Jim Harbaugh's future at Michigan

[naptownskinsfan]

Of course, Michigan and Jim Harbaugh are one of the biggest stories to come out of this past weekend, and for good reason.  In my opinion, there was no excuse to play that poorly against Wisconsin, especially when you had an extra week to prepare for them.  In any case, Michigan has not reached the levels they thought Harbaugh would get them to- struggling against ranked teams, struggling to win big games.  One of the things I read which stands out to me is that he has two years left on his contract, which is going to start hurting him on the recruiting trail.  

So what does Michigan do with Harbaugh?  Do they look for something else?  Extend him and hope that things are still going to work themselves out?  Or give him another season under his current deal to right the ship? 

[ramssuperbowl99]

What should they do? Keep him. There isn't a better coach out there they could get.

But they'll fire him. The fanbase wants him gone, and now all it takes is one or two boosters to get his buyout raised and they'll can him.

[catcheryea]

8 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

What should they do? Keep him. There isn't a better coach out there they could get.

But they'll fire him. The fanbase wants him gone, and now all it takes is one or two boosters to get his buyout raised and they'll can him.

hypothetically, where would one go to find boosters like that?

[ramssuperbowl99]

2 minutes ago, catcheryea said:

hypothetically, where would one go to find boosters like that?

You hoping Gus gets another extension after his 4-0 start?

[Nazgul]

Harbaugh is in his 5th season now.
His previous four: 10-3, 10-3, 8-5, 10-3.

Previous season's without Harbaugh:
2008; 3-9, 2009; 5-7, 2010; 7-6 (Rich Rodriguez)
2011; 11-2, 2012; 8-5, 2013; 7-6, 2014; 5-7 (Brady Hoke)

Maybe we forget what we were for the decade before Harbaugh was hired.
We were a bottom-half Big Ten team losing to MAC school's like Toledo.

So maybe we are now spoiled with 10 wins a season? Now that isn't good enough.
I get the frustration that we aren't winning the big games against ranked opponents / rivals / bowl games.
That certainly needs to change. But for right now; Harbaugh isn't going anywhere and he shouldn't.

 

[JammerHammer21]

28 minutes ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

What should they do? Keep him. There isn't a better coach out there they could get.

But they'll fire him. The fanbase wants him gone, and now all it takes is one or two boosters to get his buyout raised and they'll can him.

I would be surprised if Michigan fired him unless things completely fell off the rails. Maybe he'd actually go to the NFL if a team like the Jets or Phins came calling, but with how things have gone, would they do that?

If Harbaugh stays, I feel like there's no way Gattis is staying if this is how the offense continues to go, because it's a flat out trainwreck and Harbaugh has no direct loyalty to him. Also seems like the first time that Don Brown actually being on the chopping block would be possible. I assume some of the better young assistants (Chris Partridge, Sherrone Moore, Anthony Campanile) would listen seriously to offers from elsewhere. Partridge has reportedly been heavily pursued by schools like Bama in the past, and is one of the best recruiters in the country, and Moore has landed a ton of talent in a very short period of time.

IF they fired/lost Harbaugh.... I honestly don't know where they'd go. Matt Campbell? Brent Venables? Michigan can throw around money, but I wouldn't say there's any obvious guy who is ready for that next step.

[ramssuperbowl99]

11 minutes ago, JammerHammer21 said:

I would be surprised if Michigan fired him unless things completely fell off the rails. Maybe he'd actually go to the NFL if a team like the Jets or Phins came calling, but with how things have gone, would they do that?

If Harbaugh stays, I feel like there's no way Gattis is staying if this is how the offense continues to go, because it's a flat out trainwreck and Harbaugh has no direct loyalty to him. Also seems like the first time that Don Brown actually being on the chopping block would be possible. I assume some of the better young assistants (Chris Partridge, Sherrone Moore, Anthony Campanile) would listen seriously to offers from elsewhere. Partridge has reportedly been heavily pursued by schools like Bama in the past, and is one of the best recruiters in the country, and Moore has landed a ton of talent in a very short period of time.

IF they fired/lost Harbaugh.... I honestly don't know where they'd go. Matt Campbell? Brent Venables? Michigan can throw around money, but I wouldn't say there's any obvious guy who is ready for that next step.

It's week 3 and the fanbase is already calling for it. Not everyone, but enough to make noise. Now add in what's going to likely be a huge loss to OSU and tell me how he gets through the year.

[JammerHammer21]

1 hour ago, ramssuperbowl99 said:

It's week 3 and the fanbase is already calling for it. Not everyone, but enough to make noise. Now add in what's going to likely be a huge loss to OSU and tell me how he gets through the year.

All large fanbases are irrational, and most people just want something to happen without thinking about what happens next. Fire Harbaugh and...? How many coaches that would be actual candidates are going to stake their claim at a place where you can win about 10 games a year and still have that not matter at all if you can't beat one team? And who is the person that can actually compete with OSU in a less talented region? These are all things people don't give any thought to when they're angry. They just think that firing Harbaugh will fix all issues because they're unhappy with the current state of things. Many people like that also think someone like Lincoln Riley would come here.

Unless the program is in position to completely unravel, firing Harbaugh just to hire someone else who can't actually compete with OSU isn't smart. The next hire has to be good enough to avoid sending Michigan into the purgatory of FSU/USC/etc. territory, but that's already where Harbaugh has Michigan. I really don't see who's out there right now that's actually going to be able to do that, unless it's a complete dice roll on Venables that he can lead a program. Matt Campbell seems like an obvious fit, and would likely recruit well, but is a guy with a few upsets that also can't beat a main rival (which is Iowa) really the guy that's going to get Michigan to another level?

If they get killed by PSU, ND, and OSU, and also drop to teams like MSU or Iowa at home, then yeah, probably have to do something. Not going to sit here and say they're going to salvage the season and make everything alright, but there's enough talent to compete with almost every team if the coaching staff can figure out what in the goddamn hell they're doing (and again, not saying that will happen given what we've actually seen).

 

Edited September 22, 2019 by JammerHammer21

[Blazer026]

I wouldn't get rid of him unless the wheels totally fall off this season and they somehow lose 6-7 games.

Not sure who'd they go after anyway if he was fired. 

[candyman93]

It’s cliche, but Michigan just needs to find something that works for them. Hyper-focusing on beating OSU is not smart. Wisconsin doesn’t do that and they’ve had tremendous success given their resources and academic standards. I’d try to copy some of the successes Notre Dame has had.

 

The standard is high at Michigan, but they have no identity.

Edited September 22, 2019 by candyman93

[malibuspeedrace]

Magic 8 ball says cloudy

 

with a chance of trainwreck 

[buno67]

this is why Michigan and Harbs is on the hot seat. Its easy beating the teams you have out recruited and have more talent than. When it comes to actually coaching a team, he is not living up to it.

[hrubes20]

21 hours ago, catcheryea said:

hypothetically, where would one go to find boosters like that?

One that owns the Miami Dolphins, who would then likely make a play for Harbaugh themselves.  I believe Stephen Ross has a building named after him at Michigan.  

[MSURacerDT55]

22 hours ago, naptownskinsfan said:

Of course, Michigan and Jim Harbaugh are one of the biggest stories to come out of this past weekend, and for good reason.  In my opinion, there was no excuse to play that poorly against Wisconsin, especially when you had an extra week to prepare for them.  In any case, Michigan has not reached the levels they thought Harbaugh would get them to- struggling against ranked teams, struggling to win big games.  One of the things I read which stands out to me is that he has two years left on his contract, which is going to start hurting him on the recruiting trail.  

So what does Michigan do with Harbaugh?  Do they look for something else?  Extend him and hope that things are still going to work themselves out?  Or give him another season under his current deal to right the ship? 

There really isn't anywhere else to go for them, part of his predicament is self- inflicted. The biggest tragedy in his coaching tenure thusfar has been the QB play, he was supposed to be the QB whisperer and his QBs all have talented and all underperformed

[BobbyPhil1781]

17 hours ago, buno67 said:

this is why Michigan and Harbs is on the hot seat. Its easy beating the teams you have out recruited and have more talent than. When it comes to actually coaching a team, he is not living up to it.

This is why I feel he's very close to being done.  He does have wins and the record looks good on paper but this is bad. I don't know what Michigan will do but, IMO, if he doesn't beat OSU, he might as well start cleaning out his office.