Challenges for the 2024 Season maybe a spark for Jim Harbaugh
Jim Harbaugh has an interest in challenges in football. The Super Bowl remains the one great challenge – the Mount Everest. Yet, he is also pragmatic. A bad team with a bad roster and a bad ownership will not woo him to leave Michigan. He is not some flavor of the moment “hot” college coach who would take any opening. He does like a challenge, however, – like beating tOSU, then beating them again and again, and winning the National Championship.
So, what are the challenges for 2024? There are two – one short immediate and one longer term. (1) After watching the Baltimore Houston game, maybe it will be trying to develop Alex Orji into a version of Lamar Jackson. Orji is a natural powerful runner, but needs help and polish passing but the foundation is there. (2) Working on getting college athletes openly paid. I believe Harbaugh is sincere in his desire to see that happen and his constant voice will be something the NCAA and others cannot easily ignore. This will also help further solidify Michigan as a place where players should want to come and play for.
January 21st, 2024 at 4:16 AM ^
The environment of CFB + NCAA is in desperate need of serious reform. Burn it down and start over levels of reform. The lack of clear rules, transparency and enforcement. And the imbalance of power would lead me to believe you'd almost always choose coaching in the pros over college if given the choice. It's just that few coaches reach the point of having the opportunity to move up to THE league....twice.
January 21st, 2024 at 12:31 PM ^
Having to recruit high schoolers (and now re-recruit your entire team every year) would make me choose coaching in the pros alone.
January 21st, 2024 at 9:32 AM ^
It would eat at me too if my brother beat me and got the sports biggest prize on a bogus no call. I imagine Jim dreams about that pass interference on Michael Crabtree on fourth down once a week and it burns deep inside him. I understand why he wants to rectify that. I don't believe Jim cares that much about the roster he takes over because he'll get them playing. He cares that the front office isn't going to mess around on him again. The constant money figures seem a little out of hand and kind of a red herring. I don't believe Jim is after money so much as the right situation.
January 21st, 2024 at 10:27 AM ^
^ This makes sense.