Just the facts...and a little perspective

Submitted by MGolem on

Jim Harbaugh played in the AFC Championship, and came one dropped hail mary from playing in the Super Bowl; he was also a pro-bowler the same year.

Jim Harbaugh gave birth to Stanford football as we know it today.

Jim Harbaugh resurrected a moribund 49ers team and came one muffed punt from coaching in back-to-back Super Bowls.

In Jim Harbaugh’s time as the coach at Michigan he has not gone a full season without losing at least one quarterback at some point during the year.

Michigan is one of only two teams in the current top 25 starting a backup quarterback due to injury (Georgia is the other); no other team is starting their third stringer. Michigan is the only team in the top 25 who has played, and won, a game with three different starting quarterbacks.

Now...for a little perspective: In 2013 Jimbo Fisher’s Florida State team was crowned National Champions; they also went 13-1 the next year. His current team, who was in the top 2 to start the season, is 4-6, with a backup quarterback. Two years ago Mark Richt was run out of town at Georgia. This year his Miami team is 10-0 and ranked number 3. Does anyone think Jimbo Fisher forgot how to coach? Does anyone now think Mark Richt is one of the three best coaches in the country?

Anyone who suggests Harbaugh doesn’t know what he is doing, is somehow overrated, or better yet is the “fourth best coach in his own division” is ridiculous.

 

 

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Casanova

November 18th, 2017 at 10:41 PM ^

No one is arguing the line of demarcation between talent and coaching. 

He was merely remarking on the paradox of 11 draft picks resulting in an "overachieving" 10-3 season. 

Teams with 11 draft picks typically win their conference and are on the shortlist for national championships.  

 

Joined: 09/23/2014

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Sideline

November 18th, 2017 at 10:51 PM ^

Saying that they may or may not have been drafted without this staff “over-performing” and getting the most out of them, therefor raising the ‘realistic’ expectations.
I also agree that our window may have been last year, the losses were all close. Iowa by 1, Ohio State in OT with questionable officiating. Could we have competed in the Playoff? I think so.

Joined: 12/09/2009

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DHughes5218

November 19th, 2017 at 12:34 AM ^

In your opinion Harbaugh has over achieved by finishing 3rd in his division last year, despite having a team full of NFL talent and one of the most veteran rosters in college Football?

Harbaugh is a good NFL coach and he may be a great collegiate coach as well, but he hasn't won anything of significance in college. I do think when it's all said and done, he will be one of the best in the game, but people put him in the same category as Saban and Meyer now and act like he's beyond criticism. If we are only talking facts, in college he's coached in a power 5 conference for 7 seasons. Zero championships. He finished 12-1 his last season at Stanford, when they beat one team in the regular season that finished the year ranked. Then they were lucky enough to play an overrated Virginia Tech team in the bowl game. His success at Stanford just happened to coincide with the fall of USC with Lane Kiffin as their coach. I don't see his time at Stanford as an example of his greatness. Good, yes. Great, no.

I think Harbaugh is a good coach and he needs to do what any good coach would do, fire those on your staff that's not getting it done and bring in someone new. Good NFL coaches don't always make good college coaches...and I'm referring to his offensive staff, not Harbaugh himself.

 

Joined: 10/04/2014

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The Fan in Fargo

November 18th, 2017 at 10:26 PM ^

Considering this was the #1 defense in the nation and at a very hard place to win, this offense and team were dangerously close to putting it away early. Just needed a littel better execution. It wasn't coaching. The defense gave the offense great field position and held the Badgers pretty much the whole game. The fumble at the goal-line, numerous other drives that resulted in punts on Wisconsin's side of the field basically or at mid-field all were great chances. Injuries have taken somewhat of a tole on the team. Patience my good men, this team will knock the socks off of someone in a bowl game and the leprechauns are going to get smoked next year on their home field. Need heavy and extensive physical training in the offseason. That's the key right there boys. Book that shit!

Joined: 09/04/2016

MGoPoints: 1877

Jimmyisgod

November 18th, 2017 at 10:23 PM ^

Harbaugh is a good coach. Everyone in football knows that. As far as ranking coaches? It's silly, each coach in college is at a place with different resources, traditions, advantages, and disadvantages. He's a good coach, but the idea he was going to come into the conference and dominate was stupid. There are too many good coaches in the conference for one to dominate. He's the right coach for Michigan. Next year could be a tough year with a brutal schedule, but that an opportunity too, get it done next year and it's a big deal.

Joined: 01/24/2012

MGoPoints: 10342

MaizeMN

November 18th, 2017 at 10:26 PM ^

Whether Harbaugh is the best, third, or fourth BIG football coach depends on your perspective. The fact of the matter is, Jim Harbaugh is only the third best coach at Michigan. Both Hutch and Beilein have done a better job, with fewer resources and less notoriety.

Joined: 01/28/2012

MGoPoints: 4590

Tuebor

November 19th, 2017 at 12:13 AM ^

What perspective could have harbaugh above meyer? Meyer has won a national championship and wins 10+ games a year every year. That doesnt even include his tenure at UF when he won 2 more national championships while coaching in the sec during its prime.

Joined: 03/14/2011

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MichiganMan14

November 18th, 2017 at 10:28 PM ^

This year could've and should've been different. Next year the talent will be seasoned and in abundance. I think the answer to Michigans ceiling under Harbaugh will rightfully be revealed next season. Staff adjustments are needed. Having the 9 best offense in the B1G is not what any of imagined. The biggest disappointment was the deflation after Peters went down. There has to be more fire than that. That fire has to come from the top down sometimes. Let's see how they do next week out of fairness. A bad loss to a 2 loss Ohio State team will rightfully warrant the heat it brings. There is $11million in 3 coaches on our offensive staff. It should show and we have a number of NFL bound athletes. Just looking for some more dogs at this point and also some more dog out of the team in general. We have too much fluctuation in intensity and that is not a mark of a championship program. We've got to get that fixed.

Joined: 02/21/2012

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bo_lives

November 19th, 2017 at 1:00 AM ^

Let's face it, people will just make up excuses no matter what year it is. Our schedule is hard. Our QB or another top player might get hurt. Refs might make calls we don't like.

At the end of the day, Warde fucking Manuel is not firing Jim fucking Harbaugh. I don't care if it's 2075 and we have lost 60 straight games to OSU and Harbaugh is 111 years old.

Joined: 04/10/2011

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Bluenin

November 18th, 2017 at 10:28 PM ^

Is doing a great job chasing the perfect coaching hire! Blame the administration from 2007 for f’ing up up the program by blowing the hiring process then!

Joined: 09/19/2017

MGoPoints: 2022

CLord

November 18th, 2017 at 10:30 PM ^

  • There will always be a 5% troll/lunatic fringe be it online or otherwise and to lecture to them is fruitless. 
  • You are making the other 95% of us read this gibberish so you can direct your comments to that 5%. 
  • The vast, vast majority of Michigan fans know Harbaugh is the best current coach for our program.  Anyone who disputes that is a fringe, 5% idiot again, not worth engaging. 
  • However, many of us who are very much behind our coach, are allowed to critique flaws we perceive, because this is just football, and he is paid millions, and everyone knows he's human too. 
  • We are allowed to support Harbaugh but likewise wonder if he overestimates the ability of college kids to grasp pro blocking concepts. 
  • We are allowed to love having him as our coach and still discuss whether the pro-style progressions he expects of his QBs are a little too much for college kids. 
  • We're allowed to love him but wonder if he wasn't spoiled by succeeding with a genius first pick of the draft QB like Andrew Luck, and now is potentially projecting the same level of competence on mere mortal 4 stars relative to Luck.
  • Harbaugh didn't get it right this year.  He expected a result from his offensive line and QBs that they were not able to deliver.  We are allowed to say this, and that does not mean we don't still want him as our coach.  We do.  We are just now hoping his competitive fire drives him to learn from the mistakes he made this year to get the team better ready next year.

Joined: 09/11/2011

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Michigan Made

November 18th, 2017 at 11:26 PM ^

because any idiot can see that Harbaugh is coaching staff and technique are not working with very highly rated recruits. it doesn't take 5% of the people on this site to discern that the offense of line should be much further than it is. The choices he have made for his coaching staff aside from Don Brown at this point can be very questionable. His son for example should not be coaching running backs at this level. He just doesn't have the experience. That alone is a huge red flag. another very large red flag is the play-calling and the fact that we have two offensive coordinators, to offense of line coaches, and no receivers coach. I'm not calling for Harbaugh's dismissal but things need to change on the coaching staff. if that isn't done then the 5% Fringe idiots have a very strong argument.

Joined: 04/04/2015

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Bigly yuge

November 18th, 2017 at 10:29 PM ^

The fact that a QB has been injured and missed time in each of Harbaughs three seasons speaks loudly to how awful the offensive line coaching has been. Drevno is a nice guy, but I think he’s gotta go. Let Frey coach the OL, and balance out the offensive staff a little bit. We clearly need a dedicated WR coach as well.

Joined: 09/23/2017

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Harbaugh soldier

November 18th, 2017 at 11:10 PM ^

His judgement of playing speight and Okorn ahead of peters was bad judgement. His play calling in msu game was unacceptable- all the Okorn passing in the bad rain was huge coaching error. Finally his failure to get OL to decent level is his biggest failure. No Qb will ever come here to just get pummeled every game

Joined: 10/09/2017

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slimj091

November 18th, 2017 at 10:33 PM ^

I have no consumed enough drugs and alcohol yet to have a rational discussion about anything that happened today, or anything that has happened in the past 10 years.

Joined: 01/04/2014

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SpikeFan2016

November 18th, 2017 at 10:49 PM ^

The only thing worse than people posting "FIRE HARBAUGH" type posts are the responses telling everyone to calm down with essentially a "HARBAUGH IS A GOD IMMUNE FROM CRITICISM" argument. 

 

Find the middle ground, people. 

Joined: 04/03/2015

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uncle leo

November 18th, 2017 at 10:52 PM ^

The team hasn't won a Big Ten championship since 2004. They haven't been to Indy since the game was implemented. They haven't had a real, great win in forever.

They continue to underwhelm, disappoint, and leave us pining for the follow season.

 

Joined: 07/29/2012

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Harbaugh soldier

November 18th, 2017 at 10:56 PM ^

Harbaugh has lost momentum and is losing his influence on players and fellow coaches. He's never won a championship in any league as s coach. It's obvious he's getting humbled by football gods for all his twitter hype, recruiting extravaganzas, his media hype and trip to Europe.

He lost focus on winning and his players are not winners. Biggest disappointments,
1. Team captains didn't lead
2. Pep Hamilton
3. Tim Drevno
4. Frey OL coach
5. Speight
6. Okorn
7. Rashan Gary
8. Both Safeties Moreso kinnel
9. Jay Harbaugh
10. Special Teams coach from NJ

Best surprises
1. Higdon
2. Chase Winovich
3. Mo Hurst
4. Devin Bush
5. Both CBs David and Lavert
6. Don brown
7. Gentry
8. Peters

Joined: 10/09/2017

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MGolem

November 18th, 2017 at 11:05 PM ^

Wisconsin specifically recruits to a system, much like MSU. Wisconsin will never be dynamic with that approach but they can be very good every year because every year they have a collection of guys who work hard to contribute, and in large part, wait their turn. They don't play a bunch of young hotshots. Their guys wait in the wings and learn a specific system they were recruited to play. 

 

Joined: 10/14/2010

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MGolem

November 18th, 2017 at 11:48 PM ^

Who was headed to Rutgers. And wasn't supposed to be the starter this year. Sometimes you get lucky and find a diamond in the rough. And there is no need to throw around insults...you never know who is on the other end of them.

Joined: 10/14/2010

MGoPoints: 13605

MGolem

November 18th, 2017 at 11:52 PM ^

Seems like that is what we are doing. That doesn't happen overnight. If Newsome comes back and is at full strength, next to Bredeson, next to Ruiz, next to Onwenu, next to Filiaga (maybe) that has the makings of a very dynamic, beefy, atheltic line. And once Peters has some seasoning he will blow past anything Hornibrook and his softball league arm can do.

Joined: 10/14/2010

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Ty Butterfield

November 18th, 2017 at 10:58 PM ^

All these “perspective” posts are always excuses and wait for next year. Interested to see the excuses next week when Michigan gets completely embarrassed by OSU.

Joined: 09/07/2009

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