Bye Rich Rod, Hello Jim Harbaugh - ESPN Insider

Submitted by turbo cool on

ESPN insider info. Just wondering if this guy is giving his opinion as to what Michigan should do or if he actually had some 'insider info' as to and grumblings in the AD. I'd appreciate it if anyone could be able to expand on that.

Engin77

November 2nd, 2009 at 12:07 PM ^

but is it email from someone named "Michael Bradley"? Looks like someone was venting after the game at Illinois, but the comment

Another year of spread offense at a time when defenses seem to be making headway in stopping it could keep Michigan behind the schematic curve.

indicates someone wasn't watching Oregon demolish USC.

Beavis

November 2nd, 2009 at 11:46 AM ^

It's three paragraphs, barely says anything.

Basically - Michigan isn't Indiana and we don't have time to build a program. RR has "leveled" the nation's winningist program and he thinks that Harbaugh should be given a shot (mentions the criticism Harbaugh had of the program 2 years ago).

West Texas Blue

November 2nd, 2009 at 11:49 AM ^

Provide facts? Supporting evidence? We are talking about ESPN, right?

Let's see Harbaugh actually make a bowl game before anyone starts pimping his name out for Michigan's next coach. They play Oregon, Cal, USC, and ND in their 4 remaining games.

The Bugle

November 2nd, 2009 at 11:52 AM ^

Wow. After reading that article, it makes me wonder how much kool-aid I'm drinking or if the MSM is really far off on its opinion of UM. The article called out GERG for not playing different CBs and seemed to be flabbergasted that we didn't have any potential draft picks from Rodriguez. Is there really an expectation to have a draft ready freshman/sophomore who RR drafted, and how the hell is RR supposed to deal with the absence of talent over night, Free Agency?

I understand that this article brought up a few points that are valid and everyone knows. We have terrible depth and a terrible defense. But, why doesn't anyone recognize in the MSM that changing coaches at this time would lead to even greater futility?

Kilgore Trout

November 2nd, 2009 at 11:56 AM ^

For what it's worth, I like Harbaugh. What he said was stupid, but I'm not sure it was inaccurate when it really comes down to it. Plus, he was my favorite player when I was a kid, and I still wear #4 in rec basketball and softball today because of him.

Bando Calrissian

November 2nd, 2009 at 12:18 PM ^

Yet the fact remains, and you'll hear this from anyone with connections to Athletics, that Harbaugh's repeated rants burned every bridge he ever had in Ann Arbor amongst the powers that be. If he had just said what he said once and backed away from it/let it be, that's one thing. The fact that he kept coming back to beat the dead horse ticked off a LOT of people that he probably shouldn't have ticked off if he ever intended on returning to Ann Arbor.

Personally, I find it hard to believe that someone who had a dad that coached for Michigan, who was a ball-boy as a kid, came to Michigan and became an all-everything quarterback, legend-status, all of that, would NOT want to come back to his alma mater. That's why his comments and the way he went about the situation are so baffling.

That being said, I agree with you that he had a point. But that point should have been left at its initial mentioning.

Engin77

November 2nd, 2009 at 12:38 PM ^

namely, why would Jim Harbaugh burn all his bridges back to Ann Arbor as he has. The only conclusion I can come up with is that he's completely become a West Coast guy, has no aspirations to coach anywhere else, and decided to burn the M connections in some kind of attempt to boost his credibility (with every non-M person) at the start of his first year as a Div 1 head coach.

mr. arbor

November 2nd, 2009 at 1:19 PM ^

Where is the journalistic integrity in posting an article based wholly on one persons speculation, conjecture and frustration?

I gotta say, im not thrilled with how the last 5 games went (Del State asside) but REALLY? REALLY? Enough with the boot R. Rod shit, it makes us look like a bunch of cry babies.

As defined by Merriam-Webster, rebuilding means: to make extensive repairs to : reconstruct b : to restore to a previous state.

What the F do you expect after we implement a whole new offensive and defensive scheme w/o proper personel. Im just glad that i had such a great september and we better beat PURDUE TO GET INTO A BOWL.

LASTLY, regardless of what happend over past 5 weeks and what may happen over the next two... a win over OSU makes it all ok!

BlueinLansing

November 2nd, 2009 at 12:08 PM ^

classic 'hook line and sinker' articles to make Insiders feel like they're getting special content.

Another nothing opinion presented as 'news', ........special report section from the Freep tommorrow.

FrankieMachine

November 2nd, 2009 at 12:18 PM ^

that the next high level draft pick on the roster behind Graham is Ortmann. Seriously? No love for Warren? Koger, Molk, and Martin are all far more likely to be high-level draft picks than is Ortmann.

Fuzzy Dunlop

November 2nd, 2009 at 12:20 PM ^

As others have said, ESPN Insider is useless. A week or so ago, they had a post claiming that Lloyd turning down the AD job was good for Rodriguez, since Lloyd was one of the guys who had pushed for Les Miles to get the job. Really??? Here I, and everyone else who has a clue about Michigan football, thought that Lloyd was the driving force AGAINST Miles. The fact that ESPN could publish something like that is outrageous - ESPN Insider is the asshole at the bar who only knows facts about the Yankees, yet pretends to be an expert about every other team in the league and will make things up to sound smart, assuming that most people won't be able to call him on it.

Tater

November 2nd, 2009 at 12:37 PM ^

The writer uses the ages-old stereotype that you have to have bulk instead of speed to succeed in the Big Ten. That stereotype and the fact that most Big Ten coaches still buy into it has damaged the Big Ten more than anything and is responsible for its reprehensible record in bowl games.

As for Harbaugh, I used to hope that he would someday "come home" to UM, but that was before his little UM rant. I think he has burned too many bridges. And I don't know if the parents of many recruits would buy into his arrogant "I'm from Michigan and we're smarter than you" personality. It may be true, but a little diplomacy is neccessary in the living rooms of recruits and their parents. I think his idea of the "right way" would result in terrible recruiting targets and classes.

Besides one great upset of USC, it's not like Harbaugh has really done much. He's 5-3 right now, but let's see how his record looks after the next four games: Oregon, at USC, Cal (One of the most bitter rivalry games in the country), and Notre Dame.

RR, like pretty much any college coach, should be given a chance to field a team with his seniors on it. Then, anyone thinking of firing him will have a sample of sufficient size to make such a decision.

I think RR will take UM to a National Championship or two before it's over.

Engin77

November 2nd, 2009 at 12:56 PM ^

especially by recent Stanford standards. The offensive styles are quite contrasting; this year Stanford features a power running attach which fared pretty well out of conference and against the lower tier of the Pac Ten, but they lost on the road @OSU and @Arizona. Their next three foes are tough: Oregon, @USC, Cal, then they finish with ND in Palo Alto.

Don

November 2nd, 2009 at 1:14 PM ^

You're already forgetting his dong-punching ability. When he keeps his pad level low, he delivers a blow to the scrotum like nobody else.

Maize and Blue in OH

November 2nd, 2009 at 2:52 PM ^

This rumor is about a month old. After the Iowa loss, my OSU neighbor said that the OSU message boards were stating that UM was getting rid of RR after the season and hiring Jim Harbaugh. He wanted to know what I thought about that and I told him that Harbaugh had burned his bridges and RR wasn't going anywhere.

bronxblue

November 2nd, 2009 at 3:12 PM ^

Insider always struck me as a way to hide mediocre writers behind a paywall so that those who read it felt like the writer had "real" information when oftentimes it was pure conjecture covered with a healthy bit of hubris. You bring Harbaugh in, what is he going to do? He's not going to run the spread offense, so you get 2-3 more years of rebuilding, this time with a pro-style offense filled with spread-style kids. Then he'll go sub-.500 and people will scream for Coach X to step in and fix the mess. This is the script that schools like Nebraska and ND have fallen for in recent years, and look where that got them. Give RR 4-5 years; if he is still fielding middling offenses and bad defenses, consider it a bad marriage. Right now, stay the course might not be the sexy choice, but it is the right one.