Interim Coaches Announced

I’d assume the Assistant head coach role is more like Assistant TO the head coach. Maybe having dad take over Biff’s role and the associate head coach is a title and pay raise for Herbert. 

I also am disappointed he did not call you.  (I am imagining some kind of triple flea flicker double lateral hook and ladder modifiedlegalfumblerooskie play.)

I was shocked to find they have a rule for that (not really they have rules for damn near everything). Based on the rules, the school can decide to give the wins to Jim Harbaugh or the interim coaches.  Jay Harbaugh and Mike Hart being co-head Coaches can both be credited for the win because they were declared co-head coaches before the season started.

SUSPENDED COACH
If a head coach is suspended for a game or more by the school or conference, the coach is still eligible to receive the wins or losses during the absence, but some institutions have chosen to give the record to the interim coach. If a head coach is suspended by the Committee on Infractions, the coach will not receive credit for the wins or losses; those decisions will go toward the interim coach’s record. Other unique circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. (Updated 5/1/2014)

CO-HEAD COACHES
Both coaches must be declared co-head coaches by the institution before the season begins OR at the time of a coaching change. Both co-head coaches will be credited with the team’s won-lost record.

The NCAA meant to get Nick Saban’s opinion. Accidentally called Barry Alvarez who talked FOREVER about the nuance of former coaches coming back to coach. As a result this potential violation has been tabled to January and may result in a show cause for any one of the 4 Harbaughs. 

while Lane Kiffin watches on and muses, "oh, a penalty for hiring your father"

lol bro...

BKBlue94,

Do you think this Michigan roster will have an issue taking any real game seriously?

If you are correct that the diff head coaches would be a distraction then you must acknowledge that Harbaugh disagrees with you, and believes his players will take it seriously. 

When have you ever known Harbaugh to ever do anything he believes to be less than the most optimal to win? 

Kerri Strug levels of mental gymnastics. Impressive.

Pretty sure Jim will be incredibly involved, maybe even more so in some ways during the other 6 days of the week, and I think the players love the rest of the staff too. 
 

I prefer Harbaugh coach, but he can’t, this is probably the next best thing 

I think point 2 has some merit. It is odd to split halves - who is in charge for the week of prep? Do they alternate days? Do they split each day in half? 

But the other points, I don't buy. The players will be amped for the change of pace. And they'll be happy to have their own coach back for conference play. As for "next head coaches," I don't know what to tell you. It's a good thing when your assistants are good enough to be worth promoting. That's a problem that good programs have. 

I'm not a huge fan of splitting the game in half just because it would be nice to give each of them a full game. It clearly puts JayBaugh and Hart on a lower tier than Minter and Moore. I guess we should have just gone with the 4 game suspension!

Concerning the message to the players and all that, I have to disagree. We know the players love Mike Hart. They probably love JayBaugh, too, given his recruiting prowess and ability to coach up pretty much any position. I think, if anything, the players will be extra motivated in a game they would normally treat as a warm-up to make the assistants look good. They know these guys are basically auditioning in front of the entire college football world, and they all have their eyes on head coaching jobs.

I expect the players to come out extra fired up.

I doubt this will be a problem.  Especially after the first hit in practice or the game.  Jim is still running the practices.

Won't neg you, but you are looking at this completely the wrong way...

1) As a team / program, the players will be fired up to "play for" the assistant coaches.  In fact I would believe that this actually adds some extra juice to what would otherwise be 'just a game' given the opponent.

2) Do you really believe that it was some sort of HUGE secret which Assistants are ready to potentially move on... ? These kids are not stupid, they know what is going on inside the program.

3) If anything, it MAY show a little disrespect to UNLV.  As they "could" see this as Michigan feeling so confident about this game, they are just rolling out whomever to coach.  I don't believe that is the case.  I just believe that Jim is "rewarding" some of the assistants given this unique opportunity and really does not give a damn what anyone else thinks about it....

1.  These are the "best coaches," or at least the four coaches best prepared right now for head coaching positions.  Harbaugh gets the kind of assistant talent he has by giving them opportunities to lead and hone their craft.  Doing so also makes them better assistant coaches.  As to the team's reaction, there is no way that this team blows off one of these games.  They will be fighting for Harbaugh (as several players have already stated), they will be fighting for these coaches, and they understand what is on the line this season.

2.  Except with respect to play calling -- which can change over the course of a game -- the clear leader is Harbaugh.  He'll be running practices and setting the tone.  Also, this four-coach scheme probably originated when Harbaugh expected a four-game suspension.  

3.  Recruits already knew that -- Harbaugh emphasizes that his assistants have what it takes to be head coaches elsewhere, and they have seen that happen several times in the past.  He also emphasizes that players should not come just for a particular coach, but rather for Michigan and everything it offers.  Also, the fact that Harbaugh promotes his assistants to other schools is a huge benefit in getting top assistant coaches to want to come here.  Recruits see that as well. If anything, I would expect a recruit to look at this and be psyched.  

If you arent paying attention this is Jim's preseason. He has hacked the schedule and season ticket holders be damned its working. Your playoff enemy #1 at Michigan is a second loss and Jim is eliminating that to his best ability. Also 1/3 of the roster is playing deep minutes the first 4 games that they wouldnt normally be getting. This is creating depth and buy in from players that would be sitting in competitive games. Jim is using this seasons preseason and the suspension to play the second string coaches.

Fucking brilliant!

Mgoblog and TruStage announce the "Coach Your Quarter" contest. Winners act as interim head coaches for a quarter of the Bowling Green game. TV screens will of course be blocked by full page ads.

(Edit: Of course I can't hit save because the TruStage ad is blocking that part of the screen)

Why would any team think this? The players can't coach themselves and all of the assistants have plenty of football knowledge and experience.

Go Blue!

I hear ya. I really hope the days of squeaking by Akron and Army are behind Michigan but you never know. September non-con games have become a lot more risky but you'd hope the talent and coaching imbalance would be enough. 

What’s not to like?  He’s leading. He’s stating who will be in charge on game day so there’s no question while he’s away. 

If you think about it, the things that really matter will be consistent: the OC, DC, and special teams coordinator. The only real difference is who calls time outs and decides whether to go for it or kick/punt.

On gameday, 99% of the head coach's work for the week is complete. The general doesn't fight on the battlefield (unless he's Woody Hayes).

Can Harbaugh sit in the stands with a burner phone?