Questions in the aftermath of Harbaugh announcing return

Submitted by TK on February 3rd, 2022 at 8:05 AM

I don’t want to make this snow-flakey but there are a number of interesting discussion points and questions based on yesterday’s events. 
 

-What do you think really happened? I think it’s going to be easy for some people to laugh and point and say ha ha, he did not get his offer and needs to come back to Michigan with his tail between his legs. However there has to be more to the story than that. I think after nine hours of interviewing it was probably apparent to both sides that the fit just wasn’t quite there. And I still do think that Jim loves being in Ann Arbor.

-Will this help or hurt recruiting? I think that some are concerned that his prolonged flirting with the NFL is going to hurt recruiting, however it seems like he may have gotten it out of his system and this may have been his one last chance. That may finally solidify things that have been a negative recruiting tool that other coaches have used since he got here. 
 

-Who do you really think was next in line? I have seen some people talk about Bill O’Brien being ready to come to Ann Arbor and I just shudder. It’s hard to know who to believe, some say Gattis would be the front runner or some say Hart was the guy. Whoever it was I feel like Ward would have moved quickly because he had a long time to consider this option. If Mike Hart is considered the heir apparent, I think it’s pretty obvious he needs to start being groomed. Because he probably wasn’t ready this year, but despite Jim saying he will be here as long as he is wanted, you just never know. 

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crg

February 3rd, 2022 at 1:51 PM ^

Bilbo coined those words.  He composed a poem describing Aragorn (the dunadan) after meeting him in person and hearing his life story to that point.

Later on, he told it to Gandalf... who even later included that verse in his letter to Frodo as an additional mechanism to help Frodo identify/recognize Aragorn (Strider) upon meeting him... which became irrelevant since Frodo never received the letter until well after meeting & befriending him.

Sorry, stayed a night at a Holiday Inn Express once.

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Hotel Putingrad

February 3rd, 2022 at 8:14 AM ^

It's really bizarre. Some say Vikings minority owner and Michigan alum Jim Stapleton poisoned the well against Harbaugh.

It's also entirely possible he just didn't make a good first impression on the Wilfs. It's also possible he had different ideas about what to do about Cousins.

In a vacuum a Kwesi and O'Connell marriage makes perfect sense as the polar opposite of the Spielman--Zimmer relationship. But then why bother interviewing Jim in the first place?

With the information known, nothing adds up. But I'm glad he's back, because he's a much better coach for Michigan next year than the names being thrown about as potential successors.

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Njia

February 3rd, 2022 at 8:28 AM ^

For Harbaugh, I think it may have been a misunderstanding of the Vikings’ intent to fly him to MN for an interview. In most coaching searches (the ones involving agents, anyway) the “face-to-face” interview seems to be a formality. Everything has already been worked out, and the only remaining item is to sign the contract.

The Vikings seemed to be following a more traditional hiring practice by interviewing many candidates in phone screens, inviting a few for in-person interviews, and then making an offer thereafter. That was the sense I got when reports of a few candidates spending an entire day with the team’s owners and front office came to light.

The reports of 9-hr interviews also didn’t surprise me. My company does the same thing for candidates at almost every level and for most roles. By the time a person gets thru a series of 1:1 meetings, a few group sessions, and lunch, with breaks in between, an entire work day has gone by. 

The structure of that kind of day may also have misled Harbaugh. He probably saw the agenda and assumed the team wouldn’t spend this much time with a candidate, but rather with their new head coach. That’s the downside of not having an agent to help him understand what the Vikings wanted to accomplish. 

It worked out for Michigan, and probably Harbaugh in the long run.

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Isaac Newton

February 3rd, 2022 at 8:44 AM ^

Given the Rooney Rule, part of which requires conducting an in-person interview with at least one external minority candidate, your presumption that "in most coaching searches (the ones involving agents, anyway) the “face-to-face” interview seems to be a formality" doesn't stand up.

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energyblue1

February 3rd, 2022 at 9:20 AM ^

Rules apply to those that follow them!  No one else...  Rooney rule is a nice way of putting it on paper that minority candidates will get interviews and a fair chance, as we all know.  That said, interviews are interviews and unless someone can provide details of the interviews, ie questions, answers, presentation to the ownership as well as ownership directives for a new coach.  It is impossible to know who really got gamed.  Sure, there are times people are interviewed only as a meeting the quota the choice is made.  However, I have witnessed said candidate turn everything on it's tables and get the job as well being incredibly impressive.  Also seen the impressive candidate get passed over only to find out hiring exec still gave the job to his cousin's spouse and that person was qualified but not near the candidate...  The who you know, networking thing is real....  

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Hotel Putingrad

February 3rd, 2022 at 11:42 AM ^

Which leads one to believe that's why they flew him in. They knew O'Connell was their guy all along. The Rooney Rule had been amended so that you had to interview two minority candidates. But once the Flores suit dropped, they knew it would look extra bad if they announced KOC right after finishing the Graham interview. They thought they had a plan, but when Demeco Ryans turned down his second interview they started scrambling. Who could they get on short notice, for appearance's sake? Jim Harbaugh!

Poor Jim got duped.

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UMeesh

February 3rd, 2022 at 8:58 AM ^

Glad coach is back and doubt we’ll ever fully know what happened behind closed doors. Like everyone, I have my guesses.

But I’m not sure I agree that there was a misunderstanding on his part. Mostly because he has had an NFL coaching job and I’m sure the interview process was similar. And he’s had multiple coaching jobs, so I think he has experienced his fair share.

Regardless, I’m glad this didn’t have any immediate and/or significant impact on recruiting and the staff. I guess we’ll also see some of the aftermath, good/bad, in the coming days.

go blue!

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Njia

February 3rd, 2022 at 9:47 AM ^

In addition to my own experience as a hiring manager, two things formed my opinion of what I think might have happened:

1) If media is to be believed, the outcomes of almost all in-person coaching interviews are foregone conclusions, which - if true - is different than the process the Vikings seemed to follow.

2) Though no one said that an offer was forthcoming from the Vikings, people with truly insider information (JUB, in particular) were firm in their reporting that Harbaugh would take the job "if offered." JUB was "80-20" that Harbaugh was getting the job. That's not the same as a sure thing, but pretty close. 

Depending upon whom they were using as their sources, the only way anyone would likely have an 80% confidence level in that outcome is if there was good reason to have it (e.g. Harbaugh himself thought it was the most likely). Add in some wishful thinking and misunderstanding, and it's not hard to see how things turned out the way they did.

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Wendyk5

February 3rd, 2022 at 10:46 AM ^

I once had a second interview with my eventual boss' boss. Boy, did I not like her. And she didn't love me either. But the guy who would become my boss really wanted to hire me so she didn't stand in his way. In hindsight, I should've turned down the job right then and there. Judging from that interview alone, it was a bad fit. Part of me thinks that's also a possibility, that Harbaugh got there, went through a long day of meetings and it just wasn't clicking in person. Maybe it didn't click for either side, and it was a mutual no thanks.  

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stephenrjking

February 3rd, 2022 at 10:46 AM ^

I don't know if Harbaugh would be misled by the length of the interview; the Vikings were literally interviewing another candidate for the same length of time the day before--after the Zoom call, before Harbaugh's interview.

I don't think we can say that someone was misled, or even exactly wrong. I think it is just as likely that Balas got some info from someone in the building (perhaps close to the ADs office, perhaps somewhere else) that was "game of telephone" material. You know, someone in the AD believes (perhaps with good reason) that Harbaugh will take the job if he is offered. Someone else in the next cubicle converts that to "Harbaugh is probably gone." Someone else, perhaps Balas or Balas's source, converts that to "This is basically a done deal." Done deal is what gets posted. 

But Harbaugh prepped for the interview for a significant amount of time, so he was taking it seriously. And it was a legit interview. But the Vikings decided that wasn't the way they wanted to go.

*I will say that I think there's a 20% chance that the story was a plant from someone in the Michigan camp, a strategic response to the Flores lawsuit that was released while an African American candidate was in the middle of an interview with the Vikings to give them pause about signing Harbaugh right away. It's not likely, but it's not impossible, either.

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UM85

February 3rd, 2022 at 8:14 AM ^

Flipping the 2nd question, I don't know how this could help recruiting.  There was an extended flirtation with the NFL, so for the next several years, that will be in the back of recruits' minds.  The effect may be somewhat blunted, however, given the transfer portal.  A recruit will always have the option to leave if Harbaugh does.

Now it's time for everyone on the team to shift gears and ask themselves if they have done everything today to beat ohio state.

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rc15

February 3rd, 2022 at 8:32 AM ^

What is everyone talking about today? A&M having the best class ever, or Harbaugh coming back and being committed to Michigan.

"Harbaugh will be there as long as Michigan wants him"

This, and signing a new contract, should kill NFL rumors and negative-recruiting more than anything he's done ever has.

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Njia

February 3rd, 2022 at 8:35 AM ^

That depends a lot on how it’s framed for recruits. Many recruits have stated that Harbaugh is ridiculously forthright with them and their parents. He could, for instance, say that it had always been his ambition to win a Super Bowl, and that it was no different for him to pursue that opportunity if one opened up for him than it is for the athletes he coaches, and he encourages their pursuits of their ambitions and will support them accordingly. Now, that window has closed and is unlikely to ever re-open for him, etc.

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