In Your Opinion: If Harbaugh leaves...what's his legacy?

Another part of his legacy is it *felt* like the old days. Michigan was not only relevant but games and teams had a purpose. The 2016, 2018, 2022 teams, they didn’t just win, they kicked fucking ass. Michigan had not been that in nine years when Harbaugh took over. 

Hiring him was itself an achievement. He could have had a top tier NFL job and everyone knew it. 
 

He validated the way most of us who have been to Michigan feel about the place. It’s worth crossing the country for. A winning NFL coach in the prime of his career chose to come back. 

His legacy in this respect is reminding us how it feels to be a Michigan fan. For many young fans (knowing only the Horror and what followed) it’s maybe more than that. 

Wasn't terrible. Wasn't great either. We should have won a number of games that we lost under him. Hired a number of bad coaches and hung onto them too long: Pep Hamilton, Drevno, Don Brown etc. Recruiting was below par.

It will really depend on the trajectory of the program going forward.  Are they still able to build on last seasons success or do they lose a ton of guys to the portal and have to start the process over. I understand this in huge part depends on the next coaching staff. If Harbaugh truly leaves the program in a better situation than he inherited it they will go 10-2 or better next season and keep on rolling from there. If that happens I'll view his stay as a success. 

I've been sitting here for the past couple of days trying to figure out why so many people on this board are taking this (still potential) move so badly and then it finally occurred to me.

I was informed this was likely going to happen 3 months ago. I've had time to get used to the idea, even as the season was playing out, that this was it. And I had the same disappointment at first, but the the glory of the OSU and Iowa games and the anticipation of the playoffs after that. Most people didn't know this was how it would likely end. If everyone had, maybe you'd be where I am.

I love the guy, love what he did for the program, remember what a mess he inherited, and I'll always be rooting for him. This past season, other than MSU and a Georgia game that was never going to go our way, was an unparalleled joy, and I'm thankful.

I have been a Harbaugh backer since his hire. Not because of his name but because I thought he was turning the program back into what it once was. 

I have always argued that you have to grade Harbaugh on a curve. As we can see about leaked information of the B1G wanting to change up divisions and such, the B1G East is the toughest division in college football. No other Michigan coach has had that gauntlet of a schedule facing them. 

Dantonio ran up a lot of success in the Legends/Leaders Divisions but after he landed in the East and the B1G moved to a 9-conference game schedule, suddenly his lofty winning percentage dropped. 

Harbaugh raised expectations when he arrived, and he made mistakes along the way. I still backed Harbaugh because he appeared to realize his mistakes and took action to correct them. Things would get better and then another mistake would rear its head and I felt he successfully met that problem. 

Even after the horrible 2020 season, I argued that Michigan was replacing 4/5th of the O-line, had a brand new QB as well as their #1 WR opting out mixed in with no spring practice, a covid shut down summer and a limited training camp that you could not get an accurate read on that team. Again though, Harbaugh made corrections which seemed to make sense and I was always let's see how this goes. 

After this season, even though Michigan came up way short against Georgia, I felt that Harbaugh had finally set up a system to succeed. The coaching was good, it appeared that recruiting was starting to get that pipeline feel. Things were trending in the right direction. 

Harbaugh's name has always been tossed around with the NFL but why now? It felt like the program was finally sailing down wind. There were a lot of positives to build off of 2021 and now Harbaugh wants to grab a parachute and bail?

As some others have put it, I feel as though Harbaugh has crossed the Rubican. I guess I could understand if this was some type of NFL Lincoln Riley situation which was just too good to say no to but Harbaugh, the Michigan man is leaving for the Minnesota Vikings? I guess I would understand if the KC Chiefs were calling and throwing a crazy amount of money at you but the Vikings? That move appears to be I want out of here and will take ANY NFL coaching opening. 

The way Harbaugh is leaving Michigan (again an assumption that he is) feels as though he turned his back to the program. As such it is only fair that the supporters of the program will turn their backs to him and his legacy. Maybe Harbaugh didn't want to leave as a Bo and if that was the case, he shouldn't have talked the talk. 

I just hope he never has a 'what's your deal' moment with Dan Campbell. 

Hes the equivalent to John Cooper at Ohio State 

He didn't live up to what we all had hoped. Has the program in a better place than where it was when he got here, but I'm not particularly upset that he is leaving. I think there's plenty of coaches that can do equal to or even better as long as these program lifers don't start this Michigan Man bull shit

This entire season was going to be Harbaugh last, and with one foot out of the door, ironically  it turned out it was his most successful season. He knows it is time to leave and hand the keys over.  Harbaugh’ s legacy is the inability to maintain sustained greatness. 

He gave us a miraculous season that I am grateful for. The type of season, as a Michigan fan, that brought a passion of the 90s back.  

That being said, time to move on and get a coach that wants to be here and build on this

I think the way Warde handled Harbaugh's contract at the end of 2020 really caused Harbaugh to actually look to the NFL this year. 

I wouldn't change the last 7 years. Harbaugh is what we needed after Carr's last year, dealing with Rich Rod and finally Hoke, who,  by the way is a good person. 

Just like Jim’s personality his time as coach of Michigan will be remembered as weird, awkward, and surprising. 

6/10, did not meet expectations 

7/10. 

Brought the floor of the program up, but struggled against rivals, didn’t develop a QB and never hit the expectations for regular B1G championships or playing for a natty. That's partially due to catching OSU at a high point during its history and us being in the East. There really isn't an excuse for getting beat by MSU so often. 

2021 was so much damn fun. He did the job with dedication, avoided major scandal and did not sacrifice academic or other standards. I really don't appreciate what he said/didn't say about Bo, but that in itself is not a scandal in my view. These should be expected of any coach but we have seen how common it is to majorly screw one or more of them up.  

In the end, Harbaugh is a weird person who loves Michigan and he is leaving in a trademark annoying way that pisses a lot of people off. That said, if his goal really is to do something different at this point, I don't think there would have been a good way to execute that short of just quitting Michigan and hoping for an NFL call. That was never going to happen, because he loves coaching and surely would have coached more seasons here--with enthusiasm no doubt--if the NFL had not worked out. I can't blame a person for wanting what they want. I am a restless person myself and I understand needing to change it up after 7 years of the same job, even if it is the best job one has have ever had. 

Just a good coach that in 20 years will be remembered more for his OSU and MSU losses than the one OSU win.  I think the word “disappointment” will be used frequently along with the word “weird.”

His chance for coaching history and going down in the books as one of the best ever will never happen.  

for me BETRAYAL...we stuck with him for 7 long years with little major success unable to beat OSU losses to MSU   No Div or B10  titles until this year, and NOW we have a good season and hes ready to BOLT?....good riddance then 

Just feel like Charlie Brown again.   Bitter

Our John Cooper, except Cooper had a better overall record and stayed 12 years.

Steered the ship mostly straight.  Didn’t beat rivals enough, didn’t recruit well enough, never developed a star QB.

In the relay race of coaching stability, he ran the first leg and almost broke into the lead. With a clean hand-off, the second leg through the anchor will be the key, and the team is in a good position to succeed. 

He sure wasn't a savior.  

Jim is a prime example of a guy with some tremendous coaching attributes but could just never pull it all together to sustain anything of substance. Nothing felt organized from his coaching staff to recruiting to offensive scheme.  

Unfinished.

Hypocrite.

I’d sum it up in three words: One and done.

Jim had one good year where we accomplished program goals and he decides to leave immediately afterwards.

I think the most disappointing part of the entire situation isn’t that he is leaving but how he did it. Telling the media you love the job, you’d do it for free and it’s not about the money, and that the playoff loss is just the beginning is something Urban or Kelly would do. 

Harbaugh has to leave. He cannot come back. I don’t know how this can work. They say money cures all, winning cures all. Most times, sure. But not when a person or group feels they have been embarrassed or disrespected. See Tom Brady and the Patriots. See Aaron Rodgers and the GB Packers. No matter what his intentions were, JH has many in the fan base feeling embarrassed and disrespected and they are not just going to get over it because you win a few football games because the damage he has done to Michigan football over the last month has gotten personal for some.

Fine

Basically John Cooper. Everyone on the board knows I havent been the biggest Harbaugh fan for quite a while.

I'll always appreciate what he did this last year and will admit I was wrong to think he couldnt ever do it, but I'm definitely skeptical if this year's magic can be recreated, and I think he is too.

Until this year his teams have come out flat or wilted in the biggest moments.  It's not bad luck that he's 3-4 against MSU, 1-5 against OSU, and 1-5 in bowls. Like someone else said it never seemed like everything was ever a well oiled machine from recruiting to gameday. 

Hopefully whoever is next is a Tressel and not a Rodriguez ? And hopefully we go for an outside hire and get the best person available for the job, for the love of god. We have a "Michigan Man" and he's looking to leave as soon as he has success.

Weird

An underachieving mess who, when it actually went well, talked about how he felt it was just the beginning but left for a mid level franchise. 

Shame on me for changing the way I felt about Harbaugh and believing he changed after this year. Even if he doesnt sign with an NFL team how do you bring him back?

He is always the story, his legacy is mediocre at best to me.

I'd give him a B. He's on the level of a Cooper or Richt, etc. Guys who won a lot, but never managed to win a title. At blue bloods (and new bloods like FSU), an A is reserved for coaches who become program icons. Bo, Woody, Bowden, Stoops, Dabo, Saban.

Which is fine. Michigan had two D/F coaches back-to-back and were in real danger of becoming Tennessee or Nebraska. He stabilized the program, won a B1G title, made the CFP, finally beat Ohio State.

Michigan was a Top 10 program under Jim Harbaugh.

I hope they stay there without him.

Disappointing. Incomplete.

Hoke didn't leave the cupboard as bare as some people here like to suggest, in fact it was an absolutely stacked roster that just needed the right coaching. I can't help but think how different his legacy would have been if the 2016 Ohio State game had gone the other way.

In the end, he had an awful team in 2020, and switched it up with the staff in 2021 and built a great team, college football playoffs great.  Finally felt like he had Michigan trending towards the top and then he bolted.

He did what he could with what he had in an age of NCAA corruption.  

Honestly I still think his legacy is still an open book; it will largely depend on what the next guy does. If the next coach comes in and beats Ohio State early on, it will highlight Jim’s inability to do so in his first 5 tries. However, if the next coach struggles, it will make Jim look a lot better in retrospect. At the moment it seems like Jim is leaving behind a mediocre legacy, but I also remember what the Rich Rod and Hoke years were like. If the program returns to mediocrity, everyone will start reminiscing about the great 2021 season and how good of a coach Harbaugh was.

We'll always have the Sarah Harbaugh collection at M Den.

It says everything Mich's "enemies" said about the dude was correct. 

It's hard to call the, "he wants to bolt for the NFL" line negative recruiting when the dude actually does it. 

Everywhere the guy goes he burns bridges. If it happens once, even twice, it might be them, when it happens every time, it's you.

Maybe Harbaugh is our Julius Caesar and Gattis will be our Augustus. 

Beat ohio st on the field and on the sidelines. That's pretty cool.

Overall average. One season doesn't make or break a reputation. It is the totality of the work. I am not sure that Michigan can or will be relevant year over year in top tier of college football. I think it can happen every once in a while. Last year was fun. Next year will be okay, but I think that Harbaugh's way of leaving (or even not leaving) will damage recruiting after that. 

So why average, because I think what Harbaugh did with the way Michigan plays the game of college football administration is about what one could expect. Some better, some way worse. 

OSU doesn't come to play school and I don't think MSU does either. Michigan still does come to play school. 

When he came here,Michigan was irrelevant. Kids were looking at all the other programs and high school coaches, even former Michigan players who were coaches (you know who you are) were sending their players to other schools. MSU and OSU grew strong, and we languished.  That all changed with Harbaugh. Sure, we did not have the best records against those schools, however there were just a few games which I try to purge from my memory which should have been victories for us. But the bigger picture is that Michigan is now back on the national stage, and on the radar of coaches and players, and dare I say, the media yet again.  So, no matter if he stays or leaves, we are back on that stage. His tenure has restored us to that  point. We are in a far better place now than we were when he arrived.  If we do it right, we can build on this from here.  He righted the ship. Go Blue!