jim harbaugh forever

Who said that? [Patrick Barron]
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162

Harbaugh Abides. Now What?
Seth • February 3, 2022 • 3:53pm

In case you got milk-faced last night before the news broke, or took in so much afterwards that you don’t remember, Harbaugh’s meeting with the Minnesota Vikings about their head coaching position did not end, as we all expected, with him taking the job. Adam Schefter broke the news that Harbaugh had radioed home to say he’s coming back to coach Michigan in 2022. Candidate tabs were closed. Goodbye posts were left in the land where the unpublished Hello posts roam.

Harbaugh gave all of his staff the week off before he departed for Minneapolis, so those hoping for news or a quick resolution to all of this are going to be disappointed. I know you all have questions, though, so let’s go over what we can.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE TWIN CITIES LAST NIGHT?

Host USMNT dominated, and I mean DOMINATED Honduras in their World Cup Qualifier match that ended 3-0 and could easily have been 6-0. The game was played in frigid conditions (-15 wind chill factor) that might get them in hot water with FIFA, but if the Peruvians can schedule matches in an Incan mountain fortr—

I MEAN WITH HARBAUGH AND THE VIKINGS (but go go USA!)

Oh, nobody really knows outside of the room where it happened, and when they went their separate ways everybody’s best interest was to have others believe it was they who ended the talks. The Vikings’ ESPN reporter, whose sources are naturally coming from the front office, quickly put it out there that the franchise was turned off by Harbaugh walking in like it’s a done deal. That report does not jive at all with what Sam Webb reported before the meeting, which is that Harbaugh was preparing for the meeting by drilling on analytics with QB coach Matt Weiss. Given the timing, I interpreted this tweet from Harbaugh’s son as targeted at the ESPN report.

Everyone back home—including here—at least thought there was a better chance than not that Harbaugh was going to be gone this morning. Clearly, as reported everywhere, he told his staff and players that he was going to take the job if offered before he got on the plane. They knew little more than that through the whole process (except Matt Weiss, since he was involved). It wasn’t much of a jump to get from there to “he’s gone.” I figured the Vikings wouldn’t have bothered to meet with such a high-profile person in-person if they weren’t serious. Webb reported that new Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah had Harbaugh 1st on his list, but needed to convince ownership.

But there’s a big jump between “We who know little think you will offer him the job” and “He will be offered the job.” Webb mentioned the ownership thing; I had a reader email me earlier in the week surprised that the Vikings were involved because a Michigan donor who doesn’t like Harbaugh is one of their owners. John U. Bacon had more than one source, and identified the minority owner by name:

That jibes with what Sam wrote yesterday: That the Vikings meeting wasn’t a perfunctory consummation/announcement, but a chance for Adofo-Mensah, Harbaugh, and go-between Matt Weiss to make their case that Harbaugh’s reputation of being difficult to work with was a Trent Baalke thing more than a Harbaugh thing, Stapleton making the case that Harbaugh is a ninny foo-foo with poopy pants, and the Wilfs presiding. I get why a Michigan fan might look at that scenario and think Team Foo-Foo Poopy Pants was outgunned by the new GM, but if long Lions fandom has taught me anything it’s that if an NFC North team’s decision-making and rationality ever find each other, it was by pure dumb luck.

The simplest explanation is that TFFPP weren’t convinced on Harbaugh, while everyone in the search committee could agree on Rams OC Kevin O’Connell, who will be officially named after the Super Bowl. My own pet theory is that the Wilfs hired Adofo-Mensah intending to take their franchise in a Moneyball direction (like the Rams), and were surprised to find themselves sitting opposite the most football guy on the planet. You and I know that fullbacks and sideline emoting is the least part of James Joseph Harbaugh, but how much of that comes across in a sit-down?

That’s hardly the end of plausible scenarios, or factors. The Wilfs and Harbaugh might have simply not hit it off. Or Harbaugh could have taken a closer look at the cap situation in Minnesota, where Kirk Cousins has a hit of $45M for this year, and needed a level of commitment to rebuilding that the front office wasn’t willing to grant him. Right now they’re a bad team without a quarterback, trapped in a long-term deal for an expensive RB facing charges for assaulting his girlfriend, and still need to shed $15 million to get under the cap.

Also, if it hasn’t happened already, we’re probably going to see a report in the near future, originating from our team, that suggests the decision was Harbaugh’s. That too will probably be mostly false, a show for those who want to believe that Harbaugh had his Bo/Texas A&M moment.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The two most pressing matters are contracts for Harbaugh and his staff, and hiring a defensive coordinator. I’ll go back to writing those soon now that all the head coach possibility tabs are closed. Fare thee well, Harold Goodwin. The “jim harbaugh nfl but for real” site tag still has zero articles in it.

[After THE JUMP: Good coaches, bad information.]
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Drink your milk, kids, and this could be you. [Patrick Barron]
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58

Jim Harbaugh: AP/PFF Coach of the Year
Seth • December 10, 2021 • 2:09pm

Harbaugh has been voted the year’s best coach in the country by the Associated Press.

Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell, who took the Bearcats to the playoffs and an undefeated regular season, finished second. Harbaugh received a plurality (22) first place votes of the 53 cast, with Fickell (16), Baylor's Dave Aranda (5) MSU's Mel Tucker (4), and Utah State's Blake Anderson (3) the others receiving more than one vote.

The Football Writers Association of America also named Harbaugh a finalist for their Coach of the Year award, which will be announced on December 20. The FWAA often, but not always, chooses the same winner as the AP. Harbaugh was also Pro Football Focus's choice for the award.

CoY awards usually go to coaches of small schools having historic seasons or coaches of blue blood programs bouncing back from historic lows. Performance relative to expectations is a (de facto) primary component. The last ten AP CoYs were Jamey Chadwell (Coastal Carolina), Ed Orgeron (LSU), Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Scott Frost (UCF), Mike MacIntyre (Colorado), Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Garry Patterson (TCU), Gus Malzahn (Auburn), Brian Kelly again, and Les Miles (LSU). Harbaugh is the first Michigan head coach to win the AP’s designation, which they’ve been giving out since 1998 (Bill Snyder). The FWAA winners of those years were the same except they chose Bill Clark (UAB) over Kelly in 2018, Kirk Ferentz (Iowa) over Swinney in 2015, and Mike Gundy (Ok St) over Miles in 2011.

Clearly, Harbaugh falls in the latter category. After his 2-4 season in 2020, Harbaugh agreed to a restructured to make him easier to buy out. That also occurred well into January, IE after the NFL coaching carousel stopped spinning. Harbaugh jettisoned several longtime and grizzled assistants—including at OL coach and defensive coordinator—replacing them with guys in their 30s in the mold of his recently Broyles-winning OC Josh Gattis. Needless to say most of the fanbase, including this space, were not optimistic that the gambles would work out.

Harbaugh and his young staff are now Big Ten champions, ranked #2 in the country with a 42-27 win over Ohio State and a berth in the college football playoffs. They’re currently ranked 4th in SP+, with the #16 defense and #7 defense to Bill Connelly, plus the #1 special teams unit to Brian Fremeau’s FEI.

The new contract does have a clause that pays Harbaugh a $75,000 bonus for winning this award, but since he decided to donate all of his bonuses this year to those who took a paycut in the athletic department during last year’s COVID cutbacks, that’s just more good news for them. Harbaugh finished one vote behind MSU head coach Mel Tucker for Big Ten coach of the year.

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23

The Teams: 1985, Part I
Seth • September 10, 2020 • 9:09am

image-6_thumb_thumb5_thumb_thumb_thu_4The Sponsor: School's started and you don't know where to put it. If you're moving, talk to Matt Demorest at HomeSure Lending now and see if you can't lock in a low rate while it lasts. In addition to being more ethical, knowledgeable, hands-on, intelligent, and fun to work with, Matt didn't steal John Beilein then run him out of town.

Previously: 1879, 1901, 1918, 1925, 1932, 1947, 1950, 1964, 1973, 1976, 1980, 1988, 1991, 1999

Special Guests: These are turning into Hardcore Histories with these interviews but what are you going to do when you've got Jim Scarcelli and Johnny Kolesar joining you to talk about the team that might have been Bo's best national championship claim.

1. SETUP AND PAYOFF

(starts at 0:50)

Sap and Seth set up the season because 1984 was rough. Has Bo lost it?

2. THE TEAM

(starts at 26:10)

image

The defense has a highlight video. The offense had Harbaugh.

3. THE NON-CONFERENCE

(starts at 1:04:30)

  • Notre Dame 20-12: Harbaugh is 2-10 in the first half. 'Soup' Campbell's reverse is called "Sally" which Michigan only ran in the big games.
  • @South Carolina 34-3: All we hear about are the Fire Ants defense. It's all over after Wilcher's helmet comes off. SC's defensive backs are coached so badly we look up who was in charge of them, and you'll never guess who it was.
  • Maryland 20-0: Battle of the Baughs. Slow-motion blowout. Seth's first Michigan game? Kolesar's first pass, the defense's first stand.

--------------------------------------------

THERE WILL BE A PART II

MUSIC:

  • "Glory Days"—Bruce Springsteen
  • "And We Danced"—The Hooters
  • “Across 110th Street”

THE USUAL LINKS

Jamie was a tough little, chiseled chunk of steel. You don't see the little bastard!

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32

Unverified Voracity Offers A Thumbs Up
Brian •
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