Great Article on how Harbaugh will Immediately Change the Culture
Great article by Nick Baumgardner, from Mlive, on how Harbaugh right away changed the culture at Stanford from a 1-11 team to a 12-1 team.
With the talent on our roster, it's going to be exciting to see how much the players develop.
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2015/01/jim_harbaugh_will_beg…
Feel free to embed any parts of the article that resonate.
Loved the part about how Harbaugh charts the results from each drill, and posts the results in the locker room. Makes everything a competition.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
So wins and losses won't just be meaningless statistics anymore?
January 6th, 2015 at 1:27 PM ^
Yeah, the days of clapping after every 3 and out and sack, are over. lol
January 6th, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^
that is the one thing that I hated most about Hoke, other than the losses. I know people around here gate RR, but i hate Hoke far more.
January 6th, 2015 at 2:12 PM ^
Are you saying you hate the clapping from hoke more than RRod's clapping, or are you saying you hate hoke the person more than RR the person?
January 6th, 2015 at 2:25 PM ^
RR showed passion and wasn't just a guy that stood there clapping. RR was an actual coach, hoke could have been replaced with anyone from the stands and there wouldn't have been much difference
January 6th, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^
I don't know man. I think you are over simplifying things a little bit by saying any guy in the stands could have done just about the same and that unlike Hoke, RR was an actual coach. Coaching is more than sideline behavior and in game adjustments. It certainly is part of coaching but not the summation of it.
Your interpretation of the passion from RR looked like whining and an inability to control himself at times to me. Just because I wasn't a huge fan of RRod's sideline behavior doesn't mean RR isn't a good coach. I just think us fans can throw around hate much too easily. I think time will prove, just as it has with RR, that Hoke is a good coach but perhaps for a multitude of different reasons (perhaps he's just not head coach material for a big time program) it didn't work out.
January 6th, 2015 at 2:15 PM ^
I dont "hate" Hoke....I just don't understand how the man became so flaccid and passive. He never seemed to care much about the losses. He became a "figurehead" as a coach and delegated too much to other people. He was too stubborn to change his own ways of coaching, for example getting more involved and putting a headset on. In my opinion, that passive approach rubbed off on the team and they played soft, sloppy and without care or responsibility.
January 6th, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
is probably the best word I've read to describe Hoke. Not hate-worthy. Just pathetic.
Time for VIRILE HARBAUGH!!!
January 6th, 2015 at 3:17 PM ^
Harbaughner?
January 6th, 2015 at 2:29 PM ^
For the better part of his tenure here, he didn't seem to genuinely care about Michigan's place in college football.
January 6th, 2015 at 4:29 PM ^
I don't think that's fair. There is no doubt in my mind that Hoke cared deeply about Michigan's success and its place in the CFB hierachy. Nor do I think his sideline demeanor was an issue. There are many coaches out there who try to remain on an even keel on gameday. Pete Carroll is always clapping and encouraging his guys, win or lose.
The problem with Hoke was that he just wasn't that good of a head coach. He cared; he just didn't know how to fix the problems.
January 6th, 2015 at 5:22 PM ^
We as fans must be careful not to confuse the ability or inability to win games consistently with other attributes. As long as Hoke won, fans tolerated his lack of answers in pressers as a whole. Once Hoke began losing, suddenly Hoke's pressers were annoying. He became obtuse, ignorant, naive, dismissive, untruthful, etc when in reality that's the way he always had been. From watching Harbaugh's pressers, he possesses many of the same attributes Hoke has in answering questions but as long as Harbaugh wins, fans will tolerate it. If he struggles, he will be portrayed as stubborn, archaic, dismissive, uncaring, etc and by and large it will likely be a result of his W/L record.
January 6th, 2015 at 5:46 PM ^
Neither coach deserves to be "hated." Rich Rod uprooted his life for a situation in which people were working against him from the start. Brady Hoke took his dream job and it didn't work out.
How does either of these situations deserve "hate?"
January 6th, 2015 at 1:27 PM ^
My gosh that was a GREAT article.
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January 6th, 2015 at 1:33 PM ^
Surprisingly well articulated.
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January 6th, 2015 at 1:28 PM ^
just clapping and slapping guys on the rear end.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:43 PM ^
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:30 PM ^
"I can honestly tell you we were in a place where we never thought we'd lose a game."
January 6th, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^
Compare that to Hagerup's letter to the team when he mentioned how he thought they could lose every game the rest of the season.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
Finally have the "winners/losers" accountability mentality teams need to play on Saturdays and win championships. Thanks for posting. Great article.
January 6th, 2015 at 2:37 PM ^
Kiss those participation medals goodbye boys.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:36 PM ^
Great article about a great man who teaches a great work ethic to young men who need a coach like that to bring out their own potential for greatness.
Great.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
wait for it...
long.
January 6th, 2015 at 2:05 PM ^
I'm so glad the punctuation police is on the beat. You must have a field day trolling the sparty and bucknut blog sites.
January 6th, 2015 at 4:34 PM ^
Great!
January 6th, 2015 at 5:16 PM ^
Amazing?
Sorry... watched "The Bachelor" train wreck last night... everything is amazing on that show. If you turned it into a drinking game, we'd all be passed out.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:38 PM ^
I think we're about to see who is committed to winning.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:40 PM ^
it does seem like failure to perform was acceptable or tolerated under Hoke if you made an effort and were a good person. Not anymore it seems.
January 6th, 2015 at 2:06 PM ^
The way the team performed on the field indicated there was little real accountability. You could see it because they didn't get better - either in the 2nd half of games or as the season progressed. Changing the culture of the program may be Harbaugh's biggest challenge in the beginning of his tenure here. But it will be absolutely critical. Fortunately, he's done it before and it's worked.
January 6th, 2015 at 3:30 PM ^
Harbaugh changed the culture of the 49ers in one season. They were a sorry group of sad sacks for over a decade before he showed up, and he made them into bona fide winners.
Not saying he'll accomplish that overnight while he's here, but if he can do that there, he can do it here.
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January 6th, 2015 at 1:42 PM ^
but I grew up with a kid that played under Jim at Stanford. It was his Senior year & Jim's first. I mentioned some of the things he said to me when I ran into him a few years ago after graduation. It's in the "What will our record be" thread from 3 days ago if you care to read. Likely in line with the article.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:42 PM ^
It's nice to see all the competition.
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January 6th, 2015 at 1:42 PM ^
BOTH WAYS MR. PEPPERS!
Can't wait till he lines up on both sides of the ball. Some guys choose USC because they playboys best players no matter what. They had 2-3 guys play both ways this year as freshman. Peppers is gonna be a absolute monster for Harbaugh if he stays healthy
January 6th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
Brady Hoke always made a point to talk about competing hard in practice every day. People sometimes wondered on this board if that had a lot to do with some seemingly bizarre changes to the starting lineup. I don't believe that the concept of competing more in practice is a winner all by itself. Clearly Harbaugh takes it up several levels from what Hoke & co referred to as "competing" in practice. This article reminds me a lot more of what Randy Walker did at NU with his "Winning Edge" program. Coach Walker didn't just post who lost or didn't complete reps he made those guys come in on Saturdays early am and make up every rep they didn't give their best on. The result was a high tempo Jet offense that allowed Damien Anderson to run all over worn out opponents. I always wondered what that kind of hyper competitiveness would do to Michigan caliber athletes with a smart head coach. Now it looks like I will get to see that.
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January 6th, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
Love this. It reminds me of wrestling in high school. I wrestled at New Lothrop, arguably the best wrestling program in the state regardless of class or division. We were always told, you're only as good as your workout partner. Meaning if he wasn't pushing himself and you, making you work and struggle for everything, neither of you would get better and the team didn't get better. This stuff definitely works and leads to continual improvement. HARBAUGH.
January 6th, 2015 at 2:33 PM ^
LOL.
January 6th, 2015 at 4:01 PM ^
Lol? 14 team state titles in wrestling. Championships speak for themselves.
January 6th, 2015 at 4:21 PM ^
D4 state titles are one thing but programs like St. Johns, Dundee, and Richmond wouldn't even struggle with NL. I would think that in the local area Swan Valley and Birch Run would also have a say in the matter. FWIW NL is currently 7th in the Power 15 in Michigan and I do respect the program, but definitely not the best in the state.
January 6th, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^
Agree to disagree. We've wrestled against some of the best big Division teams in the state over the years and held our own. It's funny you say small schools can't compete, tell that to some of the big schools NL has placed ahead of at different tournaments over the years.
January 6th, 2015 at 5:11 PM ^
My penis is bigger than your penis.
January 6th, 2015 at 5:42 PM ^
What year did you graduate from New Lothrop? And what weight class were you in as a senior?
January 6th, 2015 at 1:48 PM ^
You see the phrase "great article" posted a lot, and I've become skeptical of it. But this is a legit great article--the insight provided is fabulous. The headline reads like a throwaway opinion piece, but the content overdelivers on the premise.
Nick Baumgardner really does a good job. I have to believe he'll be poached before too long--he is producing great stuff for mlive. Best Ann Arbor M football beat writing since Jim Cnockaert, IMO, except hopefully he won't follow the same path to disaster.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:53 PM ^
Most posts titled "great" article have nothing remotely informative to them. It seems like titleing your post with that (rather than letting the content speak for itself) is a red flag that screams fluff. There are exceptions though...
Will read this one based on your recognition of the poor title and recommendation, in spite of the "great article" tag.
January 6th, 2015 at 2:20 PM ^
Yeesh, I certainly hope he can keep himself out of federal prison!
Cnockaert. I cringe everytime I see the guy's name.
January 6th, 2015 at 5:33 PM ^
He definitely puts out some good material, no doubt. He also writes some crap. Lazy, misleading crap. I think he has a hard time supressing his Spartan roots at times. He's very capable, but I feel like he falls into the typical media circle jerk far too often.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:48 PM ^
"He wants players to compete. He singles out winners, and he singles out losers. He keeps detailed lists of how much each player has improved year-over-year in specific drills, exercises and random non-game statistics. So if a player comes to him upset he's not playing more, Harbaugh simply points to his chart let's it talk for him."
It will sound dorky, but we do this in my office too (and it was inspired in part by some of the things that I knew Harbaugh did at Stanford strangely enough), except it pertains to various task completions and not drills. The funny part about creating an environment like this is that it works professionally - people want to do more and they want to do their best as a result and it is a great thing to see if you channel other things about the approach correctly. I am no football coach, but when you create a lively environment where most people want to succeed and give 100%, you've done something special by that alone.
January 6th, 2015 at 1:52 PM ^
Very good thing I don't work for you. I spend an excessive amount of time on MGoBlog and wouldn't get a lot done...
January 6th, 2015 at 1:57 PM ^
Everyone's grade was posted and ranked in large font around the classroom. Nobody wanted to be last. A buddy of mine in that class was never a very good student, but he got an A in that class because of it.