Oh no- Harbs might not work at Michigan, latest Bleacher Report exclusive

I know people see Bleacher Report and automatically say garbage but some of their writers are excellent - Howard Beck for basketball, for example.  Anderson is a big SEC/Alabama guy - he literally wrote a book about Saban - but he is a legit writer.  HIs article on Lawrence Phillips this summer was great.

Obvious click bait by that author. It will not work on me.

In my opinion. The proof is in the pudding. I hope Harbaugh stays for a very long time but history says other wise. The writer got facts and bits from other coaches on Harbaugh's former staff members, laid out the history and examples. Let's just hope Harbaugh stays at Michigan for 10 plus years.

Side note, rumor is that Saban may be on the move again. Keep your eyes on this one for next year, cough couch USC.... Don't shoot the messenger

Recruiting commments; Ed Lamb:

In his first year at San Diego, Harbaugh developed a physical prototype that he wanted at every position, similar to what Nick Saban now uses as his recruiting model at Alabama. With the help of Dave Adolph, a longtime NFL defensive coordinator whom Harbaugh hired to be his top defensive lieutenant at San Diego, Harbaugh identified the ideal height, weight, size and speed he wanted for every position. Other important factors at every position were also weighed, such as athletic ability, strength, playing speed and character. But when assessing a player, he was always compared to Harbaugh’s created prototype. “The prototype went all the way down to hand size and shoe size for each position,” said Lamb.

Rich Rod:

“The key to Jim’s success will be recruiting,” said Rich Rodriguez, the Wolverines head coach from 2008 to 2010. “And the key to recruiting at Michigan, which is a great brand name, is finding the right kind of player to fit in. The player has got to want to get an education, he’s got to be driven academically and athletically, and he’s got to be someone who can develop. "At Michigan you have to evaluate players more than you do at other schools because you’re looking at a specific set of criteria that have to be met before you can bring them onto your campus. Jim did a great job of finding these guys at Stanford, so he knows what he’s looking for.”

Not clicking the link. 

Again... Who cares. Honestly. Some guy says this, writes about it, and you're the one stupid enough to read it and give it any thought

Everyone knows Harbaugh is a weirdo who can rub some people the wrong way. Speculating on whether that could happen at Michigan is fair game, IMO--especially given recent history here.

OTOH, I think it's pretty obvious that this is a unique match, JH being Mr. Michigan Man Incarnate and all. But I felt that the article had enough positive commentary, including from Rich Rod (who basically said: "JH needs to do X to win at Michigan and he had great success doing X at Stanford."), that it wasn't just corny Skip Bayless-style contrarianism.

"It was the dead of the northern winter—he’d only recently moved to Ann Arbor—and now in the early-morning darkness he steered his car on a winding route, one that was littered with memories."

"He walked through the frigid morning—his breath shot out in white puffs of air—and entered the building."

"So many snapshots from his youth rushed back at him, filling him with so much unexpected joy."

freshman journo major or journo prof: you decide.

 

Great article.  

Yes, BR used to be awful because it was just click-whoring (I still liked it for its info aggregating though), but they've brought in some talented writers now so not all of their columns lack credibility anymore.  As others have mentioned, you just need to ferret out the good writers from bad.  Google is your friend.

Remind me again why anyone ever bothers with bleacherreport.

Lars was published on BR.  Can the Pulitzer be far behind?

was his answer every time when asked if he plans on being here for good. What does that mean? 1) God Willing is literally that. A devout Catholic, he's saying that if alive and healthy he'll be here. 2) "The creek don't rise" refers to things out of his control. EVERY coach needs to be treated the same regarding evaluation of job success but he's talking about "Michigan" (the AD, ex-players, Alums and the entire fan base) wanting him here. Jim IS crazy but a good, football crazy. Our kind of crazy. We the fans need to give him time. If after 5 years we're worse off or haven't improved? May the creek rise but we can't all go insane if it takes 3-4 years to REALLY get us going. Hence "God willing and the creek don't rise".

He lasts Harbaugh's hard driving attitude turns people off, but was not Bo the same way? Are not Meyer and Saban intense and demanding bosses?

And bouncing around? Both Saban and Meyer bounced around before their current gigs. Saban coached at Toledo, MSU, LSU, and the Dolphins in a 15 year time span. Meyer coached at BG, Utah, and UF in a 19 year time span. They are on their fifth and fourth head coaching jobs respectfully.

Harbaugh's is on his fourth job.

It's a pretty superficial treatment of Harbaugh. He exhibits no understanding of UM's culture and thus can't give us an reason why it may or may not work.

This article is much ado about nothing

In that picture of Harbaugh and Beamer before the 2011 Orange, doesn't it look like Harbaugh is about to do that "what's that on your shirt?", then bip you in the nose when you look down thing?

heard that Bo fired Frieder.  Hoke did not ruffle any feathers . . .

• Great Harbaugh quote from the article:

 

• "Stick with me and you'll be farting through silk." (Implying that you'll be doing well enough to be wearing silk underwear).

 

•   Apparently it was what actor Robert Mitchum (who People magazine described as Hollywood's original Bad Boy, setting the stardard for tough-guy style oncreen and off) said after he propsoed to his wife Dorothy Spence.
• Again, shows Harbaugh has a pretty broad base from which he draws quotes (think the Shakespere Weber quote).

 

let's not murder the messenger - though I never look at BR, for that matter.

Here's a little secret:  Bo was a gigantic pain in the ass to many people.

Worked out OK though.