Harbaugh says he would coach for free

Submitted by double blue on December 30th, 2021 at 7:45 PM

Two points to be made.  
 

Peter said this morning that Harbaugh is primed for the NFL.  Just Peter making noise. 
 

Then later today came this statement from Harbaugh

Asked about the decision to take the pay cut, Harbaugh said it really wasn’t a big deal. He just enjoys being in Ann Arbor and leading the program.

“I reacted (like) no big deal,” Harbaugh said, per MLive.com. “Attacking each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. It didn’t really mean anything to me. It’s just money. Big deal.”

“You’ve asked me before, but I’d do it for free,” Harbaugh said. “I would do this job for free. I love it.”

Now, he won’t actually coach for free, but it’s clear he’s not going anywhere  Hes home  

 

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Flying Dutchman

December 30th, 2021 at 7:52 PM ^

I love Jim Harbaugh.  I wish I could do anything as enthusiastically as he does.  
 

Okay, fine, I can golf with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.  Would love to take that fucker on the links.  He would probably beat me by 8 strokes and talk shit the whole time.  

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HighBeta

December 30th, 2021 at 8:42 PM ^

Yep, I can see him being a decent golfer and beating you by 8 strokes (not knowing your handicap), but it wouldn't surprise me if you came back and told us that Coach started talking to you about changing your grip, your stance, etc.. Yep, he hates to lose, absolutely, but I also think that, at his age, he's a "natural" coach who'd work with you to improve your game. :-)

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Double-D

December 31st, 2021 at 12:12 AM ^

Michigan is his dream job.  And he wants nothing more in this world than to put a big fat stamp on his UofM legacy.

in fairness it’s easy to say money doesn’t matter when you have enough to never have to work again.  But it also says something when you show a fair mind over greed.  It’s kind of reminiscent of Brady taking a pay cut to bring in better players.  At some point you have the $ and you just want to win.

At the end of the day we have a great coach and an even better man running the program.

 

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dankbrogoblue

December 31st, 2021 at 1:03 AM ^

The two things that absolutely befuddle the national media:

-Harbaugh would leave a successful NFL coaching career to return to the college ranks

-Harbaugh would take a massive pay cut

On the second point, there’s never any mention that his contract was about to expire so there needed to be a new agreement, and that UM’s AD was decimated by the pandemic.

The signs point to Harbaugh loving the University and being a team player. It’s a shame that those outside of the Michigan sphere can’t understand this.

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wolvemarine

December 30th, 2021 at 7:58 PM ^

Harbaugh probably has enough money socked away he could conceivably do it for free.

Outside of retirement or some disaster, Harbaugh will never leave Michigan.

 Let’s. Go. Blue.

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JMo

December 31st, 2021 at 12:57 AM ^

I don't think willingness to jam that Reply button and tell the world poignant takes like "Harbaugh Sucks" and the like really represents a fanbase or even the blogs readership. I think it represents the people who felt like their dumb opinion was worth repeating 1000 times over. 

Thats the thing about so many of the anti-Harbaugh people... It honestly ceased to be about Harbaugh, and it was really just about themselves. They were the smart ones. They had the right opinion. People must hear them. And, finally when Michigan collapsed this year, THEY would be vindicated.

It was never about Harbaugh. It definitely wasn't about being a Michigan "fan." It was about people desperate to be right, or validated, or who knows why... who cares at this point.

I'm sure they're still lying in the weeds. There will come a season, hopefully far down the road, where Michigan football does not meet expectations. Pay attention to who pops up out of the bushes... 

But in the end, I don't think 60% is a fair number. People who didn't particularly like what was going on, but didn't feel like they needed to reply to the nonsense every post (or just don't visit here during it's most toxic times) aren't represented when they're silent. Ie it's not a one-to-one ratio of likely to reply.

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LDNfan

December 31st, 2021 at 5:18 AM ^

This is true...the naysayers were loud and in full force even for much of this magical season..and they will be back in full force soon. No way to know what the percentages were/are but it was hard to spend time here when so many needed to be right on every perceived strategic error and the future it portend. As if the coaches were absolutely clueless even as the wins mounted. 

I think it seemed louder too bec the blogs was leading with the Lucy football narrative and BPONE throughout much of the campaign. 

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Mr Grainger

December 30th, 2021 at 8:06 PM ^

Gosh, I remember when Michigan didn't put their spring "game" online and it was the greatest tragedy in history. Then they ran the ball too much against Washington and it meant locusts were coming.

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Mr Grainger

December 30th, 2021 at 8:06 PM ^

Gosh, I remember when Michigan didn't put their spring "game" online and it was the greatest tragedy in history. Then they ran the ball too much against Washington and it meant locusts were coming.

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The Oracle 2

December 30th, 2021 at 8:09 PM ^

Harbaugh isn’t exactly known for always saying publicly what he really thinks. The pay cut had to sting but I think he agreed to it only because he didn’t want to leave without completing the job he came to do. Now that he’s accomplished the mission , he’s certainly going to expect to be paid by someone.

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The Oracle 2

December 30th, 2021 at 9:00 PM ^

Do you mean did I read that Harbaugh said he’d coach for free? Yes, I read it. Do you believe it?  You really think Harbaugh is going to be fine going forward with making half of what Tucker and Franklin make? Seriously? I imagine Michigan will make it right, but I think they’ll probably have to.

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jhayes1189

December 31st, 2021 at 12:47 AM ^

There is some precedence for this is in big time sports; Tom Brady is known to have taken a pay cut in order to get the best roster around him, and I think Harbaugh would do the same with assistants. For some, winning and others around you succeeding as well is better than more money. 
 

…..I don’t know what Brady’s cut was, whether it was half of what he could have made or not, but he did it to bring more championships to New England, and probably to extend his playing career also with better protection up front….

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UMForLife

December 30th, 2021 at 8:22 PM ^

Win or lose tomorrow, this is a great season, thanks to Harbaugh. I am so glad he feels this way about AA and UM. Great guy and is doing what he loves to do. Wish I can just golf all day and not worry about money. 

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Bo Harbaugh

December 30th, 2021 at 9:33 PM ^

Mel got $95mm to be a cliche machine and after winning back to back Super Bowls against UM.

After this year's fluke Sparty win, will be fun watching Harbaugh dismantle them in coming years. 

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lhglrkwg

December 30th, 2021 at 9:54 PM ^

NFL insider types still can't comprehend a top coach would choose to stay in college over the mighty NFL. Half these guys are just water carriers for the NFL and/or various agents

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