OT: Jim Harbaugh, WTH?
- Thread starter Fitz51
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I just listened to it. Cowherd is a bit of a blowhard, but he was asking some good questions and Harbaugh just wasn't giving him anything. Not sure why Jim even agreed to do the interview, he just seemed completely disinterested. Very bizarre.
I listened to the interview, and for the first few minutes I didn't get the "awkward" description, just saw it as an interview with a coach that was not real comfortable with the media. Then, when it appeared that Harbaugh really thought Colin might be an elite player, I almost spit milk through my nose. Hilarious.
People talk a lot about how hyper-competitive and intense Harbaugh is, but what I've always believed is that he's weirder than he is competitive or intense. He's just a bizarre guy. This was as big a clunker as his speech to the Crisler Arena crowd after he got hired in Ann Arbor. Does anyone remember that? The crowd was wearing khakis, jacked up and ready to go apeshit about whatever he had to say, and he went out there and delivered a strange, boring and rambling speech that basically said nothing. It was a far cry from Barnett's "Take the Purple to Pasadena" speech or Tressel's "You'll Be Proud of Us in X Days in Ann Arbor, Michigan" speech in the same situation. It flat-out stunk. So did this. He's just an odd duck, period. He often doesn't relate to other humans very well, but he can win football games.
Since I loathe Michigan, I am hoping against hope that he wears out his welcome somehow before he reverses their fortunes. Sadly, I think he will move them upward quickly and even if slowly, the Mich faithul will give him more slack than cHoke and Rich Rod. I find myself hoping for some issue idiosyncratic to the program, like a top player or two inexplicably leaves like Venric did.
Harbaugh is an odd bird. He had weekly spots on the KNBR morning show. Some days would be normal coach speak. Other days, just yes or no answers and the interview would be over in 60 seconds. He's a guy who only does things he wants to do in the manner he wants to do them. No exceptions. He'll wear out his welcome in 4-5 years in Ann Arbor.
I read some online comments by a good number of Michigan fans who somehow blamed Cowherd for this fiasco. Cowherd is certainly obnoxious, but he was tossing Harbaugh one softball after another that any other coach would have hit out of the park. And Harbaugh didn't even swing. I did understand Harbaugh's confusion on the "bye" versus "buy" issue. But other than that, he was weirdly disconnected--either distracted or disinterested or both. He obviously can win games, but he is incredibly bad at the PR side of the job. It continues to baffle me how he can recruit effectively, given his personality and his willingness to insult the intelligence of recruits with things such as conditional "offers" that can only be accepted when Harbaugh says they can be accepted (i.e., when his A-list players fall off the board) and the playing of the admissions game to string kids along.
Harbaugh will recruit some big time players and win some big games.may even win the conference a couple of times and will usually be competitive. But I don't see him as being able to sustain consistent top level National Championship contending program.
If they can win the conference, doesn't that (almost automatically) make them a championship contender?
Excellent point. Hard to imagine a Power 5 conference champion who isn't at least in the conversation for the Final 4.
"He's just an odd duck, period. He often doesn't relate to other humans very well, but he can win football games."
Yep until his weirdenss wears out its welcome.
I have no hatred toward the man, but he is one strange bird. I think he wil win at Michigan for a year or two but after that look out.
Yep until his weirdenss wears out its welcome.
I have no hatred toward the man, but he is one strange bird. I think he wil win at Michigan for a year or two but after that look out.
Yes, I said "may even win the conference a couple of times..." And in those years would be a National Title Contender. What I also said was "I don't see him as being able to sustain as a consistent top level National Championship contending team."
In essence I see his record fluctuations a little more, some great seasons and some 9-10 win years, and if he stays long enough a few 8 win seasons. Not because he's a bad coach but his style/personality requires a total buy in. Some years his players might not provide it. While it's difficult to base his future recruiting classes on this one, I can see him taking some fliers on some prospects based on the assumption that he sees himself as smarter than anyone else. If so, that ends up being a high risk high reward tactic. The high reward years would give him NC contending status, the risk that didn't pay-off years would be the ones were he may suffer 2-3 losses.
How is that any different than any of the other top programs? Sabin, Urban, Fisher, etc. all take fliers in the hope that high risk leads to high reward. Harbaugh will fit right in.
There's a reason he's never been able to stick anywhere as a HC for more than four years.
Harbaugh is great coach but he's a giant ahole and pisses people off left and right. No way he stays. It'll be 4-5 years. He'll piss of the AD large boosters... and he'll win a lot of games (I don't think this year. It takes more than a year to rebuild the line). The AD and boosters will be able to live with it because he's winning, but they're not going to try to keep him when a desperate NFL team comes calling. Then he'll piss them off and first chance to dump him, they will and he'll be in the SEC.
His program at Michigan is in far better shape than the programs at Stanford or the 49ers were. I think he'll win a lot. I hope he's gone in four years...
It all depends on how you define "top program". If it's top 15 every year, then yes Harbaugh is in the same group. If we're talking every year in the next 5-8 as a top 5 team with a playoff appearance 80% of the time, and at least one National Championship,there are a much smaller group of coaches/programs poised to be there.
When I said "taking a risk" I mean on lesser known prospects, guys with potential but a greater risk. I also seeing Harbaugh' style and personality that requires a total buy in. Even more so than the conventional top rated coaches. When the prospects don't turn out or enough players don't buy in, that could lead to a down year.
Harbaugh will be successful by most accounts. But him going to Michigan creates a much higher expectation than normal. In essence, if he doesn't have Saban or Meyer type success that would be a let down for Michigan. It's not fair but if he even has Dantonio type success, that would be below expectations.
It's not fair but that's the reality.
My bet is that as long as Meyer is at OSU, Harbaugh will be on a second tier in the Big 10. Meyer is just a special coach. He will be one of the elite as long as he doesn't burn out again.