Harbaugh and Manuel

You can go through the posts here if you are either suicidal or really bored.  They point to Jim Harbaugh as difficult to understand.  

In retrospect, the only times he has been really annoying is when he doesn't say anything or explain or when he is portrayed as something somewhere that is untrue or only partially true.

A quick Google search of "former michigan mississippi" leads to Chris Partridge, Matt Dudek, Devin Bush, Sr. and others.  Josh Gattis, also, has not proven to be a loss for Michigan and Miami has yet to prove anything resembling a turnaround.

Those schools that have seemingly come out of nowhere include TCU, Kansas State, Florida State, Washington, Oregon State and others.  And Michigan can be added to that list.  Three, four, five years ago there was no indication Michigan would win the Big Ten, get to the CFP, and win against Ohio State and Michigan State.

If Harbaugh was similar to the individually-created, now despicable former Prince Harry he would go on every talk show, write management or self-help books like Jim Tressel, or smash motorcycles with slut staff to prove himself.  Or, like Nick Saban, what is it, insurance commercials?

Thankfully, he doesn't do any of that.  It just isn't him.

Remember when he first started as Michigan coach, all the things he was involved in.  First, there were the camps, tryout, expos, or whatever they were called.  They were harmless and completely voluntary.  Who would have known that would be controversial in any way?  There were some other fights or issues too, maybe with the school or NCAA.  I don't remember--he was jetting off with the likes of Hillary Clinton and he was sticking his nose in things and getting a lot of attention.

That all changed or stopped. 

Then, the seasons went well but they always finished poorly.  Call it the Karon Higdon syndrome.

Concentrate on football.  13-0.  Throughout, Jim Harbaugh has been the one constant.

Michigan football has weathered the NIL, transfer, crime-probe environment pretty well and better than most.  How is Texas A&M doing on the field?  Transfers come and go for a while or a bit longer; Cade McNamara and Erick All turned into distractions.  Transfers out are overwhelmingly players who can't crack the lineup or for whom it is time to move on.  Harbaugh--a lot of contacts--and staff have found ways to plug holes and deal with the university.  Aside from the one psycho linebacker several years ago, Michigan football has been criminal and major-distraction free.

Blake Corum, probably Michigan's most dangerous player since Denard, is coming back.  Last year too, there have been quite a few rational, best-for-the-long-term decisions.  Everyone cannot play at once; player development is working.  There is relatively little disharmony.

The other day I read a comment somewhere that the only thing Warde Manuel has done right is hire Juwan Howard.  The Michigan football team is doing a whole lot better than the basketball team and it doesn't have a team comprised of family, BLM patches, a violent coach, or players who don't give a sh*t about...

That's the thing.  The Michigan football brand is complex.  It was way too much for, you know the former athletic director's name.  Every opposing coach says it:  "They're Michigan."  

It is kind of like, either you understand and you are in, or you are not.  Either that amorphous thing draws you to it or it does not.  And when it doesn't, it is a great new world with plenty of options.

FWIW, Harbaugh is less crotchety than Lloyd Carr, who wanted to leave and couldn't/didn't.  Overall, he is the best coach and Michigan representative since Bo Schembechler.

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My $.02.  

I don't think there is any question that being an NFL coach is rosier--private practice complex, first class everything and, like college, complete control.  In the NFL the only one(s) you have to please are the owner(s).  Huge dollars but likely only a few years.  We have all been there:  sometimes it is hard to get it out of your head.

Those following this second NFL courting have speculated, or proven, that it is more or less a ploy.  That is in theory because all the news is rumor or tidbits anyway.  

Harbaugh:  'I've someone gives me the keys and the bucks, I'm gone.'

Why not?  Who wouldn't.

I do not see the NFL offering anything better than Michigan.  NFL owners have their people too, and just like in San Francisco, nobody gets an entirely free reign.  It is just too risky--there is no guarantee Harbaugh can turn an NFL team around in the three or four years that coaches gets, and everyone, including Harbaugh, is going to be worse off than they are now. 

Who the heck is Santa Ono, the Canadian immunologist?  

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It is strange how the NFL gets our attention.  Harbaugh must realize that it is more fleeting than his days at Michigan.  He is concerned with his success and legacy.  Despite his wins as a coach, but given his age and history of not getting along (at times), he knows his future is more secure at Michigan.

In the Big Ten this past season began with Northwestern vs. Nebraska in Ireland.  Maybe if they were really great teams it would have been an event, but then again, if they were, they wouldn't be doing it.  College football is about rivalries, championships, and venues--that is where the security comes from.  Those experiences, and how they are virtually ingrained in fans and alumni, is carries it on.  Say what you will about jobs or careers in the NFL, it can never last the legacy of Michigan football.

That is why they are all scared to death of saying a thing.  It is a continuous blow to the loyalists. 

The ultimate, inexplicable example that I cannot get out of my mind is mgoblog.com.  The whole thing is ruled by an insatiable discussion forum.  They are glued to it as if permanently.  

I admit I find it an addiction.  But there haven't been two more successful seasons in at least decades.  Stop the reflections, predictions, and the endless waste of time and just watch the games when they are on.

As for the NFL, that's all it is too, just a game on TV.  It is fine and all, if you want your body and perhaps mind too to hurt for the rest of your life.  You know, I think that is a problem these days--people who stay too long.  Some jobs (and sports) are not supposed to be careers. 

Sometimes you have to do something risky, or controversial, because you may want something different or more.  At 60 years of age though, like Harbaugh, you should know.  The rest is just playing or a negotiation game.  Of that, Coach Harbaugh is guilty again.