 they were a tournament team with some transition costs

Year 2 they were great and had Livers not gotten hurt, a NC level team (hell they almost made it there without him)

------ Beilein's guys are now mostly gone ------

Year 3 the were an 11 seed with an All-American center and two 1-and-dones that never came close to hitting any ceiling even as freshmen

Year 4 they didn't even make the tourney with an All-American center and two 1st round draft picks

Year 5 they are the worst team in the conference.

If you ignore all of the surrounding issues, that trajectory is just bad and consistent. Expecting the program to all of a sudden bounce back would require a belief that there's something there to support the bounce back.

A great recruiting class that just isn't on campus yet? Nope.

Star freshmen who are just not quite there yet, but they're going to step up? Nope.

A coaching staff that has continually gotten the most out of their talent and clearly developed an offense / defense scheme that they can rely on? Absolutely not.

here’s been no visual…

here’s been no visual confirmation that it’s a bad idea. 

We have more evidence to be pessimistic than optimistic.

He wasn't the actual back up last year. Tuttle was.

He has never thrown a pass in a college game.

He wasn't a great QB in HS. He was an awesome athlete playing QB like Denard but he was barely over 50% completions in high school.

Unless he is absolutely tearing it up in practice, it's far more reasonable to be worried than hopeful.

Yeah the spring portal is…

Yeah the spring portal is worrying. If Martindale comes in and doesn't quite gel with the culture and personalities, that could be a slight problem. The new DL coach sounds like he'll work out well at least insofar as culture fit goes. Really important they hit on the DB coach because Saab, Berry, and some of the younger DBs have options.

LB I think they're ok with Hausmann and Barham already transferring once.

WR is a massive blinking…

WR is a massive blinking yellow light. The entire passing game is really when you account for how the team is built right now and how it generally operates. Run first, fine, but when that run game isn't bashing team's into the center of the earth things get hairy real quick from a straight drop back perspective.

There are issues at every level of the passing game to varying degrees, but it spans volume, scheme, talent, and execution.

Volume wise, they just don't throw the ball enough to attract the WR (and to a degree QB) talent that could elevate the passing game.

Scheme wise they have issues getting guys open consistently. There are stretches where they can run Morgan on a deep post that's open for a TD against Bama or run Wilson on some motion to get him a quick 6 yard out. But you also have to look at the Washington game where guys were blanketed on a 3rd down (I think) where every WR was completely covered and every guy basically ran a 6 yard route (curl, pivot, and out). Maryland in 2022 running basically 4 verts into Cover 8 like 3 times giving JJ nothing to throw to. Guys got pressed off the field entirely or zones would cause confusion.

Talent again, not great, however Wilson and CJ tore up the Senior Bowl to a degree so it's odd that they could get completely wiped out of a game rather often. They also don't really develop talent all that well. Wilson got better over the years but CJ didn't. Clemons had the physical tools but never turned into anything. Anthony we all remember. Bell probably hit his ceiling given his size and physical traits, but still. They also kind of struggled with pass pro from time to time. Barnhart was a turnstile against good DEs. Henderson struggled this year for stretches as well. Before him they had Jones who just had mental lapses in '22 before his injury. Hayes was pretty good, but not great.

Execution sprinkles in across all of this. CJ puts a DB in a blender and JJ rips it 4 feet over his head. Guys end up 3 yards apart from one another or right in the passing lane (the 3rd down before the Corum conversion against Bama). Just weird stuff that doesn't look right.

Also, does anyone remember the last time they ran a straight go route? Like a Nico Collins, fuck you I'm going to catch this ball, 50/50 ball? think it was Edwards this year in the OOC schedule, but other than that I remember Baldwin against Wisconsin in '21? Maybe 1 or 2 after that. This kind of plays into the volume and scheme thing, but they haven't figured out how to use Edwards consistently in 3 years (injuries played a part in that) and while Loveland is really good, they also just don't spam the "throw him the ball button" when he gets LBs who can't keep up with him.

Here's his recruiting…

Here's his recruiting profile from Seth that compares him to Speight: https://mgoblog.com/content/2022-recruiting-jayden-denegal

Both were ~450 in the recruiting rankings. Tall, not the most athletic (Speight was derpy and Denegal had bad weight), and both kind of have a weird hitch in their throwing motion.

As for Orji, I don't think he's thrown a pass during a live game in college.

Yeah I get why Chip left…

Yeah I get why Chip left. OSU is in a better situation to succeed and Chip has proven he is no longer HC material in the college game (or anywhere). He would have been fired at the end of this upcoming season anyways.

His scheme is figured out and he hates recruiting so getting OSU-level talent to run his scheme (that might work if he has guys like LaMichael James and De'Anthony Thomas) having to put 0 effort to get those guys might give him a good season to leverage to a NFL OC job.

Wink isn't vastly different. He and the Ravens "parted ways" because Wink wasn't doing as well as he had and he took a demotion to a terrible NYG franchise where he did even worse because they're even less talented. Now he's out of a job again and maybe Michigan's returning talent gives his production a boost and he can leverage that into another NFL DC gig with better talent than the freaking Giants.

I think this isn't too…

I think this isn't too directionally different than the Wink hire.

Older guy who at one time created/adjusted a system that turned into something great and subsequently had younger guys come in and adapt it to make it better. Their methods and approach have worn out some and they haven't been as successful as of late.

Could an massive injection of talent be all it takes for their stuff to work again? Maybe. But there are definite concerns to work through in the process.

MacDonald struggled when…

MacDonald struggled when teams would run hurry up (MSU game specifically) and the defense generally was kind of undisciplined when dealing with college crappe. Throwbacks, weird reverses and such. College offenses are the more progressive/weird offenses.

Still worth the trade off.

Yes, to a degree.

I have a…

Yes, to a degree.

I have a 16 month old that has put my wife and me through the wringer so this past season was even somewhat difficult to follow as closely as I once did. My wife would give me some time to watch games/let me take over the TV for the night games when she'd otherwise probably want to watch something more enjoyable.

So given that, I'll probably opt to skip most of the games that will end up being 31-10 snooze-fests.

Additionally, just the way the sport is going makes it less appealing. I think players should be paid, but the complete lack of coherent rules and enforcement make the whole sport a bit of a joke. There used to be some semblance of cloak and dagger, but now it's Miami straight up buying guys to then lost 4 games/season. The few players who want to play for a specific school outside of mostly monetary reasons has declined and you can feel the lack of loyalty to a program that the fans have. Right or wrong, that's just how it is.

The playoff has made the regular season less important and that was one of the most exciting factors that CFB had over the NFL. The Lions lose a week 5 game to the Eagles? Ok, whatever. Michigan loses a week 7 game to PSU and that might be all it takes to end the run. While there are downsides to that model, it increases the drama every single week. Now, if I miss a game that they lose to Oregon? No big deal. It incentivizes me to not care as much on a week to week basis.

Plus, the game experience is just bad now. There are so many damn commercials and I just can't sit through 3 hours of shit to watch 25 minutes of action.

He may be promoted to run…

He may be promoted to run game coordinator or something to help contribute. He may be promoted to run game coordinator or something to help contribute. 

He was running game coordinator last year. 

That opening line... it…

That opening line... it sound so familiar. Almost as if it was used by another program just recently.

Multiple things can be true…

Multiple things can be true.

Warde was fighting an uphill battle trying to get Harbaugh to stay. Similar with Bakich and the tennis coach who left for Florida. And Beilein didn't want to deal with the new landscape in college.

On the other hand, what have his accomplishments been? Not firing Harbaugh after 2020 is really about it.

He had Beilein and Harbaugh on staff when he was hired. So he didn't really do much in the 2 biggest sports. He hired Howard and while they had a few dead cat bounce years, it has turned into an embarrassment.

Hired Mel, which was the most obvious choice and pretty sure I could have been the AD and Mel would have come back to Michigan given his past and connection to Red. Warde then proceeded to completely bungle that investigation and firing.

Fired the women's volleyball coach awkwardly, who was good but not great. Never really got the full scoop there.

Hutch retired, can't do much given she was the program. But now women's softball is just... there.

In summary, the most successful programs Michigan has had under Warde have been where coaches were here before he was hired. Non-revenue producing sports also don't really see coaching turnover (firings) unless they seriously fuck up or create an embarrassment for the University so he hasn't made any great hirings or firings there because not many people care. Basically, had you put me in charge of the AD for those specific responsibilities (hirings and firings) I don't know that the outcomes are any different. He's good at running the department to make a bunch of money. There's value in that, but how much?

Bit of confirmation bias…

Bit of confirmation bias there.

An offense that is built to consistently recruit great FBs/hybrid guys is not better than one that can consistently recruit great WRs and QBs. On average, the ceiling is lower and the ability to consistently compete at the mountain top is lesser.

The 2021-2023 run will forever be remembered for its greatness, but it was built off the backs of a resurgent NFL defense and OL. It was largely successful because of those units, not the WRs, QB, or even Bredeson (who was awesome).

I'm not saying go full on OSU and throw the ball around the yard. I'm saying and offense that can get good WRs and QBs is better than 1 that can get ok WRs and QBs but awesome FBs.

We talk about Michigan's…

We talk about Michigan's struggles recruiting WRs and in some cases elite QBs due to the run-heavy offense that has dominated the playbook in the Jim Harbaugh era, but the flip side of that coin is the system makes it much easier to land prospects like Eli Owens.

Uhh, I don't think that coin is worth the same heads up as it is tails up.

I don't necessarily disagree…

I don't necessarily disagree with your overall point, but that 2020 team was screwed regardless. More practice time isn't making Joe Milton feasible for the entire season. More practice time isn't going to finally get Gattis to realize Milton can throw the ball 50 yards but not 12. Cade isn't dragging that team to massive heights like he did in '21 with that OL. It's also not going to fix the defense that was about to completely implode under Brown and Zordich specifically.

That team was poorly constructed (all of the big contributors in '21, '22, and '23 were fresh faced babies) and really they only had Collins, Paye, Hutchinson, McGrone, and Thomas.

Non-covid 2020 Michigan still probably only gets to 9-4ish. That actually could have been worse in retrospect because we can handwave away that season because of covid. Without it, it would have been another meh year with no excuses.

Missed the hyphen in that…

Missed the hyphen in that one.

Harbaugh has a perfectly…

Harbaugh has a perfectly legitimate reason to legally protect himself from the NCAA's roulette of random punishments. Any agent/contract lawyer would be incompetent if they weren't advocating for their client to have built in protections from a rogue, independent authority that hands out punishments in no rational manner.

That all being said, Harbaugh said last year he was done with the NFL stuff. Then he said he'd coach at Michigan as long as they'd have him. That's clearly not the case. Leaks have come out about Warde and whatnot, but nothing straight up just saying he's annoyed with the NCAA and it's not worth staying at Michigan if he has to deal with it.

He has issues with Warde and doesn't want him to have singular authority to fire him if the NCAA decides the recruiting stuff if beyond the pale? Again, fair. But dealing with this in the manner that he has, shouldn't lead anyone to believe Harbaugh isn't playing a role in this.

If he wants to leave, sure I have no problem with that and he has earned the right to go out in a blaze of glory. But he's not doing this in a manner that isn't kind of annoying.

Yeah, his shortcomings…

Yeah, his shortcomings across the athletic department should be enough for the University to look elsewhere, but that'd be the case if Harbaugh was already resigned and there was no contract issue.

While it's unlikely that…

While it's unlikely that Michigan picks up guys currently in the portal no matter the circumstances, Harbaugh's current NFL interest certainly does remove significant opportunities to land any transfers at all.

Just because Michigan can't bring in an Alabama kid because of NIL reasons doesn't mean Harbaugh isn't also dragging those chances down as well.

Will Smith getting in on the…

Will Smith getting in on the action?!

False choice.

It's not…

False choice.

It's not every single offseason takes 4 NFL interviews version of Harbaugh or headset-less G5 coach who couldn't tie his shoes unless Denard showed him (who also didn't tie his shoes).

If it is an NFL thing, I'm…

If it is an NFL thing, I'm perfectly fine with that. You can't compete with something that someone desperately wants to do from a deep level. If Michigan could name him emperor and it wouldn't change his mind, that's fine. But he doesn't need to go about it in this manner. He has agency here and he is choosing to make statements like (paraphrasing):

"I'll coach here as long as they'll have me."

"This was the last time." (regarding interviewing for NFL jobs)

before going out and doing the exact opposite of what those statements imply.

Obviously not everything lines up with jobs coming available exactly when he wants them or teams even offering him the job, but he has had plenty of opportunities at this point to emphatically declare that he will go to the NFL or not. He can be picky about where he goes, but at this point it's clear he wants a very specific thing that isn't necessarily available everywhere he's interviewed.

As for Warde, firing your AD because the football coach doesn't like him sets precedent. The football coach becomes the de facto head of the athletic department and we make fun of Izzo/MSU for that all the time. Is Warde worth the position anymore? Probably not. But again Harbaugh has a role in this and he is choosing to make it a problem. So fire Warde, I'm ok with that given his larger body of work, but Harbaugh doesn't need to publicly fire someone above him in the manner that he is.

See my other comment, it's…

See my other comment, it's not necessarily about hurting the team in 2022 so much as it's putting the program at a disadvantage going forward.

Alabama just lost like 1/2 of its roster because Saban retired. I don't think the "come to Michigan where you will lose your HC immediately again" is a good pitch to those guys.

Gatlin Bair is still out there as one of the few remaining uncommitted recruits. Wouldn't be surprised if he goes to Oregon where Lanning has said emphatically he's not going anywhere over a program that doesn't know who their HC will be next year (or other coaches who might depart). Also their passing game is far more attractive.

Generally speaking 2025 and 2026 recruits are also impacted by this. Will a kid ever come out and say "I didn't choose Michigan because Harbaugh interviewed with the Chargers"? No, but that doesn't mean the in flux nature that is Michigan's offseasons every year doesn't have an impact.

I wouldn't fault him in the slightest if he were to leave. But I can grow tired of him not being able to just make a decision and go with it. Shit or get off the pot if you will.

You're arguing with…

You're arguing with... nobody really. People aren't saying he has to forgo any and all other job interviews forever. He said he would last year and didn't stick to that anyways.

The point is, these potential NFL moves are fine in the grand scheme of things given what he's delivered, however it's not crazy to get a little uneasy with them and roll your eyes the... 3rd time around.

He/Sam has talked about feeling "loved." I'm not going to go hold a boombox above my head in his driveway to beg him to stay. Fans have shown him how much he is appreciated and "loved" around here.

It seems like it's a Warde issue more than anything else. Literally the rest of the University (players, fans, admin) are behind him so these leaks and reports about the contract language that would keep Warde from firing him, legally are fine, but it's becoming a "what else could you possibly want from us" situation. If you hate Warde, fine, then handle that shit with Warde. But at this point you can't just say it's 100% Warde because it's kinda Harbaugh too.

And he has said before how much he loves Ann Arbor and the last NFL dance was the final ride. Yet he's back to doing it again so it seems a bit disingenuous.

If every single season he is going to take NFL calls you have to build that into the cost-benefit. Michigan isn't going to fire him or let him walk for those calls, but you can't be surprised when people start to think, "yeah this is starting to be stupid."

Teams recruiting where Michigan are winning a NC has literally happened once. We've seen Alabama implode and their players hit the portal but Michigan can't really go after them because of what Harbaugh is doing. Sustaining playoff runs in the new CFB with recruiting issues (NIL and others included) and not being able to grab transfers when other programs are in flux (because Michigan is also in flux) does hurt long term prospects. It just does. Do I hate Harbaugh for it? No. Do I find this song and dance kinda silly, yes.

In saying, "it does hurt…

In saying, "it does hurt Michigan," would M have won more of a National Championship had JH not had those offseason interviews?

So, it's too early to tell because the NFL conversations have really kicked up these last 3 years. The key players from this team were largely already on campus when it really started, the transfers coming in were riding the upswing, and assistant coaches were new enough that they weren't likely to get plucked by other programs/the NFL. So my concern is more forward-looking.

Hart interviewed for a HC job and is well within his right at this point to look for an OC job. After 2021, that wasn't a fear.

MacDonald went back to the NFL after 1 year but that was always a rental. Minter is likewise but he had a longer college track record and wasn't on a meteoric rise. Going from Vanderbilt to Michigan to whatever was going to take a few years. He's going to have plenty of opportunities now.

As Brian mentioned, they just went back to back to back playoff appearances and their recruiting hasn't seen much of an uptick. There's NIL and other things playing into that, but you can't argue that this stuff isn't a factor as well.

So, the longer this goes on the more it hurts the 2024 / 2025 teams that will already be dealing with a ton of departures.

He won a championship and…

He won a championship and returned Michigan to the mountaintop. We can also be annoyed by how he handles offseason interviews and whatnot.

He wants to get an idea of what exists out there in the NFL. All fine and good. But it does hurt Michigan and it's ok to acknowledge that.

Alabama's defense was good,…

Alabama's defense was good, but yeah they put up 20 points in regulation against them. That wasn't a banger of an offensive game. They had drives and plays that were very, very good, but they also clunked around for almost an entire half. To a lesser extent that happened against Washington as well, but really it's how the unsuccessful drives play out. They're not 2-3 first downs and a punt. Those drives are more like 3 yards and a punt.

Here's the drive chart against Alabama:

2 yards; punt

75 yards; TD

20 yards: punt

4 yards; punt

83 yards; TD

21 yards; punt

2 yards; punt

1 yard; punt

20 yards; missed FG

75 yards; TD

25 yards; TD in OT

So their non-scoring drives averaged 10 yards. Four 3 and outs that didn't even result in 10 yards if you put them together.