Is Harbaugh too tough on injured players?
Richard Sherman is out with new quotes describing his unrelenting hatred for Harbaugh (for whom he played at Stanford). Key passage from 247 article:
Harbaugh felt Sherman, then a wide receiver, quit on his team after undergoing season-ending knee surgery in 2008, which made Stanford's star player distance himself from his coach. Sherman eventually moved to defense to be further away from Harbaugh and would reportedly prod him during practice.
We've seen a number of players transfer from the program (Aubrey Solomon comes to mind) with similar complaints. Rashan Gary's mom also complained about this. Could this be an issue with Harbaugh's old-school coaching style?
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January 28th, 2020 at 8:12 PM ^
Isn't Richard Sherman playing in the Super Bowl in 5 days? Isn't he near the top of his NFL career?
And yet he's ranting about something from 12 years ago on Media Day. Why?
Well, I know the answer to that question. Because he never lets go of grudges, and to justify his maintenance of that grudge, he's most likely shaded (in his benefit, of course) some "facts" about Harbaugh over the years.
Yeesh. Sherman is a hell of a player, but also a total "Celebrity housewife of the Bay Area" diva.
January 28th, 2020 at 8:20 PM ^
So what about Benjamin St. Juste who Michigan thought was TOO injured, so he transferred. Also Harbaughs fault?
January 28th, 2020 at 8:48 PM ^
Cmon, this has to be a joke right? I highly doubt this, especially in the social media era we are in. The same coach who raised red flags about the facilities at Purdue when Wilton took a late hit.
2 sides to every story.
This forum loves Bo, compares Harbaugh to him all the time...So you think Harbaugh is any harder on players compared to Bo?
January 28th, 2020 at 9:31 PM ^
I worked with a guy who played for Bo at Miami of Ohio. Said Bo was the meanest SOB that ever lived. Bo would grab players by the facemask and scream at them and kick them.
And you know Bo's mentor, Woody, did the same thing.
Different era. Can't do that stuff now.
January 28th, 2020 at 9:09 PM ^
I don't know. But my main problem with Harbaugh is that he is not tough enough on players who make dumb and/or unforced errors. Jump offside on 3rd and 4? The player has to come off the field for at least a down. Personal foul? Off the field. At least give them a talking to and let the player cool off.
He never does this, and I can't help but think this is a root of our discipline and/or concentration problems.
January 28th, 2020 at 9:09 PM ^
I will bet copious amounts of money that if you look at ANY top notch program, you will find begrudging players who thought the coach pushed too hard. This wouldn’t be just a Harbaugh thing, true or not.
January 28th, 2020 at 9:12 PM ^
I doubt he is much different than any other football coach when it comes to injuries. Toughness (Mental, physical, emotional etc) is a key principal to playing sports and especially football. Some guys can handle it and some can’t. My question is why the hell is Sherman gotta he a such a douche drama king and air this out in public? Makes one think that he is the problem here. Not Harbaugh.
January 28th, 2020 at 10:02 PM ^
Neg me all you want but the whole Rashan Gary thing - his last year at M, what exactly was the injury? When the NFL called, we never heard. Glad he’s doing well at GB but he bailed at M when we needed him.
Not so much for Chase & Bush - true M Men.
January 28th, 2020 at 10:31 PM ^
You deserve to be negged. He had a labrum tear. It was extremely well-reported during the draft (you know, "when the NFL called"), so no clue what you're talking about:
January 29th, 2020 at 12:30 AM ^
Gary was certainly injured for part of the senior year....but for 3 years he played SOFT and rarely impacted games.
Overrated 5 star bust of a player.
January 28th, 2020 at 10:25 PM ^
Sherman's a good player. But his recollection of events always seems to differ from everyone else's, and sometimes there happens to be video evidence that refutes his side.
Maybe this is true about Harbaugh. But I wouldn't rest my opinion on Richard Sherman, a guy who apparently has a casual relationship with the truth.
January 28th, 2020 at 10:51 PM ^
Harbaugh better keep on being tough to our team until they beat osu. Sick of how soft The Team is every year. Run them to the ground until they actually want to win.
January 29th, 2020 at 12:28 AM ^
Richard Sherman is a punk ass hole. I hope he blows out his ACL in the Super Bowl and walks with a cane the rest of his short life.
January 29th, 2020 at 2:18 PM ^
ehh, too far.
January 29th, 2020 at 7:59 PM ^
psycho
January 29th, 2020 at 1:32 AM ^
One thing you learn when you are a leader of enough people: no matter what you do or what type of person you are, there are going to be a few here and there along the way who don't like your style, hate your guts right off the bat, misinterpret what you are trying to do and/or things you say, have reasons why you are horrible and what you do is horrible, etc.
You don't get an idea of what is going on by listening only to the less than 1% of people who are malcontents.
It's like rolling a die 6 times, noticing that you rolled a 6 once, and asking, "Does this die roll 6 too much?"
January 29th, 2020 at 6:18 AM ^
Magua didn't have as much hate for Grey Hair as Sherman does for Harbaugh.
January 29th, 2020 at 8:12 AM ^
Anyone think Saban let’s his players off when they are “hurt” but not injured? Let’s ask.
My high school coaches expected us to play hurt. They’d laugh at me when I vomited at the water station and expect me to be ready for the next drill, barely asked if I was alright.
To be clear, I believe in player safety, but this “business decision” mentality can be a little overwhelming to coaches trying to build a program.
Seems contradictory for us to say Harbaugh doesn’t care, but then imply he cares so much about winning that he pushes injured players to play. Which tf is it?
January 29th, 2020 at 11:17 AM ^
The Doug Baldwin (see link) story gives a pretty clear picture of Harbaugh's style. He describes him as a "military type," who almost led him to quit football altogether. What starts out sounding like a slam on Jim is actually a pretty objective take on how players react to him. Baldwin admits he hated playing for him at first, but later realized he was behaving like a know-it-all and not putting in the effort. Once he did those things, he became the team's top receiver in his senior year who was ready for the NFL.
https://www.businessinsider.com/doug-baldwin-nearly-quit-football-under-harbaugh-2015-1
In this link, he adds:
"But I actually thank him now for the adversity he helped me through, so to speak. He made me who I am today, a better person and a better football player. It's nothing against him personally."
What I take from it is that lazier players and "me first" guys aren't going to do well under Harbaugh, but players who are willing to work hard and do what's asked of them can thrive. Strikes me very much like the other story Sherman is running his mouth about, which is passing on the Lions because the Patriot way is too much work. Some guys will definitely prefer the Pete Carrol path for a more player-friendly experience, but others will appreciate the workhorse mentality. JJ McCarthy seems like a great fit in this sense.
January 29th, 2020 at 6:49 PM ^
I mean, the recruiting results are not what you'd expect from someone who coached in the NFL and was the most successful head coach in the history of a particular P5 program before he went to the NFL. The fact that he had DJ Durkin on his staff twice also doesn't say great things. It sure would be nice if he had a better relationship with Luck and Sherman and they could help in recruiting, but that's not happening either.
Something is amiss with Harbaugh and connecting with young people he coaches.