Chicago Bears have spoken with Harbaugh
Just about which pizza place in town is his favorite, I'm sure.
Link: https://mobile.twitter.com/ChiSportUpdates/status/1483798759221907460?t=3Z_Q5WFFaFYsV9r-7i05tA&s=19
January 19th, 2022 at 12:55 PM ^
Well, aren't all people from NYC shitty?
January 19th, 2022 at 1:39 PM ^
My daughter lives on 14th St. and there's a pizza place a few doors down called Joe's Pizza. I think it may be a NY chain. The slices I've had there have been really good. I'm a Ray's Pizza girl (6th Ave Ray's, which is no longer there), first eating it and loving it in the 80's. The slices at Joe's are similar. I understand what you're saying about staleness. That kind of pizza sits in a tray until someone wants a slice, then it's reheated. I think as long as you're eating it on the day it's made, it's ok, and eating it a few hours after it's made is actually part of the inherent charm and deliciousness of it. Sometimes reheating something adds an extra layer of flavor. But there is a time limit and if you pass it, you're going to get stale pizza. I've had that, too.
January 19th, 2022 at 2:08 PM ^
Yep, I've been to Joe's (see my post above). I mildly complained to my NYC friends about the freshness of the NYC slices, and their answer was to take me to Joe's. But, I showed up and it was really no different - my slice was thrown into the oven for a few minutes and it tasted like you'd expect. Don't get me wrong, it tasted just fine and it served a purpose.
I don't think there is any food or cuisine in the world that is better when not fresh, and that includes NYC pizza slices. But that's just me maybe.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:45 AM ^
That is not true. I’ve had pizza at one of the oldest pizza places ever and it was more than amazing in Manhattan. That’s just your experience. I will say this though,”Chicago style pizza is $@@&:!
January 19th, 2022 at 11:53 AM ^
I totally agree with that. We have a place out here in the Bay Area called A Slice of New York that is the best pizza I've ever had and totally superior to anything I can remember eating in Manhattan.
January 19th, 2022 at 2:36 PM ^
We had pizza at a place called Pizzeria Delfina in SF that was really good. My kind of pizza. It really is a subjective thing.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:23 PM ^
I mean yeah, if you get a dollar slice in Times Square or Little Italy, you'll be disappointed. But there are about 1,000 places to get amazing pizza here.
January 19th, 2022 at 1:04 PM ^
Like I said, I hear this all the time. I got excited when my NYC-born friends took me to Joe's. Nah, same shit, different over-rated pizza slice place in NYC. Paid way more than a dollar for that. It didn't taste bad, but it tasted just like you expect when you reheat the slice in the oven (i.e. not fresh).
Let me be clear, I really like NYC style pizza. I'm just saying that NYC is not the place to get a good slice.
January 19th, 2022 at 1:13 PM ^
And I'll just say, if you are getting ANY type of food that's been sitting out forever and then reheated, of course it's going to suck. I'll repeat my comment above that you have shitty friends if their idea of NYC pizza is the shite that's sitting in the window congealing.
Like, if you did that to Chicago style pizza it would be inedible. I can get better pizza at my local grocery store than just about anywhere else I've been outside of Italy. But it's always made fresh to order.
January 19th, 2022 at 1:41 PM ^
Only at MgoBlog can a Harbaugh related post evolve (devolve?) into arguing over pizza style and calling my NYC-born friends shitty.
How about this. Mr.BlueLikeJazz, can you recommend a place or 2 in NYC to get a good slice. I will guarantee you I will give it a fair shake, but I'm certain that when I show up they will throw my slice into the oven to reheat it. But if its fresh and good, I will replace all my shitty NYC friends with you.
January 19th, 2022 at 8:52 PM ^
You don’t need to replace your friends. They’re probably fine, and besides that I’m shitty too.
But I’m over here laughing at your notion that all nyc pizza must be ordered by the slice off of trays that have been sitting there for hours. I agree with you that that’s disgusting, and one should never order pizza that way.
So rather than give you specific recs, I’ll just say find any pizza place in Brooklyn (*not* Manhattan) and buy a whole pie. You won’t be disappointed. I can narrow it down and say Williamsburg, Dumbo, Bed-Stuy, and Bushwick are especially good areas.
January 19th, 2022 at 10:57 AM ^
Over the past week, every time a new Harbaugh post is made, the thought that kept creeping into my head is how Bo would have handled this as AD. He would have called Harbaugh into his office and told him, your a Michigan Man, you're coaching Michigan. Now shut all this NFL crap down and get to work on winning the Big Ten next year.
It's amazing to me how much the game continues to evolve. With NIL, the future very much could revolve around the school and the NIL programs. At that point, the head coach will have very little leverage in a situation like this and the AD will most likely fire him and bring in someone who 100% wants to be there.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:00 AM ^
I think Bo would just pretend it didn't happen.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:05 AM ^
Or, would Bo understand that JH would listen to and evaluate an offer much like he did with Texas A&M? Recall, he fired Freider and made his “Michigan man” statement AFTER Freider had accepted an offer from another school.?
January 19th, 2022 at 11:15 AM ^
The significance of Bo's reaction to the way Freider left is overblown. There isn't an AD in America that would have let Freider get away with what he was trying to get away with.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:35 AM ^
Unfortunately for the fans of Michigan (and Bo) a lot of what he did or achieved is overblown now. It's just sad for an older guy like me.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:12 AM ^
Maybe we should lay off writing fan fiction about how Bo would handle difficult situations for a while.
This same AD and fanbase jerked Harbaugh around last year and wanted him gone; he's entitled to look around to determine his best career options this year, and thinking you can intimidate or browbeat him into making that decision on some other timeline is silly.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:24 AM ^
The health of the program takes precedence over Harbaugh’s desires.
Shit or get off the pot, Jim.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:57 AM ^
Now that we’re at this point in January, Sal’s point is pretty much the current take. If Harbaugh was already in the NFL and deciding between going to another team, whatever. But he’s got student-athletes to think about and the Michigan values that he preaches about also come into play.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:22 PM ^
If Jim hasn't signed the new contract, it's still insanely cheap to fire him. Why aren't you saying shit or get off the pot to Warde?
We've gotten a commit and signed one of the best DL coaches in the country in the last week. What exactly is he doing to hurt the health of the program?
January 19th, 2022 at 11:44 AM ^
Harbaugh is entitled to do what he wants to do. So are the fans. So is the AD.
The fans and AD did not jerk Harbaugh around. Harbaugh has earned both the criticism and accolades he has received during his tenure at Michigan. There have been plenty of posts and comments outlining both so I will not dive into that.
I don't care what timeline Harbaugh and Warde are on. I trust Warde will do what he thinks is best for the University of Michigan. I trust Harbaugh will do what is in his best interest and that he loves Michigan and wants the right thing to happen for them.
My comment about Bo was to show that way of operating doesn't work anymore. The landscape has changed. I think it will continue to change.
My personal thought is Warde believes Harbaugh is the best coach for Michigan right now. If the NFL thing is going to come up again and again from Harbaugh (not the NFL), then I think Warde will need to make a decision if Harbaugh is the best coach for Michigan long term. At some point, no matter how good, bending over backwards for an employee who always has their eyes set somewhere else isn't good for the team and that is Warde's responsibility.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:55 PM ^
Personally, if Harbaugh wants to keep having seasons like this one, then jerk us around for several weeks in January while he considers NFL offers, you can sign me up for that deal right now.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:53 PM ^
In other words, revenge is a dish best served cold.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:13 AM ^
Nah, head coaches will always have leverage in this type of situation. In the NFL, where players get paid massive amounts of money (far beyond NIL considerations), head coaches that WIN big (define it as you wish) have lots of leverage in such situations. Will remain same for college even with changes. Kids pick schools for more reasons than school’s name and NIL. They often talk about their relationships with coaches, who are hired & supervised & taught by the head coach.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:23 AM ^
Can we move past Bo, please? This is no Bo's program anymore. The guy has been dead for over 15 years, so people need to stop thinking about what Bo would want or how Bo would approach a given situation.
The way I see it, Harbaugh has two reasons for looking at the NFL, and I don't blame him for either one:
1) He wants to stay here, but is using this talk as leverage to get Michigan where it needs to be with NIL and the transfer portal. If those things don't happen, you're asking Harbaugh to try winning titles against the Georgias, Alabamas and OSUs of the world with one hand tied behind his back, and that's not fair to him. If your goal is to win, he's laid out the steps in order for how to do that, and if Michigan won't play ball, then he's got to ask "what the hell am I doing here?" He's a competitive guy. He wants to win. And yes, he loves Michigan. But you can't tell me he doesn't want to win the ultimate prize, and if he foresees no possibility in doing that here, then he's well within his rights to evaluate other options.
2) He saw how we all wanted him gone last year, and I'm sure that still pisses him off to this day. And I don't blame him for it. He'd have to be sitting there thinking "Ohhh now you all want to come crawling back, huh?" We all raked him over the coals last year, he was given a highly reduced salary and contract. He accepted the situation graciously, but you can't tell me that doesn't piss him off behind closed doors.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:34 AM ^
He saw how we all wanted him gone last year,
Speak for yourself. There were plenty of Michigan fans who weren't happy with how things had been going with the program, especially after last season, but didn't call for him to be canned.
January 19th, 2022 at 1:17 PM ^
Fair, not everyone. That was an over-generalization, but I think my larger point still stands.
There was a sizable enough, very vocal contingent that decided it'd had enough. Can't tell me Harbaugh didn't notice, and you can't tell me it didn't bother him. I know it would've bothered me, so I wouldn't blame him at all for wanting to explore other options.
January 19th, 2022 at 3:13 PM ^
No truer words, right here. Just because you're irrational and can't separate dissatisfaction with a need to make an unnecessary change doesn't mean everyone else belongs in that category.
January 19th, 2022 at 4:40 PM ^
Jesus, calm the eff down. It was an over-generalization and I admitted as such afterwards.
January 19th, 2022 at 7:27 PM ^
Yeah, i'm clearly not the one worked up here, just agreeing with the ole boy Don here and his quality take.
And to address the other incorrect "regular" generalization that went alongside your oversized generalization, I don't think that "point stands" either, as you state. At least the second point. The first one, I agree with. It wasn't a loud majority. It was, a loud, irrational, over-generalizing, minority. And honestly, I don't think think Jim Harbaugh really gives a shit either way. I certainly don't think he's making major life decisions based on the crying whines or whether or not you feel like you "raked him over coals" online. Jim doesn't strike me as "that guy."
January 19th, 2022 at 11:40 AM ^
Perkis: I suspect there are many who would fall out of your "we" group ever wanting JH gone.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:48 AM ^
We view the situation exactly the same way. I mean exactly.
The only other thing I would add is i have to believe that Mel Tucker getting 9 years & 90 Million while Jim worked on a "prove it" deal really bothered him. If Warde wanted to lock Jim down and keep the NFL at bay his chance might've ended when Mel's deal was announced the same weekend Jim finally spanked OSU and his contract wasnt immediately ammended.
This report is certainly not great news but without context it's impossible to know if it's anything at all. A short call could be the Bears contacting Jim to gauge his interest (nothing news) or Jim contacting them to let them know he's available (really bad news). And without knowing which it was I cant get too worked up over it.
Keep watching Vegas. That's where I think he ends up IF they decide they want to go in a different direction from Bisaccia.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:00 PM ^
I believe option 1 probably sums up most of it.
Harbaugh may also prefer the NFL at this point having coached in college twice.
If reason 2 is having a major role in his decision making then I think he needs to move on because if he is that immature about it, he will probably not get over it.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:25 AM ^
Honestly...who gives a shit what Bo would do as a hypothetical AD in 2022.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:56 AM ^
Honestly, who gives a shit? The deification of what by all accounts was an average coach who beat up on a weak Big 10 and rarely won anything of consequence, went 2-8 in the Rose Bowl and otherwise had an abysmal bowl record, is really unwarranted. He was a good coach in the Big 10. That's about it. PR has made him out to be a better coach than he probably was or deserves credit for. Move the hell on.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:00 AM ^
On a serious note, if the conversation was indeed brief how productive could the conversation have been? But like everything else, we can pick this apart in detail and be left with, "nobody knows anything."
January 19th, 2022 at 11:32 AM ^
You could be right, but it could've been like a quick 10-15 minute phone screen and not a formal interview. I don't know how the interviewing process works in the NFL, but there may have been a quick screening from the Bears front office to make sure he was serious about interviewing before they went through the trouble of actually setting an interview up with the GM, owner, etc. I'm sure those guys don't want to have their time wasted if Harbaugh isn't 100% serious.
That's how the process largely works most anywhere else, but again, maybe the NFL operates differently.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:01 AM ^
Someone needs to remind Jim..... NO man is bigger than the team... NO coach is bigger than the team, The TEAM, The TEAM, The TEAM!
January 19th, 2022 at 11:08 AM ^
This is absolute clickbait and NO ONE should give it view/clicks.
It's not news unless the conversation was planned or has the potential to go somewhere. Otherwise this is just some reporter trying to make hay out of learning that someone in the Bears' organization called and Harbaugh answered (possibly without even knowing who called).
This is representative of today's garbage "news."
January 19th, 2022 at 11:12 AM ^
Lol at just thinking the Bears are cold calling Harbaugh to say whats up. For this call to happen his reps have to have been talking to reps from the Bears indicating some level of being open to the job and this is an initial conversation that would be the first step to a formal interview. This conversation isn't happening if there isn't some level of interest in the job from Harbaugh, get your head out of the sand.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:26 AM ^
He doesn’t have reps. He has himself. Plus he is already familiar with the McCaskeys.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:38 AM ^
Lol of course he has reps who work behind the scenes for him. It might be his dad, or his friend, or other non-formal reps but of course he has people working back channels and putting out feelers on his behalf.
That is just how the business works because the no NFL team is just cold calling someone to see if they are interested and hoping the call doesn't get screened because the name isn't in his contacts or he is pooping.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:44 AM ^
Why wouldn’t he just the call himself? It’s the offseason. He doesn’t need an intermediary.
January 19th, 2022 at 12:01 PM ^
In at least one case, he got an assistant coach to make the call to an NFL owner for him. Maybe to maintain plausible deniability if asked "have you reached out to any NFL teams"? I don't know. Maybe it's considered unseemly to call on your own behalf at that level.
Whatever route he used, he was putting the word on the NFL street as far back as early December.
January 19th, 2022 at 1:35 PM ^
Unless the assistant was Jay, that seems very odd.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:39 AM ^
But I like the cool echo in my ears when my head's buried in the sand. I can almost hear the waves (as they wash over my neck).
January 19th, 2022 at 11:10 AM ^
At this point I don't expect to know anything for certain until:
1) He is formally hired by an NFL team; or
2) All of the NFL vacancies have been filled.
There is no indication that he is in any hurry to quash any of the rumors, so it is what it is. Either he will be our coach or he won't. I guess the one upside is that with each passing day and story I care a little less about the result.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:15 AM ^
Or hopefully option 3) when they announce that's he's signed his M extension.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:36 AM ^
Yeah, that would be the ideal. But my hopes for that have fallen quite a bit. It still might happen, but it feels like that is not happening until #2 has passed. It sounds like he is waiting for someone in the NFL to offer him the moon.
January 19th, 2022 at 11:10 AM ^
Personally speaking, when I was job hunting, I had brief calls with recruiters all the time. Some were to say thanks, but no thanks; others were to just schedule some more time to talk.
We’ll know when we know.