Harbaugh Haters Have a Point (Maybe)
I'll eat shit a little bit as a so called "Harbaugh defender" because it's become obvious even to my biased eyes that Harbaugh's teams play really tight in big games and big moments. And it's not hard to draw a line between this pattern of behavior and Harbaugh's jitteriness for lack of a better term. He's intense in a way that seems to work at the NFL level but not so much with 18-to-22 year-olds. Unfortunately, this aspect of his coaching probably isn't going away.
The "Fire Harbaugh" crowd sees this and wants to roll the dice on a new head coach, even if the odds are uncomfortably high that his hypothetical replacement will trend closer to Brady Hoke/Rich Rod than Dabo Sweeney or even Lloyd Carr 2.0. Take the blinders off and look around the country. Elite program after elite program has floundered trying to find that perfect coach. Hell, look at what's happening at Penn State! A not-so-small faction of the Nittany Lion fanbase wants to exile James Franklin, who by any reasonable standard is one of the best coaches in the country. It's easy to fall in love with the potential of the unknown.
The million dollar question in the debate over Harbaugh's future is whether Michigan's ceiling is capped if he remains the head coach. Even a lot of Harbaugh supporters seem to be arguing for his higher floor than defending the possibility that he still gives Michigan a high ceiling. Personally, I am with the Harbaugh haters who want/expect/demand a head coach that gives Michigan a high ceiling. I don't want to settle for an endless parade of 8-4 or 9-3 seasons for the foreseeable future. But I disagree that Harbaugh doesn't give Michigan a high ceiling.
Yes, the jitteriness and general chaos Harbaugh exudes is not exactly conducive to peek performances in big games but I don't think it's insurmountable. The biggest issues in Harbaugh's tenure have been failures at quarterback and a total misunderstanding of what type of assistant coach he needs to hire. And who could blame him? He had achieved wild success everywhere he went by hiring the type of coaches he has consistently courted at Michigan. It took until this season to finally hire the right type of coaches: young, energetic assistants who bring with them college specific schemes and are willing to bust their balls on the recruiting trail.
If Harbaugh has finally found his star quarterback (either a continuously improving Cade McNamara or a down-the-road J.J. McCarthy) and if he has indeed hired the right assistants this time (pending a learning curve from Mike MacDonald, who got absolutely owned on Saturday), then what's the actual argument in favor of canning Harbaugh? Anyone can say "fire Harbaugh" but name a program that isn't a mess in the entire country outside of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, Oregon and Notre Dame. Even Penn State is on shaky ground apparently. And Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Clemson have built-in advantages that Michigan simply can't match year in and year out. And the guy many Wolverine fans think could be our savior (Matt Campbell) doesn't even seem to be on the radar of places like USC and LSU. That should probably tell us something.
November 1st, 2021 at 4:30 PM ^
Harbaugh is the answer to UM becoming relevant again. The issue is/was he didn't make the needed assistant changes prior to this season. Wait until the end of the year and let's have this discussion at that point
November 1st, 2021 at 5:20 PM ^
Didn’t he make quite a few assistant changes prior the season, including a new DC?
November 1st, 2021 at 5:38 PM ^
Yes. As a Harbaugh defender I would actually argue the opposite:
Yes we are in Year 7, and yes we should be better by now. But, by Bringing in Gattis last year and MacDonald this year and the talent on the horizon, I view this as more a "year 2" of a rebuild. I reserve judgement until the end of this year at least (I expected 4 losses), or more realistically next year.
People called for RichRod's head and I disagreed because I knew it could be worse. If his team hadn't packed it in for the bowl game and had the Josh Groban moment, I would hVe been fine with 1 more year. Instead we got Hoke.
I agree Harbaugh doesn't seem like he can get us to the promised land, but it can be so much worse....especially with a fickle fan base and asshole former players.
November 1st, 2021 at 5:46 PM ^
I'm begrudgingly in the keep Harbaugh camp for those reasons. The offense seems to be showing some promise (...sometimes) and that core is coming back next year. You've got a new DC this year. Granted this isn't where we should be in year 7, but we can't change that now. I'd rather go the next few years with this present staff and being generally 'good' as a floor than start over again with a giant unknown. Lord knows lots of programs hire the hottest names that don't always work out.
Now if OSU blasts us 70-10 maybe my feeling change, but I feel better about where the program is heading with the new staff vs the possibility of going out into the wildnerness for another decade because of some trash hires
November 1st, 2021 at 7:23 PM ^
Yep agreed. We are in the Top 10 for fucks sake. Even if we lose to OSU we probably finish in what, the top 15 assuming we win the rest?
How many coaches are a sure enough bet to improve on a 2 loss season? And of those, how many realistically would coach at UofM with vacancies at USC and LSU? And of those, how many would have immediate success with our personnel?
This could be the equivalent of Nebraska firing Bo Pelini for Mike Riley/Frosty. We already had two bad spins on the coaching carousel. I don't want to keep spinning the wheel.
November 2nd, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
News flash. We're not just losing the Ohio State game.
November 2nd, 2021 at 2:38 PM ^
Michigan will lose the bowl game. 10-3 is the best this team can aspire to w/ the best W being a PSU team.
That's what Harbaugh's hx here dictates until it doesn't and we all see it on the field.
November 2nd, 2021 at 10:48 PM ^
Your prediction noted…..let’s see how prophetic you are.?
November 1st, 2021 at 5:59 PM ^
Harbaugh didn’t bring Gattis in last year. This is year 3 with Gattis.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:18 PM ^
My bad. My brain still refuses to acknowledge the 2020 season.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:08 PM ^
This is gattis 3rd year BTW, but what people fail to realize is we changed offensive philosophy after 4 years and went away from what Harbaugh knew.
Now he has blended spread and pro concepts and it is working pretty well so far. Just have to wait and see how the rest of year goes
November 1st, 2021 at 8:57 PM ^
"Now he has blended spread and pro concepts and it is working pretty well so far."
Except in the red zone, which has been pretty atrocious for a little while now.
November 2nd, 2021 at 12:18 AM ^
We've sorely missed a fullback the last couple seasons. I think the red zone woes would not be quite the woes if we had a Hammering Panda or Bench Mason type player on part time duty. Sometimes you need to pound that thing across the goal line with more mass than the other team can handle. Football inside the 5 yard line is still mostly about beef, strength and fight.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:29 PM ^
This is year 3 for Gattis
November 1st, 2021 at 10:35 PM ^
Yes the "Year 7" argument is only relevant for critiquing Jim's legacy. Not relevant to strengthening the program moving forward. I see it brought up by bad actors in the media who despise Michigan. You don't fire a coach just to punish him for not meeting your expectations if that also hurts your program.
The practical question to me is: do we more trust Jim to fix the existing problems or trust Warde to find the right coach? 11 months ago I would have leaned slightly toward the latter. But now at 7-1, in the top 10, I'm back to leaning toward keeping him as our best chance moving forward, for now.
November 1st, 2021 at 6:08 PM ^
I’m in the keep Harbaugh camp until someone convinces me that there’s a coach in the wings who will likely be better. One of the cardinal rules in whether to make a coaching change is knowing that you have a better option down the road. At this point, someone needs to tell me who that better option is before I will join the fire Harbaugh sector of the fan base.
November 1st, 2021 at 6:19 PM ^
until someone convinces me that there’s a coach in the wings who will likely be better
Well considering Tucker was 5-7 and 2-5 in his first two seasons as a head coach before this year, and is already better than Harbaugh, I accept the terms of your proposal.
November 1st, 2021 at 6:52 PM ^
So you are saying we need to find a less experienced coach with a losing record if we want to be great?
November 1st, 2021 at 7:01 PM ^
Rich Rod Brady Hoke and Harbaughs resumes just crushed Dantonios and Tuckers. I feel like the OSU fan running this entire NCAA sim may not love MSU but the torment an unbelievably lucky MSU team does to us is priceless. How many losses for Tucker and Dantonio combined their seasons before getting to MSU 11? Seriously? Thats the resume of a coach that will field a playoff team? WTF?
November 2nd, 2021 at 9:07 AM ^
I know this will shock a ton of people, but resume doesn't mean everything. Sometimes you know when you meet someone they are good or bad, resume be damned. Not everyone can do that (and I've been inconsistent in my hiring that way).
Give credit where it's due, MSU decision makers are just good at hiring the right guys (lately).
November 1st, 2021 at 6:53 PM ^
Mel Tucker also won the "transfer lotto" which, most likely, will not be repeated.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:17 PM ^
You are sober? And at the same time saying that you would trade Mel tucker for Jim harbaugh?
Nfw.
Ryan day, argue it. But Mel tucker?
The guy has 2 losing seasons, and hit the transfer lotto.
There are maybe 5 coaches I'd take over harbaugh and maybe 25 over tucker. Even with his 2 wins in his back pocket.
November 1st, 2021 at 10:20 PM ^
"Tucker is better than Harbaugh"
Why exactly, because of Saturday's razor thin result? Because he's currently undefeated in year two? Because that sounds familiar: in year two Harbaugh started 9-0 including a win over Dantonio (who was in Year 10 at his program). At that time it looked like the sky was the limit. But it's extremely difficult to maintain such an upward trajectory.
The reason the "fire the coach" and "put in the backup QB" crowds tend to be the same people is that they are always enamored with the unknown, which is by definition flawless. As I saw someone put it, they are Peter Griffin choosing the Mystery Box over the boat.
November 1st, 2021 at 4:35 PM ^
I actually feel better at the direction we are heading. Sucks it has taken us this long but, let’s see where we go from here on out.
November 1st, 2021 at 4:40 PM ^
IDK recruiting is a major key to a program and its trending the opposite direction compared to when he first got here.
November 1st, 2021 at 4:47 PM ^
Idk what to make of the recruiting situation between COVID and the transfer portal. Tucker has found gems in the portal w/ Walker and Crouch (who UM recruited btw).
Hell, Juwan found Mike Smith and DeVante Jones. So it is possible to be successful with it at UM.
There are too many holes on the Harbaugh boat to plug 7 years in. That is evidently "acceptable" to the higher ups.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:11 PM ^
Smith and Jones were Grad Xfers tho right? M can swing that thru admissions but I'm not sure we'll be able to get Ugrad Xfers in so readily.
November 1st, 2021 at 5:24 PM ^
Man I don't know about that, the 2017 class was such a disaster that I think I prefer the current recruiting strategy.
November 1st, 2021 at 7:08 PM ^
Yeah, everyone wants us to be farther along in year 7, but complaining about years 1-6 doesn’t help. Those are sunk costs. The question is where are we today and what does the future look like? To my eye, I think Gattis is finally coming through on “speed in space” and I like to see what a year 2 Macdonald offers. There is a lot of talent coming back for a promising next year. Unless OSU nukes us by some ridiculous number, I wouldn’t blow it up this year.
November 1st, 2021 at 8:10 PM ^
This. Have to stop harping on year 7. Everyone gets it, they should be further along and no one would agree with you more than Harbaugh and the program. I have said since the day that he took the very reduced extension that this was a two year turn around. You can't change your entire staff and expect a Big Ten championship year one. To Harbaugh's credit he took the reduced contract and flipped his coaching staff in an attempt to turn things around. It is hard to argue that so far he has done that. The lose to State sucks obviously, but to ignore things are trending up is being blind to reality. You have to start from where you are.
November 1st, 2021 at 9:57 PM ^
That’s not outside the realm of possibilities.
November 1st, 2021 at 4:38 PM ^
He needs to be a CEO and manage the program like a business. He should not influence the play calls or scheme of the Offence.
November 1st, 2021 at 5:08 PM ^
He should not influence the play calls or scheme of the Offence.
His part of the offense (assuming he's the one installing it) was the most successful part of the offense this year until Saturday....
November 1st, 2021 at 6:39 PM ^
What part is his? The constant run up the middle on 3rd and short? The play calling that plays for field goals instead of touchdown’s?
November 1st, 2021 at 6:43 PM ^
Well according to all the arm chair experts here on MGoBlog, the Harbaugh parts are the {insert bad plays} and the Gattis parts are the {insert good plays}
November 1st, 2021 at 9:58 PM ^
Like that fade to Sainristil on 3rd and 3 late in the 4th quarter? He was too aggressive against MSU, in my opinion.
November 1st, 2021 at 6:27 PM ^
That’s called an athletic director.
November 1st, 2021 at 4:39 PM ^
The doubters always had ground to stand on. It's just a matter of how much you wanted to chalk things up to "bad luck" or sample size. The sample size keeps getting bigger and the "luck" isn't changing. I can't even bring myself to try to reason out the coaching situation one way or the other for Michigan as a program. Do I think Harbaugh's likely to piece it together and win a B1G title? Nope. Do I think there's a good chance Michigan hires a better coach and wins a title if they move on from Harbaugh? Don't think so.
So, either way I think I'm just in to watch and dream that they get lucky one year. I certainly don't expect it. I expect more of the consistent shortcomings, but maybe ONE year we can get lucky enough to get OUR doors blown off in the playoffs.
November 1st, 2021 at 5:02 PM ^
The doubters always had ground to stand on.
it's easy to find gounds to "doubt" (and beyond) it that's your starting point. which describes a goodly number of people on this board.
November 1st, 2021 at 5:47 PM ^
The Martinez fumble was a great bit of luck, only a few weeks ago. We only remember the bad luck.
November 1st, 2021 at 4:43 PM ^
When your rivals want you to keep your coach for years to come maybe that’s a time to step back and ask why.
November 1st, 2021 at 4:58 PM ^
When you actually care what such people say, it's time to step back and ask why.
The discussion on Harbaugh here in this thread can stand or fall on it own merits (probably fall in this case, but such is life on the message board), but the day we actually care that rivals say such things is a strange day indeed.
November 1st, 2021 at 5:20 PM ^
He's 3-4 vs MSU and their program went on a pretty significant downslide beginning in 2016. It's pretty hard to get excited about beating OSU, winning the B10, or gasp...... playing in a CFP game when this is the reality.
November 1st, 2021 at 5:59 PM ^
He’s had some pretty bad luck getting to that number against MSU. I know it’s excuses, but if you’re really looking at it…I tend to not take that number at face value.
The problem is Ohio State and, unfortunately, there’s no answer. They’re going to beat us, almost every time, because they’re on that different level. Change coach, don’t change coach. It’s probably not changing.
November 1st, 2021 at 6:36 PM ^
That's true and is all the more reason why this loss is so demoralizing. Just another important game that we should have won but did not.
November 1st, 2021 at 8:03 PM ^
How much longer are people going to hold on to the bad luck thing? We're seven years in. Do you think John Cooper just had bad luck against Michigan or do you think just maybe he couldnt prepare his team well enough that week?
November 2nd, 2021 at 8:02 AM ^
I know that I, personally, will continue to hold on to the bad luck thing as long as I watch it and see that it was clearly bad luck. When that changes, my opinion will as well.
November 1st, 2021 at 6:51 PM ^
I think you gotta take the Blake O'Neill game out of the record books. When Dantonio is literally heading over to our sideline with the Paul Bunyan trophy and then the thing happened, that's like getting struck by lightning. Once in a lifetime thing. Not at all on Harbaugh.
November 1st, 2021 at 8:28 PM ^
It's not on Harbaugh to be in the wrong punt formation letting more unblocked guys closer to the fumbled ball? Or just maybe O'Neil dropped the snap out of possible fear of seeing the mismatch from the wrong formation?