Harbaugh is too nice of a guy
The title says it all.
Harbaugh put up with Pep Hamilton for years. He let Pep look for a job while he was doing a poor job of coaching.
The same is true of Tim Drevno. His offenses were bad after Jed Fisch left and he insisted on coaching the O Line where he did a poor job.
How many good offensive coordinators did we lose out on because of Hamilton / Drevno?
And how Ben McDaniels (QB coach) is still on staff is a mystery. We have consistently underperformed in developing QBs. McDaniel came with Harbaugh originally I think.
Now Don Brown is getting beaten by teams with less talent than he has. A far cry from when Brown was at BC and coached up lessor talent to scrap with much deeper programs.
Harbaugh has to make some tough personnel calls and he will not make them.
If you disagree with me, fine. But ask yourself.....has Harbaugh fired anyone?
November 17th, 2020 at 8:11 PM ^
And perhaps loyal to the underperformers while being a hardass with others. That's how you really lose your team/organization.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:02 PM ^
Again, can someone tell me how to delete my account?
November 17th, 2020 at 7:08 PM ^
Make a pro-Trump or anti-Ace post.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:30 PM ^
Hahahaha!! Nice! Or try posting some opinion other than certain death about covid and getting hit with the "misinformation" scolding too many times.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:36 PM ^
*farts
November 17th, 2020 at 7:55 PM ^
"... try posting some opinion other than certain death about covid ..."
No hyperbole or straw men there, no sir ...
November 17th, 2020 at 10:11 PM ^
There's not a debate about covid. There's fact and there's myth.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:54 PM ^
I'd never do the first.
Second? Not out of the question.
November 17th, 2020 at 10:01 PM ^
Not only are we not going to tell you how to delete your account. We're going to give you upvotes and affirmation to make it ever so slightly harder for you to walk away.
You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:07 PM ^
So many strong arguments on this blog lately.
Hire Campbell or Fickell, Harbaugh is broken, Harbaugh is on meds, Harbaugh lacks motivation, Harbaugh is too nice, etc.
Just stop. They’re all dumb.
November 17th, 2020 at 8:25 PM ^
What's dumb about wanting to hire Campbell or Fickell?
November 18th, 2020 at 11:51 AM ^
You can start with....Never trust a Buckeye, but that is just my opinion. If you thought Washington and Mattison was ugly, what do think would happen if Fickell comes here, is successful, and then gets the call when Day leaves?
November 17th, 2020 at 7:08 PM ^
You say "too nice".
I say too soft and inept.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:09 PM ^
SMH.
The biggest criticism over the years has been that Harbaugh is too much of an asshole, rubs people the wrong way, works people too hard, etc.
And now he's too nice of a guy.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:17 PM ^
Our fanbase is searching for answers and can find none so they keep speculating on the reason he has failed here. We are like this guy IMO - searching for the water. The scary thing is this is only going to get worse over time.
November 17th, 2020 at 8:07 PM ^
Totally agreed.
November 17th, 2020 at 8:18 PM ^
Yes, us and the current coaching staff it seems..
November 18th, 2020 at 8:27 AM ^
I know. We have no idea why we are failing and the reality is it doesn't matter. JH has had enough time to get it right and seems unable to do so. It's time to move on.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:35 PM ^
Ahhhhh. So the irony is not totally lost on you?
Or is it?
November 17th, 2020 at 7:56 PM ^
I don’t know if Harbaugh is naughty or nice but we do know the recruiting has stunk (ir)regardless of class rankings
November 18th, 2020 at 8:09 AM ^
I believe 'irregardless" has be added to the dictionary. Otherwise, the coaching has failed the recruits-not the other way around.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:16 PM ^
If he was too nice, we wouldn’t have the massive player attrition we have endured
November 17th, 2020 at 7:19 PM ^
Sometimes nice guys finish last. Whether or not you blame Harbaugh for not taking action and firing someone for poor performance or not hiring the right candidate in the first place, it’s still Harbaugh’s ship. Harbaugh has had 6 years to establish his system. He’s had 6 years to recruit and develop his team. He’s had 6 years to hire the right people. He’s not getting it done and it’s time to move on. Thanks coach, but no thanks for year 7.
November 18th, 2020 at 8:16 AM ^
Correct. When the failure is at the top of the chain of command the consequences affect everyone.
I do believe Jim is a nice guy. Something has caused him to lose the focus and will to perform the task at hand. I do not see him recovering and reinventing himself-people at his age simply do not pull this off.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:32 PM ^
He wouldn't have had such trouble keeping good coaches from leaving or our best players if he was a nice guy.
November 17th, 2020 at 7:45 PM ^
November 17th, 2020 at 7:47 PM ^
"What is love?"
November 17th, 2020 at 7:50 PM ^
It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas
November 17th, 2020 at 8:04 PM ^
The coach has to go down with the sinking ship. However, no matter how poorly Harbaugh is performing, the University likes him and odds are he will get a big contract extension. I think he will dump Brown but may keep Gattis.
November 17th, 2020 at 8:05 PM ^
This isn't about Harbaugh. This is about the mainstream expectations for Michigan football. We really shouldn't have elite expectations.
November 17th, 2020 at 8:17 PM ^
It's mostly only Michigan fans that have that opinion. That's why Urban and Kirk are now openly rooting for us
November 17th, 2020 at 9:20 PM ^
Michigan fans plus a lot of the media. Basically, anyone saying Harbaugh must be fired probably has that opinion. With the right expectations, Harbaugh hasn't done a terrible job.
November 17th, 2020 at 9:38 PM ^
I guess I wasn't clear. Only Michigan fans think mediocre is the best Michigan can do. Almost everyone else thinks we can do better than losing at least 3 games every year and the embarrassment that is this season. That's why OSU fans are openly rooting for us, they're embarrassed for us.
November 18th, 2020 at 8:27 AM ^
This is a nice thought but the last three games completely contradict any semblance of sanity by assigning the state of affairs to anyone's expectations. This team is a hot mess and the coaches are very directly responsible for this-and suggesting otherwise is just plain silly.
November 18th, 2020 at 9:37 AM ^
For the amount of money being paid along with the prestige of the program and its favored spot in exposure, in that light he hasn't done well. He almost made it with Hokes players, including Speight.
However, Harbaugh did have a glaring acheivement and needs credit for it. We had sunk so low that MSU almost took the prestige from us in the state, and that could have been a real paradigm shift... instead he worked like a monster and shut down Dantonio's big lead and net effect is their program is back to irrelevancy... alot of this was Jim. From a generally unappreciating fan base, I will say THANK YOU JIM. Though i should say that Dantonio was no longer getting players funneled to him from Tressel.
After that, I will list needed do-overs...
One, the woody glasses and toning it down.
two, picking Brown as successor to Durkin, based on Belichiks NFL advice... this is college. Should have promoted Mattison at worst, or did a co-DC thing with a younger DC. Seems silly now Mattison sat behind Durkin and Brown and we expected him to stay.
three, moving on from Speight. I'd be wrong had Shea beat OSU but he didnt.
Four, taking Gattis on a whim. Get Pep to call plays faster instead. That was a travesty, no tempo. Still no tempo six years later, because offense so complex.
and lastly, was not realizing how hard of a time that the California guy Drevno would have recruiting OL in the midwest. This wasn't an error, but unfortunate.
November 18th, 2020 at 7:16 AM ^
That's silly. Very few michigan fans expect them to be the next osu/bama/clemson. Michigan fans are asking for a coherent team that beats the teams they should beat.
Harbaugh has won 10, 10, 8, 10, and 9 games at Michigan. At a bare bones minimum by winning the games you should win they would be at 11, 11, 10, 11, 10 wins. You could still have all the losses to osu and not be in that elite of elite category. If he won the games he should win and didn't get blown out the conversation would be much different.
Michigan fans are asking michigan to beat the teams they should beat based on the talent they have and not get blown out playing elite teams and lose 1-3 games a year to teams they should beat.
November 17th, 2020 at 8:40 PM ^
Can we talk about those damn glasses? What's the pre-glasses record vs. post Coke bottles? Studies show coaches who begin wearing glasses mid career have linebackers who forget how to lineback and also forget how to recruit.
November 18th, 2020 at 9:30 AM ^
If you're joking, well, those glasses are a hell of coincidence. He began to wear them at the start of the slide, and the start of his turning inward. I thought it was a stupid ploy to bond with the rivalry and wear Woody frames... recruits don't know who Woody was, and all it did is create the perception he got old, and that is a negative.
November 17th, 2020 at 8:55 PM ^
Yeah there's a lot of stuff from multiple sources that Harbaugh is exceedingly unpleasant to work for if you're an offensive coach. Pep/Drevno sticking around seems more a product of they were with him at Stanford and willing to tolerate him, and few will.
November 17th, 2020 at 9:02 PM ^
This is not fun, nor productive
November 17th, 2020 at 9:29 PM ^
Stop it!
November 17th, 2020 at 9:33 PM ^
he is in the process of functionally firing himself this season
November 17th, 2020 at 9:42 PM ^
Why was Don Brown coaching up “lessor talent”? BC has a Masters of Renting program?
November 17th, 2020 at 10:23 PM ^
Let's make some more excuse for why he's shit his pants. Please, send him a fruitcake for Christmas. He only makes over 5 million a year, he needs the support.
November 17th, 2020 at 11:39 PM ^
I appreciate that we have all now figured out Harbaugh's faults. Thank goodness for MGOBLOG!
November 18th, 2020 at 12:55 AM ^
He fired himself
November 18th, 2020 at 8:31 AM ^
how about Nua bad coaching job
November 18th, 2020 at 8:32 AM ^
Jim is quirky. He doesn't connect with the kids. He doesn't connect with his staff. The talent level of the players and coaches have both fallen under Jim. Very disappointed. I don't believe it is because he is too nice. I believe he is too quirky.
November 18th, 2020 at 8:50 AM ^
I disagree completely here. My gosh, I think you're wrong in every paragraph but one.
You have it completely backwards....
Harbaugh is ruthless, as he should be. If he were too "nice" he would have never fired Drevno nor Pep.
You could argue he keeps them on longer than they should, but this is not due to niceness but the changeover risk, and perhaps pride comes into play considering he picked them and it isn't working out.
November 18th, 2020 at 9:36 AM ^
'Too nice of a guy' is not what a lot of people who have ever worked with Harbaugh or any of these hard-charging football coaches would say.
Thx for the hot take though.