Jim Harbaugh's goals for 2021
Be a part of the UM B1G and NC team.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:20 PM ^
"I'm a self proclaimed huge homer"
LOL!!! We're on college football message board belonging the largest, most technically adept* CFB blog on the entire internet. We're all homers.
(* HUEL notwithstanding)
January 15th, 2021 at 12:45 PM ^
From the way the article is written I also got that feeling. Maybe he was told to tone it down has since decided to get back to his old ways.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:09 PM ^
I like your take here. I'm happy to see Harbaughs take here. Honestly, when I went to his introduction at the basketball game in 2014 I expected some time of fiery speech to the crowd and was disappointed with what I heard there. I was thinking more of a Tressle introduction.
This seems like a real positive here. Show some passion and excitement here. Make the needed adjustments and I can get behind that.
January 15th, 2021 at 12:38 PM ^
I just want him to start talking about "attacking each day with enthusiasm unknown to mankind" again.
Why does it feel like it was 20 years ago that he used to do that?
January 15th, 2021 at 12:42 PM ^
I want his visions of a meritocracy to finally be apparent on game days.
January 15th, 2021 at 12:55 PM ^
When Mitch McGary out coached Tom Izzo. One of Brian's greatest lines written on the blog
January 15th, 2021 at 12:49 PM ^
Good. The goals should always be lofty but they don't matter as much. Question is what is he doing to accomplish them??
Smaller goals such as have a decent offense, decent defense, good DLs, put the players in position to use their strengths,....would be sufficient for me personally.
January 15th, 2021 at 12:53 PM ^
Here is a screenshot of the goals. Worth looking at.
January 15th, 2021 at 12:59 PM ^
5 out of 6 of those goals are very attainable.
January 15th, 2021 at 12:58 PM ^
2021 is going to be a great year for Michigan Football and Coach Harbaugh and all of the chicken littles on this board are just going to have to deal with it.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:25 PM ^
LOL, if things are actually great, not graded on a curve great, what would there be to deal with? Is this how badly cognitive dissonance is affecting you, you've convinced yourself that Michigan fans want Michigan to be mediocre?
January 15th, 2021 at 1:43 PM ^
They will have trouble admitting to themselves that they were wrong, that's the issue. I am sure they will all get back on the bandwagon. It's a sad thing though, how fast they pivoted from supporting a man that is a true legend at this institution (and came back at a marked discount, no less) to posting hagiographs about a totally unproven quantity with one impressive year under his belt in the most outlier college football season in history.
I hope Coach has a little mental file in his mind of who wanted to jettison him and let's that drive him. I know I would.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:54 PM ^
Well I can only speak for myself but I will gleefully admit I'm wrong. Six years of mediocrity is not that fast of a pivot though. The discount thing is nonsense, you have no reason to believe that was by choice. "I hope Coach has a little mental file in his mind of who wanted to jettison him and let's that drive him. I know I would." I mean that sounds nice but if you didn't have said drive for the previous six years I doubt you're going to all of the sudden find it. You're sort of proving my point though, this is all nonsensical blame shifting. If your happy to have Harbaugh back, good for you, what does other people having a different opinion have to do with anything? When he gets fired next year, which the AD has already told you is going to happen baring a miracle, will you admit you're wrong?
January 15th, 2021 at 2:03 PM ^
The AD said what?
January 15th, 2021 at 2:42 PM ^
The AD said I'm paying the head coach of The University of Michigan the same amount the head coach at Rutgers makes. Which means we've decided to accept Rutgers results, unlikely, or previous results are not acceptable and a continuation of them will lead to a dismissal.
January 15th, 2021 at 3:59 PM ^
That's a very odd take but consistent with what I have come to expect from this board.
January 15th, 2021 at 4:38 PM ^
Why is it a very odd take? You think his pay was cut in half because they're pleased with his effort? Jimmy willingly took that large of a hair cut? Rutgers is a good benchmark for Michigan? Do you have any thoughts other than "waah you're wrong"?
January 15th, 2021 at 5:29 PM ^
The Rutgers angle is the odd take. Warde clearly confirmed that the performance was not up to expectations and said "we believe you can do better but you have to prove it" hence the paycut. Harbaugh does not want to live for the rest of his life as having been a failure (by his standards) at Michigan. He took the incentive laden offer and I strongly believe we will be better off for it.
January 15th, 2021 at 5:43 PM ^
He's getting paid the same as the Rutgers coach, I agree that is odd but it is a fact. Where's the odd take? Yes, Warde did clearly say that the performance was not up to standards as I said above, thus why he's getting fired next year. So your belief is that the previous six years he didn't care if he was a failure (by his standards) but now with an incentive laden offer he will care? And this is a good thing?
January 15th, 2021 at 2:03 PM ^
0-5 against Ohio St.
Noted program regression
2-4(would have been 2-6) this year
Unclear development of top players in the program
11-10 in the last 21 games
1-4 in bowl games, and only the Florida St. performance was a non shitshow after his first year.
Explain to me again how being upset by this state of affairs is unreasonable?
January 15th, 2021 at 4:55 PM ^
What happened right before that 21 games? Like, say, the 10 games prior? And why did you choose such a strange number....21? I guess don’t bother, I see you already gave us losses in the 2 games we cancelled because of Covid (but strangely didn’t include those losses in your 21 game record), so I know the answer
January 16th, 2021 at 11:41 AM ^
The "21 games" are post-2018 OSU, which I believe is when the idea of "Zombie Harbaugh" kinda took hold. After that game, Jim's record is 11-10.
January 15th, 2021 at 5:20 PM ^
Can definitely be upset. But advocating for an unproven new coach was unwarranted when considering a multitude of factors.
January 15th, 2021 at 3:48 PM ^
Given the holes on the 2021 defense, I will happily admit I was wrong about Jim and the football team if they hit a 9-3 regular season, which I think is their ceiling next year. I've been critical of the team essentially since I joined the blog, but it's been warranted.
That said, if they hit 9-3, I'll be reasonably happy about the direction of the program.
January 15th, 2021 at 5:33 PM ^
I assume they will play a full season. I think they run the table next year, personally. I also think Iowa State will be sitting on 3 losses before they play Oklahoma which hopefully ends all the Matt Campbell blathering on here once and for all.
January 15th, 2021 at 12:59 PM ^
I admit I wanted him gone. Now that he’s back and appears all in by sharing his goals with the world (not many coaches do this for obvious reasons) is enough for me to back him again. He knows the stakes. He knows his coaching and M legacy is on the line and I’m pretty sure he wants it ten times more than any fan on this page.
I have my doubts he can pull it off, but I’m sure as hell going to root for him to do it. Would love to be wrong about wanting him gone... I think a pissed off Harbaugh is a very good thing!!!
January 15th, 2021 at 1:28 PM ^
Good post. I still believe!
January 15th, 2021 at 1:02 PM ^
7. Bring back the fire inside.
I really miss it.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:07 PM ^
I can’t help but love Harbaugh.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:09 PM ^
They’re just words. But they’re good words, positive words. Let’s hope he stays focused on and can achieve the bulk of the goals.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
I'd prefer he talk about character and cruelty instead of bringing joy to work and treating others how he wants to be treated.
At least he was a legend when he played here.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:12 PM ^
There's nothing wrong with having goals, but I don't understand why he's sharing this stuff with the press instead of just sharing it with the team. He's been very open about his goals in past seasons but the issue is that he hasn't achieved any of them, so it's pretty hard to take seriously now that he's coming off a season where the team looked like absolute trash on both sides of the ball.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:52 PM ^
He didn't share that with the press. He shared it with people that have a large influence on who might eventually be on his teams.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:18 PM ^
Better than insisting on only “Big Ten Champion” when asked if the goal is national championships.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:19 PM ^
Free money...
January 15th, 2021 at 1:23 PM ^
Putting the players in a position to succeed would be nice. Hasn’t happened in a long time.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:26 PM ^
“I will make no decisions based on my own personal job security,” -Harbaugh
That reads to me like he plans to leave it all on the field. That means doing everything short of hindering the team through penalties, like bringing explosive energy and unabashed character. Having someone like Mike Hart in his orbit could help keep an aggressive "bug" in his ear where he normally regresses. I like how his goals read but we will know the 1st and 2nd games whether we're executing with a plan, purpose and intelligibly, or not.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:33 PM ^
That reads to me like he plans to leave it all on the field.
it reads to me like he just got extended at half of his original contract and feels like as long as he continues to agree to terms, the university will never fire him.
January 15th, 2021 at 2:09 PM ^
Exactly why I went on to say that we will know early on if the product he fields is the real deal. His sideline demeanor and interactions with players out there will tell the tale if he's full of shit or not.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:27 PM ^
it would be fascinating to see/hear what Warde has as goals for each program, starting with football. As well as what President Schlissel envisions as goals for the athletic department and the two top programs in football and basketball.
My guess is Warde would be happy with good enough not to have to fire Jim and Mark would be - good enough to not have to talk nor be involved with it in any way shape or form.
True or not, that's what it feels like. I would really like to see a top to bottom level of support to elevate the football program in particular.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:55 PM ^
It would shock me if Schlissel could name two basketball players and two football players. Sports are not his thing and I actually applaud him for that. That's part of what makes Michigan institutionally prestigious.
January 15th, 2021 at 2:00 PM ^
I disagree with your last sentence. I'm not asking the President to be in meeting rooms a la Dave Brandon, but stopping by once in a while to show support and demonstrating the program is an asset and a great representation of the university doesn't detract from Michigan being institutionally prestigious.
January 15th, 2021 at 2:08 PM ^
So you like having a University president who is unfamiliar with one of the biggest marketing tools the University has? That seems a bit blinkered.
January 15th, 2021 at 2:25 PM ^
I think Warde's goals for both football and basketball is to have great years.
January 15th, 2021 at 1:31 PM ^
I like that he is making his goals public, which creates accountability on his part. In my opinion, this is a great first step.
January 15th, 2021 at 2:23 PM ^
Goal #1: be all you can be.
January 15th, 2021 at 2:33 PM ^
Aim high
January 15th, 2021 at 2:44 PM ^
I was hoping 'Learn how to properly execute a 2 minute offense' was one of the goals.