Questions in the aftermath of Harbaugh announcing return
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.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:54 AM ^
Harbaugh is a great coach. The buyout on both sides should be fair and market value. Coaches leave every year. Great coaches leave great programs (see Kelly and Riley). Some, like Kelly, shock their fans, staff, players and AD by doing it secretly and suddenly. Some like Harbaugh, pursue things open, honestly and professionally giving their AD time to plan contingencies. Reportedly, Warde is elated he is staying. So am I.
In this profession, this is not a big deal. Assistant coaches will leave (MacDonald) and HCs will leave. It's part of the trade. No coaches begrudge JH for pursuing this. No coaches begrudge him for staying. He did it openly and honestly and that's what matters.
Most important question: who is our DC gonna be?
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:29 AM ^
This mirrors my take on recruiting. Any high-profile coach at any big time program is always going to have opportunities to go elsewhere, and in this day and age, he sometimes will. This has got to factor into any recruit's head, along with the transfer option if things don't work out as planned. There are exceptions. Saban at Alabama unfortunately is one of them. He could be around another ten years and he's going nowhere else. In the B1G, the most locked-in coach is probably...checks notes...James Franklin. It would also appear that MSU and Mel Tucker are stuck with each other, but if Mel caught the apple of someone else's eye, the geniuses at MSU gave him such a modest buyout that he could escape that anytime he wants.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:19 AM ^
Don't know if the NCAA would allow it, but I think something that benefits both sides would be a $20M buy-out, with a clause saying the Harbaugh's buy-out to leave drops to $0 if annual NIL deals for his players don't exceed $5M. (OSU's was $3M in the first 6 months of NIL)
Makes boosters pay-up, shows Harbaugh isn't leaving, and shows he's fighting to get his players paid instead of himself (like Tucker, Kelly, etc.)
February 3rd, 2022 at 12:56 PM ^
It's a little shocking to me to see so many of the same people, who were so sure of themselves before today, continue to be sure of themselves on other related topics/details. Like... what?
I'm not really directing that at you, personally, but your comment is along the same lines. Step back, and realize that none of us know even half of the story, and reassess your thought biases.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:17 AM ^
What really happened? Only Harbaugh and the Vikes know this answer. I believe he really wanted to get back into the NFL, and it just didn't work out. I believe he'll be a little dejected, upset, and bruised that he didn't get it. I also think he'll recover from that and come back in Spring with yet another renewal of energy and focus - moreso than he came into 2021 with. I think he got his look, took his swing, and whiffed. And with that, he's going to settle back into college with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.
For recruiting, it hurt in the short term and there'll be some repercussions for the 2023 class, but they'll be short-lived. He's always been open and straightforward, and I think he'll tackle this head-on with 'croots. He'll tell them 'yeah, I looked, damn right I did - and you're going to, also. It's where we want to be, and my time there was awesome, but now its over. I can get you there, though.' It's a convincing argument, and completely true.
Who's next in line? This morning, who fucking cares? We have our coach.
February 3rd, 2022 at 12:15 PM ^
This. You expect to get a job offer. Everyone is watching. You don’t get the offer. So what do you do? You claim you “had a change of heart” and keep your old job. It’s the likeliest scenario by far.
February 3rd, 2022 at 3:27 PM ^
dude literally nobody here knows if he was offered the job... how the hell are people still assuming their own assumptions are correct?
I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:26 AM ^
I can already see two distinct factions forming within the fan base:
Faction 1– Eh, I’m not upset about it. He just wanted to see what was out there, but I’m ultimately just glad that he came back.
Faction 2– FUCK YOU TRAITOR JIM I HAVE NO MOAR RESPECT 4 YOU. MAY YOU BE DRAGGED THROUGH THE STREETS OF ANN ARBOR LIKE THE TREACHEROUS HOBGOBLIN THAT YOU ARE. FUCK HIM.
edit: I’m joking, sort of.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:31 AM ^
Yes, and if he keeps winning everyone in Faction 2 will join Faction 1. If he starts losing, many will jump into Faction 2.
Let's hope he keeps winning.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:35 AM ^
I haven't seen any trace of Faction 2 - but I haven't read through the 768 comments since he's come back, either.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:38 AM ^
SAM (secret agent mayne) may have exaggerated slightly the fire-breathing of faction 2, but he is otherwise quite accurate. remember, this is michigan and that part of our self-loathing fanbase are part of the michigan difference.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:41 AM ^
A friend of mine for 50+ years, also an alum (and one who lives in Virginia), is firmly in group 2. The fact that there are so many group 2 type "fans" is probably part of what led JH to shop the NFL in the first place. I have appreciated him from day 1, know he has enough money to just quit and look if he was so dead set on returning to the NFL and am really glad he elected to come back. Regardless of whether he got the Vikings job, he did not have to come back. Off topic a little: could the WFT have come up with a more insipid name than Commanders?
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:42 AM ^
I find myself in Faction 3. I have no ill will for him that he was trying to get back to the NFL. If I were a coach, that’s where I would want to be as well. I also have no problem with him staying at M. My concerns are winning 50% of games against MSU and 1/6 against OSU and one title in 7 years. It’s hard for me to not see the future look like his tenure so far. JH hasn’t changed his game plan much, including year 7, so I think the future is exactly the same as the past. Which I guess is fine, most people are happy with being consistently above average. So it’s a little bit of relief that we don’t have to find a coach, and a little bit of what could have been if we would’ve found the next great offensive mind. But I also don’t want Gattis as HC and I think Hart will be a great HC but needs a little more experience. So here’s hoping that the future looks more like Year 7(plus beating MSU).
February 3rd, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
This isn't "faction 3," this is the non-strawman "faction 2."
February 3rd, 2022 at 10:32 AM ^
Well, faction one sounds like unicorns and rainbows, faction 2 sounds like worst thing ever. Both are unrealistic and doomed to be wrong. You are obviously Faction 1, so any non Faction 1 person can obviously only be a spineless immoral human in Faction 2.
February 3rd, 2022 at 10:38 AM ^
You didn't see a material change in game plan last year from prior years? The defense was totally reworked while the offense continued on more of an evolutionary path. Not sure what else to say other than Go Blue!
February 3rd, 2022 at 10:23 AM ^
The thing that unites all of Michigan's fanbase regardless of which faction you are in is our moral superiority in knowing that our view point is correct and all other people are dirt bags for disagreeing.
I'm glad Harbaugh is back and I love just about everything about him, but I'm also sort of a Faction 2 guy. Michigan football isn't a brand or a business, it is a religion. You don't change religions for money. That's why RichRod was dead on arrival. WV alum and coach deserts his school for a bigger paycheck? Not who I want as our coach. Hoke had religion, he just couldn't cut the coaching at Michigan.
Harbaugh needs a hard spin on his dalliance and he needs to make us feel pretty again. I think he'll get religion and continue to win.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:28 AM ^
I’ve said this elsewhere, but what makes sense to me is that during the interview either they had trouble coming to terms both parties could agree on or they had differing views on the direction the franchise was going to take moving forward.
I don’t really see any other way that after a 9 hour interview a decision is made that quickly by either party. I agree with reports that an offer was never placed, but that doesn’t inherently mean Minnesota didn’t want Jim. Just means they couldn’t agree on what that offer should look like. Minnesota isn’t gonna make an offer for 7 million for 5 years if Jim is saying he won’t work for less than 10 million for 10 years. Or if Jim wanted a rebuild without Cousins and ownership wanted to try to win with what they have and keep Cousins, that could be an issue.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:32 AM ^
Or maybe the Vikings prefer their toilet paper rolled in the back rather than the front. Minnesotans are weird.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:46 AM ^
This is the explanation I'm choosing to believe.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:30 AM ^
My two cents . . .
What "really happened" was that after a very extensive interview and vetting process either Minnesota or Harbaugh decided that they preferred other option(s). I realize this is kinda vague and all, but it's probably the most accurate answer. There will be lots of people searching for some "smoking gun" type nugget that explains things - he was too arrogant, he was too brash, he drank too much milk, etc. The reality is that in real life big decisions like this can't be boiled down to a single, simple explanation.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:43 AM ^
Drinking a lot of milk would have probably been a point in his favor. It's MN, after all, the home of Land O' Lakes.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:32 AM ^
Maybe he should have eaten some butter
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:48 AM ^
Or cheese. The whipped cream is pretty good, too.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:46 AM ^
There is no reason it couldn't have been "Minnesota AND Harbaugh" who decided it wasn't the right fit.
Sometimes people who know what they want don't mesh with other people who know what they want. It just is.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:25 AM ^
Clearly someone showed him how Kork grills steaks and Harbaugh realized he couldnt work with such a man
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:30 AM ^
I think you’ll know by the coming response; if Warde and Harbaugh come and lay out in detail, “ok, after a successful year, and going into some contract restructuring, we decided to get some in-depth appraisal of Jim’s value, while at the same time giving him the opportunity to look at all of his options…”, then I could say ok, I guess I can believe that.
If they however should come out without a good explanation and a bunch of platitudes & vagueness like, “we’re happy to have our coach; blah blah blah; we’re looking to the future and yada yada”, I think you know that Jim was ready to bolt and didn’t get quite the response he thought he would.
Irregardlessly, whether it’s imminent or not, I hope the grooming on his replacement begins in earnest.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:46 AM ^
+1 for irregardlessly. It isn't a word, but should be.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:57 AM ^
The word is too redundantly composed to be useful or needed. "Regardless," suffices.
(goes back to reading the morning paper, enjoying a decent breakfast, muttering about "some people" ....)
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:15 AM ^
some people, muttering about a guy who has something called the 'morning paper', curious what is done with that thing.
(jk, i miss a morning paper)
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:39 AM ^
as does the parakeet.....
February 3rd, 2022 at 10:42 AM ^
XM,
I understand.
I start my day talking to a few people telling me what our day is going to look like. Takes 5 minutes or fewer (not "or less", had a very grumpy teacher who was merciless about scheiss like that). Then I ask them to get me involved if something comes up that goes "outside the lines" of what they know how to handle. Then it's a "paper" or two to see what silliness the planet is doing, thinking, or saying. FYI, this planet has got some problems in the rational thinking department.
I suspect that you arise early (I note your activity times) and then have to "get to work" of a physical kind. I hope you enjoy what you do and that it rewards you in a way that you desire.
February 3rd, 2022 at 11:46 AM ^
i kind of straddle a couple of worlds as it relates to work, and farming is one of them. very grateful for it all. am an early riser by most folks' standards. not generally capable of sleeping much past 430-5 most days.
EDIT: i should add that a number of mgobloggers have visited the farm. none of them have left empty-handed, all with at least a 'care package' of farm stuff and a few with, well, cows or half a cow. processed. you think you'll get to northern michigan reach out and we can connect back channels.
February 3rd, 2022 at 12:25 PM ^
Thanks, will do! I am an east coaster, travel back to the AA area only for games now, but I always enjoy a good car ride and meeting new, good people.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:27 AM ^
I like to sprinkle stuff like that in just to make the grammar nazis itch.
Same with “all intensive purposes”, “I could care less” and could of/should of/would of.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:57 AM ^
But the head exploding nonsensical winner of the WTH are they thinking is the regional expression, "so don't I". Do not ponder that one, madness lies within.
(old man goes back to reading morning paper (aka WSJ because TLAs seem to be in vogue today), on tablet, thus avoiding dead trees and inked fingers (remember those?)).
Be well, all of you. Most sincerely!
Note, the parentheses are accurately counted above. :-)
February 3rd, 2022 at 10:48 AM ^
MGOBLEU,
Yes, you have quoted some excellent ones. Nice! Thank you.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:37 PM ^
Sorry, it isn't a word and shouldn't be. The word is "regardless."
(I didn't major in English, but took a lot of English classes.)
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:31 AM ^
sweet holy hell. for a moment, i thought, "thank god, now we can stop talking about this crap."
i should've known better.
yes, by all means let's re-litigate this until we're all dead and the earth is a giant ball of ice hurtling through the emptiness of space.
February 3rd, 2022 at 11:34 AM ^
yes, by all means let's re-litigate this until we're all dead and the earth is a giant ball of ice hurtling through the emptiness of space.
That may happen sooner than ya think!
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:33 AM ^
Not directly on point, but in this podcast from a couple of days ago, former 49er and Viking (and former Buckeye) Alex Boone provides some great insight into who Harbaugh is from a player’s perspective. He is very pro-Harbaugh and was very much in favor of the Vikings hiring him. He talked about how quickly he changed the culture in San Francisco and attributed Harbaugh’s problems with the front office to jealousy over how solidly the players were behind the coach. I thought it was a really good listen.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:53 AM ^
Great podcast. Thanks for posting.
February 3rd, 2022 at 9:55 AM ^
Terrific. Thank you.
February 3rd, 2022 at 3:35 PM ^
I've said it before, and will again here; I think Harbaugh is a top 3 coach in college football. He just needs some more pieces in place, which the circumstances of coaching at Michigan have made more difficult to attain. I think if we had Bama's talent, and staffing budget, it would be Michigan going to the title game every other year.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:34 AM ^
Agreed on O'Brien. That was a depressing thought
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:36 AM ^
I'll play.
I think JH went there thinking he was getting an offer but the Vikings weren't prepared for it. It's obvious JH loves Michigan, so I'm sure he was having second thoughts about it. The way I'm thinking is that the NFL is the big-name cool job JH wants, but deep down, he loves being in Michigan. I get it, he wants the Superbowl.
I also think that there's a trend with many teams that seem stuck in the NFL and it's hiring younger coaches. The guys that are older in the league have been there and have success(Belichick, Reid, Carroll, Arians) and the new hires seem to always be really young guys.
He needs to sign an extension. Something more than 3 years. That will HELP recruiting because a recruit wants to play for the coach the entire time they're there. There's still 1 guy we need to recruit for 2022(Conerly) who still is planning to sign in March.
Personally, I'm not a fan of hiring Gattis or Hart...YET. I've been critical of Gattis, but if we have another good year offensively, I'd be more open to him being a HC. I do think both Hart and Gattis will start to get HC offers and it'll be tough to keep both. Hart was an AHC at Indiana, and if they struggle again I could see them going for Hart.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:38 AM ^
Two things: 1) We don’t know that he was rejected by Minnesota. If after the interview, he advised them he was not prepared to take the job, to save face, there might have been an understanding that the job was never “offered." That way the coach the Vikings do name won’t be labeled as the “second choice.” I don’t necessarily trust the reporting. One reporter who doesn’t really know, wants a scoop and reports something then everyone else chimes in and it makes it seem like multiple sources. Plus they got the story wrong so now reporters are trying to save face.
2) I am thrilled to have him back. I did not like any of the alternatives. Jim brought our first Big Ten title in 17 years and first win over OSU in 10 years. The program was in shambles after Rich Rod and Hoke.We have a top 10 class and didn’t lose any recruits as a result of Jim interviewing. I don’t blame him for checking out the NFL after our AD cut his salary in half last year and made him the 3rd lowest paid coach in the Big Ten.(before incentives)
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:39 AM ^
We'll never really know until John U Bacon writes a book about it
February 3rd, 2022 at 2:53 PM ^
JUB will report whatever the program tells him.
February 3rd, 2022 at 8:50 AM ^
Harbaugh wants to coach JJ. I wonder how long he stays after JJ gone.