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 12:32 PM ^
"a very reasonable and more than fair contract" - sure for a coach who went 2-4. Is that what we're paying for now?
"a winning coach who has proved himself a huge success everywhere he has gone" - Harbaugh's .690 winning percentage is below the average .707 for UM coaches since WWII. Even Oosterbaan and Elliot won the Big Ten and the Rose Bowl as UM coaches.
"the injustice of having to watch a football team" - this is the point, isn't it? Many of us will stop watching.
"I guarantee ... 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" - Good Lord, the man has been paid $8,000,000 a year! I "guarantee" that I would put in same hours and endure same hyperbole for 1/10 that sum.
"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" - I have been a fan and supporter of Michigan Football since before the team won the Big Ten in 1964 and the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day 1965. I find it absurd for you to challenge my support of the team. You can go fuck off now.
January 9th, 2021 at 12:54 PM ^
This is the story that always happens, regardless of who the coach is.
Begin with massive hype in the off-season. Point to recruiting numbers, how strong this class is, etc. Talk about how the schedule is super favorable with the rivals at home.
Season starts, Michigan beats a few non-conference weaklings, pumps chest out. Runs into actual good teams, shows themselves as the paper tiger they've been.
People get angry, and RIGHTFULLY SO.
After that, THIS is when I get super confused. Why does this anger go away? Why do people forget what happened?
Ultimately, I don't get why people think this guy is still capable of winning here. He's had his time. He can't beat OSU. He can't win when he's an underdog.
This is why the administration will never make changes. They have a fan base who continues to get pumped up for no reason whatsoever and point to the brand and history to remind themselves what Michigan SHOULD be. They'll get the 100k every home game; there's no pressure here.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:08 PM ^
This is my favorite post in the history of MGoBlog. I have logged in every day for about 12 years at least.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:21 PM ^
So this will probably be buried in here, and I'm sure this is akin to old man yelling a cloud, but I've posted on here several times that fan sentiment has been used against us in recruiting. Doesn't matter how many times I post some version of this, it will never change. People clamor for 5-stars and then we sign one in Dax Hill and all I heard this year was people dogging the kid. And how he's definitely going to transfer and this woe is me attitude. Michigan fans actively telling one of their most talented players to transfer, telling him his heart isn't in it, when he spent 6 months getting tested and trying to play a game for your enjoyment. He hadn't seen his family in months and is just getting dogged by people mercilessly.
Now, this isn't only unique to us, but I've heard this line from a few former players, "no one eats their own quicker than Michigan fans." These are NFL guys who are like back in the day, I couldn't even go on social media after Michigan games because it was so venomous, even after wins! I can't tell some of these stories, because it would out the players, but I was so embarrassed as a Michigan alum and fan that players from my own team had so many stories where they were pilloried on social media and in person for a mistake on the field.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:29 PM ^
Thank you for sharing this! This can't be said often or loud enough. Sometimes this fanbase is its own worst enemy.
IMO, shitting on players deserves an auto-ban.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:47 PM ^
I don't "do" social media other than seeing what people post on here. I believe the research that shows the amount of time on social media directly correlates with a persons perceived happiness and I chose to be happy.
I simply do not understand why any player or recruit would put one iota of value in anything posted on social media about them from someone they don't know.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:56 PM ^
So I'm with you, but it's a generational thing. These are kids who are on their phones all the time. All their stuff is sent to them on the phone. Texts about practice and lift times. This is just how it is for them, so they can't just put their phone away and ignore it like you and I can.
To say they shouldn't put any value in that is easier said than done. I'll give you one example, a player put up a post of him golfing (it wasn't Shea) and had comments from people being like why aren't you practicing. It's directly on your post you can't ignore it, so imagine if you were in their shoes? This isn't oh mean people are saying mean things on twitter, where they have to search their name, it's people literally commenting directly on their stuff.
January 9th, 2021 at 2:02 PM ^
Yup, social media may be meaningless and not needed in your life, but for recruiting it's the pipeline to meeting potential teammates.
It's kinda like saying to you "do your job but don't use email".
January 9th, 2021 at 2:04 PM ^
I had to laugh that as soon as I read "player put up a post of him golfing" I thought Shea and you had already addressed it. In fairness, that was thanks to Shea's Offensive Coordinator publicly making a comment instead of social media.
I get what you are saying and I think your example is accurate. I also think it is very unfortunate. I also wonder if Michigan fans are really any different than any other schools. My experiences related to the U of Texas say no.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:27 PM ^
Pappy? Is that you? How did you get on here?
January 9th, 2021 at 1:37 PM ^
Sounds like this poster needs to use some self awareness. Its perfectly reasonable for people to call out the program and AD for accepting mediocrity given the past results of the last three years. No evidence suggests that any transformative change is coming in 2021 either.
You can get on your holier than thou pedestal and attack critics but that just makes you look all the more illogical and sad.
January 9th, 2021 at 1:44 PM ^
Ok cool, go blue
January 9th, 2021 at 2:52 PM ^
It’s not so much that an extension was signed as the way it played out. If he really wanted to be here, it would’ve been signed weeks ago. He clearly wanted to see if a better offer would materialize in the NFL, then when it didn’t, he had zero leverage and had to accept this massive pay-cut.
Meanwhile, if this is the amount of money Michigan has to throw around for a coach, why not take a chance on incentivizing a coach on the upswing of his career rather than one who pretty clearly has had his best days behind him? This would be a spectacular contract for someone like Matt Campbell; a slight pay increase from his current situation, plus huge incentives to build up to one of the highest paid in the game, and if he meets those incentives it means the athletic department is benefiting financially so much more than the cost of those incentives. Instead, we have a situation where if Harbaugh meets ALL of the incentives he gets paid about what he was getting in his first contract. I don’t see how that is motivating or a good idea for either side.
January 9th, 2021 at 6:30 PM ^
I actually think Harbaugh signing this extension shows character and humility and probably a deep love for Michigan. I will be rooting for He, his staff and certainly our team. GO BLUE!
January 9th, 2021 at 6:46 PM ^
Nice read. This had to be said. Whinny bitch rules all threads right now.
January 9th, 2021 at 10:03 PM ^
The coach took a 50% pay cut to come back and waited until after black monday to sign and the school let him let him drag it out. This is an indication that both sides wanted him to go back to the NFL and the NFL didn't want him. Not a good look.
Anybody that thinks this is anything but a horrible situation is going to be sorely disappointed. OP - I am wearing a Michigan hoodie as I type this, so you know for sure I hope I am wrong about this. Love the passion.
January 10th, 2021 at 12:04 AM ^
I know I’m late to the party, but I agree with you Preacher Mike. I bleed blue, but I support my team. And I hate the petulant entitlement of the Harbaugh haters and Don brown haters. They are great coaches.
January 10th, 2021 at 1:35 AM ^
Preacher, this board has manifested itself into a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead... and most of these folks want nothing to do with your ramblings.....
even though you are kinda right.
January 10th, 2021 at 9:46 AM ^
Jim is going to be our coach going forward, I accept that and I won't complain about it. That said you know there is a BUT coming. But he and Warde handled it poorly because it is obvious he wanted out and he was looking for an NFL opportunity. But the same reasons many want him gone are what handicapped him from having said opportunity.
I love UM and I truly hope Jim can turn this thing around. But at this point after going 0-5 against OSU and 3-3 against MSU is this what we thought we were getting when he was hired? Absolutely not. I won't even go into the rest of his record but his track record does not entice much confidence that he can be successful in the context of beating OSU and MSU while winning B1G championship or even contending for it. At this point for this fan, I will cheer on Jim and the team, but for Jim its going to be "show me what ya got" before I get too excited going forward.
January 10th, 2021 at 11:30 AM ^
Great, he was a winner everywhere else. What happened. He’s a shell of who he was, if he had the same passion, the kind I could feel through tv there wouldn’t be a complain, but his passion is gone.