Brian seems to think Harbaugh is experiencing mental decline
On the Mgopodcast today Brian directly said "Harbaugh is not the coach he used to be". He was asked if he meant that he misses the "old ranting, screaming, throwing things Harbaugh?". Brian said he misses "organized Harbaugh" and immediately followed that up by saying "he was in the NFL for 15 years... that takes a toll". He wasn't pressed on what he meant exactly but in the context of the discussion it seemed clear to me that Brian thinks JH is going through some sort of mental decline from playing football and it's manifesting itself in his reduced capacity to effectively lead a major college football team. If you think I'm full of shit I'd suggest listening for yourself. It starts at 13:20 of today's podcast.
I was surprised to hear Brian make this kind of statement given his refusal to write anything on the game or the coaching staff today (which I don't blame him for).
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:17 PM ^
Who is Brian?
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:19 PM ^
What doth life?
September 24th, 2019 at 12:31 AM ^
Brain*
September 24th, 2019 at 12:28 PM ^
unless he stayed at a holiday inn express last night, he should stick to blogging and leave medical diagnosis to the professionals.
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:19 PM ^
I heard it this morning and thought it was incredibly irresponsible for him to suggest it without anything but circumstantial evidence. Low point, for sure. And a poor hot take.
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:25 PM ^
Give us a break with you're legal jargon.
Its a relief that he actually pointed out something that seems very likely to be true. We are aloud to speculate. Freedom of speech still exists... for now atleast.
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:36 PM ^
“Aloud”
September 24th, 2019 at 7:09 AM ^
September 24th, 2019 at 9:00 AM ^
No, you are!
September 24th, 2019 at 9:36 AM ^
"its"
"atleast"
September 24th, 2019 at 9:43 AM ^
Are you saying that its atleast aloud?
September 24th, 2019 at 9:51 AM ^
For all intensive purposes...
September 24th, 2019 at 11:40 AM ^
It’s porpoises ignoramus!
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:38 PM ^
Freedom of speech hopefully goes better for you than freedom of the written word.
September 24th, 2019 at 12:27 AM ^
He's just exercising his right to Freedom of spelling. Come on!
September 24th, 2019 at 12:01 AM ^
Fried my brain reading such a common word as "allowed" spelled "aloud". Wtmff
September 24th, 2019 at 12:11 AM ^
0/2 on apostrophe usage as well. So many good nuggets in only about 40 words.
September 24th, 2019 at 12:21 AM ^
"atleast"
September 24th, 2019 at 12:34 AM ^
You are sick and stupid.
September 24th, 2019 at 7:17 AM ^
Sarcasm?
September 24th, 2019 at 8:33 AM ^
Meanwhile at Office Depot, there is a sudden run on the sale of red pens, as copy editors everywhere cry out "Oh dear Jesus! So much to correct!"
September 24th, 2019 at 9:23 AM ^
I guess having long-term brain damage that manifest itself as you get older can only happen to other former NFL players, not the coach at Michigan.
But the important thing is that people ignore this, as slight as the possibility might be, and just get after people for spelling and grammar and other more important things.
There's obviously something wrong with Michigan football and you have to start looking at the top. Everyone did not graduate last year and we are fielding a team full of freshmen one stars and walk-ons. The offensive and defensive schemes are not so complicated that only a team full of Einstein's could figure it out. The lack of motivation on the field is not because the team joined the Amish and are now meek and mild human beings. The buck stops with the head coach, and he seems totally disinterested, unmotivated, and uninterested. He has either lost his passion for his job and coaching, or he might have a physical problem that no one has the courage to stand up and talk about.
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:45 PM ^
I thought he meant that he's tired of football after 15 years in the NFL and his coaching career.
September 24th, 2019 at 12:39 AM ^
It was clear to me that he meant head injury issues, otherwise he would not have been so coy.
September 24th, 2019 at 8:40 AM ^
This is what I took it as, also. But then, I'm not one to immediately jump to the worst possible conclusion...
September 24th, 2019 at 12:31 PM ^
I listened to it yesterday before this thread and to be honest this CTE stuff never crossed my mind when he said it. It sounded to me like Brian was suggesting that the guy may just be burned out.
September 24th, 2019 at 1:17 AM ^
This is a horrible, nasty thought, I know... But if 99% of former NFL players are found to have CTE, what is Harbaugh's percentage?
September 24th, 2019 at 4:02 AM ^
You're misusing that metric. It's not 99% of "former NFL players." It's 99% of "brains obtained," and of course it's families of people who had symptoms that were far more likely to donate the brains of their deceased relatives to this research.
Doesn't make it any less serious of a problem, but the sample bias means this kind of statement is almost surely overstated.
September 24th, 2019 at 8:20 AM ^
What percentage of accountants and factory workers have CTE?
If 99% of former NFL players have arthritis, but 99% of legal secretaries also have arthritis...then we haven't really learned much about arthritis.
September 24th, 2019 at 2:34 PM ^
Just wait until you see the statistics on how INCREASING scanning/testing, actually DECREASES health outcomes! (medical reversals in oncology, orthopedic surgery, antibiotics, and more!)
(Lesson: Doctors don't think probablistically. Nor are they trained nutrition or psychology. That and Upton Sinclair's quote about salary and people understanding)
September 24th, 2019 at 1:23 AM ^
He then followed up by saying Wheatley was here for one year and loudly repeating it when he was corrected
September 24th, 2019 at 6:24 AM ^
Brian is losing it. Hope he isn't having family issues that make him so mentally incompetent. (Is that how deductive reasoning works around here?)
September 24th, 2019 at 7:07 AM ^
I am guessing the realities of young family life have combined with a passion becoming a business with an anchor chain attached have overcome Brian somewhat.
This site has been living on it’s past glory as one of the best sports analysis and sports journalism sites for a while. Journalism left a while ago, and editorial / and analysis occurs when the founder feels like it.
Meanwhile the tribe has lost control, eroding in the core and growing on the extreme fringes - even if the fringes are multiple troll accounts.
This by the way is not an attack. I am old enough to realize underlying forces can drag you down, and appreciate the content we do get it. However, there is more than one leader who seemingly has lost his passion ...
September 24th, 2019 at 7:30 AM ^
Imagine if you are Brian, Sam Webb, Ira etc... Your life’s work is intertwined with Michigan football. It’s slightly better than a mediocre existence. I’d probably lash out too.
September 24th, 2019 at 8:14 AM ^
There are no excuses for Brian's totally unfounded and damaging comment.
September 24th, 2019 at 9:16 AM ^
You could lash out or you could find a new line of work. I don't love my job or anything, but I'm nowhere near a point where I wouldn't even feel compelled to conceal my contempt or it or my co-workers. If I ever got there, the moral and sane thing to do would be to leave.
September 24th, 2019 at 8:16 AM ^
I remember the old emo version of Brian. This isn't something entirely new, but maybe it's a low point.
September 24th, 2019 at 8:41 AM ^
Incredibly irresponsible on Brian's part regardless of reasons. Maybe we should wonder about his mental capacity to make decisions based on this supposedly new, improved site.
September 24th, 2019 at 8:48 AM ^
Didn't he spend four years in the College of Engineering? We all know what repeated brain trauma can do to a person.
September 24th, 2019 at 9:55 AM ^
He found someone willing to marry him and make babies? Huh. That's the most hopeful thing I've read in weeks.
September 24th, 2019 at 10:00 AM ^
Talk about living on past glory. That describes Harbaugh and his apologists to a T.
September 24th, 2019 at 8:58 AM ^
Yeah, I heard that and was just annoyed because it's a bullshit claim to make about someone. It just felt like this schtick that comes over the whole site when the team loses, where instead of processing a game player by college students it becomes a contest to see who can be the most detached. It's annoying.
Jim Harbaugh is not suffering from mental decline. He's suffering from losing football games
September 24th, 2019 at 9:21 AM ^
Jesus, that comment is incredibly irresponsible at best. I'd expect that crap from one of the clowns at 97.1. I come to this blog to avoid stuff like that.
September 24th, 2019 at 9:47 AM ^
The behavior he exhibits on the sideline is different than what you see today. While it may be a stretch to imply this is related to his football career, something has changed.
September 26th, 2019 at 8:40 AM ^
Say that part, then. Not what he said.
September 24th, 2019 at 11:32 AM ^
It's about body language. Harbuagh is not the "Enthusiasm unknown to mankind: or Who's git it better than us" guy he was in his first year.
I agree with Brian.
September 24th, 2019 at 12:21 PM ^
Completely agree. Irresponsible is the word that immediately came to my mind. This isn't speculation about a knee injury. I've been on this blog a long time and this is very disappointing to say the least.
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:20 PM ^
I'm glad people are finally acknowledging that something is clearly not right with the guy..
Watch him talk and look at his body language... I don't think it's brain damage from his playing days personally.
It feels like something in his private life... you're guess is as good as mine.
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:34 PM ^
How about a few Occam's Razor explanations.
1: The man has all the money he will ever need and he's lost his edge.
2. He been grinding it out since college and he's burned out (and rich).
3. He's got a young family (his second) and they occupy a higher priority than just about any other football coach.
My opinion is a combination of the three. He just doesn't want to work that hard anymore.
September 24th, 2019 at 1:26 AM ^
Personally, I think he's just content. He's home, he's got his family growing up in Bo's old house. His son works for him, his dad is in the room. I think it is very hard to keep that fire going when you find yourself truly happy.