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I thought the article was…

I thought the article was balanced; after all, the questions about whether this staff can gel and win like Harbaugh's staff did are legitimate things to ask, as we've seen on this blog.

As to Martindale being 60, so is Harbaugh. 60 isn't the same thing as 'dead'. Experience and a history of professional growth are good things to have under your belt, unless you're so set in your ways that you aren't open to new ideas/challenges. I've known plenty of folks who thought they knew it all at 30, stopped learning and working hard, and couldn't sustain their early success.

The unsolved mystery on this team is less the staff than whether they can find a quarterback who can win football games.

JJ's a winner. He does the…

JJ's a winner. He does the things to win football games and has obvious football smarts. 

Those things are measurables, but in the long run I think he'll be the steal of the draft. Other gifts to the team that drafts them will be Sainristil, Corum and Zinter. 

Defense still wins…

Defense still wins championships, and I think we should be very good there again. On offense, it seems that every year someone emerges as a potential star, be it at receiver, RB, or QB. With Moore at the helm, I don't see our O-line going from great to suddenly terrible; one would expect he'd make sure the wheels don't come off the bus.

Seems to me it's more likely that we have one or two losses than three or four, unless our new QB turns out to be a turnover machine.

However, I'm not giving up on the 'win-'em-all' dream with this defense.

Given the fact that Florida…

Given the fact that Florida State, Clemson and North Carolina want to leave the ACC, thereby destabilizing it, Notre Dame will be faced with some unpleasant (for them) choices. 

The ACC was happy to offer a loose affiliation. The SEC or the B1G won't. They'll have to join a conference as full members.

Of course, my feeling is fuck Notre Dame. I hope they wander in the wilderness for all eternity, but the SEC and the B1G will want them, so they'll have a pretty soft landing wherever they want to go.

I hope it's the SEC. Let 'em have a steady diet of Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Texas and Oklahoma.

Someone told me our football…

Someone told me our football team won a national championship a few weeks ago. Obviously Warde and the whole athletic department must be fired; we'd much rather have something to complain about.

I heard Harbaugh say on Cowherd's show that he wanted a Lombardi. There's no way he was staying unless he didn't get a decent offer in the NFL.

Put yourself in Harbaugh's shoes. You get suspended from coaching in-game for half a season; you have two vindictive NCAA investigations hanging over your head. The Big Ten coaches and ADs conspired to make life difficult for you.

Getting players signed is the Wild West - there are rules, kinda-sorta, but there aren't rules.

You get a chance to coach in and move to LA and get a Brinks truck backed up to your door, without the ridiculous headaches of college football coaching.

Explain to me why Harbaugh would have signed a contract extension here, with all that shit swirling around? I'd be gone, and I'm sure many of you would make the same choice, too.

 

I don't know what you guys…

I don't know what you guys are so worried about. Didn't Stalions' dastardly Bletchley Park code-breaking plot result in our getting all of OSU's signs for all time?

It's not like we don't know exactly what they're going to do on every play, right? We probably don't even need a defensive coordinator. 

In an ironic fillip of…

In an ironic fillip of history, the actor who played Colonel Klink escaped the clutches of the Nazis prior to WW2, and after arriving here realized that as a German he faced a career of portraying Nazis.

Which is exactly what happened.

I suppose he was glad to have steady work. Most actors would be!

I think Harbaugh is a great…

I think Harbaugh is a great coach, who's very good with his personnel choices.

I'm beginning to think he's also a prick.

The optics of a guy with an…

Folks were delighted when Moore got the job only a few days ago; it's funny how quickly the worm turns and the fanbase starts questioning the very person they asked for.

I think the optics of a guy with a well known problem are pretty bad for a program operating under an NCAA cloud. I can't imagine the U putting up with it. But these days the football inmates are running the asylum, so who knows.

College football has become Loony Tunes.

I didn't see this mentioned…

I didn't see this mentioned before; it relates to both the announcement regarding the advisory group as well as to issues over retaining coaches and assistant coaches all over college ball. 

A Yahoo Sports article with interesting quotes from both commissioners mentions in its analysis of the announcement that there has been concern among both the SEC and B1G that it's become difficult to retain coaches because of the mess that's been created with unrestricted transfers, NIL being unclear, etc.

I posted a link to the article but it destroyed the formatting, mods please delete. Apologies to all.

 

Michigan has a great…

Michigan has a great academic reputation, and a high academic ranking. Tennessee has a low ranking, 105th. They have less prestige and fewer resources.

Sports are all they've got.

Michigan depends on the goodwill of its reputation, and gets gigantic research money due to the institution's prestige. It took 200 years to get where it is among universities. That's the power of a reputation for being a place where intelligent people operate.

As utterly stupid a media circus as Signgate was, the University's reputation took a hit. And not just because of the violation; also because the Conor Stalions 'organization' was easily one of the dumbest ideas in the history of sports. We were a laughingstock. People were snickering that our brilliant school, Michigan, had an idiot like that guy employed in any capacity.

I can understand the University's powers being reluctant to draw more attention to how absolutely stupid an employee of the university could be, through the continuation of litigation that would be reported in the media day after endless day. I litigated for many years. I think the chances of winning were slim, and Michigan would have even more egg on its face if they lost. Bad factual circumstances = bad court results.

To stir that pot of shit stew even more to make a coach feel vindicated, even a great one, even a champion, would be the tail wagging the dog.

Does this mean I think the Big Ten was right? Hell no. I've said Michigan should leave, and nothing involved in the championship makes me think the Big Ten didn't take a gigantic dump on our school, because they certainly did. The NCAA is a joke. They're garbage, too, though we're stuck with them as long as other schools can't play non NCAA teams.

However, there are times it's better PR to acknowledge an error and move on.

Helluva guy!

I've ignored…

Helluva guy!

I've ignored the Lions for too many years. It's fun to watch them play, and Miller takes the cake on enthusiasm. It's cool.

I'd call it the best…

I'd call it the best complete season in Michigan football history. After all, Iowa was a 10-2 team in an important sine qua non game.

And who didn't think the 49-0 Michigan State game was tasty, even though they weren't very good?

 

Can't argue with the logic…

Can't argue with the logic of your post, it makes sense.

I do think that Harbaugh's agent knew how significant the Chargers' interest was prior to the official interview period post-NFL season.

And Harbaugh made a point of prepping the ground by saying Moore was ready for a head coaching position.

But yeah, I could be reading too much into it.

I think there's a good…

I think there's a good chance Harbaugh had a strategy in place for the succession and implemented it.

He knew none of the current crop of hot coaches would wait around forever to find out whether the Michigan job was open. By dragging out the announcement re: the NFL, Michigan was off the table, and the most desirable HC candidates struck deals with other schools while the iron was hot.

When JH finally made his decision clear, and the hot hand HCs were gone, the only sensible decision left to Michigan was to promote Coach Moore.

The usual Michigan slow-decision-by-committee that wastes time and lets candidates slip through the net didn't happen - there wasn't time for the school to screw the pooch.

It was fait accompli.

In retrospect, in the televised Crisler celebration, Harbaugh's hesitancy, body language and facial expression did the talking - he was far more aloof than usual. I let myself think he was just uncomfortable with the expressions of the desire that he return, but I was looking through Blue colored glasses.

I don't know if it's possible to re-watch that footage, but I think if it is, you'll see it.

Harbaugh knew he was gone then. JJ couldn't pull off a convincing, "I'm still deciding," either. 

Incidentally, I'm happy that Michigan was put in the position where Moore was the only good choice, because he earned the job and showed he can handle it.

In a way this is a transition year for the team, lots of guys graduating or going to the NFL, new HC, no QB heir apparent, and a tough schedule that includes Texas in Week Two, and the West Coast teams. So I hope the fanbase can be patient and wait a few weeks at least to sharpen the knives.

 

Go Lions, but we're getting…

Go Lions, but we're getting ahead of our skis.  I'm under the impression the prerequisite is they must win in San Francisco before they can play in the Super Bowl.

I agree with the OP's…

I agree with the OP's reasoning on the decision to retain Harbaugh after 2020. However, I didn't think Harbaugh should have been fired after 2020, nor do I think he deserved a pay cut. 

I'd be curious to know the behind-the-scenes discussion that led to that decision. Maybe there was pressure to fire Harbaugh that Warde resisted by saying, 'Give him a pay cut and let's see what happens'.

Or not.

I detest this situation. There would be no win-win, and it's bad for cohesion among the alums, students and fans to argue about this, but one would suppose  it was inevitable.

 

The Lions played the Browns…

The Lions played the Browns for the NFL championship in 1953, 1953, 1954 and 1957, and won 3 out of four.

I don't know what Craig's…

I don't know what Craig's practice specialty is. I think he's mistaken. At the very least, there were strong indications that the court would not grant the preliminary injunction, and rather than have its nose bloodied in court, the university decided not to move forward with the suit.

When a TRO is declined - clearly this was the case, since not granting it means it's declined - and a subsequent hearing is scheduled, it gives the parties a pretty good idea the court is unlikely to consider the situation an emergency, i.e., either no likelihood of success on the merits, or more likely in this case, no irreparable harm demonstrated.

Whether the court was right, wrong or indifferent, the simple fact is that it was not a slam dunk by any means, and that there was sufficient justification for the university's decision not to pursue the matter in court.

These things can always be second-guessed, of course. But whoever made this decision was not ignorant of the law, and not stupid, even if one disagrees with it.

Maybe Warde is a reasonably…

Maybe Warde is a reasonably good AD with a big ego who clashed with another person with a big ego. That's always going to be a source of friction. It's hard to say what coulda-shoulda-woulda been done, and at this point it doesn't matter. Harbaugh's gone.

Whether Warde might/should/will be replaced certainly isn't going to be affected by the comments made on this forum. It'll be affected by how well Harbaugh's replacement (presumably Moore) does with the football program, and fixing a basketball program that currently has issues.

It's pointless to argue about it here.

 

Great coaches from different…

Great coaches from different eras had unique challenges. No pecking order is needed between coaches of different eras; arguments about who's better are really just a lot of hot air.

To rank them, or even argue about it is silly.

 

People can observe the same…

People can observe the same interaction between two other people and come away with different impressions and opinions about what transpired, who's right or wrong, etc. Two impeccable sources can reach opposite opinions.

On a personal level, I'm of the opinion that the powers that be at Michigan could have gotten down on their hands and knees, filled Harbaugh's house with money, and offered to hold his chamber pot while he pooped, but he'd still have wanted to go to the NFL.

I don't think anyone's to blame. It's just how things were going to go this time.

 

I denied it the day before…

I denied it the day before yesterday, was pissed yesterday and today, screw it, I dunno what to be.

Nonetheless; I wish Harbaugh the best.

It's curious that there's…

It's curious that there's been no official announcement, and Harbaugh's second interview with the Falcons was "postponed" 6 hours ago, but not cancelled, per other reports.

So while this may be true, it may also be a strong rumor amplified by the media. It's not panic time, regardless. He should do whatever suits him, he did his job here.

The idea that agreeing to…

The idea that agreeing to Harbaugh's contract demands somehow magically erases the NCAA and Big Ten doesn't make sense. If Harbaugh was to be prevented from coaching, we'd lose twice under that theory, because we'd be out a very large sum of money.

As far as I'm concerned, Michigan won when we won the Big Ten and the Natty in spite of the asshole hypocrites in the NCAA and Big Ten.

Fuck them, they can shove it, and let's move forward.

Maybe. But if there's no …

Maybe. But if there's no "get out clause" for the University should the NCAA say JH can't coach the team, Harbaugh would be getting well over a hundred million dollars to not coach, plus they'd have to pay another head coach on top of that.

That's an awful lot of alimony if the NCAA forces a divorce.

No matter how much love JH seems to demand if these posts are correct, money isn't love. If the man isn't allowed to coach, it seems to me that this demand is has nothing to do with honor, love, or the Jesus stuff he talks about. It's just empty words.

You want love? How about showing the university some, and agreeing that if you can't coach, it wouldn't be ethical to charge the school for ten years of salary to do nothing? 

I wish someone would show the average guy who's laid off his job that kind of love!

This is about about ego, pure and simple. And let's face it, there's some greed involved, too.

My thinking is, he's a great coach, he got us to the dance and we won the trophy, thank you for everything you've done, and you were paid millions for a reason. if you need anything in the future, give us a call or drop by, you're always welcome.

What a wonderful post, Des.

What a wonderful post, Des.

In the last couple of weeks…

In the last couple of weeks I've seen things I never thought I'd see again. Michigan winning the National Championship, straight up. The Detroit Lions defying The Curse, and winning two playoff games for the first time since 1957(!).

I'm now prepared to believe anything. Harbaugh staying? Sure. Great! Happy days. Harbaugh getting an NFL gig? I'll miss you man, but you deserve to do what you want to do, and thank you for restoring this program.

What I'm not going to do is get impatient. Let the string unwind a little and see what happens.

It'll be interesting to see…

It'll be interesting to see what happens; won't be a catastrophe if he goes, won't mean automatic championships if he stays. Granfalloonery aside, his life choices don't directly affect most of our lives in a meaningful way. It affects him, it affects his family, coaches and players.

For me, the biggest hint is that we aren't seeing a mass exodus for the portal. The players say they know what the plan is. That might be an indicator.

Barrett saw the video this…

Barrett saw the video this morning and really liked it, as I knew he would. Nice work!

David is an avid UM fan who…

David is an avid UM fan who still lives in the area.

This version of the song was recorded a very long time ago, hence the vintage vibe. It has since been recorded both for the NCAA basketball final four, and as a general release by several artists, with different arrangements.

Coincidentally, he and I have lunch plans today. I think he'll like the video.

Fantastic explanation of…

Fantastic explanation of what happened. Thank you!

Indeed, they were loved by…

Indeed, they were loved by students, alums and other fans as much as they are now. Maybe more, since there was no internet to share the pissing, moaning and finger-pointing that put a nasty spin on so many things.

I don't want JH to leave,…

I don't want JH to leave, nor do I want to see the Powers That Be win. But if I was in Harbaugh's shoes, I might be fed up with the hypocrisy that is part and parcel of NCAA-brand college football, and want to be done with the nonsense, win, lose or draw.

I might feel the same way about the Big Ten and its/its members' flagrant and wholly separate vendetta.

I might conclude, "This hypocritical vendetta is Bizarro World, and I want out."

I can also see why the University doesn't want to take the risk of agreeing to pay millions to a head coach who for whatever reason isn't allowed to coach.

Neither position is unreasonable. But I hope they can work things out.

College football is remarkably fucked up at the moment.

Coaches in a position to go…

Coaches in a position to go to the NFL or move to a spot with more upside has earned those offers the hard way; there are no guarantees of success anywhere (hello RichRod and Scott Frost).

I wish them well on their journeys. People have the right to make choices based on how they see their lives going forward without criticism and carping. I feel the same way about the players.

Just reading the body language last night, I had a feeling that Harbaugh wasn't sure at that moment what he had planned. I hope he sees fit to stay.

Guys drafted as backups…

Guys drafted as backups sometimes do well. Tom Brady, 6th rounder. And some first-rounders never pan out. Joey Harrington, for example.

We don't know what he's thinking, we don't know what advice he's being given, assuming he has an agent, we don't know what his family thinks about it. We're in the dark.

Our speculations and opinions, complete with the possible rationales, are meaningless.

Another opinion: Isn't it ironic that kids get to make their own choices about colleges and transfers, and basically control their own lives, yet professionals are chained to the team that drafts them for the term of their contract?

He could get lucky and sign on with a good team. Or he could wind up like Lions QBs in the Bad Old Days and get clobbered. But the choice will not be his.

I'd go back to school and have another year in control of my life choices. But no one's dangling millions of dollars in front of me to make the choice a lot more difficult.

'It's possible', 'sources…

'It's possible', 'sources say', 'might leave', etc. The song is on infinite repeat year after year. I'll believe it if it happens; otherwise, it's clickbait.

Evidently the players know whether JH is staying. If he's not, I'd have expected to see a mass exodus to the portal. Yet as far as I know, we're not seeing that.

At present, the NCAA has the…

At present, the NCAA has the whip hand. The NCAA's is unpredictability (I'd use a more pejorative adjective if I was in a bad mood), is the fly in the ointment, an obstacle over which neither contracting party has any control -- unless the NCAA and Michigan can agree on a resolution before Harbaugh flies the coop.

Michigan may or may not be in negotiations over that, we have no idea, it'd be behind the scenes.

Point is, it's hard to make a deal when you know there's a substantial risk that the third party with the whip hand can scotch it.

"I will marry you if my parents approve," takes the ultimate choice out of the hands of the contracting parties, and turns the parents into the final arbiters. This is essentially what both parties want to avoid. In a way, entering into an agreement to marry under those circumstances makes no sense.

Coach has an obligation to himself to continue to coach if he wants to coach, whether that's at Michigan or in the NFL. And if anyone on this planet has earned the right to decide their own future, it is James J. Harbaugh.

The folks at Michigan have a fiduciary duty to avoid paying a coach knowing that it's possible he may be prevented from coaching. That fiduciary duty is a legal obligation; how the University's lawyers interpret it is only part of the equation. 

There is no safe decision here. Agreeing now presents a risk to both parties.

So I grok why this is a hard deal to close. If I was advising the University, my recommendation would be to get the NCAA out of the picture by trying to reach an agreement on the outcome, fast.

If I was advising Harbaugh, I'd say wait and see unless it's clear that the decision making window regarding the NFL is about to close, in which case, don't risk sitting on your hands for a year to get back into coaching. Take an attractive NFL Job.

I say this despite the personal belief that Harbaugh and Michigan are a great fit, and I want him to stay.

I selfishly want Harbaugh…

I selfishly want Harbaugh back, Minter back, Moore back, and JJ to return. The college game interests me a lot more than the pros.

I speak only for myself here. I have no idea if JJ should turn pro or not. Presumably he has an agent who's already put enough feelers out to gauge the level of NFL interest, and will do what's best for his career in the long run.

If Harbaugh leaves, it'd be interesting to see if the team he joins drafts JJ. I have a feeling he would, based on his comments about JJ being NFL-ready, and the greatest UM QB.

National Department of First…

National Department of First Things First: Thanks, Brian, for this wonderful place on the internet; for your writing; for finding the best people to help with the chores. There's nothing anywhere that matches up.

The game...is it strange that my initial thought when the game came on TV was, "I hate indoor stadiums, they're dark and dreary places?" Then when I learned the weather was bad there, I was glad the game was indoors.

The game was brilliant, really, especially on defense. After it was over, though, I felt a little bit depressed that it all ended too soon, and that I may not ever see its like again.

I also felt for Penix, who walked alone off the field with his head wrapped in what looked like a towel under his helmet. He'd clearly been hurt. No doubt losing the game hurt a lot more (why his coaches let him finish the game with what looked like a rib injury is something I don't understand - yeah, I get the 'tough football player' thing but it seemed dangerous, especially when it was clear Washington didn't have a chance to win).

Evidently I wasn't alone, because I saw one of the Michigan players catch up with him in the tunnel and it looked to me like he gave Penix a kind word.

It was clear to me, and should have been clear to everyone who watched, that Michigan was the strongest team in the country, period, bar none.

Yet some OSU acquaintances were still braying their donkey-ass claims that 'We only lost because Michigan cheated'! So there is no sanity, there is no rational thought, there is only madness in Columbus.

I had a wonderful time telling them the facts and where to shove their opinions. I sure hope Harbaugh stays.

Go Blue!

 

Every coaching hire is a…

Every coaching hire is a crapshoot. Success at one place doesn't necessarily translate to success at another.

See, e.g., RichRod, Hoke, Frost, Riley (still a question mark to me), Kelly I and Kelly II, et cetera, et cetera.

When it works, great. Bravo. But when it doesn't you're paying for a whole lot of nothin'. I can see why it made sense to transition from Bo to his former assistants Moeller and Carr, who were able to preserve the culture of the team, and what it was built on.

It made sense for OSU to transition to Day for the same reason - give the devil his due, he has a terrific record as a head coach, third base or not.

Being in the ad music…

Being in the ad music business, I see and score a lot of ads.

That one takes the cheesecake. There's not much unity of concept, the animation is terrible, and the music has nothing whatsoever to do with the message.

And because the thing runs on cable, the composers aren't even making car wash money.

Other than that, it's just great, right? 

I have to agree with some of…

I have to agree with some of the other posts. Ohio State was the most dangerous and best team we played. Their offense would have been the difference against Alabama, had OSU played them.

All this 'Ohio Soft' stuff is nonsense. We beat a strong OSU team, not a weak one.

Let's give credit where it's due, and eschew the first-grader insult stuff.

Sportsmanship should be a…

Sportsmanship should be a thing.

A bitter arch-enemy was wrong, admitted it publicly, end of story. Further insults and gloating rebound badly on us.

On a rainy night in a domed…

On a rainy night in a domed stadium, there were our guys, eschewing the traditional flash of bright uniform colors, wearing dark blue workman's coveralls, throwing down the gauntlet and saying, "Bet."

I don't much like indoor stadiums, even watching on television. Something important about the atmosphere of the game is missing. But it suited this game to be played in one.

There could be no 'we lost, but it was snowing!'. There could be no excuses ('yeah, but our best players had the flu!). There could be no accusations ('we only lost because they stole our signs!).

It was just simple, hard-fought football, winner take all. And our guys did. These two teams proved once again that the rock of a great defense beats the scissors of a great offense. The old adage is true: defense wins championships.

I don't care what any of…

I don't care what any of them think. Michigan will hoist that trophy tonight.

I love reading this column…

I love reading this column before every game. This one's really special, guys.

I don't know how it will unfold, I don't know how close it will be, but I know that our guys will be the ones who will show their character, impose their will, and hoist that trophy.

Bet.

Sportsmanship. This guy gets…

Sportsmanship. This guy gets it.

It doesn't matter who we…

It doesn't matter who we play, or where we play. Michigan is the best team in the country this year.

Wait, no bumblebee stripes?

Wait, no bumblebee stripes?