The negativity about Coach Harbaugh is irrational.

Is he practicing the players right? Our D line is always beat to shit. Players cramping all the time.

As Michigan fans our expectations are set way too high. We are back to the Carr years, post his NC. I think it will take a few more years before Harbaugh gains the talent and depth to compete with the big boys. I don't think OSU is one of these elite teams, so hopefully Harbaugh can start beating OSU. I just  hope Harbaugh does not leave for the NFL in the next 5 years.

Glad Coach doesn't care what those who are negative think.

Yapping dogs are gonna yap.

I like the last sentence of your post, Mineral King. I remember telling people who botched about Lloyd Carr to be careful what they wished for because they just might get it. And then they got it. And we got RR and Hoke. And we went from 10 win seasons and Rose Bowls to missing bowl games altogether. The grass ain't always greener, folks ...

Despite my nuclear frustrations with Harbaugh and co, my core conviction remains the same that Harbaugh is the best coach for us and will continue to be. When we reach the top of the pinnacle, we'll look back at these years of frustration with much appreciation for the journey and not the end destination. 

Harbs isn't going anywhere.  

But they have to make some big changes to their playbook.  Cant say much about Black since he's played so little, but I think DPJ & Nico have to be among the best 10-15 WRs in the country.  It's criminal how little they are used.  If the ball is anywhere near them they are coming down with it.

Get the ball to your best players guys.  Way overcomplicating things if you think otherwise. 

Yes, Michigan needs better players. But the reality is, Michigan won't attract better players until they perform better in bigger games.

That won't necessarily require different coaches, or even a new offensive playbook. I keep seeing "an up and coming OC", which is a bit naive, because any succesful up and coming coach like that will be up and going, unless it is to take over.

What it will take is reflection and utilizing the playbook differently. It will require adjustments to game and clock management. Entirely doable, unless Harbaugh is too stubborn to change.

 

I hate how some people can't realize that our criticism of Harbaugh doesn't at all mean we're saying he has to be fired.

On the surface, you are right. But, dig deeper and that 0-4 vs OSU, lack of identity and questionable play calling(still), exposure of the D, and downright atrocious play against top ranked opponents justifies the negativity. Don't you think?

So they keep saying

My internal view of Jim Harbaugh has been in "conundrum" mode for some time. Off-field I believe he is the best coach in college football. On-field he is on the fringes of the conversation. Even a thoughtful discussion of this matter, as I view it, would not provide any clear answers to my "conundrum"".

I believe that having a strong belief in ones principles are good and important. However, as my grandfather would occasionally advise, "A man who will not change his mind isn't much of a man" comes to mind as well. Because, sometimes we discover that even our best intentions are flawed. I believe that Jim Harbaugh values loyalty to individuals too highly...and it is very likely that the team is being given less priority than individuals. I am struck by this when I hear Dabo Swinnney's response to questions about his decision about his QB's earlier this year..."It was the right thing to do for the team". We have nibbled at this discussion on this forum recently with regards to how a player practices...and who plays. This is another "conundrum" matter. However, one would be hard pressed to say that, here, Swinnney and Saban do not do very well in this regard.

I believe that Jim Harbaugh is an outstanding man to lead Michigan football...I also believe that he both can and should do better on the field.

0 and 4 against Ohio State. 

A M E N.

I remember people bitterly complaining about Carr 2 years removed from ‘97.

we are a ridiculously negative fan base. 

RR and Hoke should show us it can, has, and often does get worse.

Harbaugh is good. He recruits well. He gets good assistants. From the outside it seems like he actually gives a shit about the non football lives of the players. 

I’m on board. 

Im a firm believer the internet has wrecked being a fan. People vent too much. When I was at Michigan we rarely had double digit wins in a weaker B1G but the trolls had no where to go.

And the last loss ... humiliated & allowed the most points EVER

The long sleeves & dark black or blue shirt in 80 & sunny does annoy me. Who else does that? Look like a professional - not a mindless clown.

I was telling buddies he would build a Bama like program in 4 or 5 years when he come here Fwiw.

Hard not to be bitter after the last 2 games.  Something definitely happened, the unraveling began against IU and snowballed down hill into a massive crash.  Taste is very bitter.  Maybe the first assignment he gives the new WR's coach is to steal his older brother's playbook!  At least have him and the QB come in to talk offensive philosophy.  

Amazing how 1 series changes the game, especially in a bowl game.  Turner goes to the house, instead he steps out and FL stops 2 short yardage plays.  Momentum of the game does a 180!

I am with Harbaugh, but if he doesn't adapt to the modern game, he will end up like Jose Mourinho (just fired from Manchester United). 

No, no - "fans" are much happier being pissed and calling for several coaches' heads. This cycle has worked so well for us since 2007.

Harbaugh is our coach and I don't want that to change. 

He's one of us.  He lived in South Quad, and he attended classes in Angell Hall, froze his butt off walking to classes across campus, probably fell asleep in the undergrad library and probably staggered out of Dooley's and Rick's on multiple occasions.  Yes, I'm projecting some.

I know, being a alum doesn't necessarily make you the best fit as coach, but he knows what he is doing and he's just a bit goofy like the rest of us.

Harbaugh invites negativity because he conducts himself like he is better than what he really is.  The absurd signing day crap with the wrestler clown, the juvenile SEC baiting, the field trips, all that endless fluff of the first couple years. . .he acted like a Big Man, like he had already won something . . .and then when it turned out he couldn't beat anybody, he's disappeared. . .he's a zero. . .he didn't even make himself available on signing day this year. . .because he was too chickenshit to face the media after getting his ass beat so bad by Meyer.  Nobody likes that kind of fraud.  The shit-starter who hides when the shit hits the fan.  He looks small.  Look how he blew off Mullen after the Peach Bowl.  Small.  Petty.  Fucking baby.   And it's probably no coincidence that his team plays small in big games.  

I don't want a new coach, but what frustrates me about Jim Harbaugh is that he has everything he needs, right at his fingertips.

His lack of meaningful success is 100% self-inflicted.

He can recruit at the highest levels:  Recruits love his NFL connections, he's got the Michigan name and tradition and family atmosphere, being in the Big Ten East gives us share of mind in the talent-rich areas of NJ and DC/MD/VA, he plays in the Big House, with the coolest unis in college football, before the largest crowd in the country every single week, in the perennially highest-rated college town in America. 

Michigan is the winningest team in college football in both number of victories and winning percentage.   

And the Urban Meyer aberration is even over:

https://mgoblog.com/diaries/can-michigan-recruit-ohio-state%27s-level-without-urban-meyer-picture

He is in one of the "glamour divisions" of college football, the Big Ten East.  The Big Ten is challenging enough to be relevant, but not so challenging that it's not winnable.  He has a realistic shot at the CFP every single year.

He has a supportive, almost adoring, AD and fanbase and alumni and donors.

He has it all. 

IT. ALL.

The only thing holding him back is himself.

He won't let go and get an effective college-friendly offensive scheme and coordinator.  That is all he needs.

There is nothing that James Franklin did that he can't do. 

There is nothing that Ryan Day is going to do that he can't do.

There is no environment in college football other than Alabama that he can't replicate.  

He just has to want to.  That is all he needs to do.

Even Nick Saban, with all his wicked 5 star talent, adapted and changed his comfortable philosophy to keep up with where college football was going.  Alabama looks completely different today than it did even 5 years ago.  That was likely not a comfortable transition for Saban, but it was an effective transition.

There is no shame in getting some useful help.  

Stop being so stubborn and trying to prove everybody wrong.  Start adapting and winning.

Lmao at the wrestler clown! 

True tho - I thought that was over the top looking back. 

Please stop being so rational and reasonable. 

Harbaugh has won 77% of his games in 3 of his 4 years at Michigan (73% overall)....... The 1980's Michigan won 76% of their games, 1990s was 78% win rate and 2000-2007 "The Carr Years" they won 73%.

Since 1975 Michigan has had a total of 3 season(s) where they ended the year with less than 2 losses and two of those years were a 9-0-3 record and a 10-1-1 while Ohio State has had 12 of these type years since then. 

If we're going to be calling 10-2 regular seasons as bad than we are never going to be satisfied because the reality this program almost never plays above those levels. Harsh reality but true, we should be penciling in a 10-2 regular season at best every year before the season because 95% of the past 43 seasons that's been the case. 

The only thing different nowadays compared to the past is Ohio State has went to levels that Michigan has NEVER been the last 40 years and probably can't ever get too, winning 90% of their games. That's what's hurting chances at acquiring Big Ten titles more than anything else.

Michigan actually had the best overall season resume of the conference teams this year and that's why they were 6 point road favorites against the Buckeyes because of how much better they played in all of their games this season. It's also why they were ahead of them (and still was after their loss) in nearly every computer poll as well. Yet because OSU won a few awful played games (for them) they ended up winning the conference title despite what most Buckeye fans would say was an unenjoyable season overall. 

I'm not on either side of this argument, just presenting the facts. This is where the program is at, enjoy it and hope OSU comes back down to earth and we catch a few breaks every couple years with easy non-conference (non-conference teams not in top 10) and win a close games (Iowa 2016) and then maybe if so we can go 11-1.  

The concerning thing to me is that we blocked 2 punts and still got blown out.

Harbaugh has a lot of work to do this offseason.  

Wake up people... it’s coming... this thing is going to be rolling.

If Harbaugh doesn't change the offensive scheme, then nothing's going to be rolling. Won't matter how good the players are. Saying things will improve just because they will is as bad as saying Harbaugh should be fired.

Famous Mgoblog quote from the RR era that was EVERYWHERE: "you can't win with a finesse offense, might work against teams with lesser talent but not against the big boys"

2018 quote: "you can't win with a power offense, might work against teams with lesser talent but not against the big boys"