Sweet jeebus get a grip all of you Michigan "fans"
I honestly can't believe the bile and disgust spewing forth on this site about the extension of Harbaugh. You are all sounding like the most entitled, whiny, spoiled losers I've ever heard. Posters here talk about $10 million like it's pocket change and chastise Warde Manuel and the regents he reports to for having a sense of financial responsibility for not tossing a sum that amounts to generational wealth down the toilet after it has already lost $80 fucking million this year alone and will likely lose something close to it next year. You all act like giving a very reasonable and more than fair contract to a winning coach who has proved himself a huge success everywhere he has gone as akin to getting a prison sentence in super-max with a 350 pound cellmate with syphilis who was convicted of man rape.
Grow. The. Fuck. Up.
This is your team and the school that you supposedly love. It owes you nothing. If you no longer feel a sense of loyalty or desire to invest yourself in its endeavors that is fine. No one is holding your loved ones hostage and threatening them bodily harm on the condition of your fandom. It is fine to feel disappointed when they lose and don't perform up to expectations. But unless you are one of the boosters who paid some obscene amount of money out of your pocket to pay for Harbaugh's salary, or are willing to burn a couple million to buy him out, spare us your garment rending about the injustice of having to watch a football team coached by a very upstanding, dedicated son of the university who has sacrificed, fought and literally bled for this school and program since he was a teenager.
I guarantee that Jim Harbaugh feels every loss of this program 100 times more deeply than any of you. His pride and competitive nature are more deeply wounded by every loss to a rival and every failure of his team than yours are. He has likely put in more hours and endured more physical, psychological, and emotional anguish in service of this school and this program than any one of you petulant, shit-talking, sneering douchebags has for anything in your whole life. He has probably spent more time away from his family, invested more of his passion, blood, sweat, and tears into Michigan football than you could measure—all for your entertainment. So, maybe give that a moments consideration before you vomit forth your disrespectful, ungrateful, smug condemnations over the fact that you've been denied some completely unearned sense of vicarious pride in the accomplishment of others.
All of you shitting on Harbaugh for getting an extension and being willing to pour himself into trying to finish what he set out to do in making this program an elite football program are no true fans, and I have no idea why you would torture yourself with the burden of supporting a school and a team of talented young men and dedicated coaches when you feel they are so far beneath you.
January 9th, 2021 at 12:30 PM ^
+1 Upvoted for day drinking.
January 9th, 2021 at 12:46 AM ^
too long
January 9th, 2021 at 12:49 AM ^
Thank you! May I have another?
January 9th, 2021 at 12:52 AM ^
The only valid point you make is the one about money.
January 9th, 2021 at 7:55 AM ^
Oops, looks like a political commentary video. Username checks out.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:05 AM ^
Okay Jim
January 9th, 2021 at 1:16 AM ^
Amen!
And Awomen. (Too soon?)
January 9th, 2021 at 1:19 AM ^
consider this: Harbaugh bad soup man good
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January 9th, 2021 at 1:28 AM ^
I agree. Preach.
i know this isn’t the same comparison, but people wanted Beilein fired after bad seasons, and there was a post today comparing him to the “Bo” of basketball.
He’s done a bad job lately. Seems disinterested and not motivated. I have more hope in him, though, than I do in a Rich Rod 2.0.
I’m hoping this experience was humbling for him and reignites that flame we all loved seeing at the beginning. And if it doesn’t, he’s probably gonna quit as the more honorable thing to do.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:29 AM ^
You really should've posted this in all caps. All caps would've made this way funnier.
Wait. This is suppose to be funny right?
January 9th, 2021 at 1:36 AM ^
Setting aside the fact that I think signing Harbaugh to an extension was the right thing to do, it sounds like you’re saying fans can’t criticize Harbaugh because he’s trying his best and cares more than the fans do. That’s crap. Hoke loved this university and RichRod gave it his best too, but it doesn’t mean any of them are the right guy for the job. Of course Harbaugh has sacrificed more for the team than fans have. He was being paid over $7 million each year to make those sacrifices. It would be weird and most likely a big problem if a fan such as myself was expected to give more and and care more than the coach who is literally paid millions of dollars to care and spend time with the program.
The last Michigan home game I took my kids to cost me about $1,000. When fans spend that much money on a game, they expect a winner and I don’t think it’s too much to ask.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:47 AM ^
But you've gotten a winner every year except this last insane season. And I'm not saying you can't be disappointed or criticize Harbaugh or the team. I'm negging the over the top vitriol and disgust some people are expressing. I have no problem with people who say that they wish Manuel had decided to move on. I was on the fence, myself, but leaned toward giving it another year with a new DC because I felt like this year was a crazy outlier for a dozen reasons.
I just find it hard to swallow people talking about a $10 million buyout after a $80 million deficit and an impending second year of massive losses like it is not a valid consideration. I also have no patience for people pretending like Harbaugh is a terrible coach who has been a failure here. He hasn't beaten Ohio State. I hate seeing that, too. But he's run a clean program, that demands kids go to class, and that graduates its player without scandal. I would rather not make the playoff than see us resort to the tactics of the SEC schools or Clemson, and tolerate the type of thing we've heard about down in Baton Rouge this year.
There is more to being a great program than beating Ohio State and going to the playoffs, and the fact that so many on this board give that so little credit is pretty sad.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:56 AM ^
A "winner" every year? I'm fine with Harbaugh coming back. But he's losing 3-4 games every year. Plus, he's not only losing to OSU. Less talented teams are beating us.
If you're good with 9-3 regular seasons, and no conference titles, then cool. I don't begrudge you that. But understand that's never been a reasonable expectation in this program's history.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:16 AM ^
Until this season we've consistently beaten teams we were more talented than. In the previous five years we probably lost 2-3 games we shouldn't have. But so has OSU. They lost to Purdue, Michigan State, and Penn State in games they should have won. It happens to every program, even the great ones. We haven't won big games, that needs to change. But if you think that changing coaches right now is going to get us past Ohio State any time in the next four years, I think you are fooling yourself. I am willing to see what Harbaugh can do with this amazing offensive class he's brought in and a new DC. If next season looks like this year, I will be happy to move on, but I won't spit on Harbaugh as he leaves the way so many hear are doing.
As for going 9-3. That is 100% the norm for Michigan football since the late 60s. The difference now is that OSU has taken its recruiting to a historic level and capitialized on our decade in the wilderness. That has to change, but until they stop bringing in 5+ five stars every year (most likely by recruiting practices we won't do) it's going to be a tall order for any coach. In the meantime I'll take 9-10 wins a year and top 10 recruiting classes. Because it can easily be much, much worse.
January 9th, 2021 at 6:25 AM ^
So if we’re consistently beating teams that we’re better than, you’re saying we’re worse than MSU/PSU/Wisky, because our record against them doesn’t show us consistently beating them? And we must not be better than most of the teams we’ve matched up with in bowl games?
Hopefully the new contract makes him the fiery version that we had when he was hired...
January 9th, 2021 at 9:58 AM ^
Well, you would think so having his contract incentive based
January 9th, 2021 at 12:16 PM ^
Harbaugh is worth tens of millions of dollars and it's doubtful financial incentives will do much to stir him.
He's simply incapable of running a competitive program.
January 9th, 2021 at 8:20 AM ^
And OSU also lost to Iowa. I think they are 69-4 in conference games since 2012 and, apparently, they should have been 73-0.
I wouldn't care as much about JH occasionally losing a game he shouldn't -- like once very two seasons -- if he was winning left and right. My biggest problem is that he so rarely beats teams he shouldn't and, IMO, the trajectory of the program is clear. And I just can't get over how bad they were this year -- covid or not. If they had played their final 3 games, they're 2-7 with 1 win being an OT thriller at Rutgers thanks, in part, to Schiano's OT buffoonery. I just can't waive a wand and say, eh, covid -- on to 2021! They were inexcusably bad.
But, hey, we return a ton for next season, so I'm hoping he can right the ship. But, I don't think we're heading in the right direction.
January 9th, 2021 at 8:39 AM ^
"...he so rarely beats teams he shouldn't..."
If by "rarely" you mean never, then true. If not, false. Harbaugh is 0 for his last 18 as an underdog, with most of those games played as the Michigan head coach. That includes the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Quite simply, he does not beat teams he's not favored to beat.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:58 AM ^
MBB made scheduling decisions they wouldnt have normally made, backed out of a tournament due to its location, and this weekends game is canceled due to Covid. . Does this also qualify as a crazy insane season for Juwan Howard? Are we just writing the MBB season off as a "weird" year and they arent really a good team? Does the insanity and craziness go both ways or only crazy for Harbaugh because his results for off the charts poor?
January 9th, 2021 at 2:22 AM ^
Juwan had upgrades over the people he lost from last season, and he isn't playing 60+% first year starters. He also hasn't had to deal with the injuries to his best players. So your comparison is garbage.
January 9th, 2021 at 7:01 AM ^
Losing to MSU this year is what was garbage. 1st year starters or not, we should’ve won that game and shouldn’t have squeaked by Rutgers, or lost to 0-5 PSU. We have way too much talent, even if it’s young, to do stuff like that.
January 9th, 2021 at 7:25 AM ^
We were also suppose to have coaching superiority over MSU.
January 9th, 2021 at 8:19 AM ^
Coaching issues, player recruitment or roster management are Harbaugh's responsibility. It sounds like you want to give him a pass because of what he created.
January 9th, 2021 at 9:28 AM ^
I don’t understand defending 9-3 with the excuse that “historically” Michigan has been there. That’s rewriting the history books of why Harbaugh was hired. He was hired at a premium salary to deliver premium results. He didn’t and now his pay is more reflective of the product he puts on the field.
I think Warde should have moved on and tried Campbell. He didn’t. It’s too late now. I’ll be cheering for Michigan and hoping Harbaugh can pull himself out of this crater he dug. I want(ed) Harbaugh to be successful. To kick ass and get the “what’s your deal” after games. He hasn’t. Here’s to hoping he can turn it around. I won’t be holding my breath.
January 9th, 2021 at 10:27 AM ^
This is where nim at.
Support the team, but don't expect miracles.
January 9th, 2021 at 4:14 PM ^
Perfectly stated, Putin. I would LOVE for Harbaugh to prove every word I've said over the past month wrong. But the reality is the defense is likely not going to get better next season, in fact it projects to be worse with the same holes at DT, and a new DC. God help the offense because they are going to need to score a lot of points. The problem with that is the offense hasn't shown the ability to get out of its own way under Gattis. Perhaps JJ coming in will help but he will be a true freshman so....
I am not expecting miracles. I think we are staring down the barrel of a 6-6 season with another lopsided OSU affair.
January 9th, 2021 at 11:58 AM ^
Harbaugh was forced to play the players he played due to:
- Shitty recruiting organization and roster management, which are ultimately his responsibility. Documented on the board.
- Historic program attrition, most likely due to a "quirky" personality that pushes people away, including at positions where players that left were going to start or plausibly compete for a starting role. Documented on the board.
- A devotion to "practice warriors" and "grinders" who in some cases have started over more talented players. Documented on the board
- Yes, injuries. There is speculation that Michigan's rash of key injuries is due in part to Harbaugh demanding "toughness" in practice, which includes playing through minor injuries, in order to see the field -- see point above. Documented on the board.
Your opinion is fine, but so is my opinion. Stop lecturing the board.
January 9th, 2021 at 12:41 PM ^
Oregon was the youngest team in the nation and won the PAC12. They also had opt outs that will get drafted higher than UM's opt outs and had a first year starter at QB. Also, their backup QB played very well in the Championship and Bowl game. Good coaches elevate players.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:39 AM ^
Awkwardly intense and confrontational.
Also highly flawed logic. Nobody is rationally questioning Harbaugh's love for Michigan, how much he feels the losses, how much he has worked, etc. In your dizzy emotional haze you read all the complaints though the same lens. Most here are arguing from a very rational place - from a cool, say, 'business' perspective, sometimes you just have to admit that it hasn't worked out, cut your losses, and move on. It's really tough to make the case that it has worked, or is working. And the chances of it working now are very very slim. Lose all the emotions, and its pretty simple.
January 9th, 2021 at 9:46 AM ^
This is a very fair reading of the reality. 2021 has long been pointed to as the year Michigan begins a very serious ascension toward challenging the territory where the elites teams of the college football world reside. Today, the more objective consensus would predict 2021 to be a 7-8 win season-with a floor that is stunningly low. And truthfully, simply from the coaching side, not only are the unknowns deeply concerning but so are the knowns. At this writing this coaching staff is one hot mess-and may well get worse. A new DC who has never had responsibilities that come close to the position he is being hired for-really!!!???!!! Here, even the most positive, objective viewer must be alarmed.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:42 AM ^
You mad bro?
Check in with us after next year's 77 -13 hamblasting.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:13 AM ^
To finish what he set out to do in making this program an elite football program.
Could ask about your estimated timeline for this miracle.
I dont need your temper tantrum lecture.
Paid all the Wonderful fees for 6 season tickets for 25+ years, donated at least those costs over the years.
Piss off, I can think, say, and feel anything I want about Jimmy Boy.
The product sucks, plain and simple.
Standing by my team.Would like to enjoy it more.
Skip hitting the save button next time.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:43 AM ^
Copy and paste of a post from a previous thread this week.
Message is still the same. Harbaugh supporters keep saying “he has accomplished a lot”, “program in much better state”, “made Michigan competitive now”, “shouldn’t be compared to OSU”.
Here are the results/facts.
The pro-Harbaugh crowd wants to ignore 2020 so let’s take a closer look at 2019, 2018, & 2017.
2019: 9-4, 6-3, Final rank 18th
- Lost @ #13 Wisconsin 35 -14 (Final Rank: #11)
- Beat #10 Iowa 10 - 3 (#15)
- Lost @ #7 PSU 28-21 (at one point down 21-0) (#9)
- Beat #8 ND 45-12 (#12)
- Lost #2 OSU 56-27 (#3)
- Lost #9 Alabama 35-16 (#8)
Summary: Had a big win against MSU. was 2-4 against ranked teams. 3 of those 4 losses were not even close and it took an amazing comeback to turn the 4th loss into a close game. OSU was especially embarrassing because Don Brown ran his mouth about how focused he was because of what had happened the previous year and did not back it up.
2018: 10-3, 8-1, Final rank 14th
- Lost @ #12 ND 24-17 (Final Rank: #5)
- Beat #15 Wisconsin 38-13 (NR)
- Beat @ #24 MSU 21-7 (NR)
- Beat #14 PSU 42-7 (#17)
- Lost @ #10 OSU 62-39 (#3)
- Lost #10 Florida 41-15 (#7)
Summary: Finished 3-3 vs ranked teams. Two of the wins came against teams which fell out of the rankings by the end of the season so the record against final ranked teams was 1-3. 2 of the 3 losses were not even close. The OSU game was especially embarrassing as Michigan was somehow favored to win and we shall never speak of the crossing route game again.
2017: 8-5, 5-4, Final Rank NR
- Beat #17 Florida 33-17 (Final Rank: NR)
- Lost @ #2 PSU 42-13 (#8)
- Lost @ #5 Wisconsin 24-10 (#7)
- Lost #8 OSU 31-20 (#5)
- Lost NR South Carolina 26-19 (NR)
Summary: Finished 1-3 vs. ranked teams. The one win came against a Florida team which finished the year 4-7 so final record against ranked teams was 0-3. The PSU game was especially embarrassing as this was the Barkley runs and catches wild game where Don Brown looked completely lost on how to respond to a great talent on the field. The other losses were not very close except for the OSU game being closer than the final score.
Total summary: three years of results. Those were years 3,4,& 5 of Harbaugh’s tenure. It's not like you could chalk it up to transition pains. His record against teams which finished the season ranked was 3-10. The majority of those losses were not even close, multiple could only be described as embarrassing.
That is not the profile of a healthy program. Now throw 2020 on top and that is why so many people are disappointed Harbaugh will continue to coach Michigan instead of trying to find someone who may perform better. It’s not trying to shit on him, it’s being realistic about what he has and has not done during his tenure and fans wanting better for the many student athletes who choose to play for Michigan.
January 9th, 2021 at 4:06 AM ^
Noice post. Anyone still defending Harbaugh's performance here is a masochist or perpetually drunk. 9-10 wins each year wouldn't be bad if the losses were competitive contests. The issue is the losses tend to be completely one sided games in which Michigan doesn't appear to make any in game adjustments.
January 9th, 2021 at 4:40 AM ^
Why do you keep leaving out 2015 and 2016
January 9th, 2021 at 5:46 AM ^
Because it won’t fit,”his” narrative!
January 9th, 2021 at 9:40 AM ^
Along with the narrative of the fact that michigan beat several of those teams when they were ranked in the top 15 and finished unranked.
Thats not michigans fault, they beat them when they were ranked... michigan beating them could have spiraled those teams losing streaks..
You can't cherry pick like espn does so it can fit the narrative.
If the teams were ranked when we beat them it counts as a ranked win.
January 9th, 2021 at 8:24 AM ^
He left off 2020 too.
January 9th, 2021 at 8:53 AM ^
They were five and six years ago, and largely played with another coaches' recruits. It cannot be said with a straight face that Harbaugh is the same coach today that he was in 2016. He's not. He's not even the same person.
I'll give him all the credit in the world for 2016/16. But he has to answer for the decline since then, as well. And don't give me 'Covid' for 2020, either - the MSU game was flat trash before any injuries or Covid-ness hit. There is no escape from that simple truth.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:39 PM ^
I don't think what Harbaugh did in his first two years with Hoke's recruits is as relevant vs. what he has done in the past four years with his recruits. But, since you asked...here you go:
2016: 10-3, 7-2 (Final rank: #10)
- Beat #8 Wisconsin 14-7 (Final rank: #9)
- Lost @ #2 OSU 30-27 (#6)
- Lost #10 FSU 33-32 (#8)
Summary: 1-2 vs ranked teams. Beat MSU. All games vs. ranked teams were close. Best year for Harbaugh.
2015: 10-3, 6-2 (Final rank: #12)
- Beat #22 BYU 31-0 (Final rank: NR)
- Beat #13 NW 38-0 (#23)
- Lost #7 MSU 23-27 (#6)
- Lost #8 OSU 42-13 (#4)
- Beat #19 Florida 41-7 (#25)
Summary: 3-2 vs ranked teams. 2-2 vs teams which finished the season ranked. OSU game was not close at all.
Probably not the smoking gun of success to prove Harbaugh's excellence at the start of his time at Michigan you were hoping for. If anything it supports the narrative that he can't beat good teams with any consistency and often suffers blow outs when going up against peer teams (both talent and coaching). It may even show he is getting worse when you take the past four years into account vs. this performance.
This is not my narrative, this is simply recording what has happened. Read into it what you want.
For the question about why I look at current rank and end of season rank, college football is highly influenced by preconceived bias when it comes to rankings. In 2017 Michigan beat a ranked Florida team to open the season. That Florida team finished 4-7. I don't see how you can look back at that and say Wow, Michigan really beat a top team that year.
As for Michigan starting other team's death spirals...all I can do is laugh. I'm old enough to remember those days. If you are still living off those memories, get up off your couch to change the channel and don't bother buying microwave dinners they don't work in the oven.
January 9th, 2021 at 3:30 PM ^
2016: I noticed you left out victories over teams that ENDED in the top 10. We beat Colorado and PSU.
January 9th, 2021 at 3:43 PM ^
I thought about doing that after I had pulled this together and decided it was not worth goin back and looking up every team. Of course, being a data person, I just did.
There were 3 instances over Harbaugh's time at Michigan when he beat an unranked team which finished ranked.
You mentioned two of them. Colorado finished ranked #17 (not in top 10) but PSU did finish an impressive #7. Both in 2016.
The other was NW in 2018 finishing #21.
Good catch, but I don't think it really changes things much.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:54 PM ^
Great analysis. The record against ranked teams is what matters and he's been bad in that regard, as your summary makes abundantly clear. Who cares about loading up on wins against non-conference cupcakes, Rutgers and Maryland? Take those wins out and Harbaugh's record is very mediocre, even if you pretend this past season didn't happen.
January 9th, 2021 at 3:04 AM ^
I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, and I know I’ll get negged like I do when I say this to my friends, but Michigan’s ceiling is and always has been 1-3 losses per year sans a handful of times for over a century. I get that Michigan has the resources, cache and branding to be better, but until it happens, it’s just not the world we live in.
January 9th, 2021 at 7:32 AM ^
I'll be the bearer... There's maybe 100 of you Buckeyes here, and it's for a sad reason. I couldn't even imagine going on a OSU site let alone post regularly.
January 9th, 2021 at 4:22 PM ^
I’m not a buckeye fan dude wtf are you talking about?