MGoBlog Throwback - "Destroy Harbaugh"
Thanks to this post on the board, I was reading the Harbaugh article published by "The Ringer". At one point it mentions that the M football family was "pissed off" at Harbaugh after he took shots at Michigan's academic standards for athletes. I thought about it, and I do remember being pissed off. Hell, Mike Hart even said this about Harbaugh:
So what did the blog say at the time? That's when Brian posted "Destroy Harbaugh" circa August, 2007. He tells Harbaugh that he's full of crap, and a "verbal moron".
I mean, Jim Harbaugh has to be some sort of verbal moron but he's still in the 99.9th percentile when it comes to being a quarterback. In one particular aspect of his life, Jim Harbaugh is indisputably brilliant. We shouldn't look down on him just because there are six-year-olds with a better sense of what an appropriate public discourse is.
I think it's pretty interesting how our opinions of this man have changed over the years. I was probably inclined to agree with Mike Hart back then (maybe not to that extent). Maybe Harbaugh still doesn't have a good sense of appropriate public discourse, but that's what makes all the Harbaugh-isms great. Or maybe everything's okay now since he's our guy.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:10 AM ^
Harbaugh wanted to major in history or something and was steered towards something else since his major of choice would have been too difficult / time consuming for a football player.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:16 AM ^
"But here's what nobody is discussing: whether Harbaugh spoke the truth when he called out Michigan for admitting "borderline guys" and for steering athletes toward softer majors than the general student population."
"Only one junior has declared a major, according to the guide (in movement science). In 18 years of covering college athletics, I've never seen virtually an entire junior class without a major."
http://www.espn.com/espn/columns/story?id=2966536&columnist=forde_pat&s…
September 7th, 2016 at 11:24 AM ^
2007 was such a bad year.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:20 AM ^
"Was Harbaugh correct? Did Lloyd's Michigan funnel kids towards easy majors so they could play football?"
Yes ...and so did Harbaugh's Stanford and so do Harbaugh's current Michigan teams.
Harbaugh was merely bad mouthing Michigan for a recruiting adavantage while at Stanford.
September 7th, 2016 at 2:56 PM ^
September 10th, 2016 at 9:23 AM ^
Harbaugh probably didn't even know about the way Stanford football players trended in academics, he had just gotten there. He seemed to think that General Studies was a cakewalk degree (it isn't; it just doesn't have a foreign language requirement or a given number of required courses, so is easier to schedule and absent the challenges of a foreign language), and knew Stanford didn't have such a thing.
I don't think for a second that Harbaugh was so different in 2007 that he would scheme a statement like this because he thought it would give him an advantage in recruiting. I think that he was, in 2007, like he is today, and just speaks the truth as he sees it, without calculating advantage.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:27 AM ^
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September 7th, 2016 at 3:18 PM ^
Can confirm that this happened (not to me, I wasn't pre-med); at an introductory assembly (either welcome week or our post-admission, pre-enrollment campus tour, can't recall which), we had a speaker pretty bluntly tell people that if they planned to be pre-med they probably shouldn't be in engineering. The chances of hurting your GPA and thus your chance of getting into med school were higher, you'd get no bonus for having an engineering undergrad, and you were competing against students who'd be bolstering their grades with easier pre-med majors. Harsh but probably true. Now some kids still went the biomed-E to med school route, and some of them even succeeded, but it probably had the intended effect of turning off anyone even slightly wishy-washy.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:00 AM ^
I also remember the dislike I had for him after the handshake situation when he coached against the Lions.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:35 AM ^
thought that was funny, and I thought it was even funnier that Schwartz tried to "word fight" him when he finally caught up to him. I don't care about the Lions at all though so that is probably why.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:02 AM ^
It went beyond just the academic comments on this very Blog.
There was a small minority of the total users who thought he was a good choice as far as ability as a football coach back in 2010. Talking late 2010 when it was apparent Rodriguez wasn't coming back.
I figured the motivation was the lingering resentment over the academic comments.
The percentage of people posting who questioned his ability as a football coach was surprisingly high. A lot of nit picking about his overall record at Stanford.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:03 AM ^
Overall Attractiveness: Awful. Awful, awful, awful. The worst possible candidate. The mere idea this guy -- who's never even been a coordinator anywhere and has his MAC team performing at a level well below the program's historical baseline -- could get the job is infuriating. Only at Michigan could this happen, and if it does I guarantee you that Bo is going to haunt the mofo that signs the contract.
Better that Debord? No. Absolutely not better than Debord. The functional equivalent of Debord and a guy who would either keep Captain Failure or bring in Stan Parrish. If Hoke is hired there will be a riot, and with good reason.
http://mgoblog.blogspot.com/2007/12/profiles-in-cronyism-brady-hoke.html
I still wonder what would've happened if Martin had hired Miles in 2007. Would the bowl streak continue? Do we win the Big Ten championship in his first three seasons? Would Les' have had instant success against MSU and prevented their rise? I certainly think recruiting would have been off the charts since he would be coming of a national title with LSU and had just beaten OSU in the title game.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:14 AM ^
1. Yes. 6-6 at the worst in 2008. Hell, most pundits were predicting 8-4 even with RR.
2. Yes. And at least one NC within the first 5.
3. Yes (although they would have improved since D'Antoni is a good coach).
Les may be aging now, but he was a 100% slam-dunk hire when Lloyd retired. Can you imagine the recruiting classes he would have pulled in after coming to Michigan after just winning a NC at LSU? It would have been epic.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:23 AM ^
Do you know what offensive coordinator was rumored to be coming with him? I know they mentioned Tenuta as DC, but don't remember anything about an OC.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
Jimbo Fisher.
September 7th, 2016 at 1:37 PM ^
It probably would have been Cam Cameron.
September 7th, 2016 at 3:38 PM ^
He was head coach of the Dolphins in 2007. Got fired after the season, but was picked up by John Harbaugh to be his offensive coordinator. I doubt he would've come back to the college game for the same job and lower pay.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:04 AM ^
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September 7th, 2016 at 11:18 AM ^
I wonder if Mike Hart has ever apologized to Harbaugh. What he said was just way over the line (saying he wished Harbaugh had never played here), especially a guy that guaranteed and delivered a victory against OSU. Something that Hart never accomplished.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
is a great football player. But, he needs to shut the hell up in news conferences. His comments have haunted the rivalry with MSU for 10 years. To say he wish Harbaugh never played at Michigan is a disgrace.
September 7th, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^
now jump in your time machine and go tell him! WTF?
September 7th, 2016 at 12:58 PM ^
At the time he made his "little brother" comment Michigan OWNED State, and so did Mike Hart. We all LOVED it at the time, even if a few of us were a bit sheepish about it. Hart had nothing to do with what came after.
If the program had been maintained as it should have been, and we were still beating MSU at a 66% or better clip, we'd all be quoting Mike Hart at every game, calling the Spartans "little brother" every chance we get. Hell, some do it anyway, despite the results of the recent past.
Some took issue with Hart saying what he said because it wasn't a "classy" move, but no one, at the time, took issue with it because they thought it was going to be a rallying cry for MSU dominance for the next decade. No one, including Mike Hart, saw this confluence of circumstances coming.
September 7th, 2016 at 1:42 PM ^
He didn't make Dantonio and Narduzzi really good coaches. Those were going to improve the program regardless.
September 7th, 2016 at 3:21 PM ^
C'mon, it's Dantonio. If Hart hadn't called State "little brother", Dantonio would have said it himself just so he could be pissed off about it. "We are the DISRESPEKTID UNDERDOG" is the only narrative he knows.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
That's unfair. Hart had a superb game in 2006 but he and the offense (which scored 39 points) were let down by the defense. And Harbaugh actually didn't play that well in the '86 game but was bailed out by the ground game (and a missed OSU field goal in the final minutes). It's a team game.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:38 AM ^
September 7th, 2016 at 11:43 AM ^
Hmm - maybe I'm confusing it with '85. But I do know OSU missed a FG at the end.
September 7th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
September 7th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
Harbaugh was 2-0 against them as a starter.
September 7th, 2016 at 12:48 PM ^
CRABLE, NOOO!!!
September 7th, 2016 at 1:32 PM ^
If the player wasn't Heisman front runner Troy Smith and the game in Columbus, that may not be called...
God what an awful memory ...
September 7th, 2016 at 2:02 PM ^
Agreed. I also believe that had it not been such a crucial moment in The Game, the refs may have let it go as well.
Goddamnit. And now I'm fuming over Meyer's bullshite lobbying for Florida that year. Argh!
September 7th, 2016 at 3:09 PM ^
You and me both!
September 7th, 2016 at 3:48 PM ^
I find the alternate history where OSU beats Urban/Tebow, then Michigan beats Urban/Tebow, then Urban becomes an interesting but ultimately disappointing coach and never gets hired at OSU, strangely appealing.
Then again I almost regret Tressel's departure and OSU "failing up" into Meyer. Harbaugh/Meyer will be another 10 year war. Jim Harbaugh would make Jim Tressel look like John Cooper.
September 7th, 2016 at 4:23 PM ^
I don't think OSU would pass up Meyer just because he lost in the title game.
September 7th, 2016 at 4:31 PM ^
Based on what? I find Harbaugh to be a terrific coach, but perhaps he should win a conference championship or national championship or something before you project his slaughter of a far more accomplished coach who has won conference and national championships at every level he's ever coached. Tressel went 106-22 in 10 years at OSU with 7 conference titles and a national title, I doubt anyone would have ran him off the field consistently.
I don't argue Meyer is a better coach than Tressel, but your post makes Tressel sound like some scrub. If Jim Harbaugh has a Jim Tressel-level career at Michigan, he will be the best head coach in your program's post-Great Depression history.
September 7th, 2016 at 6:30 PM ^
September 7th, 2016 at 7:31 PM ^
September 8th, 2016 at 1:11 AM ^
(BTW, do division and conference titles in the freakin' NFL not count for something?)
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September 7th, 2016 at 9:08 PM ^
Hart will never coach at Michigan. Harbaugh won't forget. Nor will others. Never throw your family under the bus.
September 8th, 2016 at 1:12 AM ^
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September 10th, 2016 at 9:35 AM ^
Harbaugh never said that he wished he'd never played at Michigan, which would have been the equivalent of Hart's verbal diarrhea. Had Harbaugh said that, he'd not be coaching at michigan today. Harbaugh said that he respected Michigan and just wanted the school to hold itself to a higher standard; Hart said he had no respect for Harbaugh and that Harbaugh wasn't a Michigan Man.
Hart's moronic statements don't hurt Michigan much because he's just a former player spouting hurtful nonsense. The school can't afford to give him the opportunity to talk in an official capacity, though.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:14 AM ^
back in 2007, it wasn't just Michigan that was on his radar. It was also Pete Carroll. He was out there saying stuff like "this is Pete Carroll's last year at USC, I heard it from my inside sources." The general consensus was that JH had no inside sources, was acting like an idiot, and Carroll was going to defeat him 77-3 that year as revenge. Which, of course, didn't happen. Harbaugh backed up his talk, he beat USC 2 times out of 3 before Carroll scurried off to the Seahawks, narrowly beating the NCAA's penalties of USC.
Is what it is. You like it when he's your guy, he annoys you when he's not your guy.
If this coaching thing doesn't work out, Harbaugh will always have a potential career as a WWE Manager. He'd love it and be good at it.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:17 AM ^
I know somebody who coaches at Stanford in a "non-revenue" sport. They say the school does not make any allowances for athletes and they actually rejected two kids who were in their recruiting class last year.
Michigan on the other hand will allow some athletes in so long as they meet the NCAA minimum for qualification. They way it was described to me it was a sort of points system where the admissions board wants to keep the average at certain level. So if you have an athlete who is NCAA minimum you better have one that is stellar and could probably gain admission on his own to keep the average up.
The point being that if Michigan really wants a kid bad enough then academics aren't going to be an issue. At some schools such as Stanford that is not the case. So maybe Jim didn't say it with the best tact but he wasn't that far off base with his comments.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:18 AM ^
Michigan follows the minimum NCAA requirements, which is why guys we recruit don't get admitted to Michigan, they rarely get into another school that cycle (e.g. Demar Dorsey). That's basically why Brad Hawkins is at prep school and not enrolled at a University.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:32 AM ^
I can specifically speak on West Point and Harvard. West Point uses the prep school to ready recruits with lower scores. There were athletes at Harvard scoring in the 1200-1400 (out of 1600) range on their SATs, while you have non athletes getting rejected with perfect scores.
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September 7th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^
Of course there are concessions. The difference is that Stanford and the like aren't going to let a kid who is at NCAA minimums in just because the coaches really want him.
September 7th, 2016 at 11:32 AM ^
Spot on. The real reason that this upset so many people is that he spoke the truth. A truth that not a lot of people wanted to admit at the time (and still don't).
September 7th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
I think most people got upset because it came at a time when Michigan was dealing with a bit of an athletics/academics scandal at it came across as Harbaugh piling on.