Harbaugh's record through 31 games.
First off let's dispell with any notion that Harbaugh himself will ever be on any hotseat. We wanted him more than anything and we got him, signed him a huge contract, and realistically there are not better options out there. The day Warde Manual fires Harbaugh and hires Dan Mullen or some other shot in the dark is never. Harbaugh has a better track record than anything out there.
That being said, let's compare two coach's records through 31 games. I think you already know where this is going but when you look at the blind record without context (and I admit context matters a LOT) it's still disturbing.
Coach 1:
24-7 overall
Two 2nd place finishes in the division
1-1 vs. Rival #1, 1-1 vs Rival #2
13-4 overall in Conference (0.765 win percentage)
1-1 in Bowl Games (BCS bowl win)
Coach 2:
24-7 overall
Two 3rd place finishes in the division.
0-2 vs. Rival #1, 1-2 vs. Rival #1
14-5 overall in Conference (0.737 win percentage)
1-1 in Bowl Games (New Year's Day bowl win)
After his 31st game, Coach 1 went into Happy Valley at night, ran the ball 27 times for 27 yards, and forever lost the faith of the Michigan faithful. Coach 1 had a crappy track record and did a lot of other incompetent things that got him fired.
As fate would have it, Coach 2 is going into Happy Valley at night in two weeks, with a chance to regain the faith of the Michigan faithful. I am not holding my breath but that would be a big win to say the least.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:20 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:30 AM ^
I said context matters. The point is that if you show these blind stats to some random CFB fan out of context they'd say at best that the two coaches performed the same, with perhaps a slight edge to coach 1.
Truth be told, Hoke slid down a hill every year after 2011. Harbaugh has been on a boring flat line for 2.5 years. With Hoke we knew he was an inferior coach, with Harbaugh we know he has a track record and there's nothing else out there.
The point is just that I don't think anyone would have predicted these numbers would be worse for Harbaugh than for Hoke after 31 games.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:20 AM ^
Meh, I am still confident that Harbaugh will finish better than Hoke.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:21 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:22 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:30 AM ^
By every you mean one? Five games:
1) 2015 MSU game. We controlled the game against a veteran, elite MSU team that ended up (getting destroyed) in the playoff. Lost on a fluke (and because our OL sucks so we couldn't run clock).
2) 2016 MSU game. Allowed an early TD, but basically demolished them. State tacked on a few scores at the end to make it look close and make our hearts pound a little bit.
3) 2015 OSU game. Played a good first half, but you could see it slipping away and then got annihilated in the second half. Didn't exactly come out flat. Was clearly out talented.
4) 2016 OSU game. Controlled the game, again couldn't run clock because the OL sucks and got fucked by a bad spot.
5) Tonight. Worst game of the Harbaugh era by a huge margin. Definitely came out flat.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:32 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:38 AM ^
Pretty sure RichRod's done that already.
Are you really going to blame Harbaugh for losing in double-OT in controversial fashion last year?
October 8th, 2017 at 12:46 AM ^
Yes.
Time will erase the details of the loss.
He is his record, full stop.
October 8th, 2017 at 1:00 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 8:01 AM ^
obvious PI callas against OSU was more important thatn the spot.
October 8th, 2017 at 1:44 AM ^
You are what your record says you are.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:52 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:31 AM ^
Wow, Fishch was here the last two years in all of those games when the offenses laid egg after egg. Jedd wasn't the answer. Find the best offense in the country and hire that coordinator.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:33 AM ^
Harbaugh is only 3 plays from being 4-1 against the rivals...
Okay, that doesn't make me feel any better but I say let him have a couple more years just to be sure we really don't want him.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:41 AM ^
I would more say it's one ridiculous fluke from being 2-1 against MSU and 6 inches (or a better spot) from being 1-1 against OSU and having a Big Ten title. Hell, if this game was scheduled at noon like it should have been, I bet we have enough offense in the second half to win. We'd still be miserable because it would have been like a 16-14 win against a terrible State team, but still.
But people have a hard time accepting the general bloody mindedness of the universe.
October 8th, 2017 at 1:02 AM ^
If McDoom catches that ball with 20 seconds left, Harbaugh could even be 3-0 against Sparty.
I do wonder when the fluky crap is going to start going our way.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:23 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:26 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:24 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:54 AM ^
But you don't bother to read the post clearly.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:24 AM ^
If you don't think Harbaugh's going to have a Hoke-like decline (and you shouldn't), then what the fuck is your point?
October 8th, 2017 at 12:33 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:40 AM ^
That's all. If you had told a Michigan fan in December 2014 that Harbaugh would have a worse record than Hoke through 2.5 seasons they would have told you to fuck off. The fact that he does makes me sad that I'm going to have to wait another 4 years at best for Michigan's first real shot at a Big Ten Championship since 2004. It took Harbaugh 7 years to win the Orange Bowl at Stanford. He was starting from an 0-11 tire fire team though; I don't think anyone here thought it would take 7 years to even sniff a BTCG. I am willing to wait it out since there's no other options though.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:58 AM ^
He was only at Stanford 4 years. And why would/should it take 4 years from now for MICH to have a "real shot" at the B1G? We were six inches away from a likely B1G Championship last year.
October 8th, 2017 at 1:07 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:12 PM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:25 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:25 AM ^
Why are you looking at penn state as if the indiana game is some kind of guarantee? A high school team in El Salvador who've never played american football before could have beaten us tonight.
October 8th, 2017 at 1:09 AM ^
Actually, the education system in El Salvador doesn't really have high school per se, primary education ceases at 9th grade.
https://web.stanford.edu/~hakuta/www/archives/syllabi/E_CLAD/sfusd_cult…
October 8th, 2017 at 1:47 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:27 AM ^
He may see that with the current state of the college football and the NCAA that he can't win without cheating and decides to leave on his own and go back to the NFL.
Alabama will be the benchmark as long as Saban is there and OSU is the benchmark in the Big Ten for the foreseable future. This program is much like the basketball program, we win a few exciting games, make the tournament and dream of championships, but the reality is far from that.
Yes, we are all happy Belein is our coach when the FBI comes knocking on doors and we all cheered when they hired Harbaugh and he would be the savior of the program. Guess what, he isn't and this program will not bypass OSU because they never rebuild they reload and their second string QB is actually as good as if not better than the starter. We are desparately struggling to fill vital holes with bodies and have no answers at the most important positions. We're not winning the recruiting wars with the big boys and Dantonio out plays and outcoaches us every year with 2 and 3* talent.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:43 AM ^
"we all cheered when they hired Harbaugh and he would be the savior of the program. "
Not all of us.
October 8th, 2017 at 1:04 AM ^
Well no shit, since you're a troll who joined two years later.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:27 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 1:47 AM ^
Of course you don't. How many more losses to our rivals will it take for you to say it is doom and gloom? 2? 5?
October 8th, 2017 at 12:27 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:29 AM ^
I wonder if Hoke and Harbaugh ever coached before they reached Michigan. They did? Oh, Hoke was a .500 level coach whom no major program (other than Michigan) wanted when he was hired? Interesting. And Harbaugh had man excellent track record before Michigan, and people legitimately think NFL teams will try to hire him away because he is one of the small number of elite coaches in the game? Also interesting. I wonder if that is relevant.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:45 AM ^
I literally brought up all those points in my post. I'm just pointing out some interesting numbers, not calling for Harbaugh's head quite obviously. I literally said that several times so I don't know what you don't get about it.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:45 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:29 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 12:30 AM ^
It's frustrating because just staying in I form and running Higdon alternating between sweeps, power and zone probably would have been enough. I have no idea why they were trying to go empty and throw in a monsoon or running inside zone out of the gun. The offensive coaching in its entirety has been utter failure.
October 8th, 2017 at 1:13 AM ^
and Brian told them to run 5 wide receivers, so they did.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:30 AM ^
I hate to say it, but maybe Mork is a good coach. Ban me, but I think it has to be said.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:36 AM ^
Trust me, you have to do much more than that to get banned here - ask anyone that we've given third, fourth and fifth chances. At the end of the day, he is one of the few coaches that will be able to say that he left a program in much better shape than he found it.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:51 AM ^
October 8th, 2017 at 1:40 AM ^
I hate him so much, but I've definitely wished in the past that the Lions hired him away.
October 8th, 2017 at 12:30 AM ^