JUB Snippets: Harbaugh. Manuel "Positively Hate" Each Other & Moore Has the Job
Brian has implied as such in terms of Moore. Farthest I've seen JUB go as when employed at Michigan he hasn't used such language but "hate" is a pretty strong term.
I don't think a more permeable AD would have kept JH from following what is an obvious dream to go capture a super bowl but it casts increasing doubt on this guy as an AD in general. Or I guess a kinder view is these are just 2 guys who couldn't get along and everyone else loves Warde.
https://www.michiganpublic.org/sports/2024-01-26/bacon-harbaugh-delivered-on-his-promise
The third thing, Jim Harbaugh and the athletic director Warde Manuel positively hate each other. Michigan could have handled this a lot better, but I'm not sure if that would have kept Jim Harbaugh at Michigan.
That's cute Doug, Moore has the job, period. Everyone wants Sherrone Moore to have it.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:37 PM ^
Clemson gave Bakich $1.1 mil per contract and he was getting paid $400K which is among the top salaries in the B1G. Considering the B1G doesn't give a shit about baseball, it's not surprising that it's the same way with Michigan.
Gonzaga has basketball which is all they have. Michigan has football. Baseball is like the 6th or 7th most important sports in their hierarchy.
January 26th, 2024 at 5:28 PM ^
That is the spirit I am used to. At least some of the old guard is still around.
"This particular sport is not important because FOOTBALL!" its an Athletic Department that hangs the signs "Leaders and Best". if you dont care that is fine but if our AD doesnt care that is an issue.
Its a shit take and always will be. Kill the program and be a club team if .7 mil is too much to be a competitor in the sport. $100,000,000 surplus and a team coming off a world series appearance.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:41 PM ^
It should be a no brainer at this point.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:47 PM ^
And our best softball coach left, too. Granted, she retired. But she was still at the top of her game when she did.
In a span of just a few years, our legendary coaches in football, men's basketball, baseball and softball all decided they didn't want to work here anymore. Worse, their replacements (at least in the latter three sports) aren't making anyone forget them.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:52 PM ^
bringing up hutch as a warde manuel problem continues to be the dumbest part of the “fire warde” contingent.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:01 PM ^
Explain.
She was only 66, and while that is old for a Firefighter, it's not for a coach.
I would further add that "66" is a strange age to retire at, why not 60, 65, or 70? Not to mention the players seemed blindsided by it.
There seemed to be more to the story at the time and there is a definite trend here.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:39 PM ^
You guys really think we aren't going to remember what happened with these coaching changes huh.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:41 PM ^
What happened is that each time, a legendary coach decided they were tired of coaching here, and Warde brought in a replacement who's done a lot worse. Let's hope that trend doesn't continue for football.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:48 PM ^
In case Santa doesn't read MGoBlog, please email him this.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:38 PM ^
yeah.... his resume during his tenure here is, on paper, really freakin bad.
January 27th, 2024 at 12:32 AM ^
Agree. His role is 90% to select and retain excellent coaches, yet he did neither with Harbaugh, Hutchins, Bakich and Beilein. Warde did select Howard.
0-5 in the most important element of his role.
January 27th, 2024 at 7:36 AM ^
>If him as an AD has ANYTHING to do with Harbaugh leaving
Everyone has known for years they hate each other. Harbaugh left on his own terms, but Warde is simply bad at his job including the baseline "smile and nod so nobody important hates you" part. He's worse than some mediocre paper pusher, he is an obstacle for his own employees to doing their best work.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:49 AM ^
I agree that Warde isn't the driving force behind Harbaugh leaving. I also agree that Warde needs to be shown the door.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:51 AM ^
I don't think Warde is the reason Harbaugh left, the Super Bowl is, but Harbaugh has many many times stated that he is driven by feelings of acceptance too. If Jim's dad was the AD would Harbaugh have stayed? Maybe not, but if it was a close decision, having a boss you hate is a big push out.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:55 AM ^
Ha, funny. I just wrote below nothing would be different if Jack Harbaugh had been AD.
Yeah, he hates Warde, so he put it in the con-column. It's just one factor.
And, I'd like to add, it seems Jim doesn't typically get along with management and other governing authorities. He probably wouldn't get along with anybody in that role.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:18 PM ^
A few weeks ago someone on this board, I forget who, dropped some sort of "insider" info which gave a pretty good and plausible picture of how things worked at the AD, and the upshot, as far as I can recall: yeah, things were chilly with the AD, didn't work well together... and a large part of that is just how Harbaugh relates to management. He didn't get on well with Warde, and if it hadn't been Warde, it would have been someone else, and he wouldn't have gotten on well with them, either.
I mean, when Santa had to be the one to ensure that Harbaugh was on for another year before this season, it was pretty clear that something wasn't right about the relationship. But I don't know who coach Harbaugh could have had that *would* have been ok. He does things his way, he can be prickly in odd ways, and that doesn't play well with a management structure. It is probable that the key thing he was offered by the Chargers was an acceptable management structure above him.
He is who he is. Perhaps Warde is a passive type... and that *helps* because Warde is likelier to stay out of Harbaugh's way more than, say, Dave Brandon. Of course, it seems like Harbaugh wouldn't have come in under DB even if DB had wanted him.
We really don't know. It's inside baseball.
JUB's recent comments suggest there's some score-settling going on. It's a curious tack for him.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:28 PM ^
I wouldn’t like working with Jim Harbaugh. He does seem like the type who would want to settle scores and being as competitive as he is, that would create an unpleasant working environment. I think Warde can be judged on whatever expectations have been set up for him by the university but whether or not he and Harbaugh hated each other shouldn’t be a deciding factor. Warde put the screws to Harbaugh back in 2020 and many here were happy that he did something. It’s disingenuous to look back at that as a mistake.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:29 PM ^
Honestly, Jim Harbaugh doesn't seem like a guy that settles scores. He's just a guy who doesn't care to deal with stuff he doesn't want to deal with.
But that's all from a distance. He seems very earnest to me, and sometimes that may be to a "fault."
January 26th, 2024 at 12:52 PM ^
I believe this is the correct take. He isn’t a score settler (but he definitely is someone who forms strong judgments), and most relevantly he isn’t someone who plays “politics” and that’s an essential to stay (for long) in corporate/academic structures. Those folks rise fast but don’t stay long, where ever they go.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:55 PM ^
' he isn’t someone who plays “politics” '
Ummm.. that is exactly what all these JUB releases are...
January 26th, 2024 at 4:31 PM ^
“Coach Harbaugh says, a faithful man forgives, a smart man forgets, the Harbaughs remember..."
January 26th, 2024 at 12:53 PM ^
I don't know about the "it would have been someone else" part. Jim loved Jim Hackett and tried to convince him to stay on.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:54 PM ^
JUB's recent comments suggest there's some score-settling going on. It's a curious tack for him.
this, right here. as i’ve said, i like john u bacon. i would for him to say less right now, rather than acting as someone's mouthpiece.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:57 PM ^
Found the comment that I was referencing here. Worthwhile reading. It really isn't all that different from the more inflammatory language quoted in the OP, makes a lot of sense, and seems to describe what has gone on behind the scenes.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:17 PM ^
Great find--that clears up everything to the degree that it can be for us.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:34 PM ^
Wow, after reading that(if at all true), this is definitely on Warde. Harbaugh may have left no matter who was AD, but it sounds like his relationship with WM made the decision a whole lot easier.
Couple this with the reports that WM wouldn't alter the contract to Harbaugh's liking until he was all but out the door(WTF?!!?), yeah fire Warde, like yesterday.
You can't treat Harbaugh like any other coach, because he isn't any other coach. He is the best coach in college football for Harbaugh's sake, freaking act like it, dumbass. Who cares it hurts your precious fee-fees.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:58 PM ^
That makes so very much sense. Thank you for digging it out and sharing.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:45 PM ^
My prediction is that Harbaugh and the Chargers ownership will clash often. It will get ugly.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:20 PM ^
There are probably thousands of people who could do as good or a better job than Warde. You telling me at least one of them couldn't have gotten along with Harbaugh?
January 26th, 2024 at 12:25 PM ^
One out of 1,000? Sure. One of them. Which one was it? Nobody knows.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:43 PM ^
Maybe, but maybe not. Jim has a history of not getting along with his bosses. How much blame goes on either side is going to vary - Trent Baalke and Jed York are obviously idiots, and not getting along with them is entirely reasonable. But eventually, if every boss you have is bad, maybe you have to look in the mirror to at least some degree.
With Jim, I honestly think he was going to burn out on Michigan sooner or later no matter what. All of his job tenures have been comparatively short; he was never a HC longer than 4 years in any one place EXCEPT Michigan, where he stayed 9 years. Michigan is by far the outlier for him in terms of having a long tenure.
To me it's glass half empty/half full proposition: are we sad Jim left when he did, or are we glad we had him longer than any other place in his career?
January 26th, 2024 at 2:10 PM ^
Who was it that he didn't get along with at the University of San Diego? Who was it that he didn't get along with at Stanford?
January 26th, 2024 at 2:38 PM ^
I don’t know anything about SD, but it’s my understanding there were plenty of people who didn’t like him at Stanford. My source for this is someone who played for him at Stanford.
He was super successful, so most folks accepted his difficult personality.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:40 PM ^
I also have similar source from peeps in the administration that Harbaugh was a very difficult person to get along with at Stanford. That was before Harbaugh calmed down considerably at some point when he was at Michigan. Not sure what caused the changes but he wasn't well liked. It was overlooked because he won games.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:49 PM ^
I don't get along with management and other governing authorities. They're not close enough to the fight to fully understand needs of those in the fight. And meetings to develop committees to make recommendations about the mandate of committees to assist management in not making changes may be the most frustrating thing in the history of organizational management.
Generally, it's easier to move along than to try and effect change in a large organization. That said, I recently announced I was leaving my current organization and the show-runner asked me if I really wanted to leave and what I needed to stay. It was the first time in my career a management-type actually asked that question. I didn't get everything I wanted, but I got everything I needed to stay.
In this case, Harbaugh told everyone who would listen what he needed to stay. Warde and whomever is enabling him made it very easy for Harbaugh to leave. Then after Harbaugh bolted made all kinds of announcements about what they gave him after the fact.
Perhaps they asked him if he really wanted to leave and his answer was, yes. But they certainly didn't make it a hard decision for him.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:55 PM ^
This tweet is from a family friend of Harbaugh's.
I PROMISE YOU THIS WOULD BE THE CASE. Promise. https://t.co/rlP7MQC8nX
— Todd J. Anson (@TJA4Michigan) January 25, 2024
January 26th, 2024 at 1:07 PM ^
Great. I am now learning that Jim Hackett is the magic pill that would have fixed everything. But he didn't want to stay on as AD. He never wanted to be a full time AD. He filled the interim role for which we are all very grateful.
Maybe part of the reason he didn't want to be an AD is because he didn't like doing AD things, and maybe that's what Jim liked about him.
Not saying it wouldn't have worked out better in the alternate reality for both the athletic department and Harbaugh staying at Michigan. But I just think it's interesting that the one that got away is the one who didn't want the job.
A lot of people who would make the best politicians don't run for office because politics sucks (sorry about bringing up politics).
January 26th, 2024 at 1:24 PM ^
Jim Hackett was the guy Michigan needed after the DB era.
He was a Michigan Man. He played for Bo. He was a successful businessman and understood enterprises that encompass millions of dollars. He had all of the bona fides for the role.
He was also ideal in that he focused on the mission. He knew his primary mission was getting the football program back in order and the most likely way to achieve this was to go get Harbaugh signed. He didn't have some weird personal ego needing to prove something psychopathology driving him. So he got Jim Harbaugh signed and faded from the scene.
When future historian write up the story of the Harbaugh era, his small but critical role should be remembered.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:37 PM ^
I can't recall the title of the book - but, I believe Bacon wrote about the process required to reach Harbaugh and "encourage" Jim to look at Michigan - when he was still with the 49ers.
IIRC - there were some great tidbits about getting Tom Brady to reach out to Jim.
Hackett was ideal to succeed Brandon. It makes me wish there was something Michigan could have done to keep Hackett longer - since he was only the AD for about 18 months. Hackett and Harbaugh - two great examples of leaders - committed to Michigan's success - and, both played for Bo.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:26 PM ^
Couple of things:
- I am stunned people keep clinging to the “all I want is to be loved” rationale for JH leaving. He was far more loved at Michigan than he has/will be anywhere else. Spanos family are famously cheap and difficult, and chargers have no fans. In NO WAY did he take that job for warm fuzzies. Enough.
- JH also said “I’ll stay at Michigan as long as they’ll have me”. The man wants to coach in NFL, and while I don’t doubt JH’s affection for Michigan, it’s clearly secondary to his nfl ambition. And it’s obvious his words are not always sincere.
- JH is notoriously difficult, and has annoyed, alienated and feuded with pretty much every boss he’s ever had. He has to have a foil, it seems. I’ll be stunned if his LA tenure ends happily..
- That said, Warde is a minor figure compared to JH. As cold as it seems, negotiations probably should have included consulting with JH on a list of acceptable AD candidates. If warde had to be sacrificed to keep JH, then so be it. However, the next AD would surely soon be on JH’s shit list - and there’s risk giving someone too much power.
i honestly don’t care too much about warde one way or the other. I thought at the time it was dumb to cut JH’s salary, but at least warde didn’t fire him as many people were calling for - which would have been really dumb.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:24 PM ^
I second What CJRockford says.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:49 AM ^
At this point Warde needs Jim to come out and say this is incorrect, otherwise he should be let go. Not sure how Warde can continue to operate an AD and be taken seriously if this is widely believed.
January 26th, 2024 at 2:04 PM ^
That's unless Warde subscribes to the old "Never complain, never explain" theory of management. He's probably smart enough to understand that nothing he says will pacify the Ann Arbor Torch and Pitchfork crowd. So it's better for him to say nothing and not add fuel to the fire.Just give Moore the job, and then sit in his office and let the dust settle.
I mean, he got two things that he wanted: a national championship on his watch, followed by Harbaugh's absence. So far, all it's cost him is some bad PR. Not a high price to pay.
January 26th, 2024 at 11:50 AM ^
In the not too distant future
Next Saturday A.D.
There was a guy named Harbaugh
Not too different from you or me
He worked for the Michigan football team
Just another coach or so it seemed
He did a good job cleaning up the place
But his boss didn't like him so they shot him into space!
January 26th, 2024 at 11:54 AM ^
Don't think we need to wait for Jim.
Jack Harbaugh would make a fine AD. I guarantee he would be better than the spineless pencil pusher Warde.
January 26th, 2024 at 12:11 PM ^
They'll send him cheesy infractions,
The worst they can find (la la la)!
January 26th, 2024 at 12:19 PM ^
He'll have to sit out six whole games
'Cause Conor Stalions lost his mind (la la la)!
January 26th, 2024 at 1:29 PM ^
Now keep in mind Jim can't control where the bullshit begins and ends
As he tries to keep his sanity
With the help of his coaching friends!
(Coaches roll call)
Minter! (You shall not run!), Clinkscale! (or pass!), Jay Harbaugh! (I'm his son!), Moooore! (These f'ing guys right here!)
January 26th, 2024 at 1:25 PM ^
Hmmm, the MGoblog gang do remind me of Tom Servo, Cambot, Crow T Robot, etc.
January 26th, 2024 at 1:39 PM ^
Now if you're obsessed about our NIL
And what our recruiting lacks
Just repeat to yourself
"It's just a game. I should really just relax.
For Michigan Football Theater 3000!"