Well after tonight Jim Harbaugh will have to make some decisions on his future. I can't think of a hotter coach in my lifetime, I mean he can have one of the best college coaching jobs in Michigan, he could stay at Stanford or he can move either to Denver or San Francisco in the NFL. Urban was a hot coach for sure, but it was really only for college jobs, Harbaugh is wanted by both the NFL and Colleges. Certainly all the talk has been that being a Michigan man that he will return to his Alma Mater to save the program. But he is married to a girl from the Palo Alto area who just had a new baby. I wonder how eager she is to move to the midwest. I know every time we've had a coach search at ND, wives not wanting to move to South Bend always seem to be a factor. Of course Ann Arbor is probably nicer than South Bend, but still cold midwestern winter is still in play. Money, I don't think it's a problem, Michigan can pay top dollar and so can the NFL teams. He also has a deal on the table for Stanford, but they seem to be the least likely to win the Harbaugh lottery. One thing is that he has certainly has a very short coaching resume, having spent a year or 2 at the University of San Diego, before moving to Stanford. and granted he took over a Stanford program in the dumper, but still he only had 2 winning seasons in Div1A. He did beat USC and he did stand up to Pete Carroll in one of the more entertaining confrontations. I wonder if the thought of Pete Carroll at Seattle would make the 49ners even more attractive to him or not? It does seem to me that, like Saban, he could go to the NFL and if it doesn't work out he can easily come back to college and get a good job at a top program (maybe even Mich if their #2 choice doesn't work out). While if he goes to UM and doesn't really have great success he's probably lost his chance at the NFL.
Harbaugh <r>My dislike for this clown knows no bounds. My preference is he go to the NFL but I'm anxious for ND to get another shot at him and that would mean he would have to go to Michigan. Looks like an no win for me no matter what he does. <E>:?</E></r>
If she wants to she is either naive or dumb enough to buy what Jimmy is feeding her although I do agree AA is a better place to hang out than is Detroit. I think Harbaugh will take the job he feels will bring the most success for the longest period of time because he is a young coach. My bet is he goes home and rescues his alma mater and becomes a thorn in Tressel's side.
It is my contention that the toughest, meanest team in college football is the Stanford Cardinal. Michigan is sorely lacking that kind of mean. Harbaugh will restore that immediately. There won't be any wimps playing for Harbaugh. If you're not a fighter, you don't get a jersey. God I hope he stays at Stanford or goes to the NFL
:idea: One point being overlooked is that Harbaugh is already home. He grew up in Palo Alto and played high school football there. His roots are in the Bay area, not Michigan... http://www.gostanford.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/harbaugh_jim00.html
Terry, One other fly in the Michigan ointment re moving. I recall reading sometime back that wife No.1 and kids live in SE Michigan. Given that, I am not too sure that wife no. 2 with new baby would be all that eager to move to Ann Arbor. A lot of Michigan fans seem to think it is a done deal but being the eternal pessimist, I am not convinced the skids are already greased for his arrival. Glad to get Jo Co's and Corey's thoughts re H. I remember when RR was hired, I was doing carwheels and daydreaming about years of great seasons and got in a nasty sniping war with Jo Co who thought the hire would turn out to be a disaster-which turned out to be a prophetic prediction.
Bobda.......as I have three sons I would rather think it is a golden opportunity for JH to get closer to his kids. That might just do the trick actually.
RichRod wanted to change the culture of the entire Michigan community. He had zero appreciation of UM/Mid-West traditions. His goal was to bring civilization to the savages, while never considering the possiblity that the locals just might know at least as much about football as the folks back home in dear ol' West Virginie... We had one of those too. His name was Bob Davie and he could never understand why Notre Dame didn't have really important traditions like they did at Texas A&M... Without belaboring the point; some guys just don't get it. Michigan has a long tradition of defense first, smash-mouth, physical football. That should be a great starting point for any new coach to build his program around, without trying to reinvent the wheel... Either Harbaugh or Hoke will do just fine this time around, or somebody else who understands the value of building onto great traditions without tearing them down. Fans who saw Stanford physically snot-bubble Virginia Tech tonight had a chance to remember what Michigan used to look like. Anyone else who watched formerly puny San Diego State pound Navy had the same nostalgic feeling. With the "right kind of guy" (as Mr. Kelly likes to say) it can happen again...
Very important points Jo'Co. One reason Meyer was such a hit with UF fans was that he immediately embraced and actually intensified the traditions already in place at Florida. He made every player and coach learn the words to the Florida fight song for instance. I suggest Muschamp pick up on this and not teach anyone how to "woof" :wink:
I hate god damned Harbaugh and I hope he decides to take on a rebuilding project at North Texas or something. That being said, I have a full appreciation for what this guy does. He gets it. JH at Michigan is a scary, scary proposition. He'll hit you in the mouth (literally)..and if that didn't work, the answer is obvious, it wasn't scheme. It wasn't recruiting.. He just didn't hit you hard enough last time but that mistake won't be made again. I've said this all year, Stanford is the toughest, meanest, nastiest football team in college football and I am quite sure they'd win a bar room brawl if there was one.. and Jim would be right there throwing hay makers. This guy is EXACTLY what Michigan needs. They should sell their souls to regain their identity to get back to being "Michigan men"... I hope the Admin continues to screw this up and hire Tubberville.
Corey, just curious as to why you hate hin? MCG is right about Meyer, he embraced everything Gator. He went out of his way to invite back former players and make them feel welcome. Of course we have idiot internet fans who think we should win every game by 50 points. No exceptions, no losses, no close games. He could satisfy all the idiots. But Meyer embraced the tradition then created a couple of his own.
Been reading that Harbaugh is unlikely to take the Michigan job. Seems most likely he is headed to the NFL.
I wonder how long he'll take to make up his mind? I would imagine that there will be plenty of money on the table no matter where he decides to go, so that probably won't be a concern. If he wants to go to the NFL, the 49ers really look like a team that is ready to make the next step and he wouldn't have to move. I guess in the end it will come down to how much does he want to come back to the midwest and help Michigan restore it's football program. Certainly with the talent on the roster being selected for a Spread Option offense, it's likely going to take a little while to get them to where Stanford is right now, but then Stanford was further down than UM when he got there. Certainly with his current status he would be able to probably put together top 5 recruiting classes pretty quickly at UM though, which is something he wasn't going to be able to do at Stanford.
Putting together a recruiting class might not be that easy. M at one time owned the state. No longer. RR went national and many of the state's better players went to E. Lansing to play. Just as Mallet hit the road when RR came in, Robinson may leave. That's a lot of offense.
MSU is most likely just renting the state while RR was in charge at UM. I have no doubt that with Harbaugh next years UM class will be a top 5 class and include in it one of the top Pro Style QB's and a fair number of skill players (RB's and WR's). One thing Harbaugh will have going for him is that he is used to recruiting nationally, you have to do that at Stanford, and next to ND probably nobody recruits nationally as well as Michigan.
Phil Fulmer used to be a very good national recruiter and Urbs wasn't half bad either. Pete Carroll as well could pluck em from anywhere.
Well news out of Detroit is that RR was canned today. Not a big surprise though. Rumors are rampant that Harbaugh will not be the next coach, that he has a new and bigger offer from Stanford and of course the NFL offers. I'm guessing that Brady Hoke will be the next coach at UM.