What are your real expectations if we got Harbaugh

Submitted by poseidon7902 on

Reading some of the posts/threads on here I've come to the conclusion that some on here may be putting too much emphasis on the ability of Harbaugh.  I don't question he's the top choice at the moment, but some have almost deified him.  The last thing I want to see is a broken fan base in 3 years because Harbaugh didn't get the ship righted in the righ amount of time.  That being said, lelt's play the hypothetical game.  We sign Harbaugh Jan 4 to a 5 year deal worth base salary of 5 million a year.  What's your expectation?  

 

Me personally, I feel like we may be in another position similar to Hoke's first year.  Not quite the same, but similar.  a well returned team with some adversity under their belt.  I would expect an initial boom of production, a 9 win season.  Then a fall off for the next 3 years averaging 7-8 wins a season.  It wouldn't be till his 5th season that things really start coming together.  

 

I could be wrong and he shows up on campus, 10 5 star recruits decommit elsewhere and commit to UM and we win the NC in year 2.  I just want to keep my expectations realistic no matter what coach we get.  

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jtmc33

November 25th, 2014 at 10:19 AM ^

I expect an aggressive, celebratory, hyper-over-active victory handshake with Dantonio in October 2015

And an Urban Meyer "What's your deal?" exchange in late November.

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jmdblue

November 25th, 2014 at 10:39 AM ^

If we get Harbaugh (I don't think we will).  Dantonio will actually have something to feel disrespected about.  Whether Harbaugh actually has such respect is irrelevant.  He'll know that all he needs to do is blow the guy off and ole Mark will become the Tazmanian Devil of Disrespected Hate.    The more Harbaugh ignored him the better it would get. It would be fun.

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taistreetsmyhero

November 25th, 2014 at 10:18 AM ^

is going to turn shane morris, speights, or malzone into a serviceable qb. regardless of our coach i think next year is more doom and gloom. after that, i think we could trend up with a good coach...all i realistically hope for is 3 seasons of at least 9 regular season wins in a row.

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CompleteLunacy

November 25th, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^

There are 3 potential starters. Only one has to be the guy. They're not gonna find the next Brady out of them, but asking for one of them to be "serviceable" isn't too tall of an order. With Mortis we have to remember that he's still only a sophomore and has started two whole games...one was decent tho he was given easy throws, the other was a disaster at the time the whole team was tanking. Morris has certainly underwhelmed, but I'm not sure it's fair to think he's a bust just yet.

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LKLIII

November 25th, 2014 at 11:03 AM ^

We may not have a good QB especially early next season, but with a well coached team, we no longer have a terrible O-Line and we will have Green, Johnson, Smith, and Ty.  You get one of the QBs to be an OK game manager that doesn't turn over the ball, and we could be in reasonable shape until a QB emerges that's a true weapon.

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funkywolve

November 25th, 2014 at 1:08 PM ^

Didn't Harbaugh pretty much pull Alex Smith from bust status to legit NFL QB in one year?

Now granted Smith was older and had a lot more experience then any QB on UM's roster, but I'd guess Harbaugh could make at least one of UM's QB's decent in his first year.  Heck, Harbaugh started a 2nd or 3rd stringer at Stanford and pulled one of the great upsets in college football history when they beat USC.

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UMinSF

November 25th, 2014 at 3:44 PM ^

Alex Smith was considered a complete bust until JH came to the Niners and somehow fixed a terribly broken QB.  He was also QB coach for the Raiders when Rich Gannon became a star and led them to the SB - that Gruden guy had something to do with that.

Harbaugh can turn one of our guys into a good-enough QB, and we have just the weapons he can use - improving line, solid stable of RBs, including some who can catch the ball. Pass catching TE's, and big WR's. If he could incorporate Peppers and/or if Harris and Chesson can stretch the field a bit, our offense could be fine.

Not elite, but fine.

Combine competent offensive coaching with a solid D and some fierce willpower, we could have a pretty damn good team next year.

 

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TheLawNC90

November 25th, 2014 at 10:21 AM ^

I think we (fan base) need to be more realistic and realize Harbaugh is not coming to Michigan anyways. I don't have any guesses who will but I just don't see it happening.

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TheLawNC90

November 25th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^

I just think he's been given every opportunity to become the head coach and he knows everyone affiliated with the university wants him, yet he just doesn't seem interested. I have to agree with most analysts that think if he is gone from San Fran he goes to another NFL team to prove he can win at that level.

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Eye of the Tiger

November 25th, 2014 at 10:22 AM ^

I don't see why he'd need 5 years. He's never needed that anywhere else, and he will inherit a well rounded defensive roster and depth on the OL. I think 3 years would suffice, if even that. and even in year one we'd be much more entertaining and competitive than we have been this year.



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unWavering

November 25th, 2014 at 10:22 AM ^

I don't really see much of a drop off after the first year. One thing that Hoke has done well is stock the roster every year with talent. That's not going anywhere. Harbaugh would be able to actually develop said talent, and therefore keep the floor at 8 wins, with more being much more likely. This is different than previous changes where we had to completely rebuild. We actually have talent and depth, the next coach just has to utilize it. The biggest concern going forward is QB. I think Morris has what it takes to be good, but the current staff aren't the ones yo take him there.

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jmdblue

November 25th, 2014 at 10:23 AM ^

but I suspect the next coach will be very successful no matter who he is.  RR was burdened not only with Lloyd's subpar end-of-tenure recruiting classes, but also the transfers/style change etc.  Hoke had the same issues, but between Mattison putting together a pretty good defense, the presence of Denard and his comfort level with his receiving corps, and a lot of fumble luck we had a nice year.  After that first year though, Hoke was beneficiary of the disasterous declining RR recruiting, especially considering the style change.  Hoke will not and should not get another year, but if he got one I think we'd be pretty good.  Whoever comes in will have the benefit of both talent and experience. 

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Stringer Bell

November 25th, 2014 at 12:20 PM ^

Don't pin this on Rich Rod's recruits.  This year's team are pretty much all Hoke's guys.   Face it, the team has gotten worse the more Hoke has played "his guys".  He was the beneficiary of some well-developed players his first year, but he has been unable to develop all of these 4 and 5 star players that he's bringing in.  It's his own fault, if anything he was helped tremendously by Rich Rod's recruiting.

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jmdblue

November 25th, 2014 at 2:04 PM ^

who certainly is unafraid to defend RR, would agree that RRs recruiting classes sucked, especially in year 2 adn 3, especially in the trenches, and especially with a transition to a non-spread offense (that part isn't RRs fault).  Hoke has not been a good coach.  It's not even an argument.  But the coffers across both lines were nearly empty (besides his new freshman recruits) by his second year. Need proof?  There's a reason why nearly the entire O and D will be back next year and much of it the year after.  It's because RR didn't recruit anyone who could play after year 1.  Hoke is doing it with his own guys and doing it unsuccessfully, but they're still young.

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123blue

November 25th, 2014 at 2:14 PM ^

It's not that RRs recruiting sucked; it's more that Rich was unable to keep recruits on campus for a variety of reasons. Some were academic misfits, some had injuries, some just didn't hack it, etc. rich didn't recruit poorly but his player retention might be the worst any of us have ever seen. It's that lack of retention that put Hoke in such a hole. Then, Hoke brought a shovel of losing to dig himself deeper.

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saveferris

November 25th, 2014 at 8:18 PM ^

As has been pointed out previously, Ohio State's offensive line this season is collectively less experienced than Michigan's and they are in good position to make it into the playoff. That's all the comparison you need regarding the quality of coaching between Michigan and OSU.

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Bo4President

November 25th, 2014 at 10:25 AM ^

I love how everyone just immediatly says rude comments and Harbaugh is not coming! Wow, you know this already why are you not the President of the U.S. Of A.

It's still a possibility, money talks people. So stop saying he isn't he never said no yet did he.

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mGrowOld

November 25th, 2014 at 10:25 AM ^

I'm sorry but these Harbaugh threads remind me of this.   It seems to me like we've gone "all in" on so many freaking assumptions:

1. That Hoke will be fired

2. That Harbaugh will leave the 49ers

3. That if Harbaugh leaves the 49ers he won't want to stay in the NFL (cause he's sure as Hell gonna have a bunch of offers from other teams)

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mGrowOld

November 25th, 2014 at 10:39 AM ^

One is very likely (but not by any means 100% unfortunately)

Two is a maybe.  It's NOT a "done deal" like everybody here hopes it to be.  That's my point - we've collectively gone all "he's coming...he's coming" and if he doesnt we can still get a damn good coach but it seems to me like the board convinces itself daily this is a sure thing and it's anything but.  Everyone seems to think that in a conflict with the GM the Owner is going to side with the GM and run Jim out.  What if he doesnt?  What if the GM is let go instead?  IMO it's easier to find competent GMs in the NFL than coaches as good as Harbaugh.

Look - I want the dude as much as anybody here.  I KNOW he would turn us around immediately and restore the program.  I'm just trying to pump the brakes a bit on the EXPECTATION he is coming.

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MilkSteak

November 25th, 2014 at 10:58 AM ^

Let us have this one mGrowOld! This fanbase needs hope. Maybe we'll end up with Greg Schiano and hate our lives again, but for the next 2 months what's the harm of letting people get excited about something? Our hope/expectation has no bearing on his real decision.

I say all aboard the Harbaugh hype train! We're going to go undefeated until Jim Harbaugh decides its time to reveal himself as the second coming and takes us all up to maize heaven to be with Bo!

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