If Jim Harbaugh can’t get Michigan to where it needs to be, who can?
If Jim Harbaugh can’t get Michigan to where it needs to be, who can? The “Son” of Bo and a winner everywhere he has been; the quintessential Michigan Man, Harbaugh is underperforming five years in. But if he can’t take us to the Promised Land, who out there legitimately can?
Is there a deeper cultural problem that exists (Is Michigan too “Clean” to be able to keep up with the Alabama/Clemson/OSU’s of the world? Do we care too much about academics?)?
How do we escape BPONE?
September 21st, 2019 at 11:19 PM ^
We "had" the coach we all wanted.
I'm not sure who invaded Jim Harbaugh's body after the 2016 season, but we might need to call an exorcist.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:10 PM ^
We care so much about academics we have a lower APR than those schools, and have former players saying they were prevented from entering the major of their choice. We have more guys in general studies than any damn school in the BIG. I’m so sick of this bullshit excuse.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:27 PM ^
And after Harbaugh himself said he was steered out of majoring in history. The guy contradicts himself constantly.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:12 PM ^
Joe Moorhead.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:16 PM ^
Wisconsin isn’t cheating and they clowned us today
September 21st, 2019 at 11:19 PM ^
I don't have an answer for what's wrong with Michigan and Harbaugh.... OSU loss was freaking bad last year
then two of our assistants go to Ohio... can't believe Mattison left, that dude is a coach
then we freak out and try to change everything, AKA speed in space
All I know is we got to beat Iowa, assuming we get by Rutgers
if we don't finish strong my guess is he will resign
September 21st, 2019 at 11:45 PM ^
We can only hope...
September 21st, 2019 at 11:25 PM ^
All this talk about culture and clean programs, but it's just the coaches and 18-23 year olds coming just short:
If MSU doesn't pull out the miracle of the century, we'd have been in the New Year's Six in Harbaugh's first year.
If the homer refs didn't suck and screw us over with the Spot, we'd have won the B10 and been in the College Football Playoff in Harbaugh's second year.
If Speight and later Peters didn't get injured, we'd have actually been more competitive against MSU, OSU, and Wisconsin and probably gone 10-2 in the regular season as opposed to 8-4 and been in another New Year's Six in Harbaugh's third year.
No complaints about year 4. Away loss to ND, who went to the playoff. The away loss to OSU in Urban's final home game was necessary for us to modernize our offense. If we weren't so agonizingly close to the Playoff and had a better bowl game than fucking Florida on the 29th, we'd have actually tried in that New Year's Six bowl too.
2/4 years we were contenders, and ran into Urban's OSU teams at Columbus. We are basically in the tier below the likes of Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, and Oklahoma.
Let's see how this season and next season turns out. I believe that the universe will find ways to make up for those mishaps in the first four years.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:29 PM ^
If if if if if
We are the only program that has bad things happen to them, and clearly a different reality would have happened if they didn't. Always blaming everything except the head coach.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:41 PM ^
I agree there are "ifs", but I don't think it's enough to reach a breaking point yet.
This isn't like Rich Rod, who was too slow to develop the program, or Hoke, where it was a downward trend.
2 out of the 4 Harbaugh years we were legitimate Playoff contenders until we suffered demoralizing away losses to OSU. The other 2 years were his first year, which you can't even count, and the third year, which was just weird because of the QB carousel.
I am a believer that that all of those wrongs that happened will be made up over time, where we'll get the breaks finally.
Right now we have a steady 10 win program (even 2017 with the QB madness we got 8 wins and looked competitive in most of the losses), getting top 10-15 recruiting classes, and just need that elusive win over OSU that I think will instill the confidence and belief in Harbaugh and co.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:41 PM ^
You are so dumb. It’s year five and the team looks lost. That’s 100% bad coaching and Harbaugh should be fired. Not for losing games, but for not doing his job.
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:06 AM ^
Take out his first year (an unrealistic expectation anyway since we were rebuilding), and we were in playoff contention 2/3 years until we ran into OSU.
We have a 10 win baseline barring some QB disaster like in 2017 (where we still ended up with 8 wins and very competitive losses).
We lost to a very well-coached, solid Wisconsin team on the road. Not the worst thing in the world.
All the big games are still up ahead, the three most important at home as well.
I get that we're all upset by this game turned out, but maybe we should reassess after this season is over.
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:24 PM ^
But we didn't just lose to OSU, Florida and Wisconsin. We got run out of the stadium in each game. The Wisconsin game was quite a bit worse than the first two. The trend is a steep downward slope against teams with a pulse.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:44 PM ^
This isn’t a Marvel multiverse story. We are what our record says we are. I can play the “What if” game the other way too.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:30 PM ^
I would love to see someone come in and have this team prepared to play. Harbaugh doesn’t have us prepared in big games. Gets outcoached almost every week.
September 21st, 2019 at 11:42 PM ^
Not sure, but clearly JH/the program appear broken.
Watching Georgia/ND-both QBs are clearly better than Patterson. Both defenses look better than what Pony puts out there.
Flipped over to Nebraska/Illinois-again, 2 QBs who look better/more confident than ours.
Sensing a pattern here...
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:47 AM ^
Peters was 9-22 for 78 yards, 1 td 1 int against NEBRASKA. He ALSO PLAYED ON OUR TEAM AND WAS TERRIBLE. We played a great defense today, relax
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:07 AM ^
How many TDs does he have this yr? How many does Patterson have?
September 21st, 2019 at 11:51 PM ^
Sure it is tough(er) to run a clean(er) program at a school with high(er) academic standards in the north. And in spite of that we should expect to win the conference & compete for a natty. Watching ND make a couple of trips to the playoffs & hang with UGA tonight (at least for 3 quarters) should stifle most of the "but academic standards in the north!" apologists and I don't know that Manuel's system is any cleaner than the one that just mauled, abused, & humiliated our players & coaching staff.
Rodriguez virtually gutted this program. Hoke was borderline inept but he brought back the right kind of system. Harbaugh is the guy to pull the team out of the hole that RR dug (and full props for getting us back to sea level) but is he is the guy to take this program to the level we all hoped we'd achieve after Lloyd departed? NOTHING yet that we've seen supports that. It was a hope we ALL shared but all we have actually experienced doesn't include a win against OSU, a dominant win over any great opponent, a conference title, or a championship run.
He's brought back the hype and the hope. He's taken back the state. He has won some recruiting battles. He's returned the program to a 10-win pre-RR/BH state. And for that, any amount of disappointment I have for what he hasn't done is swirled with a certain amount of gratitude for giving us 5 seasons of believing we were not only getting better, we were getting good enough to maybe win it all.
The recruits are there. Doesn't this have the feel of that situation where an X's & O's guy comes in and wins with the previous guy's players?
But the question was... WHO? Yeah, good question.
Let's start with Matt Campbell or Brent Venables. Bronco Mendenhall? Cutcliffe? Stoops? But why not Fisher, Smart, or Riley? If not, why not Peterson or Patterson? UM can write as big a check as any school & it is a better draw than it was 4 years ago. Horses are there. Time for Warde to pick up the phone and buy a few lunches.
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:18 AM ^
What I see a lot in sports contracts is: the player (or coach) who has the heart ans fire of a lion earns massive contract to play (or coach) somewhere else and suddenly that heart and fire dims and dies a bit. (*cough Ken Griffey* but still my favorite of all time in baseball).
Michigan needs someone who is NOT at the peak of their career and one who wants to continue their path the top. Not someone who necessarily has already been there.
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:31 AM ^
Every time there's discussion of a coaching change (and this is the third time since I've been around here) there are a bunch of Michigan fans who think head coaches at schools like OU and UGA might leave their jobs for Michigan. It's totally absurd.
September 22nd, 2019 at 1:18 AM ^
Lincoln Riley is being underpaid compared to his production at Oklahoma. I am not saying he would leave, but Michigan has money that Oklahoma could not match if it came down to it.
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:10 AM ^
No big names are going to touch this job if Harbaugh is let go...
Good fits:
Chuck Martin - Midwest guy, won a couple National Titles with GVSU, significant time as an OC and DC under Brian Kelly. And he'd be coming from the same College program as Bo and Woody (Miami OH)
Tyrone Wheatley - GREAT recruiter. Michigan legend, give him a shot
Mike Hart - the press conferences will be EPIC.
Scot Loeffler - he was GOAT's QB coach... played at Michigan so he gets it.
Let's go Ty Wheatley as HC with Loeffler as OC and Hart as RB coach... and Woodson as the DC to boot.
September 22nd, 2019 at 1:26 AM ^
some of the shit you people are upvoting, jesus christ.
September 22nd, 2019 at 2:05 AM ^
It was still 14-0 when I had to run out and I hate to say it, but I knew Michigan would not mount a comeback. I was shocked they got a huge pass play on the first play of scrimmage, but then dismayed when they had to call a TO on the next play. Then miss an open TD. And then fumble it away on the play after that. I knew Michigan was done then and there. And there was still like 9 minutes left in the first quarter.
Right now I'm watching a downtrodden UCLA team cut loose and have fun against a very good Wash St. team. They just took a lead in a wild, WILD shootout. They're 0-3 and could very well lose this game but its nice to see a team just enjoy playing the game (esp a program that was supposedly lost by its head coach a few weeks ago, in fact, they may have just turned a crucial corner under Kelly in this game, win or lose). Michigan has not looked like it has had fun playing the game since the early years of Harbaugh.
WHat happened? And can we get back to that please?
September 22nd, 2019 at 2:58 AM ^
Nobody, we are doomed to irrelevancy, just like the 50s and 60s with may be one surprise year every 10 or so seasons.
September 22nd, 2019 at 6:09 AM ^
This deifying of Bo needs to end.
September 22nd, 2019 at 6:46 AM ^
I'm just excited for the JJ McCarthy era to begin.
September 22nd, 2019 at 7:15 AM ^
We lost yes, but I hate posts like this. You don't push a guy like Harbaugh out the door. You simply do not.
September 22nd, 2019 at 8:51 AM ^
Should he be pulled out then? I suggest you watch the last six games. If you're still of the belief that you do not push this fraud out the door then you need to be pushed out the door
I don't care which method they use to get him out the door, but he needs to go. They're not competitive when facing top 20 teams
September 22nd, 2019 at 10:46 AM ^
Youre right. After yesterday he should be thrown.
September 22nd, 2019 at 8:18 AM ^
Honestly don’t know the answer to that, and that’s why I’d be afraid to get rid of him. It would be very difficult to find someone who you know can do better, but it’s verrrrrry easy to find someone who can do worse. A lot worse. You could end up finding yourself in a situation where you have to ask someone like Greg Schiano to come lead your program because you strike out on all of your other candidates. Michigan has all the resources of an Alabama, OSU or Clemson, but it also has fans with twenty years of built up rage and frustration, and if that new guy can’t beat OSU in the first two years, everyone turns on him fast.
There really don’t seem to be, to my knowledge, any well-known up and comers with a few years of proven success under their belts who you know will be looking to take the next step in their career next year. If Harbaugh leaves/retires after this year, you really may end up having to take a big chance on someone.
September 22nd, 2019 at 2:08 PM ^
To get a new HC in for next season the time is now for the AD to start having discussions. And to be above board and ethical, Harbaugh should be involved in those discussions. Because if Harbaugh's heart is truly not in this gig anymore then he needs to be honest with himself and fair to Michigan. In fact, Harbaugh should be the one initiating. And if the goal is a coup for a current successful head coach then interest needs to be gauged immediately. We cannot have another 2007 HC search.
September 22nd, 2019 at 9:42 AM ^
Hate to fucking break it to you but it's not that difficult to get a degree from Michigan once you get in. Just like any school. You major in something easy and show up and they'll give you the degree. A lot of student athletes do this and I don't blame them one bit.
We have to hit the reset button on the culture of our community. From the students, alumni, players, coaches, etc. Michigan is just another University. There's nothing special about us.
September 22nd, 2019 at 12:28 PM ^
Honestly, and I want to make sure my point is kind of clear on this, Michigan's history, culture, and possibly the boosters make winning at Michigan difficult. It isn't about Michigan being "clean", it is about the expectation of how Michigan should win along with who should be the coach do to it. It seems, that since Carr, the coaching searches hasn't prioritized the best coach, but instead has put more emphasis on which coaches have ties to Michigan, and out of those coaches, who should they hire.
The expectations of hiring a "Michigan Man" and playing/winning in a certain way might be a bigger issue and be getting in the way of having a successful team. Harbaugh, by all accounts should absolutely be killing it at Michigan by now, and he isn't and the blame falls squarely on his shoulders plain and simple. If Harbaugh is unable to get it done here, then the entire playbook of hiring a coach with ties to the program should be scrapped, because if Harbaugh is unable to do it, then I have much less faith in anyone else. If they cannot turn this around this year and next year then the decision has to be made to move on from this kind of ideal and mythology of a Michigan Man and just go out and hire the best coaching candidate out there.
I'm truly baffled at the lack of success Harbaugh has had, let alone how poorly the team has played. It is frustrating, upsetting, and just all around confusing. The entire staff yesterday was bad, the defense looked awful, the effort looked poor, and the QB play has never been consistent since Harbaugh has been here. I'm just running out of excuses and answers for this program and if Harbaugh fails at Michigan, I have no idea where the program goes, but you'd think it would be enough to move on from this idea that only a Michigan Man can save Michigan, because that hasn't been the case.
September 22nd, 2019 at 2:11 PM ^
My lord all of this, and I am not singling you out by any means, sounds like 2007 ALL OVER AGAIN.
September 23rd, 2019 at 11:16 AM ^
I'm not even that mad or upset over the Wisc game, I'm truly confused and kind of worried. Harbaugh checks every possible box we could have had for a coach, he was the guy to reunite the fan base and bring success back to Michigan. I was speaking less about him and more of, if they move on from him (I doubt it'll be this year) or even next, but if Harbaugh doesn't work out here, then I think limiting the pool of coaching candidates to people who have some sort of tie to Michigan, is just a mistake and one that the university needs to stop making.
September 23rd, 2019 at 9:29 AM ^
BRENT VENABLES.
He's the best defensive mind in college football today. Seems to be the only DC in college football capable of stopping Elite modern offenses (i.e. in CFP formats).
Only 48 yrs old. Has been the #2 man at top-5 programs (Oklahoma/Clemson) for the past 20 yrs (since he was 28 yrs old). An excellent recruiter -- Rivals' 2016 National Recruiter of the year.
Knows how it's done at a top program. Has enough experience to be ready 3 or 4 times over. No black marks, violations, accusations in his history. Could probably bring one of Clemson's co-OC's with him (Tony Elliott--the more proven offensive mind *or* Jeff Scott--the elite recruiter).
Dabo, Kirby Smart, Lincoln Riley, Ryan Day -- 4 of the coaches at top-5 programs in the country assumed their current positions with no prior HC'ing experience.
The answer is clear. I personally think he's the next Nick Saban.
October 10th, 2019 at 2:43 PM ^
I think quite a few could produce the same number of wins as JH, unfortunately.