How Jim Harbaugh made Michigan a national power once again

Submitted by Lumpy_wolverine on

An interesting article on Harbaugh's genius in gaining national attention for the Michigan football program, and increasing the recruiting footprint.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14993834/how-jim-harbaug…

A few quotes:

According to Repucom's Celebrity Davie-Brown Index (DBI), which measures and qualifies celebrity influence and relevance both locally and worldwide, Harbaugh is unmatched by his peers. The index, which features more than 7,000 celebrities, doesn't include every FBS coach, but Harbaugh's Celebrity DBI score of 54.24 ranks higher than Ohio State's Urban Meyer (45.31) and Alabama's Nick Saban (44.37).

Hoke also signed the nation's No. 6 recruiting class in 2013, but his approach was more regional. The 2013 class had 17 prospects from Ohio or Michigan, and only four from outside the Big Ten footprint, including top-rated recruit Derrick Green (Virginia). Hoke signed only two California recruits and three Florida recruits in four classes.

 

 

 

ak47

March 21st, 2016 at 2:39 PM ^

Seems a little early to make this proclomation unless you believe Brady Hoke turned michigan into a national power too.  

jsquigg

March 21st, 2016 at 4:41 PM ^

I completely agree.  I have never been more confident going into a season, but the last time I was was in '07......  I do think Michigan finally has a coach and staff that can live up to the hype, but it's going to take a few years of beating our rivals somewhat regularly on the field before that sick feeling in my stomach goes away.

Tater

March 22nd, 2016 at 2:09 AM ^

You are really comparing Harbaugh to Hoke as equals?  

Hoke came in with a 47-50 record and took a team that was on an upward trend and had more upperclassmen than underclassmen for the first time in four years to a nice season thanks to Denard Robinson.  

Harbaugh came in with a 58-27 record in college and a 44-19-1 record in the NFL with a Super Bowl appearance.  He took a team that was on a downward trend to a totally unexpected 10-3 season and a bowl victory over a high quality SEC team, even though he had to find a grad transfer QB to make up for Hoke's failure to develop anyone on the team.  

Harbaugh will win a National Championship with in five years and it could happen this year.  Brady Hoke is a great guy and a solid coach who genuinely cares about his players, but he is never going to win a National Championship as a head coach.

McSomething

March 21st, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^

Having gained national attention for the right reasons again does not mean we are back to being a national power just yet. We have one big bowl victory to our credit and that's it for on-field accolades.

A Fan In Fargo

March 21st, 2016 at 6:13 PM ^

next season then technically UM is back. You can be modest all you want about the future of the program if it makes you feel better inside but the truth of the matter is that UM football is coming like a freight-train. Better get the mother truck out of the way baby! 

tbeindit

March 21st, 2016 at 5:47 PM ^

Two things on this. First, you need to change "decent" to great or elite. Otherwise, that statement is just wrong. BYU, Florida, and Northwestern were all certainly better than "decent" and three other Michigan opponents (IU, MINN, PSU) did make bowls. None of those wins make you a national power, but it's not like Michigan played Oregon State nine times.

The other thing I wanted to throw out is that you also need to look at who you played, how you played them, and when you played them. Wins over BYU, Northwestern, and Florida weren't just wins. Those were complete blowouts from start to finish. That's why Michigan was so high on the advanced stats, despite not having any huge wins.

Additionally, if you took the Citrus Bowl version of Michigan and let it play the same schedule, it probably goes 11-1 in the regular season. That's a pretty big factor when you're looking at where a program is going.

Lumpy_wolverine

March 21st, 2016 at 2:47 PM ^

I agree with all those who are saying that it is premature to call us a "national power" in terms of football results - that takes regular success over years.  But it is indisputable that Harbaugh is making a splash wherever he goes, doing new, creative things, and getting media exposure (and thus recruiting exposure) that is novel.  There is a "vibe" about the program that is resonating nationally, to the point that it will be a surprise if they are not competing for national titles over the next five years.

 

WolverineHistorian

March 21st, 2016 at 3:07 PM ^

Exactly. That sounds a little too Notre Dame-ish for my liking. When they went 10-3 after Tyrone Willingham's first season, it was the first proclamation of "Return to Glory," a phrase they continued to use for the next 15 years.

I realize hype is going to come when you have a coach like Harbaugh but I'd prefer it if his first season was more considered as a process of righting the track, not that we're already there.

I don't want to be a Notre Dame clone.




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rederik

March 21st, 2016 at 2:55 PM ^

I would agree with the general consensus that we're not there juuuust yet (see: almost losses to Minn, IU; see also OSU 2nd half), but we are well on our way (see recruiting, complete domination of SEC East winner FL, and recruiting (again)).



Also on a side note: today is my 5 year Mgoanniversary!