JUB Snippets: Harbaugh. Manuel "Positively Hate" Each Other & Moore Has the Job
Brian has implied as such in terms of Moore. Farthest I've seen JUB go as when employed at Michigan he hasn't used such language but "hate" is a pretty strong term.
I don't think a more permeable AD would have kept JH from following what is an obvious dream to go capture a super bowl but it casts increasing doubt on this guy as an AD in general. Or I guess a kinder view is these are just 2 guys who couldn't get along and everyone else loves Warde.
https://www.michiganpublic.org/sports/2024-01-26/bacon-harbaugh-delivered-on-his-promise
The third thing, Jim Harbaugh and the athletic director Warde Manuel positively hate each other. Michigan could have handled this a lot better, but I'm not sure if that would have kept Jim Harbaugh at Michigan.
That's cute Doug, Moore has the job, period. Everyone wants Sherrone Moore to have it.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:52 AM ^
If Jack Harbaugh had been the Michigan AD, nothing would be different today.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:52 AM ^
How did Brian put it? "Fire Warde into the sun"
January 26th, 2024 at 12:18 PM ^
Warde looks like he's designed more for a catapult than a cannon.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:52 AM ^
Our weird, wonderful ex-head coach didn't like Warde? FIRE WARDE! ANYTHING LESS IS UNACCEPTABLE!
I generally like JUB but this is just stupid. Letting the world know serves no purpose except trying to get Warde fired. Lots of people don't get along with their bosses. Life goes on.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:55 AM ^
If Warde and Jim "absolutely hate" each other, then why did Warde not fire Jim when he absolutely had the chance 3 years ago?
January 26th, 2024 at 12:23 PM ^
....Or why didn't the regents / Santa fire Warde at any point in the last 7 years?
The teeth gnashing over this all week has been comical. If Harbaugh really wanted to keep coaching at Michigan and despised Warde that much why didn't he just give a 'him or me' ultimatum? Good luck finding more than 5% of people above Warde that weren't going to side with Harbaugh in that scenario.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:31 PM ^
The answer to these questions most of the time is politics. Maybe some regents back him, maybe more don't, but maybe those that back him give in to other things in return for keeping Warde around. Who knows, but I generally think it's political in nature.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:35 PM ^
One might argue Jim's request that Warde not be the one to decide his fate was such a him or me ultimatum.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:34 PM ^
because Warde got cute. he thought the 50 percent pay cut would drive Jim out and he wouldn't have to fire a Michigan legend who was still popular with fans (if not mgoblog owners and posters), but Jim was not in a good position to get another good job, so he called Warde's bluff.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:27 PM ^
It's comical that there are Warde defenders on here. Even if he had no responsibility for Harbaugh's, Beilein's, Bakich's departures, fine. What has he done, though, to make anyone step up and proactively defend him? I mean I can understand just saying nothing on a thread like this. But taking to time to type and post a defense? Just a weird hill to die on
January 26th, 2024 at 12:30 PM ^
I don't really have a horse in this race, but I don't think the people that are defending him are any more crazy than the people that think Warde was the sole boogie man in the Bakich, Beilein and Harbaugh departures.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:05 PM ^
Bakich got no counter offer from Warde. Im feeling pretty sure on this one. If we agree he is the best baseball coach we have ever had you throw the money at him and let everyone know you are going to match. We let Warde sneak out on that one way to easy.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:45 PM ^
Michigan wasn't going to pony up $1 mil for a baseball coach from $400K where he was already the highest paid coach in the conference. No way in hell that Michigan would pony up the money on a baseball coach where they already have recruiting disadvantages.
Bakich had one magical run to the CWS but Michigan wasn't even the best team in their own conference. They were often the 3rd/4th best team in the B1G and it's a mid-major conference.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:02 PM ^
And why shouldn't we have ponied up the extra money? That's chump change to the athletic department. We wouldn't even be flinching if we were talking about adding that much to a football contract, possibly even a COORDINATOR if it was the right guy.
You are correct that we struggled a bit before going on the run. Doesn't change we made the run and that it was made possible by his recruiting guys a chunk of whom are now playing in MLB in spite of those disadvantages, and that he was turning that run into even better recruiting before he left for Clemson and they followed him.
We had a window of opportunity to potentially solidify ourselves as a top program in spite of the geographical disadvantages and certainly assert ourselves at top contenders in the conference and he let it slip away. All over as much money as we make off less than a tenth of the attendance to one football game against a baby seal.
January 26th, 2024 at 3:15 PM ^
"And why shouldn't we have ponied up the extra money?"
Because it means taking it away from other non-revenue sports... and those would be non-revenue sports that people care more about than baseball... and those would be non-revenue sports that Michigan has a much higher likelihood of success in...
January 26th, 2024 at 6:03 PM ^
Exactly. Trying to hire on more administration staff buddies with that 700,000?
January 26th, 2024 at 5:18 PM ^
I'm not defending him, I'm defending his right to be judged by those who work with him, not a bunch of fans who are outside, looking in.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:53 AM ^
We should finally move on from Warde
January 26th, 2024 at 11:54 AM ^
Bacon's quip gets at my general dissatisfaction with Michigan's negotiating approach. Harbaugh may have set his mind on leaving for the NFL, but Michigan could have made his decision a lot harder.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:38 PM ^
This exactly it. Both from a real negotiating perspective and a general PR approach.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:56 AM ^
Maybe I'm over-interpreting stuff and Warde is certainly not the first AD/GM that Harbaugh has had a bad relationship with, but the pattern here seems to be that Warde has really gone to bat/supported guys who have fostered questionable team cultures (Pearson and Juwan) and not clicked with or actively butted heads with guys who were known for fostering really positive team cultures (Beilein and Harbaugh).
There could be a lot of things going on, but to paraphrase Brian, it gives me "is this a good dude" concerns on top of other concerns about his ability to make important decisions.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:32 PM ^
Honest question: I have never heard of animosity between Beilein and Warde and I feel like I am on this board 5x a day. When did that happen?
January 26th, 2024 at 1:06 PM ^
5x a day? Those are rookie numbers you got to pump those up.
Also HR wants to see you at days end.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:54 PM ^
That's a fair question. I'm not sure if there was animosity but also doesn't feel like there was as overtly a positive/supportive relationship as what we have seen for Pearson and Howard.
Maybe Beilein was such a good guy he didn't need that kind of overt support but also feels like Warde has been more likely to stick his neck out for guys accused of fostering toxic cultures than guys who seem to foster really positive cultures.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:56 AM ^
Fucker should be fired immediately. And tell that Stapleton fuck to get a life. Ban both of them from the program.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:58 AM ^
Maybe it's just me, but I've grown skeptical of JUB's reporting on this. His source is obviously an anti-Warde person. What he reports here might be true, but I am not sure Bacon can be trusted on this topic at this point.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:00 PM ^
yeah I just wrote the same thing (more or less) below. JUB is just writing what somebody is telling him, but we don't know who that is, or what their agenda is.
January 26th, 2024 at 4:11 PM ^
His source is Harbaugh- he’s mentioned before he’s connected with him directly, specifically when he decided to come to M
January 26th, 2024 at 12:02 PM ^
The only true thing JUB has tweeted out in the last 6 months is "nobody knows anything."
January 26th, 2024 at 12:28 PM ^
Three things for the sake of the conversation.
1. JUB's reporting on the contract the past few weeks has been nothing short of pitiful. He was relegated to incorrect "reading the tea leaves" tweets that never really made sense.
2. I have heard, albeit through the grapevine, that his contacts and relationships in the athletic department have eroded and he doesn't have the connections he once did. Which is something that can very easily happen to a local "book writing" sports reporter that can be seen as meddling and/or pushing an agenda or ego.
3. I point 2 is true, point 1 makes all the more sense.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:08 PM ^
Harbaugh said the following less than a year ago according to Isaiah Hole at wolverineswire, so I'm taking the word "hate" with a grain of salt:
“It’s one of those narratives that seemed to be out there but I have a great relationship with Warde Manuel. He’s been great for our athletic department and our university. Nothing but good. I trust Warde, he trusts me."
January 26th, 2024 at 12:09 PM ^
He also said numerous times that he'd stay at Michigan "as long as they'll have me."
January 26th, 2024 at 12:16 PM ^
Yes, that quote is part of the same article. My point is that I don't know what or who to believe anymore.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:17 PM ^
He also said he'd never talk to the NFL again. So I agree with your point: Even if Jim believes what he is saying in the moment, it doesn't really matter from day to day.
January 26th, 2024 at 3:19 PM ^
Yes.
Harbaugh has repeatedly lied (as well using PR mouthpieces) to make himself look better for his choice to leave Michigan.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:20 PM ^
A lot has happened since "less than a year ago," including six weeks of gameday suspensions that Harbaugh may well lay at Manuel's feet.
(That said, I will also take this with a grain of salt unless we find out who JUB's sources are.)
January 26th, 2024 at 12:08 PM ^
So you're more likely to trust the rando guy below, who says he is "90-95% certain" that Harbaugh was gone anyway? At least we know JUB HAS sources.
January 26th, 2024 at 3:17 PM ^
"His source is obviously an anti-Warde person"
Yes... and that anti-Warde source is... JUB.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:59 AM ^
Harbaugh never forgot how warde fleeced tf out of him on his contracts. It wasn’t business it was personal.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:18 PM ^
He held him accountable, which is what a good manager does. Harbaugh was being paid as a top tier coach based on his Stanford and San Francisco results. But the Michigan results weren’t matching up with that. 0-5 against OSU, 1-4 in Bowls, 2-4 in his most recent season. So Warde creatively crafted a contract that would reward Harbaugh for being a top tier coach that was heavily loaded with incentives. That’s how executives get paid. Stock goes up, you get rewarded. Variable compensation for employees making 7-8 figures is not novel, but it was when applied to football coaches. I understand Jim being pissed off about it. The answer is to win games and prove Warde wrong. He did and he did. 40-3 record later, we’re the winners because we got to experience the best 3 season run in Michigan’s history. I’m going to keep enjoying that and let the Regents and Ono deal with Warde. Presumably, they know a hell of a lot more about what went on than the rest of us message board posters.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:28 PM ^
yeah that's my point...the big suits and regents at michigan love warde cause he saves them big money and squeezes the laborers. Harbaugh, assistant coaches, the nil for players...warde bamboozled them all. This guy is shrewd negotiator no question but has no talent to pick winners and leaders (juwan howard). Get him off the stage and harbaugh contract failure was the last straw.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:59 AM ^
The most appalling part of the last week has been that Michigan fans still exist that defend warde manuel
January 26th, 2024 at 12:21 PM ^
The defenses of Warde are all about specific items. Harbaugh left for the NFL, therefore he should be fired. Beilein left for the NBA and then retired, therefore he should be fired. Warde didn't unilaterally make contract decisions that he's not even empowered to make, therefore he should be fired.
Those aren't reasons to fire Warde.
I actually haven't seen anyone say that Warde is an A+ plus AD and should get a lifetime contract. Just that he's not a D- AD who needs to be insta-fired.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:47 PM ^
I don't think one of those things taken alone is an insta-fire, but IMO, the BS he spewed/inactivity around the hockey program was a firing offense. And then when BBall and Harbaugh stuff is added, its clear to me he ought to go.
An institution like Michigan needs/deserves an A+ AD, and anything less basically is a D-. Warde is cut an enormous amount of slack for not excelling and I find that strange. The guy has a boatload of assistant ADs and full-time staffers and a huge budget. A lot of people around the country with experience in athletic departments could easily do a much better job than he has.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:57 PM ^
I think there are cases to be made for firing Warde and I think you're making some of them there, and that's fine. That was my point, though. I haven't seen anyone make an overall case that Warde is a great AD who must stay. The defenses have just been against specific arguments, like Jim left therefore Fire Warde.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:59 AM ^
Weirdly I feel like I don't much trust anything coming from JUB these days. Lots of random shit, none of it will ever be confirmed or denied.
I mean, he spent years saying "Harbaugh just wants to feel loved" or that he wants "a bear hug" and it never even sounded like Harbaugh.
I think JUB means well, has some sources, and then prints whatever those sources say. Because we never know who the sources are, we never really get to know if what was said was true, or spin.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:45 PM ^
Co-signed. Same applies for most of the other "insiders." Seems like no one knows anything.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:59 AM ^
The only thing I'll defend Warde on here is that Jim Harbaugh is probably not an easy person for anyone to work with. I don't think you'd find a single AD in the country who would be able to say different. Notoriously stubborn, goes against the grain, is not part of "the club" in the coaching fraternity so he makes enemies fairly easily, and says and does things that constantly put the program under a microscope (revenue sharing, satellite camps, etc.). I have to believe that in at least a few respects, he makes the jobs of his superiors harder than they want it to be. I imagine working with him is like working with a StairMaster. Its exhausting all the way through.
But he wins, and at the end of the day that should be all that matters. When he does that, you find a way to make everything else work so you can at least have a tenable professional relationship.
I'm 90-95% certain there's nothing Michigan could've done to keep Harbaugh anyway. He wants a Super Bowl ring. Warde and Harbaugh could've been best buddies and it wouldn't have mattered. Michigan can't give him a Super Bowl. As long as Warde still put Michigan's best foot forward and offered everything it possibly could have to retain him, then all you can do is just shrug your shoulders and say "Welp, at least he tried." Beyond that, I couldn't care less what their relationship is. Its not in Warde's job description to like Harbaugh, and vice versa.
But if its ever determined that Harbaugh would've stayed at Michigan (and stopped his NFL dalliance) if he and Warde just could've found enough common ground, and Warde chose not to do that, then I don't know how you don't launch Warde into the sun over that.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:00 PM ^
I can understand Warde not getting along with Harbaugh, because a lot of people have not gotten along with Harbaugh over the years. I'm not giving him a pass, but I understand that Harbaugh is a wildcard.
What I can't understand, is how Michigan can have a shitty NIL program with all its resources.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:14 PM ^
Regarding your NIL concerns, what are you looking for Michigan to do differently? Not being snarky, I'm truly curious.
I don't think raising money is an issue, as I have to believe they're raising a ton of it in the afterglow of a national title. Once Sherrone is signed, sealed and delivered the donations will probably curb back up as well. But that money is likely all going to the current players to ensure they're staying with the team, or the NIL opportunities are going to the guys who've performed on the field thus far. If you want Michigan to be like Georgia, OSU, Miami or Texas and pay recruits to come play for them, my guess is you're going to continue to be disappointed.
Michigan has made a point of telling recruits they will not get paid just to commit and set foot on campus. So that's going to turn a lot of recruits away who would otherwise consider them, and how much of our perception of Michigan's NIL goes hand in hand with the recruiting classes it gets? I'm going to guess Sherrone will continue to tell recruits the same thing, and that directive probably comes down from the AD office as well.
Now that Michigan has shown it can win a national title without paying players upfront, its going to embolden the powers-that-be even more to tell the coaching staff "Get them on campus without paying them, and then if they're good enough on the field, they can have their money."
I personally don't care what Michigan decides to do. I see the pros and cons of both strategies. I'm just saying that I don't think Michigan's NIL strategy is going to be changing anytime soon.