Article On Letting Harbaugh Help Pick His Boss (AD) At Michigan
November 7th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
November 7th, 2014 at 12:30 PM ^
Which is one of the reasons why I don't think Harbaugh takes the job if offered.
November 7th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
at this kind of detail but my guess is that Stanford had a talent gap that took Harbaugh some time to build up at Stanford. To Brady Hoke's credit we won't have that type of gap. And our issue is primarily one of coaching, development, pre game strategy, and in-game strategy.
I would love to hear more knowledgeable opinions on this thought.
November 7th, 2014 at 10:57 AM ^
I have nothing further to say on the subject. I promise.
November 7th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
November 7th, 2014 at 2:22 PM ^
November 7th, 2014 at 11:12 AM ^
I love how people openly assume harbaugh's packing his bags and looking at Ann Arbor neighborhoods now.
November 7th, 2014 at 11:11 PM ^
I think it is because we have come to see Harbaugh as hope itself.
We have sucked for so long,
We have lost so many games to our greatest adversaries,
We are not in the coversation when it comes to college football on a national scale,
Recruits run away from us.
He is a winner,
He has won wherevere he has been,
He played here,
He has that connection to Bo Schembechler
He is so much like Bo it is almost scary,
The politics won't faze him,
The rivalries won't faze him,
The challenges won't faze him,
He is the best most likely candidate to succeed.
Add all of this up, and Harbaugh has become the personification of hope for this football program, and it's fanbase, you know what they say, "You Gotta Have Hope."
November 7th, 2014 at 12:12 PM ^
On its face, the premise is not so absurd. Any academic department faculty chooses the chair of their department. They may even solicit feedback from their students while doing this. A search for a new Tenure Track professor gets feedback from anyone and everyone willing to give it. Search committees choose the new college Dean with feedback from the departments that the Dean will supervise. University presidents, provosts, ... I think you catch my drift. This isn't reserved to academia as well. Many companies, as a part of the interview process, ask people to form opinions and give feedback about their potential future bosses. The idea, in and of itself is not absurd. In fact having influential coaches and players in the athletic department form some sort of committee to help select the new AD is an excellent idea.
What I am struggling with is the fact that Brady Hoke IS the football coach. And I'm not sure that this route is appropriate. After all, what does the coach of the San Franciso 49ers have to do with the Michigan Athletic department? While we are at it, should we be talking to Bill Walsh too? (Ok, he died, but if he were alive...) Moreover, this screams CONFLICT OF INTEREST. Basically, you'd be having JH help select an AD who would (1) Fire Brady and then (2) hire Harbaugh. I'm not a lawyer (MGo- or otherwise), nor do I play one on TV, but this sort of thing just has wrongful termination suit written all over it. So unless Harbaugh (Jim or John - because that would be nepotism) isn't interested in the job, he should stay off the committee.
Lastly, what message does this send to the current team? Right now, the team is still fighting for Coach Hoke. We may not enjoy the games we are watching, but the team is playing hard, and haven't given up on him. We have not yet seen the 52-14 thrashing in the Gator Bowl that ended Rich Rod's tenure. I think a move like this would send the absolute wrong message to the team, that message being that Coach Hoke is not well-respected enough to keep his job, and the department is going to stab him in the back, rather than following protocol and firing him.
TL, DR version: Steering committee with current and former coaches and players = Good idea. Putting Harbaugh on that committee = bad idea because it is a conflict of interest (unless he isn't interested in being the football coach at Michigan) and would be damaging to the current team.
November 7th, 2014 at 12:20 PM ^
That makes perfect sense. Jim wants almost total control, so why not let him do this?
November 7th, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^
Who is the football coach's supervisor if it goes down this way? The president? Schlissel has no interest in doing that or, for that matter, even the slightest background in football.
Having an AD be essentially subservient to the football coach seems like a very bad idea, no matter who the coach is. It reminds me of the scene in Happy Valley when the AD showed up to JoePa's house to fire him in the early 2000s and JoePa just laughed him off. In that case, the coach had over 30 years as HC to build up his power. We're going to just give that power to JH right off the bat?
I'd love for UM to be able to hire JH, but those here who have boarded the "whatever it takes" train have left the proverbial station of sanity.
November 7th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^
I haven't read the whole thread. An idea ...
If we REALLY want Harbuagh and offering him the HC (and $6 million / year for 6 years) is not enough to get him to say yes, we up the offer by making him the AD. Of course, he wouldn't be a real AD, just the boss. He would have two or three assistant ADs who actually ran thing (or one "senior assistant AD" who was assistant in name only, same pay, same office, just doesn't have the ability to fire Harbaugh).
November 8th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^
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November 7th, 2014 at 2:55 PM ^
There is a reason the head coach makes way more than the AD, Football rules the athletic department, even with BB being waaaay better.
It would be terrible to hire an AD that JH would not work for.
ADs that had a problem with the idea of working with JH need not apply in the first place.
November 7th, 2014 at 3:39 PM ^
How to deal with best coaching candidates now (not limited to Harbaugh)
A. A formally correct approach. Do not indicate UM’s interests in him as HC, should Brady Hoke resign or be terminated. Do not consult at all about the future AD (The coaching candidate will assume that any future interest in him depends entirely on the choice of an AD, about whom he had no input. Also, the coaching search will be delayed until the AD search is done, a new AD accepts, finishes at his former institutions, comes to UM and hires any necessary new staff, then begins a seach for HC)
B. Contact him (possibly though his agent or other intermediaries) indicating the present AD’S interest in him as HC, should an opening arise Later, leave a message with his secretary (giving time for thought and investigation) : Say: we have a list of half a half dozen good candidates and seek any input he might have on how these AD’s would perform in various ways (including their integrity, flexibility, and relationships with coaches)
C. Contact him as in B. but say: we are compiling a list of good AD candidates and seek any suggestions on whom to consider.
D. Contact both prospective ADs and HCs , asking each for input about the other group of possible candidates. One could then find "matches" of HC's and AD's who both want to work with each other.
There no doubt are many other options. Please add any ideas that are not legally problematic or infeasible.
November 7th, 2014 at 4:07 PM ^
Would love to see Jim Harbaugh at the helm of U of M football.......are we sure that Hoke will be gne at the end of the football season??
November 7th, 2014 at 9:39 PM ^
November 7th, 2014 at 10:17 PM ^
November 7th, 2014 at 10:22 PM ^
November 9th, 2014 at 11:34 PM ^
Now we're afraid to play Georgia Tech and UCLA, for fear that they will blow us out by 30 !
Next we'll be opening the season against App. St., - Oh shit hmmm.Well.
How are we supposed to recruit against these teams if we are afraid to play them ? And if so, then we really should not be recruiting KLS, or any other top player because we are so beneath these other schools as to not be worthy of mention.
Middle Tennesee St., UAB, BFU, the only place we should ever play teams like these is Columbus so we can call it the Toilet Bowl.
/s but only somewhat.