Harbaugh said he’s handing the keys over to Gattis

So a guy who’s never called plays before is calling plays and we’re supposed to swoon?  Hope Gattis is the next super star, but it’s wait and see until we see it. 

"here are the keys to your Pontiac Aztek" 

I'm eager to see the type of creativity Gattis will put into his play calling. I'm even more interested to see how he will be able to scheme against the tougher defenses on the schedule. If things start to fail or not work, will there be adjustments? How much creativity will be implemented into the offense? We don't need to do trick plays every down, but there needs to be an urgency of attacking as much as possible. No more getting to the line with 10 seconds on the clock, no more letting the defense of the other team get a break after a big play by our offense, no more running and running and more running into a stacked box. I am excited to see what is in store. 

As long as we beat Osu I don’t care who has the keys. A 43 year old woman with 2 kids in the  backseat and talking on her phone would be just fine, as long as we beat Osu. 

Hopefully, with parts such as Shea at QB w DPJ, Collins, and Black at WR - Gattis can take those keys, build us a Ferrari, and put the gas pedal on the floor. 

Time to have a little fun...

This begs the question, why is Pep still here? I sincerely don't hold him in the low regard as most Pep-haters do but unless he's reassigned to strictly a position coach, I don't see the need for him on this staff.

Good to see. Doesn't necessarily guarantee a better result, but I'm glad to see that Harbaugh is continuing to evolve and recognizing that the status quo was not going to cut it. 

The man is not as stubborn as we (and I myself, admittedly, sometimes) think he is. 

If we get our playmakers into space, actually scheme toward opponent weaknesses and not continue to jam a square peg into a round hole and we also  tweak the defense to adjust for slants, mesh, etc. then we could be a very tough team to contend with.

I'll believe it when I see it. Harbaugh doesn't strike me as someone to give up control of anything. Rightly or wrongly, I cannot imagine Harbaugh sitting back and giving Gattis that degree of autonomy. 

Cool.

Listened to the AED Podcast w/Coach Gattis. He definitely talks the talk, can understand why recruits gravitate to him. Cautiously optimistic heading into next year

I thought Harbaugh was too stubborn to change? I thought he only liked to hire washed out NFL re-treads? I thought he was sitting in his office twiddling his thumbs and stoked about how we're just a few years away from building enough of a callus that our wear them out offense is going to explode? 

We'll see. I'm worried that if there is a couple of incomplete passes Jim will be urging him to switch to the run. If one thing we have learned from seeing Jim coach over these past seasons, it's he is very conservative and risk averse.

Hiring Coach Gattis was a major league chess move imho for so many reasons already discussed on this blog.  Michigan football program still ascending. 

Loved listening to them talk on the podcast. Pretty impressed with Gattis and the direction the team is going.  

That all sounds good, but why did it take Harbaugh, 4 years to figure this out?  And can we really trust that it will happen in the biggest games?  As with most people, I will wait and see.  

Hell yeah.

The core of Gattis’ offensive philosophy is the same as Harbaugh’s. Michigan will still look to pound defenses with the run game. Where Gattis’ impact on the approach will likely manifest in the level of belligerence exhibited when trying to establish that ground attack. In other words, if the body blow approach isn’t winning rounds, Gattis won’t be averse changing his strategy between rounds. Even early in a fight.

This is what we all wanted...let's hope it works.

I do not believe Coach Harbaugh is as averse to change as many think...though he does seem to be a bit slow in coming around to it. Here, I believe the OSU game may have been "what broke the camel's back". At the same time, I see his principle of controlling the clock to be one that will compete with a full-blown, quick-strike offense. This will be the "learning-curve"...and why the Gattis hire makes a lot of sense...coming from the success of the Alabama system...which should still be considered elite.