jim harbaugh
coaching fiasco 2014

SEARCHBITS XVIII: DUNT DUNT Comment Count

Brian

110816092104_jim-harbaugh-coach-san-fran[1]

I guess this one is only mildly entertaining

MORE INSANELY POSITIVE CHATTER FROM THE MICHIGAN SIDE OF THINGS. WTKA's Ira Weintraub:

More people in my inbox saying it's all but done, GFunk popping up on Rivals to say the same, etc. It seems like just about everyone in the Michigan community who knows someone or talks to someone or talks to someone who talks to someone is increasingly certain that it's happening.

Money's getting thrown around. Sam had an unconfirmed report of a 49 million dollar offer and an "eight year plan"; the telephone game reached a reporter in Arizona citing a nutty six year, $49 million dollar contract.

Michigan thinks this is happening much harder than I've ever seen any insider community think anything is happening.

CUE JAWS MUSIC THOUGH. Optimistic thoughts about a relatively small number of attractive NFL jobs coming open this offseason should be shelved. The Dolphins aren't heading for the playoffs, which could be it for Joe Philbin. The Bears may actually fire Mark Trestman after just two years. (FWIW, that report comes from a radio guy it seems and no one else has confirmed it—would not take it as gospel.) Sam asserts that the Raiders and possibly the Dolphins are considering coming in with full-control offers.

Those could change the situation rapidly, and that's why I remain hesitant to go all in on it's happening dot gif. Until NFL teams figure out what they're doing and Harbaugh knows what's on the table I'm wary.

This isn't about "flakiness," which every Michigan reporter will reference in the downer section of their post. (I am just as guilty of this as everyone else.) It's about a major change in available information to Harbaugh changing what he wants to do. If this does go sour I guarantee some guys who got burned will blame Harbaugh in order to deflect heat. It happened last time; it'll happen this time.

mystery-man[1]SO THEN: PLAN B. If things go sour with Harbaugh, what then? Nobody knows. Paysites have all but ceased mentioning anything about other candidates in this feeding-frenzy phase, and when they do the names they mention are far from sure things. One guy who is still looking at other guys is 24/7's Clint Brewster, who has a source saying that it'll come down to Harbaugh and Dan Mullen, albeit after Michigan takes swings at David Shaw and Jim Mora without success.

Brewster's sources are of the agent/coach variety and are thus more speculative than indirect chatter from inside the department… but there isn't any of that. That note feels more like a logical conclusion from available facts than anything truly insider.

I will say that I've heard a couple things indicating that the Plan B names we've heard so far are almost all bunk… and that Mullen is not a candidate either.

Plan B right now: no idea. Which is scary.

ACT LIKE A CLOWN, GET TREATED LIKE A CLOWN. Tim Kawakami samples from the Lochmann school of PR:

Kawakami's had some interesting, blunt stuff on the 49ers situation, but that's not a good look. He started getting some heat on twitter after his latest column explaining the reasons a Raiders move "actually might be the most reasonable" option for Harbaugh, and I get why. That column comes off like bloviation, and people don't care what journalist X thinks, they want to know what the people actually involved think. A follow up to get background is natural; for it to get shut down is indicative that the guy 1) doesn't have anything concrete and 2) is insecure about it.

There is a certain genre of journalist who gets ruffled by the dim bulbs on twitter, treats reasonable people like crap, and wonders why nobody likes him. I don't get it, man.

DO IT, DO IT. Paul Chryst to Wisconsin is going to be official at 7 Eastern, so the Panthers are about to be in the market for a head guy. How could that impact the Michigan search? By taking a bullet for us:

Don't mind if you do. Sorry about this, Spilly.

NO I WILL NOT LET THIS GO. Tom Herman's deal is a little over one million per year. Break glass in case of emergency—it ain't that thick.

ETC.: I feel better about saying that Michigan "couldn't get it up on the road" earlier this year now that today's Michigan Insider turned into a four-hour discussion of jimmy hats. Fox rounds up the rumors. Yeah man just go to Michigan.

Gary Patterson signs an extension, not that he was likely to move in any case. Jane's emotional rollercoaster is a lot like yours.

Comments

Benoit Balls

December 17th, 2014 at 2:36 PM ^

all of the sudden

mute point (and I swear to God I had someone once tell me it was a "moo" point)

for all intensive purposes

should of/ would of/ could of

mortified (many people seem to think that indicates a level of fright or disgust because they use it as a synonym for horrified or terrified)

 

I know there's more, I just cant think of them right now

 

 

 

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Benoit Balls

December 17th, 2014 at 4:13 PM ^

in the same vein as "very unique" I just thought of another one that bugs me--"my personal opinion" of course it's personal.  I can see that there are other types of opinions- a group opinion, a professional opinion, etc, but if you say "my" then "personal" becomes pedantic.   Just makes the speaker sound like a high school kid trying to eek out the 500th word on an essay

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gbdub

December 17th, 2014 at 5:04 PM ^

"Personal" and "very" both add value to the statement. As you say yourself, there are many kinds of opinion - professional, personal, official, on/off the record, "my opinion as a ..." and so on. Adding "personal" adds clarity when someone might otherwise be assumed to be speaking in an official capacity.

And yes, I get that "unique" technically means "one of a kind". However adding the qualifier "very" adds the meaning "significantly far from the norm". A yellow golf ball in a pile of white golf balls is unique. A football in the pile is "very unique".

Sure, "very unusual" is probably more precisely correct (there's another binary with a useful qualifier!) but "unusual" tends to carry a mildly negative connotation while "unique" tends to be positive.

So in my personal opinion, you are a very uniquely aggravating pedant.




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gbdub

December 17th, 2014 at 7:29 PM ^

Then what non-clunky phrase do you use to signify "that thing over there is really different from the average thing, not just a little bit, and I mean that in a good way"?

What does it take to make something "unique"? One characteristic? Many characteristics? In some sense no two tangible things are precisely alike, so everything is "unique" and unique is then a useless tautology.

I'm being utilitarian here. "Very Unique" has an obvious, non confusing meaning, so it's a good phrase. You'd throw away a useful and common bit of vernacular for the sake of syntactical dogma. Not a good trade.

Anyway, the Oxford online dictionary addresses this exact issue, and notes that "unique" and similar adjectives have a "secondary, less precise sense" that allows modification with adverbs. It advises doing so sparingly, but that's a long way from saying it's absolutely wrong and you're dumb if you use it that way.



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Benoit Balls

December 17th, 2014 at 2:40 PM ^

also, I have a labrador who at one point was nicknamed the "counter shark" because he would eat pretty much anything we left on the counter (whole loaves of bread, including the bag, frozen chicken/ground beef left out to thaw/ phone chargers/ anything not nailed down) and whenever he would get something (like a chicken-sicle) I would text my wife and say "duuuh-duut" to imitate the Jaws sound.

but, thats just like, my opinon, man

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evenyoubrutus

December 17th, 2014 at 2:13 PM ^

I'm almost certainly guilty of confirmation bias but the way Michigan is acting leads me to conclude that they already have Harbaugh in the bag and the reason they are being so quiet about it is because it could maybe have an impact on his buyout if it comes out before season's end (that last part is speculation, I don't know this but assume).

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Njia

December 17th, 2014 at 2:50 PM ^

But unless Hackett is the type of guy who woke up on third base convinced he hit a triple, someone with his experience would know that a deal's not a deal until signtures are on paper. He strikes me as someone who is careful and minimizes risk. I'm more than comfortable in assuming that 1) Harbaugh has not yet signed, and 2) there is a set of Plan B candidates he is keeping on a low simmer.

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Don

December 17th, 2014 at 2:59 PM ^

I will admit that so far Hackett gives every appearance of being just as you say. He's as different from Brandon in prior work experience and personality as you can get. The next two weeks will cement his reputation one way or the other, whether unfairly or not.

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FreddieMercuryHayes

December 17th, 2014 at 2:13 PM ^

I still think it's just an NFL vs college decision in the end. It won't matter what offers the Raiders or Miami offer Harbaugh if he just wants to return to his alma mater. If he wants to stay in the NFL, he will have many suitors and offers to choose from. I don't think new players on the scene in the NFL really changes the overall dynamic.



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bronxblue

December 17th, 2014 at 2:32 PM ^

That is basically what was said. Nobody expects him to not go to Michigan if he goes back to college. He's not leaving SF for Pitt. But what allure does the NFL have that you think he is blinded by? Everyone will tell him he gets "Complete Control" until the first time ownership differs in opinion or the team starts losing and people start paying their agendas. Harbaugh isn't dumb, and while the pros offer lots of perks, nothing beats the overall control you have in college.

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Njia

December 17th, 2014 at 2:46 PM ^

I really think it's Oakland or Michigan. Oakland because of family issues and Michigan because ... well, family history.

If I were Jim walking into a dumpster fire like the Oakland, Chicago or NY Jets situations, I would not be enthusiastic about being the GM. It's not a "control" thing. It's a level of responsibility for having to turn around the entire culture of the organization ... at the same time you're trying to win games. At a minimum, it would take a few - and perhaps several - years (that no coach in the NFL ever gets). But if he needs to remain in the Bay Area in order to be with his family, the Raiders job is the only option available to him.

I think the rest of the allure is, in no particular order:

  • The opportunity to be a Super Bowl champion coach. His brother has one of those rings that Jim covets.
  • Getting to focus on football (from a professional perspective) and little else (like academics, recruiting, etc.).
  • Potentially more time off to be with family between seasons.

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alum96

December 17th, 2014 at 3:06 PM ^

But Oakland is so far from a Super Bowl it goes against the whole theory of "Jim wants to stay in the NFL to win Super Bowls".  Yes turnarounds are fast in the NFL and if you have a franchise QB you can change overnight but that Oakland team looks pretty bad all around outside of the QB (Carr actually looks promising) and a few other players.

So I can buy the stock of "he wants to stay in the NFL to win Super Bowls".

And I can buy the stock "he wants to stay in the Bay area"

But I can't buy "go to the Oakland Raiders to win Super Bowls."  That's a 3-4 year turnaround which is just about the time Jim wears out his welcome with pro players.

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UMaD

December 17th, 2014 at 6:34 PM ^

 Oakland could EASILY be a better team 2 years from now than Seattle, Chicago, Miami, Detroit, SF, etc.

It is MUCH easier to turn around an NFL team in an environment of salary cap and draft picks than to overcome the institutional advantages in the college game to win a national title. It's easier to beat Seattle in Oakland than beating Alabama in Michigan.  So, if you're comparing winning championships, the NFL is easier.  However, if you define "winning" like Bo would (Big 10 titles) then yeah, Michigan is closer to being acheivable.

 

 

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bronxblue

December 17th, 2014 at 3:29 PM ^

I guess if his wife/family are dead-set on not leaving the Bay Area, then I guess the Raiders are the only option.  That seems unlikely to be a barrier, but who knows.

I'm sure he wants to win a SB; that door isn't closed even if he goes to college for some time, and he can certainly get a better situation than any out there right now if he waits.  I mean, the Jets are terrible, Chicago is saddled with an old roster with limited upside, and the Raiders are maybe the least-talented andmost unstable organization in the NFL. 

As for time off and "fewer" responsibilities compared to college, I'm not sure if that's the case in the NFL.  I'm sure Harbaugh knows this better than any of us, but the NFL is a 365-day sport, and having to deal with off-the-field issues in the NFL seem far more difficult than in college, where you are still largely dealing with college-kid problems.  And you don't have to recruit all the time; that's why you have assistant coaches and coordinators.  I'd like to think Harbaugh could get breaks as he wants.  He doesn't strike me as a guy who takes time off much, though.

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Trader Jack

December 17th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^

I would love to hear why you're so confident in your IT'S HAPPENING stance, State Street. I've seen other people ask you and have never seen you actually reply to them, which leads me to believe that you're just guessing on a 50/50 proposition and hoping to look like you knew all along in the end. What makes you so confident? Or are you, in fact, just blowing smoke in hopes that it will look like you knew all along in the end?

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