Nico Collins with strong words of support for Jim Harbaugh
"If you think he’s not the right coach, you’re wrong," Collins said. "He’s a great coach. He’s a coach that played in the NFL, coached in the NFL, and knows exactly how to coach his players. If you want a great team to go to and a great coach to be coached by, go to the University of Michigan
February 10th, 2021 at 3:45 PM ^
He supported Harbaugh so much that he sat out last year. Just saying.
February 10th, 2021 at 3:52 PM ^
I've read this twice now, and its silly.
The circumstances were different, and had nothing to do with Harbaugh. From what I remember of the Locked on Wolverines podcast when the B1G season was cancelled he left, went to the West coast, and got an agent. I don't blame the guy for this. By the time the season was 'back on' he was already trying to prep for a pro career.
I loved some of my Sr. year prof's at UM. But if someone had offered me a good job right then and said I just need to ditch the rest of my classes, passing just enough to get my degree, I'd have done it because having a job is important.
And Nico isn't just preparing for 'random analyst job'. He's preparing for the League, likely a lifelong dream and possible generational wealth.
He has nothing to lose by trashing Harbaugh at this point; but he didn't.
February 10th, 2021 at 3:59 PM ^
Well, technically, NFL executives who are doing backgrounds on these players might not be too impressed with college kids talking bad about their head coach. Not sure a nonconformist is what NFL teams are looking for in players. That said, I have no doubt Nico was being sincere.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:06 PM ^
He could have said a lot less or nothing at all.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:01 PM ^
How would not playing football better prepare him than playing for a "great" coach?
February 10th, 2021 at 4:06 PM ^
At this point it's clear that you either don't know the facts or are being intentionally obtuse.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:11 PM ^
So you think not playing is better? Seems unrealistic to me but okay.
Did anyone in the B1G play after originally opting out?
February 10th, 2021 at 4:28 PM ^
Nobody said that opting out is better or worse. It was a personal decision to 1) stay safe during the pandemic and 2) focus on specific training for the upcoming draft.
Of course, and there are many players (including many returning and presumptive starters) who stayed opted out.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:58 PM ^
He’s so obtuse he’s clueless to what intentional might be at this time!
February 10th, 2021 at 5:59 PM ^
This dude is so obviously maizen its hilarious. The same ol put words in other posters mouths, distort what they say, and only pick the points that fit his narrative so he can argue with himself to sound smart. I wonder how much $ he's spent on making new accounts after being banned countless times. Get a life dude.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:04 PM ^
Yeah, the "he sat out last year so clearly he's lying about Harbaugh now" is on a RCMB intelligence level. Sure, sometimes guys stick up for their coach even when he's no good or needs to move on, so I can understand questioning him in that regard, but I would expect better than the former take from mgoboard.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:08 PM ^
I'm generally more interested in what people do than what they say. The lying part is something you're adding on to try to avoid the actual point along with the RCMB ad hom as I never said he was lying per se.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:41 PM ^
If the RCMB shoe fits....
February 10th, 2021 at 4:59 PM ^
Man, it's one thing to be wrong but you are way out in left field here. And yes, you did insinuate that Nico was lying, more than once. The guy signed with an agent, everyone knew he signed. Even if he wanted to come back Harbaugh could not let him. It was not a choice, he didn't say one thing and do another. If he was eligible, I fully believe he would have played.. but hje was not.
February 10th, 2021 at 5:13 PM ^
All right I'm almost willing to accept my L here and move on but there were guys that signed with agents and still played including one that played for us.
February 10th, 2021 at 6:07 PM ^
Well, they made it clear in the article that Mayfield had not accepted any financial assistance from his agent; we have no idea if that happened with Collins and Rosenhaus. I would like to also add that there were a couple of significant players in the conference who signed with agents and some of them never came back (e.g Parsons, Slater, Thomas, Collins), some did (Mayfield), and some did and then left midway through the season (Bateman). So I guess we can take from that any praises Parsons, Slater, Thomas, or Bateman heap upon Franklin, Harbaugh, Fleck, or Fitzgerald are suspect and likely just lies they feed us sheeple.
Or, you know, they made decisions reliant on the pretty bad handling of the season by the Big 10 as best they could and either didn't feel like returning for whatever legitimate reasons they had or were hamstrung by actions they took with agents that couldn't likely be undone.
Anyway, keep on digging; I'm sure you'll win the day.
February 10th, 2021 at 7:12 PM ^
If you are serious about proving your point, you should provide some data. Create a list of players (college and pro) who sat out this year. See if there is a pattern.
For example, the wide receiver from Minn. He played one or two games and then decided to sit out the rest of the year. Did he dislike the coach? A few years ago, Bosa decided to sit out to get ready for the draft. Anything there?
Of course, if the point is to troll, then just speculating would suffice.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:51 PM ^
Ten years ago, sure. This is exactly what I expect from MGoBoard these days.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:54 PM ^
You're right I should tell people to fuck off and call people idiots instead. That would really up the dialog around here.
February 10th, 2021 at 7:36 PM ^
I mean, if the shoe fits...
February 11th, 2021 at 9:14 AM ^
You aren't welcome here. As previously stated - STFU forever and head over to RCMB where you'll fit in better with all the other trash.
February 10th, 2021 at 3:54 PM ^
Well, he also returned to UM even though he had decent draft buzz coming out of last season, so that's also evidence to support his pro-Harbaugh stance.
It's almost like the pandemic caused unprecedented uncertainty surrounding sports this year, especially with the Big 10's idiosyncratic approach to scheduling and re-scheduling the season, and reading too much into the motives of players who did or did not participate is a fool's errand.
But yeah, I'm sure he secretly dislikes Harbaugh and is merely trolling Michigan fans while waiting in line to get his "Soup Campbell" tattoo.
February 10th, 2021 at 3:55 PM ^
I bought number balloons for my wife's birthday recently. I got her age wrong because 2020 was basically a year that didn't happen. We're all in the freakin Twilight Zone. It's hard to draw any concrete conclusions from anything that happened last year.
February 10th, 2021 at 3:56 PM ^
But he could totally throw shade at Harbaugh right now without repercussions. Or just keep his mouth shut. He did neither.
February 10th, 2021 at 6:03 PM ^
Game. Set. Match.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:05 PM ^
Over 150 players opted out last year. By your logic, they all must have hated their coach.
February 10th, 2021 at 3:56 PM ^
Well done, Nico! If anyone has a right to feel disappointed/misused by the coaching staff, it's him. So this speaks not only about Harbaugh as a coach but also to Nico's character.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:02 PM ^
What a high character guy. All the best to Nico in his pro career!
February 10th, 2021 at 4:27 PM ^
That's really nice of him.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:39 PM ^
Appreciate the show of support from Nico but at this point it’s not really about saying nice things or saying anything at all. It’s about getting the job done on the field. Period.
February 10th, 2021 at 6:08 PM ^
And Nico’s comment furthers progress toward your stated goal insomuch as Nico has capability to further it at this juncture.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:46 PM ^
Only took a few weeks but we are now back on the hype train.
Surprised it took THIS long.
All of the past beatings from OSU, scraping by Rutgers, talking crap when we shouldn't...
I look forward after the conclusion of next season to be back to wanting this guy out when he clearly is over his head and having you guys back in reality again with me.
Nico knows more about football and has more talent in his right pinky than I do in my whole body. That doesn't change the fact that JH is not the right coach.
February 10th, 2021 at 5:05 PM ^
I look forward after the conclusion of next season to be back to wanting this guy out
So you're hoping for a bad season next year? You, sir, are a great fan.
Nico knows more about football and has more talent in his right pinky than I do in my whole body.
You admit that he knows more about football than you, but you're not willing to trust his evaluation of the coaches that coach said football. Interesting.
February 10th, 2021 at 5:49 PM ^
I'm willing to trust that Nico is a kid of high character and thus wouldn't say anything bad about his coaches or teammates. But the fact is that he's an All American talent who didn't put up All American numbers because the offense didn't afford him the opportunity to do so. He's a 1st round talent who will be a day 2 draft pick most likely. Hate to say it but does anyone doubt he would be a surefire 1st rounder had he stayed home and gone to Alabama? I don't.
February 10th, 2021 at 6:08 PM ^
Like I said earlier, Nico is probably the player that was most underutilized in our offense. No disagreement there.
Nico is certainly a 1st round talent, IMO. But I can't say that he would be a surefire 1st rounder if he had stayed at Bama. I mean, he would've been splitting time with Ridley, Jeudy, Smith, Ruggs, Waddle... That's a lot of competition for receptions.
February 10th, 2021 at 6:11 PM ^
Those guys are all 1st rounders because Alabama knows how to get them all properly involved. I mean hell, even Lloyd whom half the people on here shit on for his caveman offense knew how to utilize a talent like Braylon Edwards (who I think is a pretty good comparison from a talent standpoint)
February 10th, 2021 at 6:32 PM ^
I would've loved to see Nico more properly involved in the offense. I don't think anyone would disagree with that comment. I just won't go so far as to say that he would be a 1st rounder had he gone to Alabama. There are only so many passes to go around, no matter how properly players are utilized. I love Nico as a player, but would he have beaten those guys out for targets? This is not a knock on Nico at all, just a statement of the amazing talent that Bama had at WR.
February 10th, 2021 at 5:30 PM ^
Says a fan. One really bad season. Again, what would’ve happened at Clemson had they axed Dabo for the same shit fans here cry about incessantly. Michigan was improving drastically under JH compared to Hoke and RichRod, and latter day Carr was lost ga es a.l the time it should not. The road back from that mediocrity takes a long time to do, and this year was a wash. No replacement coach folks wanted proved he was already a winner. Campbell and Iowa State’s one good year doesn’t make him better than JH.
February 10th, 2021 at 7:22 PM ^
I am going to address both replies to me at once.
First, any above average coach could have taken the steaming pile left from Hoke and Rich Rod, sorry. Those guys left the program in such disarray, you could have put McElwain as the head coach and they would have put up 9-10 win seasons. There are enough resources at this school for a decent coach to return Michigan to what it was before. The "road back from mediocrity" does not take a program like Michigan seven years.
They are not IMPROVING drastically. In fact, since the team peaked in 2016, there has been a pretty noticeable decline. This program is absolutely not headed in the right direction.
To the first guy, yeah, that's what I'm rooting for, a bad program. Come on. I genuinely hope that Harbaugh makes me eat my words and turns Michigan into what they CAN be. But it hasn't happened. He is going through the motions.
I have seen this played out over, and over, and over, and over again. Literally two months ago, people were screaming for Harbaugh to leave, and RIGHTFULLY SO. And now, "we are lucky to have Harbaugh as our coach??"
Insert "who ya gonna get?" replies here.
I say this almost on a daily basis. Michigan basketball is everything I wished the football program was. They don't talk, they go on court, win, don't chirp. Michigan football talks non-stop shit, goes on the field, rolls over. I have every single bit of confidence that the basketball program will have their players improve year over year. I have every single bit of confidence that players who enter the football program will stagnate, not reach potential, and the team will constantly get walloped by the better teams.
And to the very first comment, what the hell do you expect Nico to say? "Yeah, he's a shit coach."
February 10th, 2021 at 8:21 PM ^
Michigan basketball was awesome in the 70s and 80s. Won a national championship in 89. Very close to winning several more. In the 90s, they were outstanding. Essentially, the basketball program wasn't thaaaaaat far from being thought of as successful as the football program. Then, the "scandal" hit. Ellerbe took the program to the pits. Amaker didn't do much better. I'd say.....similar to RR and Hoke (actually better than those two). Then.....comes Beilein. He did WORSE than Amaker did, when he took over the team. However, the fan base didn't have the same "expectations" as the they have for the Football team, and let him build his program. Building the program up for many years......while some "fans" were calling for his job in between two national championship appearances. Siting "he's lost it" as a rationale. He leaves the program as the most successful coach in program history, and leaves a team with a very successful base to the new coach....that has ridden that wave to even greater heights.
What baffles me is......how you bring up the basketball program, and have no context behind it. What Howard took over was a hell of a lot better than what Harbaugh took over. As I said, earlier.....it was more like what Beilein took over. So, I'm glad you have figured out what being a fan is.....and actually ROOT for the team, but you need to do the same for the football team.
February 10th, 2021 at 8:35 PM ^
Why does that baffle you? You realize that I am also including the last decade in my discussion about basketball, right? They have had the same mentality since Beilein. And Beilein took over a MUCH worse situation. Michigan basketball was a floating buoy in a massive ocean, a lifeless husk of a program from a once proud history. They hadn't been to a freaking tournament game in an eternity. Michigan football had a couple of stupid coaches but still was recruiting at a pretty damn high level. The resources were all there for Harbaugh. Michigan basketball could never in their life pull in elite recruits, even under Beilein, and he still made it go. Harbaugh continues to bring in top 10-15 classes and the team looks the same as it always has.
By the way, saying they were outstanding in the 90s is completely disingenuous. They were great in 91-93. From 94 to 00, they were basically flat.
The University of Michigan has never made basketball a priority. While I do not blame them because they realize where the money is made, pretty much 95 percent of the Michigan fans don't care about basketball, and they still did it in spite of the limited effort from the school.
Why am I not allowed to be critical of the football team? I have been plenty critical of the basketball program when Beilein was down- but he continued to evolve and put the program on the map. You do realize that rooting for a team and being critical are two vastly different concepts?
February 10th, 2021 at 9:07 PM ^
The basketball team was fucking awful for about 10 years before Beilein took over and the football team was the worst it’s been in its history for the 8 years before Harbaugh took over. The two coaches didn’t take over vastly different teams in terms of how awful their predecessors were. The difference was the expectations of the fans for each team
February 10th, 2021 at 9:08 PM ^
Michigan football has the resources to recover quickly. They just needed to bring in any halfway decent coach to restore it.
Michigan basketball hadn't been the same since the Fab 5. Beilein had to recreate an entire program.
February 10th, 2021 at 10:55 PM ^
The Ellerbe Era was very similar to the RR Era. Total tire fire.
The Amaker Era was very similar to the Hoke Era. Very good recruiting, but couldn't win. Again, I'd argue that Amaker winning NIT championships is better than Hoke's declining record.
Michigan basketball had historical success. All they needed was a good coach. But...even the best coach in program history needed time to overcome a decade of mediocrity and MSU dominance. Also, basketball (unlike football) can take ONE player and completely turn around a program, so it's easier for that turnaround to happen. Still took Beilein a long time. It was ok, though, because the overwhelming sentiment was "we were terrible, so give this guy time". Harbaugh didn't get that luxury. He took over a similar "in shambles" program....that can't just get one player to turn around the program. He similarly has a juggernaut program in his way (OSU). Instead of seeing that....it's "Its Michigan and any coach can go 10-3". Except....2-5 losses have been the norm for over 40 years. People seem to think a good coach can suddenly turn a struggling program (with built in hurdles) into Alabama, over night. During a time when recruiting services, Social Media, Smart phones, conference divisions, conference championship games, and playoffs are a thing. Which, none of those things were around in the 90s.
You say "bad coaches".
Need I remind you of Rich Rodriguez's resume pre-Michigan? Took a terrible West Virginia team and had them almost playing for a national championship. The previous 3 years, before Michigan.....11-1, 11-2, and 10-2. That was good for winning the conference twice, and 2nd the other time. That's actually better than what Campbell has ever done. He goes to Michigan.....suddenly forgets how to coach.
Brady Hoke.....turns a terrible Ball State team into a 12-1 conference championship team. Then, turns a losing San Diego State team into a 9 win team. Sounds pretty "Campbell like", to me. Goes to Michigan....forgets how to coach.
Jim Harbaugh....ridiculously successful at Stanford and San Francisco 49ers. Goes to Michigan.....takes over a 5-7 team (with the defending National Championship team as a main rival....and in their division). Swiftly goes 10 wins, 10 wins, 8 wins, 10 wins (sharing the division championship), 9 wins, and Covid year. Apparently, his lack of championships is due to him "losing it". Can't be anything else, says this fan base.
"Anyone can do better"....except pretty successful coaches not even doing close to as good as Harbaugh has done. "Bring in Campbell".....because he had one year with less than 4 losses, during a crazy Covid year. Yep....can't see that going RR or Hoke like.
Bottom line is....your expectations for the football team is not similar to the basketball team, so it's not fair to compare them. Because....you aren't being fair with the results.
February 11th, 2021 at 8:39 AM ^
The last sentence summarizes perfectly why this fan base just drives me off the wall.
We are OK with the results of the football program because they have built in excuse after excuse. Going up against OSU. Can't compete with the elite programs. And yet, they have not won a title since 2004 and we CONTINUE to cover up for their shortcomings. Why don't fans expect excellence for football but they do for basketball? What's the point of even watching the football team anymore when we aren't "being fair with the results?"
If MSU can rise up and be pretty damn good, take out OSU, win the Big Ten more than once, why can't Michigan? Nah, it's just excuse, after excuse, after excuse.
The bottom line is that Michigan football is a paper tiger. They have historically been a paper tiger. When they go up against teams who don't back down from the winged helmet, they fold. Michigan basketball just does the opposite and goes about their business.
The football program is Ann Arbor's pride and joy, and yet they can't get ANYTHING DONE. They have a built in brand, they consistently get top 10-15 recruiting classes, an alumni and booster base that will NEVER leave their side. But when the rubber meets the road, and the only thing left is on the field performance, they fall apart.
But yeah, you are right. I shouldn't expect excellence. Harbaugh has been here SIX BLEEPING YEARS. You think it takes MORE than that to turn a program that has the resources like Michigan to an elite program? And yet, we launched Rich Rod out of a cannon after three. Harbaugh was brought here to win... CHAMPIONSHIPS. Do you remember what the chatter was when we hired this guy? ALL of us were talking about how Michigan finally landed their guy and college football was in trouble. But NOW, he needs more time??
I will always root like heck for them to win. I've been a fan my whole life. But I know next year, we will be right back to where we started, pissed off and wanting Harbaugh out. And then after a few weeks, we'll be right back on the hope train. He's shown me nothing in his six years here other than returning Michigan to a similar form to what they were under Carr- 8-10 win seasons and nothing to show beyond that. If that's what you want, that's cool. I expect more.
February 11th, 2021 at 5:19 PM ^
Ok....you moved me.
I'm with you. Why "settle"? We should DEMAND excellence! Nothing less than undefeated National Champions, every year. Anything less will be less than "excellence". Hell, for that matter.....even undefeated National Champions, every year, isn't enough. We should demand 50 point wins, and hold the opposition scoreless, every game. Anything less is "excuses". I mean....since we are ignoring logic and all.
Obviously, we are the only major college team that has "resources". No other programs have millions of dollars, in this day and age of tv revenue, sponsorship, and conference profit sharing. Of course, we are the only school with rich alumni, who are willing to give to the school. We most definitely have an advantage over schools like Florida State, Miami, Texas, and other warm weather schools. I mean....kids should be lining up to play for a cold weather school. Who in the hell wants to play in warm weather?! I mean, beating a OSU team that circles us on the calendar, every year, should be easy work for any coach. I mean, all they have to be is "good" at Michigan, and *POOF* wins! Who cares about the sustained excellence and top 3 status of OSU, for decades. Who cares that they continue to be top 1-5 in recruiting rankings....for a decade + straight. Who cares about them winning 2 national championships and playing in 2 more since the BCS Era began. I mean, Michigan split a National Championship with Nebraska 23 years ago. I know none of our recruits were alive then, but who cares! A good recruiter will just tell them about it, and they'll jump aboard. We'll just tell them to not go on the internet or national TV, so they won't see that OSU has been better than us for longer than they have been alive. I mean, seriously. It shouldn't be too hard to win a conference championship. All we got to do is beat OSU, and we'll get a chance to go play for the conference championship. I mean....ANY coach can do that! Hell, as you said....MSU beat OSU before. Nevermind the fact that OSU overlooked them, because they don't respect MSU. I mean....MSU and OSU talk about beating each other every off season, right? Oh....nope. That's Michigan and OSU. MSU's only "rival" is Michigan. I'm sure getting MSU's best shot every year is easy to deal with. Along with Notre Dame's best shot (when we play them). Along with Minnesota. Along with OSU. Oh...and (now) along with PSU. I mean....who cares that we are the only school with a bunch of rivals that view us as their biggest or second biggest rival. A bunch of successful schools, at that.
I mean....who cares that Michigan sucked for a decade, before Harbaugh got here. While OSU, MSU, and Notre Dame were all doing great. I'm sure that had no bearing on anything. I'm sure recruits didn't see any of that. I'm sure that them only knowing Michigan being mediocre or a laughing stock their entire lives.....along with them only knowing OSU success.....has no bearing on their recruiting. Any coach can go into their house and say, "Come play for Michigan, because we have won 1/2 a national championship in the last 72 years. We were REALLY good in the 30s, 40s, 80s, and part of the 90s. I know it's 2021, and that was a really long time ago, but we have ALUMNI!".
So....I'm with you! A guy that took over a national laughing stock program should have no time to build his program up. Overcoming OSU's head start and advantage is nothing. 6 years of three 10 win, a 9 win, an 8, and a half a season is just not enough, because we were doing so much better than that in the RR and Hoke years. Hell....even the Carr years of equal or less results were "better".
We should be winning National Championships, every year, dammit! Because......ummmmm.....us random internet people say so! Not because of any realistic reasons.
I like your unreasonable expectations. They are fun. Fantasy land must have been your favorite game, growing up. Lol
Actually, the fact that we were 5-7 TWICE in 8 years, before Harbaugh got here....along with a 3-9 season.....and seeing what he has done has made me feel a since of hope. Unless OSU simultaneously decided to forget how to play Championship level football while Michigan is building a program......then it's going to take more than a few years, or even 6, to surpass them. That's logical and realistic expectations.
February 10th, 2021 at 4:53 PM ^
“He’s a coach that played in the NFL, coached in the NFL, and knows exactly how to coach his players.“
Two truths and a lie
February 10th, 2021 at 4:55 PM ^
Why ya gotta be so cranky, Dave?
February 10th, 2021 at 4:58 PM ^
Something to do with my ex wife
February 10th, 2021 at 6:31 PM ^
Yeah that will scar you for sure.