Harbaugh Completed 2-Hour Virtual Interview With Broncos Yesterday
Considered a "top candidate" afterwards. Article here.
I love Coach Harbaugh, and really hope he stays at UM forever. That being said, I have a feeling that spending two hours on Zoom with Jim would be...weird. He's the kind of guy that stares directly at his web cam and uses the "raise hand" button when he wants to talk and the "applause" button when someone says something he likes...
January 10th, 2023 at 11:12 AM ^
I believe Denver is all in on Sean Payton. Denver is using the whole "top candidate" as leverage. A man can hope at least! Don't want to see Harbaugh go because I think this could be the beginning of a new era for Michigan FB and don't want to see it stop because of a new coach.
January 10th, 2023 at 1:00 PM ^
Denver traded away all of their top picks for Russell Wilson. What exactly do they have to offer for Sean Payton?
January 10th, 2023 at 1:35 PM ^
They don't have the assets to trade for him.
January 10th, 2023 at 9:44 AM ^
Do I want Jim Harbaugh to remain at Michigan? Yes, I do.
This can't keep happening though, all it does it negatively impact recruiting.
Either sign a long-term deal with a massive buyout that essentially eliminates the "Harbaugh to the NFL!" crap every year or go back to the NFL.
January 10th, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
When it didn't happen, we stunk. Maybe its part of it.
January 10th, 2023 at 1:36 PM ^
Smart and Saban aren't doing it. And they have rings. Jim doesn't.
January 10th, 2023 at 9:45 AM ^
Wow, he really is committed to pretending to be interested in the NFL so he can renegotiate his contract that was perfectly fine when he signed it less than a year ago.
January 10th, 2023 at 9:51 AM ^
Delivering a second straight conference title and playoff appearance while the dude who is allegedly still comin’ down the road (while sitting at home during bowl season) makes more than you can make one rethink his value to the program.
January 10th, 2023 at 9:55 AM ^
The reality is your employer shows their appreciation (worth) to you by compensation. No doubt JH looks around the league, particularly E. Lansing and State College, and it hits his ego a little.
Home town discount is one thing, getting paid less for high end results is another.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:09 AM ^
^ this ^
January 10th, 2023 at 10:36 AM ^
Yet he preaches “transformational not transactional” when it comes to NIL for recruits & players… interesting how the tables turn when it comes to his own pay
January 10th, 2023 at 11:11 AM ^
All that means is that he'd rather pay players that have proven themselves, rather than 18 yr old zit-faced babies that are still being coddled by Mom. As long as the NIL 'program' doesn't hinder recruiting anymore than it did earlier, I don't care...
January 10th, 2023 at 11:42 AM ^
I don't know whether pride factors into the deal for him, but it's worth noting that Harbaugh is like an executive rather than an employee. If a CEO looks at Elon Musk's comp package and gets annoyed, their board is going to say, "Listen, we can't match that because it's set by a captive board with no real governance in place. However, we can bump you up to match the compensation of these three peer-company CEOs." If that CEO started to publicly shop their services, it would be time to re-evaluate the relationship.
January 10th, 2023 at 11:03 AM ^
So in your honest opinion the one extra playoff appearance, the only change since last year, made his previous contract so egregious that his only option was to feign NFL interest?
January 10th, 2023 at 11:14 AM ^
No I don't believe that. I think he has a real interest in leaving for the NFL, if he didn't this would not be happening again. This is not a ploy to squeeze Michigan.
However, it would be naive to think he has not side eyed Mel's and James' approx. 10 years at 100 gauranteed deals. I think he should be having that same conversation.
Clearly comming that close to a super bowl and falling short eats at the guy. I get it. I fucked up a tag up from second base in the state semi finals 27 years ago, and I am still kind of pissed about it.
That last part is a joke. Kinda.
January 10th, 2023 at 12:08 PM ^
We all know that last part is not a joke. I kicked backhand grounder at 3rd base my freshman year of college (14 years ago now) that ended the game (bases loaded, 2 outs in a tie game) and I'm still legitimately mad about it when I think of it. And that was just a regular season game.
January 10th, 2023 at 12:26 PM ^
Clearly not a joke. I watched the outfielder instead of my third base coach when I turned to tag ran right into the shortstop. Would have scored. We ended up losing in extra innings by one. Team we lost to, cruised to the state title.
Clearly I am over it.
January 10th, 2023 at 11:17 AM ^
Basing your business decisions on the desperation/madness in EL probably isn't wise.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:58 AM ^
Yes. This whole thing reeks from lack of integrity. From failing to follow through on his "one-time" assurance to wanting to renegotiate the contract to which he agreed.
Each day this drags out I'm more in the "just get out and let's move on" camp. I don't see how this isn't now an every damn year thing until he leaves.
January 10th, 2023 at 9:47 AM ^
going to be humiliating if he doesn't get the job again for the second year in a row
January 10th, 2023 at 10:00 AM ^
He won't uproot family. When he goes to NFL after JJ leaves, it'll be to Detroit, Indy, Chicago, Cleve, Pitt, Cinci. Somewhere he won't have to uproot family, and can get home easily four nights a week via the piaggio jet.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:05 AM ^
I'm not sure about that. Harbaugh learned at a young age that moving frequently is part of being a football coach. I think he accepts that it comes with the profession.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:54 AM ^
I'm sorry, but you can remove Detroit from your list. MCDC is going to be the Lions coach for a long time.
January 10th, 2023 at 11:04 AM ^
I tell you what man, he's not going to Detroit that's MCDC's job man.
January 10th, 2023 at 1:40 PM ^
Won't be Detroit or Pittsburgh.
January 10th, 2023 at 6:43 PM ^
you know he owns a home in San Diego and spends a lot of the offseason going back and forth between A2 and there, right?
January 10th, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
Don't kid yourselves he grabbed Sherone and Matt and said talk to these guys right here.... These are the guys you want to talk to and ran out of the office
January 10th, 2023 at 9:53 AM ^
Yes, this. Exactly this. With the headset on. For two hours. Although I imagine he has a Zoom background with scrolling unicorns or something...
January 10th, 2023 at 9:49 AM ^
He was "a top candidate" before the call. Sean Payton is THE top candidate.
January 10th, 2023 at 9:57 AM ^
Payton can look at that roster (and the other teams in that division) and realize he may be better off somewhere else. JH says let's go and we can figure out the roster later.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:27 AM ^
Broncos roster is actually pretty solid but their performance is ultimately going to depend on what you can get out of Russ.
Russ made his career by being able to use his legs & escaping the pocket when needed. He's clearly lost a couple steps and unfortunately I don't think he has it in him to take a team on a deep playoff run - even with Harbaugh.
So it really depends on how Harbaugh rates Wilson. If Harbaugh thinks he can work with Russ, then it is possible to win some games with the rest of Denver's roster.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:38 AM ^
Denver’s defense gave up 359 points, good for 14th (tie) in the NFL. There was a story going around mid-season that if the Broncos had scored at least 18 points in every game, they’d have been 10-1. The Broncos do have a good defense. Their offense is atrocious. That seems like a challenge Harbaugh would embrace.
Contrast that to the Colts, (whom some think is a better job). They gave up 427 points, good for 3rd worst (tie). His thing is not fixing defenses. I think the Broncos job is more appealing to him. Jim thinks that he can fix Russ or find someone in the 2nd or 3rd round he can win with.
January 10th, 2023 at 11:53 AM ^
Exactly, the Harbaugh blueprint starts with a good defense which Denver has. I'm not sure why people think Denver is a bad fit for Harbaugh. He loves a turnaround and the parts are there. He's not going to "let Russ cook" but he could use him in a run first offense and win games.
Also the idea that Harbaugh would stay away from the Denver job because of Mahomes and the Chiefs is equally strange. He didn't shy from the Michigan job even though Urban and OSU were rolling. Or Stanford with USC.
I'm not sure that Denver will actually hire Harbaugh but I can definitely see him being interested.
January 10th, 2023 at 12:14 PM ^
> or find someone in the 2nd or 3rd round he can win with
Turning away from Russ is something the Broncos FO just won't be able to do. There is way too much money going to Russ (& too much fanfare around Russ in Denver) for the FO to look elsewhere.
January 10th, 2023 at 11:18 AM ^
Payton is waiting on Dallas to fire McCarthy after the annual, inevitable 'Boys flameout
January 10th, 2023 at 9:51 AM ^
I have to be honest here, this has been a real paradigm shift for me regarding Jim Harbaugh's character.
I always thought he was a man of his word, if not a little quirky. But unless you really twist the things he's said after the Vikings dalliance, it seems he's not.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:30 AM ^
That's where I'm at, as well. But I also realized that the relationship between the UM AD and Harbaugh is simply one of convenience. There does not really seem to be mutual, unconditional support, and definitely not any affection. As someone who has been in similar situations with employers, I can relate to Harbaugh's decision to play the field a bit and see if there's a better situation for him elsewhere.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:41 AM ^
I'm trying to figure this out myself. Is Jim a man of his word, but UM is taking advantage of that by not giving him what he deserves? That would make me change my approach as well. There's also the other side that is him in his mind trying to scratch that itch just ONE more time and never again, but good luck convincing recruits of that in the future.
He hasn't thought this all the way through; really wants to get in the NFL and is willing to sacrifice UM a bit for it; or this is a big ploy to get a massive contract. Or some combination thereof.
What's clear is that this will impact Michigan football for the next 5 years no matter what and after getting Michigan into the elite status, he's put us back into 2nd tier status again no matter what the outcome of his decision is.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
I agree with this sentiment, but i'm also entertaining the possibility that the way it got reported last year might not be exactly accurate.
January 10th, 2023 at 11:42 AM ^
The reporting from last year was based on direct quotes from Harbaugh himself, and I have heard him say that same thing during interviews in the offseason. There is no doubt that, at a minimum, what he said was intended to leave the listener with the impression that he was well and truly satisfied that the path to the NFL was permanently closed.
January 10th, 2023 at 1:33 PM ^
I believe when he said it last year, he believed it to be true. Something or multiple things changed (hamburgergate, urge to coach in NFL returned, Warde didn't back him up on something -NIL?...) which made him go back on last year's statement. So, he lied because what he said didn't turn out to be true, but he didn't purposefully deceive. (Btw, the significant change in circumstances scenario is consistent with him now saying, you don't know what the future holds)
January 10th, 2023 at 9:51 AM ^
If he truly loved Michigan as he says he does, he wouldn't be doing this after saying this wouldn't be a "yearly thing". Well, obviously its happening again. I guarantee the players, parents, and recruits are watching this closely. Its going to be used against Michigan recruiting......again.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:14 AM ^
It is absolutely going to be a yearly thing.
He wants to go back to the NFL, pure and simple.
He will keep doing this until he gets back. Only the timing is up in the air.
January 10th, 2023 at 11:08 AM ^
And that's why I think best-case is to run it back with Jim and Blake next year, win a NC and send him off to the NFL. I love the guy but he wants back in and I don't blame him, I'd just prefer to fully finish the job before he does.
January 10th, 2023 at 11:21 AM ^
Then why go through all this now? Why not be up front with Warde and tell him one more year? That gives Warde a lot of time to figure out who's next. None of this last minute, hiding in the shadows stuff. It would be akin to a coach retiring. That's done in advance.
January 10th, 2023 at 9:52 AM ^
Fantastic. Now what was the Michigan football program doing? Our media fails to report on Michigan. Sam Webb, Angelique, etc should be interviewing and keeping in touch with the AD and program. But instead, Sam is out there telling me what he heard about Harbaugh’s interview.
Harabaugh’s cool and all, but if I had to sacrifice him and three virgins at a Mayan temple for 100 years of Michigan football dominance, I would. I wish our media would focus on our programs future, rather than Harbaugh’s.
January 10th, 2023 at 10:11 AM ^
Would you do him and 4 virgins though?