Harbaugh Regime - What Stays, What Goes?
Jim Harbaugh's return as Michigan head coach is presumably as welcome news (as football fans) as any of us have gotten this year. We know that we are getting a guy who will work tirelessly to rebuild and reshape Michigan into a consistent contender for the B1G title and a team in the NCAAF playoff discussion. It's a great day to be a Michigan Wolverine.
But with regime change comes ... change, and since many of us will be dropping by the board waiting for the noon press conference, it might be fun to consider what traditions and customs we would expect or like JH to retain, those we'd like or expect to see him introduce, and those we'd expect or like JH to relegate to the dustbin of history.
I'd like to see Coach Harbaugh keep:
- BBQ at the Big House. This is a great recruiting event, and gives the staff a great chance to connect with recruits, their families, and coaches in a relaxed environment. This is one thing RichRod got exactly right.
- Greg Mattison. I'd like to see him retained in a reduced capacity, but with a title that reflects his contributions to the team. You'd hope that John H. would put in a good word for him as a coach, to the extent JH doesn't know how he works on a day-to-day basis.
I'd like to see Coach Harbaugh introduce/reintroduce:
- Season-Long Captains. I'm indifferent as to whether they're elected at the end of summer camp or the beginning of the B1G season.
- Maize and blue helmets and uniforms. A full return to maize would be great, as the color combination is iconic and unique. Watching Texas last night with their burnt orange reminded me that there is great value in having an identifiable color.
- Open disdain for OSU and MSU. RichRod didn't really "get" these rivalries, and Hoke was too nice about it. It's OK to have disdain for your rivals.
- Tyrone Wheatley as a coach (perhaps replacing Fred Jackson).
I'd like to see Coach Harbaugh dispose of:
- The prohibition on further visits if you've committed to Michigan.
- Any references to Ohio State University as "Ohio". We can leave that silliness for OSU's band (script Ohio).
- More than one instance of Uniformz! per season. I think once a season, for away games, is tolerable. Many players like them, so us "get off my lawn" types should have some tolerance. But more than once makes us look silly.
- Fred Jackson. The man has been a constant, and by all reports is a good guy. If they could find a non-coaching position for him, that would be optimal. But as a coach, he's underwhelmed for years from what I can see.
- Highlighter Yellow. Anywhere on the uniforms.
I'm ambivalent on helmet stickers.
More importantly, what would you like to see retained, introduced, or disposed of?
December 30th, 2014 at 9:57 AM ^
Unrelated post, but what does JBC stand for? I've seen Jim Harbaugh called that by M fans and Bucyeye fans, but have no idea as to the meaning of the term.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^
...and they're delicious. Even though they were WAY better in the early 00's.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^
...and they're delicious. Even though they were WAY better in the early 00's.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:25 AM ^
Junior Bacon Cheesburger? Was he in a Wendy's commercial or something?
December 30th, 2014 at 9:58 AM ^
I'd like to get rid of the "YOU SUCK" yell at the end of opponent 3rd downs.
Back in the early 2000s we successfully converted the student section from the "chop" to the "claw" motion, which was cool. I don't know when the "YOU SUCK" started getting added, but we should be better and classier than that. We're Michigan.
Maybe "GO BLUE" or some other clever 2 syllables should take its place.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:10 AM ^
Agree on that point. It seemed a bit lame back then but right now it just looks stupid.
There was a small but vocal group that tried to get a "First down, fuck yeah!" chant going for about half the year in 2006. It grew for about 3 weeks and was rightfully crushed.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:26 AM ^
tacit approval by finishing their dance to those last two beats.
I wish the student section still did the bullshit cheer that ended in the early eighties. When I was a kid they would do it for such major infractions as a quarter ending at an inopportune time preventing our next touchdown from being scored in their endzone.
December 30th, 2014 at 9:58 AM ^
Mostly, I'm against the prison stripe look altogether. Whomever came up with that stoopid idea needs to be put into a rocket and sent on a one way trip to Mars.
The "all blue" uniform from this year's UTL III game was pretty cool, though. But if we do something like that, perhaps just once a year or at a bowl. Not more often than that.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
Frankly, get rid of uniformz completely. No more. Michigan should look like Michigan, not Cal or West Virginia. If we lose a recruit or two because they wanted to wear uniformz, their priorities aren't in a great place and I suspect we wouldn't miss them.
But if we absolutely just have to wear them, put them on for some MAC team. I especially hate them for bowls and big games. That bumblebeez game against MSU looked hideous with neither team actually wearing their real uniforms. And I think it's stupid to turn on a bowl game, where your "brand" (yes, that word) is supposed to be on display to the whole world, and a team looks like they could be anyone at all. We've seen teams go full marshmallow, we've seen weird chrome helmetz - the idea of a bowl game is to have people remember who played, and the way to do that is to look like yourself, not Nike'z idea of badazz.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:05 AM ^
I do hope we keep at least one night game on the schedule. Those can be quite fun. I think that is one of the few things that we can keep from the old regime.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:14 AM ^
Those should and will stay but I don't think they should have to be a special event like in the past. I would be completely ok with it being used in a practical way like early in the season when it's 90 degrees during the day. Just use it on a power 5 non-conference game like UCLA or Oklahoma.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:21 AM ^
Keep: occasional but rare night games--one or two a season, but play them before the end of Daylight Saving Time so the kickoff isn't 2 hours after sunset.
Drop: "Under The Lights" branding for night games, especially the roman numeral (e.g., this year's "Under The Lights III.")
December 30th, 2014 at 10:05 AM ^
How about 'those 2 digit IQ bastards down south'? Or is that too precise?
December 30th, 2014 at 10:06 AM ^
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December 30th, 2014 at 10:07 AM ^
Eliminate the "J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach" title.
Please.
No disrespect at all to Mr. and Mrs. Harris, or their significant contribution. But that's just...so many words fit here, but "Brandon" is probably the most fitting.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:12 AM ^
It's ok to give a tribute with a patch or something small, but changing numbers is too much.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:14 AM ^
Jim Harbaugh told Hackett he did NOT want to be the highest paid coach in CFB, or even the Big Ten. More concerned with pay for assistants.
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) December 30, 2014December 30th, 2014 at 11:09 AM ^
December 30th, 2014 at 10:14 AM ^
Well after reading this thread is anyone FOR retaining the legends jerseys? Sheesh sounds like 100% approval to remove. cc: Hackett?
December 30th, 2014 at 10:14 AM ^
I'd also say get rid of the legends jerseys. They were retired for a reason and bringing them back does nothing to build excitement or interest or appreciably honor the players who originally wore them.
I also want to see a return of the true Maize color. Why the heck did we ever move to that awful bright yellow?
And definitely, we need season-long captains like previous years. None of this "captain of the week" stuff or vote on them after the season crap.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:16 AM ^
Really, let's just ditch the distractions. The countdown clocks, the legends patches, the uniformz, worrying about when we'll name captains...
Let Michigan be Michigan. Enough contrived bullshit. Just play football. Seems to me that's JH's forte.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:30 AM ^
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December 30th, 2014 at 10:16 AM ^
December 30th, 2014 at 10:18 AM ^
Stop calling them Ohio. Since we started calling them Ohio:
-Michigan went 1-3 against them, the only win being a 6 point victory at home over a 6-6 team that looked dead the last half of the season
-Declining record each year leading to a bowl less season
-Losing to the ACTUAL Ohio twice in basketball, including once in the NCAA Tournament.
Calling them Ohio State is fine, and not gratifying them by adding that stupid three letter article before the name is still a slight shot at them.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:20 AM ^
Keep the BBQ for sure as it has been very helpful to recruiting and other schools are now doing something similar.
Bring back accountability. If it takes season long captains, getting chewed out on the sideline a little, or in practice just do that.
Delete the Legends jersey. Keep the lockers and whatever else goes into it but on Saturday just have the kids wear THEIR numbers.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:26 AM ^
In:
1) More band music, less piped in muzak
2) Helmet Stickers
3)Maize Pants
4)Free Beer
Out:
1) Frequent piped in music (some is OK)
2)Uniformz
3)Legends Jerseys
4)Empty seats
December 30th, 2014 at 10:27 AM ^
Fred moved to a consultant role and be on the recruiting team. I think his coaching years have passed him by!
December 30th, 2014 at 10:31 AM ^
FWIW, I love the highlighter yellow/maize for uniforms, marketing, etc. The truer orangish-maize has always seemed a bit odd to me.
As for helmet stickers, I think they are a great concept if a few guidelines are followed:
- Make them mean something. No stickers for a nice block or a 2 yard touchdown against EMU. On the other hand, Chesson's block of 3 ND defenders that spring Gallon for a big touchdown is definitely worthy.
- Make them large enough to be notced, but small enough that they don't crowd out the great design of the helmet.
- Use denominations. For example, a solid maize football is worth 5, and a maize football outline is worth 1
- How about a maize star for being a captain?
It would go something like this:
- Jake Ryan: ★★◆◆◆◆◇◇ = 22, captain (x2)
- Denard Robinson: ★◆◆◆◆◆◆◇ = 31, captain
- Mason Cole: ◇◇◇◇ = 4
JR and DR look more impressive (which is appropriate), but their helmets won't look like they're made of stickers (cough, OSU).
December 30th, 2014 at 11:07 AM ^
December 30th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^
.. so sick and tired of poor special teams play for quite some time now, and coaches that apparently don't feel it's an important facet of the game. For me, that was a big mark against both RR and Hoke.. they neglected that part of the game and it was obvious. The best coaching staffs see the value in good special teams.
Also... it is going to be great to actually have a coach with some fire and intensity... a coach maybe a ref will think twice about before making a BS call.
December 30th, 2014 at 10:39 AM ^
December 30th, 2014 at 10:45 AM ^
December 30th, 2014 at 10:48 AM ^
Harbaugh era road jersey design. Always loved that look.
December 30th, 2014 at 11:12 AM ^
Nothing ever looked better than the Tom Brady-era road jerseys - numbers outlined in maize, block M on the shoulder, two-toned maize and blue collar. It all went downhill after that, and those disappeared about ten years ago now. But those '80s ones are also very sharp.
December 30th, 2014 at 11:45 PM ^
The Harbaugh era road jersey was a classic -- far better than the late '90's Nike version.
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December 30th, 2014 at 10:56 AM ^
Losses go
December 30th, 2014 at 11:12 AM ^
That whole thing that's been going on since 1969 where each Michigan coach, even the ones who go on to dominate State, nonetheless lose to them the first time...that can go. I'd be cool with that.
December 30th, 2014 at 11:36 AM ^
December 30th, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
GET RID OF THE LEDEND PATCHES. Honor the best of the best with a "Ring of Honor" or whatever you want to call it. Throw their names up on the pressbox for everyone to see, but don't retire the number -- many great players have and will wear #1, #2, #21, etc.
December 30th, 2014 at 12:11 PM ^
So, I've thought about these lists, what to retain, and what to get rid of. Tradition is a funny thing. Change is a funny thing. It is hard to pin down, but things do change, and some traditions need to die. We can look back fondly at various things in the past, but realize that time moves on, and things change.
I personally don't care whether the yellow is "maize" or "highlighter." The legends thing is kind of cool, if it could be a bit more tasteful. There are good arguments for and against helmet stickers. Personally, if they validate the players, then do it. As much as I like the traditional uniform, I can deal with some new special uniforms for various occasions.
Something I think that would be really cool would be to have a live Wolverine at the game sometime. Somehow, I don't think that's going to happen . . . but it still would be cool.
As for the marching band, and piped in music, I don't think they've got the sound system figured out yet. If they could make both work, that'd be a good thing.
But I guess what I'd really like would be for a deliberate choice to move away from "branding" and "corporatization" and "marketing buy ins." I'd like to see it be affordable for normal people to go to games. I'd like for it to be a communal fun experience (and the luxury boxes don't bother me.) I'd like to be able to bring a bottle of water into the game, or for water to be sold for 50 cents instead of some ridiculous price.
December 30th, 2014 at 12:34 PM ^
Stays: Great weeks of practice.
Goes: Bragging about them after a loss.
December 30th, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^
Stays: Senior leadership
Goes: Seniors playing over more talented younger guys
December 30th, 2014 at 1:19 PM ^
Fire Fred Jackson out of a cannon, or strap him to a rocket and shoot it into the Sun.
December 30th, 2014 at 2:22 PM ^
1,2,4 & 23 earned, not promised & 98 retired.
December 30th, 2014 at 11:42 PM ^
Probably hackett's decision, but Jim should throw his weight around here