In Defense of Jim Harbaugh

Submitted by sdogg1m on

In Defense of Jim Harbaugh - (As if the man needs defending)

Despised SEC troll Pete Finebaum is at it again labeling Jim Harbaugh a mediocre coach. Most of what Feinbaum spews concerning Michigan football is to stir up our fanbase and draw attention to his work.  In the manner in which Michigan lost yesterday, I would expect a professional to display mature tact when assessing the game but that is too much to ask of Pete. However, I believe the troll Finebaum is no different from many college football fans today including many Michigan fans and because of that perspective is needed.

 

The delusionary nature of fans

College football fans including ours have unrealistic expectations of teams and programs. Everyone wants to win and with college football resources are a plenty. No coach is going to win every game not Saban, Swinney, Meyer, Franklin, Fisher, or Harbaugh. A delusional FSU fan decided to taunt Jimbo Fisher after yesterday’s loss to Louisville. Fisher has only won nearly 80% of the games he has coached; achieved four top ten rankings; and won one national championship. Jimbo Fisher is an excellent coach whose sole downfall is that his first string all world quarterback suffered a season ending injury.

We were delighted when Ohio State was crushed by Clemson 31-0 in the national playoff and equally delighted when the same happened to Mark Dantonio the previous year. Oh that same Clemson team beat Saban’s Alabama squad as well. No coach wins every game and even top coaches have teams which are blown out from time-to-time. We are still fans of amateur athletics! Students who have to go to class, make grades, and then find time to play football at the highest level.

Michigan is one of many top programs. We live in a different era in two ways. First, many college football programs have top level coaches and facilities. No longer do you have a handful of major college programs that carry the bulk of the limelight and big games for college football. TCU can field a team to beat USC; Troy can beat LSU; Boise State can beat Oklahoma; Michigan State can lose to Maryland; and I can go on and on. Michigan is not a part of the “big two and little eight division” anymore.

Second, we don’t share division titles any longer. Previously Michigan could lose two conference games and still have the opportunity to win a Big 10 championship. Michigan has 42 of them; how many are shared titles (WD probably knows)? Those days are over and Michigan not only has to win essentially every game in their division which is the toughest in college football but then play in a championship game. We will win a lot more of those titles and we will do so with Coach Harbaugh just not this year.

 

Harbaugh’s debt

I read a lot of griping about Harbaugh’s offense and how it must be simplified for the college game. No it does not. Jim Harbaugh owes we the fans nothing. He owes his athletes the opportunity to excel beyond college football. Many of those athletes come here to be coached into the next level and that includes running a pro-style offense. Coach Harbaugh will recruit a quarterback (he has two of them) that can run this offense and the offense will be efficient. Implementing an offense that diminishes a player’s opportunity to compete at the next level is not a sacrifice the Michigan program should be making. Michigan’s recruiting advantage for every position is “the opportunity” to have a greater chance of making an NFL roster.

On the same topic, Mike McCray must stay on the field.  McCray may be removed in specific situations but he is the only player with extensive experience to position the others correctly to be able to stop plays. For all of McCray’s deficiencies with his speed, the drop off for successfully defending plays would be far greater if he is off the field. He is staying put and it is in the best interest of the team. He earned his role as captain of the defense.

Same argument could be made for the quarterback position. Don’t expect to see Peters in any game where Michigan has a chance to win this season and don’t blame Harbaugh for putting the team above us. Fans can easily sit back and say “what is the difference between 8-4 and 10-2” as we put in none of the work and all of the Monday morning quarterbacking. Peters or McCaffery will come in at the right time, when needed, and it will be for their best interest from a coaching veteran who has a long track record of developing talent. The same man who gave Jake Rudock great coaching and a possibility at a long NFL career will do the same for Speight, O'Korn, Peters, and McCaffery.

Equally amazing to me is that we the fans post as if we are able to see a deficiency and have a magical solution that will make everything better. Of course this solution is what the coach is unable to see. Fire Drevno, Fire Pep, or Fire them all!!!! Ever ponder the consequences of such a knee jerk reaction? Brian Kelly was applauded by our fans for his coaching changes midseason but most of those same fans would be livid if our team with this talent went 4-8. Kelly’s staff is only in year one and there is no guarantees that they will have a continued high level of success. Jim Harbaugh is surrounded by coaches; all of his family members are coaches; and he is not oblivious to the issues of the team. Harbaugh is not going to fire anyone midseason nor should he.

 

Harbaugh’s Accomplishments

This is a personal pet peeve of mine. The Jim Harbaugh has “won nothing” statement as if the be all and end all is having a championship which Jim Harbaugh has those as well.

As a college player

Two Big Ten Championships (81,86)

A Fiesta Bowl Championship (85)

An unclaimed National Championship (85, Matthews, Sagarin)

As an NFL player

NFC Central Division Champion (Chicago Bears, 1990)

As a recruiter

2002 I-AA National Champion - Western Kentucky

As an assistant

2002 AFC Champion – Oakland Raiders – QB Coach

As a college coach

Two time pioneer league champion – University of San Diego (2005, 2006)

Orange Bowl Champion – Stanford Cardinals (2010)

As a professional coach

Two time NFC West Champion (2011, 2012)

NFC Champion (2012)

 

Even without word “champion” next to his name, it is clear to see that Harbaugh excels at his job because of the improved level of play and winning percentage everywhere he has coached. All those big coaching names above had similar records on their way to building elite programs. Michigan is better because of Jim Harbaugh. I hope he coaches Michigan for another 15 years. I hope people will learn to endure the losses and enjoy this man as he coaches Michigan to more championships in the future.

 

In short, Paul Finebaum is a douche, I would hope Michigan fans are not.

Links:

Rudock assessment

Jimbo Fisher mets delusional fan

MGoBoard
Football
Jim Harbaugh Fire Them All Defense Good Coach The End Of the World

CLion

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:47 PM ^

What about when your previous staff leaves with you almost nothing and your best OL recruit to date almost loses his leg. That same third down draw got us a first down vs. UF. Not going to disagree about Peters but we are down our starting QB, who was all Hour left him. If personnel issues persist next year it's time to worry. But personnel issues were expected this year and people forget that when the outcomes don't go as they ignorantly wish.

Joined: 09/16/2017

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sdogg1m

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:12 PM ^

Unfortunately our veteran players on offense and defense are Patrick Kugler and Mike McCray (You could included Mo Hurst). Both are starting and have earned their spots but have clear deficiences.

This is Jim Harbaugh's second year as his first recruiting class was a bust (ranked 50th) due to arriving late to game and the instability of Hoke's last two teams.

Joined: 09/13/2008

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trueblueintexas

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:45 PM ^

My primary frustration about the PSU game, was that it was the first time it looked like Michigan didn’t belong on the same field as the opposing team since the OSU game in year one of Harbaugh. It had nothing to do with effort. It just looked like Michigan didn’t have any answers on offense and even defense at times. I didn’t expect to see that in year three, despite the personnel issues which are very real.

Joined: 11/10/2008

MGoPoints: 36766

jackw8542

October 23rd, 2017 at 10:07 AM ^

As I recall, there were a few times that Barry Sanders made very good defensive players look inept; Saquon Barkley is as close to his talent level as I have seen (at least since Hopalong Cassidy), and he was able to make us look silly a couple of times. McSorley had probably the best day I have seen him have, as his passes were very accurate, even the 50-50s that his receivers always seemed to catch. Meanwhile, our fans scream in one game that we never give our receivers the chance to make plays in 50-50 situations and then scream (like on the throw to Crawford where the CB had his left arm in a hammerlock and was not called for PI) that it was stupid to throw into coverage, even though without the hammerlock it was at least a 50-50 ball. This was still a game until Barkley made that juggling catch over McCray. Have you seen any of our receivers make that kind of a catch this year? Instead, JOK completed 16 of 28 even though, from what I have read, his receivers dropped 6 very catchable balls, at times in the worst possible circumstances. That does not keep a great many of our so-called “fans” from screaming inanities about JOK (unpleasant inanities). Not only do the drops impact JOK's completion percentage and YPA, but in many ways a dropped pass on first down is worse than a 5 yard penalty: would you rather have 1st and 15 or 2nd and 10? I wholly agree with the OP’s comment about who owes what to whom: “I read a lot of griping about Harbaugh’s offense and how it must be simplified for the college game. No it does not. Jim Harbaugh owes we the fans nothing. He owes his athletes the opportunity to excel beyond college football.” First, (perhaps first responding to the idiotic comment to the effect that he does owe the fans and might have an empty stadium if he does not realize that, but that is too stupid to merit response) everything that Jim Harbaugh has done since his arrival has reflected positively on our great university: his actions have been player first and have led to Michigan having an unprecedented level of all Big 10 academic team players, a part of the “opportunity to excel beyond college football” noted by the OP. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I would not trade Saban-level success for the Harbaugh level of integrity and prioritization that we get with our great coach. Second, as many may recall, RR started to adopt his system in year one even though his players could not execute it so that they would start to learn how to do what he wanted done. I am happy to see Jim Harbaugh implement his system so that everyone will understand it and so that it will operate well when the right players are in the right position with a reasonable level of experience. Unfortunately, that is not this year. Third, even after the poor recruiting classes that preceded his arrival, we would not be doing as “poorly” (5-2 may not be what we want but it is not really a bad record) if we had not lost our starting QB, our best OL and our best (as it turns out) WR to injuries. The only thing from the PSU game that seemed hard to understand (to me) was why the coaches did not have Bush tracking Barkley instead of having McCray on him, particularly when earlier in the week Bush had said openly that he would be covering Barkley. It is true that McCray simply does not have the speed to keep up with Barkley. But I am confident both that there was a team oriented reason for Don Brown’s decision to have McCray cover Barkley and that the reason will not be disclosed to the general public. At the start of the season, I hoped we would go 12-0 and thought we had a chance. After losing to MSU (and having grown up in Michigan, that is still an important game to me), I adjusted to 11-1 as what I hoped to see. Now, I have adjusted to 10-2 plus a bowl victory. If PSU was able to rise from the ashes last year after we demolished them, there is no reason to simply accept that we can’t pull off the same sort of growth (miracle?), even if certain reasonably obvious talent deficiencies suggest that we won’t accomplish it, and there is every reason for us fans to cheer every Saturday for our team to go out and get it done and continue to cheer for the team regardless of whether they actually succeed to a level acceptable to us. A little grousing is okay, but character assassination is never okay, and I have seen far too much of that on this board, primarily from know-it-alls who really have little or nothing that is constructive to add to the discussion. When we see a game like last Saturday, we are disappointed, but we are not nearly as disappointed (or as bruised and battered) as the team, and we are not nearly as disappointed as the coaching staff that actually put in a 100 hour work week to try to get that win. Go Blue!

Joined: 10/30/2010

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The Baughz

October 23rd, 2017 at 10:02 AM ^

Nobody wants Harbaugh gone but he is ultimately responsible for what goes on and must be held accountable. The offense is putrid. Changes need to be made on that side of the ball. The 4th and 11 play when they called a playaction was the worst. You have to put guys in the best position to succeed, and this staff does not do this well. I watched this game with some psu/osu buddies and they didnt even talk shit. They genuinely felt bad for me. That's where Michigan football is at right now. However, it could be worse. Harbaugh has 10+ games and will probably win 8/9 games this year. Is he meeting expectations? No. But if makes the necessary changes and keeps recruiting, then I think he will eventually meet said expectations.

Joined: 10/08/2010

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Everyone Murders

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:36 PM ^

It's not really fair to pick on the OP, but FFS could we stop with the self-styled "I'm going to calm the fanbase down!" faux voices of reason?  These posts are obnoxious because they assume we need some fucking Moses to calm us all down, where the vast majority of us recognize that while there are some things to improve, it's going to be OK. 

In short, OP, and all others of your ilk (and again, sorry to unload on you individually, but fergodsakes man - enough):

 

Joined: 12/14/2010

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You Only Live Twice

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:33 PM ^

OP's post was fine, (title was not) but should not have been a thread.  Too many threads being started that would have functioned well as comments in an existing thread.

Harbaugh doesn't need either defense or attack from fans.  This is what he was saying to the team; don't be swayed by either your most fervent admirers nor your most vile critics.  It's fans.  The team will solve its issues as a team, with the coaching staff, not us on the internet.

Rebuilding always, always takes longer than destruction.  The reason people believe in JH is he saved the program from tanking futher.  Give him at least as much time to rebuild as it took for Coleman, Martin, and Brandon to take us down.   Canham and Bo they were not.

Joined: 09/14/2013

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M-Dog

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:41 PM ^

Your heart is in the right place, but Harbaugh needs no defense from us.

No more than Urban Meyer needs defending because he lost to OU.

No more than Jimbo Fisher needs defending because he has an injured QB.

If every coach got run out of town every time he lost a game, there would be noobody left. 

Joined: 07/06/2008

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Scottwood

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:45 PM ^

NFL offenses don’t really do manball stuff. It’s mostly passing spread. Harbaugh’s offense isn’t what the players will be playing in in the NFL. At least, not for most of the NFL teams. And that’s fine. But you’re acting like Harbaugh runs a common NFL style offense when it’s really becoming less common.

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greg788

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:00 PM ^

Sigh. I can't add anyting that hasn't already been stated.

Except: the truth almost always lies between the two extremes in an argument (in this case one extreme being coaching and the other being personell).

Or, our struggles are a combination of all of these factors. 

in the end, what difference does pondering it really make except to blow off steam? It is what it is right now. 

I recall looking at next year's depth chart after the bowl game with a clear, unbiased mindset and predicting to a fellow UM fanatic at work that we'd go 9-4 next year. That was my gut instinct based on personnel. 

And, lo, my prediction's on track. How we get there is food / fodder for all this board mayhem. 

Call me pessimistic or realistic but I was also laughing at my coworker becaue he truly thought we were gonna hammer Penn State last night.  

Joined: 06/19/2010

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BoFlex

October 22nd, 2017 at 10:59 PM ^

It is fine to still have the upmost faith in Harbaugh, but that can still involve making changes to the coaching staff. College head coaches are paid big bucks to make hard decisions, not to employ friends and family.

I would not mind seeing Harbaugh adopting a policy similar to the one Urban Meyer has with his asst. coaches. Meyer asks them to commit themselves to the program for a minimum of 2 years, and in return he will give them the same timeframe to install their system/style of play.

For example, Urban went 24-2 in 2012-2013, but still fired his DC Everett Withers because there were clear weaknesses on the defense those 2 seasons. Similarly, Urban sent co-OCs Tim Beck and Ed Warinner packing last year after a shared 23-3 record because their offense sucked.

It would be a little discouraging to see Harbaugh hold onto Drevno (and Jay Harbaugh) after 2-3 seasons of underwhelming development on the O-Line and RBs.

Joined: 05/30/2011

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greg788

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:04 PM ^

I agree -- I'd more like Harbaugh to have the mindset of any corporate boss, which is, you're judged by your output and friendship is secondary. I guess that's another way of saying your response. 

Hoke and so many coaches get this buddy thing going and it ends up being their own downfall once those assistants reach their Peter Principle. As a boss, you're only as good as those beneath you ...

Harbaugh has some bro thing with some of his assistants (and in a literal sense with our running back coach, who incidentally has ZERO experience AFAIK playing or coaching RBs). 

Joined: 06/19/2010

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sdogg1m

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:05 PM ^

I would be suprised if he held onto Drevno as well. Most coaches don't fire someone midseason after a bad game and for good reason. Drevno will be on staff until after the bowl game.

Saturday was annoying as we watched Michigan get beat and the LiveBlog was an insane mess.

Joined: 09/13/2008

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DrMantisToboggan

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:13 PM ^

I'm a little surprised at the amount of people I have seen coming after Jay Harbaugh. I can only imagine that it's just because it's easy to shout "nepotism" and move on. He's one of our best recruiters. He was fine as a TE and Special Teams guy. Nobody complained about Jay when AJ Williams suddenly became an asset, and then Devin Asiasi and TJ Wheatley played very well for freshmen. Nobody complained when we had excellent return and punting units. 

 

Jay might not be a RB coach. But, that is also the position you need the least coaching at, and everyone on the roster has had at least one year of coaching from Ty Wheatley. Jay might need to go back to TEs and/or Special Teams duties, but he is certainly an asset to this staff.

Joined: 11/26/2014

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Carcajou

October 23rd, 2017 at 12:35 AM ^

Not sure what that is. Michigan Monday pretty much sums up what limits Chris Evans.

As for backs in pass protection, that is not a problem unique to Michigan 2017, or Michigan at all- it's something that is a problem at all levels, including the NFL.

Joined: 02/26/2009

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michfan23

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:03 PM ^

While I agree that Jim is the best coach for Michigan and that one loss doesn’t define his talent or job, I am still disappointed with each loss. That is not in any way a hot take, I think the fans that make up this site are the most dedicated and passionate of the Michigan fan base, so we have a tendency to overreact at times. This should be a place for all opinions, even those we don’t agree with. Probably can do without 10 threads on defending Harbaugh, but if that’s what people want then they can go for it.
My point to make is that while Jim is a great coach, he has not had the best of luck or the best game plan for most of the season. If Hoke or Rich Rod lost a game 42-13 to Penn State our reactions would be far more angry and probably justifiably so. Harbaugh is getting very little criticism in comparison, but a few posters have taken the time to defend him like he is about to get fired. Jim isn’t going anywhere and really couldn’t care less about our anger. He hates losing too.
I support the team, will watch when I can, but I’ve accepted that this team is flawed. We are looking to blame one thing, but that’s just unfair, it’s a collection of a lot of factors. Is Harbaugh one of those factors, sure, he gets paid a hefty figure to win and he is judged on that. Whether we think that is fair or not can be debated, but he hasn’t been perfect. My hope for the season is they pick up some more wins against some less talented opponents and compete with teams that are more talented, get into a bowl game, work like crazy in those practices, and set a foundation towards next year.

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freelion

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:04 PM ^

However he and his staff are accountable for the underachieving this season. Harbaugh is not in the hot seat in the least but his offensive assistants should be.

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michfan23

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:22 PM ^

I agree. Do you think he will make the decision to fire any of his staff at seasons end? I just don’t get the feeling like those guys are on the hot seat in his mind. Every week he says “we have the best people on it”. Then he makes it clear that he is referring to the coaches and players. Will he make these decisions?

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samdrussBLUE

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:16 PM ^

Wrong. Harbaugh has an obligation to provide an opportunity for every player to be a successful college player and to win games for the University of Michigan. He also has an obligation to prepare his players for future success both personally and professionally, regardless of career. His debt is not to the NFL.

Joined: 01/21/2012

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Maynard

October 23rd, 2017 at 10:03 AM ^

I was wondering if anyone was going to catch that. OP argues JH's debt is to act as a NFL development program over and above the university and the fans. Huh? I don't think so. Last I knew, he is an employee of the University of Michigan, not the NFL. His job isn't to create NFL players. It's to create success for the University of Michigan and its football program.

Secondly, not a huge deal but annoying nevertheless: unclaimed 85 National Champions? No. That is quite a reach. That is not one of the 11 national championships we have. I believe it was Oklahoma in 85. 

Joined: 02/19/2016

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NJblue2

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:26 PM ^

Hey man I'm with you, but I think you have to make changes with the offense, because it's horrible and the o-line has not been good in 3 years so to act like nothing needs to change, and no one is saying to fire anyone midseason. 

Also I highly doubt O'Korn or Speight play in the NFL, this is probably as good as they'll be.

Joined: 08/08/2010

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Durham Blue

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:36 PM ^

My expectations with JH are so different than they were under RR or Hoke.  In 2008 to 2014 I dreaded every away game.  Didn't matter if it was Illinois, Rutgers or OSU.  There was a good chance we would lose.  Hell, even home games against shit competition were a circus.  With Harbaugh the team has stability and fight.  Before the PSU game, neighbors and co-workers would ask me about the team's chances.  I would shrug and say PSU is really good, and we would probably lose.  But deep down I had a feeling we would be competitive and we could win.  Bottom line is I go into every game with incredible confidence in JH.  The losses to MSU and PSU haven't changed my confidence.  I fully expect to beat Rutgers, Maryland, etc.  And in a few weeks I will be confident that we'll be competitive and have a good shot at coming out with wins against Wiscy and OSU.

That is the difference between then and now.  Not saying there isn't room for improvement.  But I like having that confidence again.

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charblue.

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:42 PM ^

cut both ways. Venting is frequently a great cleansing and much of the criticism is valid. But when people go off on the coach and his program, you can't then claim it's lame when others feel the need to defend both. The point is, disappointment is just frustrating for everyone and we all respond differently.

However, there is no point in giving weight to outside agitators like Finebaum, an SEC troll-baiter of the worst order.

Joined: 05/25/2010

MGoPoints: 11420

01mgoblue

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:48 PM ^

Please fire Jum Harbaugh before it is too late.  H eis going to destroy this program.  I have been a season ticket holder for 30 years.  I want him out, RIGHT NOW<

Joined: 10/21/2017

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01mgoblue

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:58 PM ^

Jim Harbaugh needs to go.  He is not the right fit for Michigan.  Hei s getting out coached each and every week.  He is a good Catholic man and a good coach, but he is a horrible Michigan coach.  This job is too much for him.  Too emotional.  It is not the right fit.  

I am a huge sports fan.  I have been a season ticket holder for decades and I work in the media.  Michigna needs to make a change sooner than later.  I believe it will happen at the end of the year.  Sarah Harbaugh wants out of Ann Arbor.  This stress is effecting their marriage.  John Bacon knows the truth, though I am not sure that he will write about it.  John and Jim are very close.  Sarah placed a call to John (Jim's brother) after the MSU game.  She wants Jim out of Michigan.  Harbaugh needs to return to the NFL and Michigan needs a different coach.  

Nobody who writes in this blog truly knows anything about the Harbaugh situation.  I do becuase of where I work and who I know.  This is a sad ending, but even Jim knows that he must leave.  His coaching performance last night was another sign that the end is near for him.

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Harbaugh soldier

October 22nd, 2017 at 11:59 PM ^

He needs to take responsibility for hiring his son who's not qualified to be a main position coach. This has lost games for them with RB fumbles and lack of pass protection. Jay should be an anslyst in high level team or earn his stripes somewhere else and then earn his job here.

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