Sam Webb: If I had to guess, it's still Harbaugh

Submitted by WichitanWolverine on
No link, since he said it on air 10 minutes ago. Just thought that was interesting since his sources yesterday said no. Edit: He did say it would be harder than originally thought because of how many NFL jobs will likely open up. Bacon was also on the air with him and agrees Harbaugh is the best guess at the moment.
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Tater

December 5th, 2014 at 10:29 AM ^

The problem is that, even if Hackett has a deal in place, it will have to wait until the end of SF's season.  That will make it look like he is "doing nothing."  The longer it takes, though, the greater the likelihood of it being someone currently employed in the NFL.  Since there are only two of those "someones" we know about right now, it would be a great sign.

The bad part is that all of the remaining recruits will be in limbo for the month if this is how it's going to play out.  The good part is that Jim Harbaugh could probably start winning in 2015 with the players that are already here.  The other good part is that no Jim Harbaugh team will ever get "out-intensed" in a rivalry game.

Makes for an interesting holiday season...

Joined: 08/13/2008

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evenyoubrutus

December 5th, 2014 at 11:00 AM ^

Couple things- Alabama was "without" a head coach for like 40 days or something when they hired Saban, so I could see this happening.  

The other thing is, if Harbaugh truly were not interested or had already turned Michigan down, I don't believe it would serve him to not address it publicly.  If he knows Michigan is moving on without him, he would also know that they will have a coach in place long before the NFL season is over, and so I don't believe it would drive up his value to have Michigan "on the table" at all.

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schreibee

December 5th, 2014 at 10:45 AM ^

Jeremy Foley is an open book man. There's nothing wrong with a man just coming out and telling another man how he feels about his Bona Fides, and expressing that he'd like to get together professionally... I mean except from a negotiating standpoint. What would drawing the blinds really have accomplished?

Joined: 11/02/2009

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glewe

December 5th, 2014 at 10:04 AM ^

Speculation, yes, but there is definitely an evidentiary basis here.

Two main things make me think we're making a run at Harbaugh, and they've come not out of the mouths of reporters and "behind-the-scenes" people, but people who have publicly connected themselves to the search.

1) Lloyd Carr admitted to being asked his opinion--I assume by Hackett/other AD people--and acknowledged that he said Harbaugh.

2) Griese has admitted to being a part of the search committee, and has said that it will be slow and deliberative. What better way to set up a process wherein the next coach (because NFL and contracts) necessarily must be delayed in arrival?

Reporters otherwise have no consistency in what they're reporting, and every report seems to contradict the one before it.

Gregg Henson (sorry) suggested that only Les Miles people are the ones saying that Harbaugh won't come because NFL, and I actually think that has a lot of plausibility to it. No one close to the department is setting up a Les Miles scenario. But they are setting up a Jim Harbaugh scenario.

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Moonlight Graham

December 5th, 2014 at 10:29 AM ^

Harbaugh being too "divisive," on ESPN within hours of the Hoke firing. We were all like "saaaay whaaat??" and it didn't pass the smell test. It feels and even sounds like an assignment given to him as a member of the search committee: "Griese! You have your face on ESPN! Get everyone off the trail to Harbaugh so we can negotiate without distractions or conflicts! Tell the masses there's nothing to see here. They'll believe you, and everyone will move on!!!"

Joined: 09/12/2011

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superstringer

December 5th, 2014 at 10:38 AM ^

Brian Griese slinging mud on a fellow UM QB.  Made no sense at all.  Harbaugh is indeed a Class A jerk/asshole (and we students knew it when he was our QB on campus), but people who've randomly ran into him (like a guy I know who ran into him at the airport a few years back) says he's the nicest guy in public.  He NEVER caused trouble within USD or Stanford as I recall.

His only 'trouble,' prior to this mess with 49er management, has been confronting opposing coaches.  If he got into a shouting match with Dantonio and Urbs like he did with Carroll, I think we'd be ALL for it.  Like I don't think Jimmy would have effing apologized for putting a small metal stake into the dirt like it was designed to do, right after behing whopped up by a guy who admitted he ran up the score.  I think Jimmy would have said -- "You're still Little Brother."

I digress.  Griese's comment was just utterly weird.  Maybe it was an assignment.  Maybe so was Schekty's.  Maybe all UM grads are being told to put out disinformation.  Maybe Lucy Liu and Madonna and Darth Vader are giong to come out and say they 'know' Jim won't leave the NFL.

One can hope.

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schreibee

December 5th, 2014 at 11:00 AM ^

Griese's comments, although I don't agree with their conclusion, were not wrong. Harbaugh dissed Michigan when at Stanford. He then had problems with people at Stanford it's been rumored. The issues at the 49ers are becoming pretty public now. Jim Harbaugh CAN be "divisive" - and before we fell into this yawning morass of mediocrity we could afford to be judgmental about things like that. NOW? Not so much!! Griese may well be in the Les Miles camp, but that's a badly outnumbered camp I'd guess.

Joined: 11/02/2009

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True Blue Grit

December 5th, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^

"Bathroom Gate".  There was this minor media circus around JH requesting a new private bathroom in the football facility:

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/08/25/70k-bathroom-causing-a-stink-at-stanford

But, who the heck cares.  If he wanted to come here, we can build him his own building if that's what makes him happy.

 

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swan flu

December 5th, 2014 at 9:49 AM ^

His sources didn't say no. They said it's unlikely for him to leave the pros. Big difference. Also important to note Jim has still said nothing and these are all gut feelings of secondary sources.

Joined: 08/16/2010

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schreibee

December 5th, 2014 at 11:18 AM ^

Totally misreading the situation there - it will depend ONLY on whether Harbaugh wants to stay in the NFL or not. This decision will not revolve around whether Hackett, Schlissel, you or I want him to come, or how badly. The financial package will be competitive. But who knows what's in Harbaugh's heart? And how many of us in our personal or professional lives have so many great options that we get to stop and consider what's in our heart before reaching a decision?!

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Bodogblog

December 5th, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^

So was yesterday's post inaccurate?  Sam has been fairly definitive in saying that if other NFL offers surfaced, like the Jets or the Bears, those would be hard for Michigan to beat.  This was on Tuesday of this week, so before the "two sources" post. 

If his sources were just saying that they believe it will now be harder to get Harbaugh, or even that more NFL offers were expected to come to the table and it was less likely that he'd come to Michigan than previous, then it's not really a contradiction to what he'd been saying.

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