Michigan Football - 2024 Season.

[hack]

Did I mention he's a fucking prick?

You'd be one too if you were smarter.

[THE_WIZARD_]

....soooo...whaddya tryin' to say exactly...

Iffen you don't think I'm a prick...you haven't been paying attention...

[hack]

I think that I might even call BS on the leverage. I don’t think that he’s talking to any NFL teams. I could be wrong but I don’t think that donating your bonus money to employees of your university is the action of a disgruntled guy.

If Bacon believes it then I believe it.

I don't think he's disgruntled at all, but maybe just looking at things and being realistic about them. There are massive expectations and consequences here, and a set of bosses who won't give him the full kit of tools he needs. It's not a good job to have, and this offseason is one in which he can leave with head held high. If he stays, it's surely got to be an act of love.

[hack]

....soooo...whaddya tryin' to say exactly...

Iffen you don't think I'm a prick...you haven't been paying attention...

I'm trying my hardest not to pay attention

[THE_WIZARD_]

Good call.

[Da Geezer]

Back to the $ 25-30 Million A+M recruiting class. Why would it not be possible for the NCAA or another organization to find out from each college what the total NIL "take" is for each recruiting class? All that information is readily available on the players' 1040. At least then we could see what that "pure" schools (like ND and UM) spend relative to the "crooked" schools (like TA+M and OSU). My bet is that alumni would demand that their school "invest" more in recruiting.

Hopefully, this could lead to a 24-48 team superconference that is willing to subject themselves to a "salary cap" of sorts. All NIL information is readily available, and the courts have supported salary caps in other sports. If you want to play big-boy football, then devote $ 30 million toward NIL (or toward the LLCs) for recruiting. It doesn't really matter where the recruits are getting the money from, it only matters how much, in total, each big-boy school "spends".

And maybe it is time for those schools who cannot or will not spend big on recruiting to have their own division with a much lower "cap". It would give the Northwesterns and Vanderbilts a home for D-1 football against other similar teams that might have high academic standards.

Another recruiting factor that needs to be addressed is the inequality of academic performance that "big-boy" schools have for admission. Alabama is the 341st ranked college in the US according to US News. A degree from UAT signifies nothing, and the market readily recognizes that if you look at the data. But UAT raises its image by fielding great football teams. How about a minimum ACT or SAT test result for recruits in order for them to "qualify" for payment from the "recruiting" jackpot. That would be quite an incentive for high school athletes to take school seriously.

Now, if that doesn't prod AA to come back here, nothing will.

[froot loops]

All of those proposals would need some sort of a buy in from potential players with some sort of union for the players. The only way the sports leagues get away with a cap is they have a collectively bargained agreement with a union.

[Tom W]

The only thing is that HARBAUGH!!!! was treated fairly. His 2020 team...his Year 6 team...was fucking awful. Covid saved him in that sense that we never saw how truly bad it was and gave him a plausible excuse. But, that was a baaad team.

If I were a M fan, I'd be more in the camp of wanting to see another great year before getting back all-in on HARBAUGH!!!!

This. That team was completely lost after week 1. The talent level may not have been great, but it wasn't of the caliber that would get absolutely humiliated like it did against Sparty, Penn State, Wisconsin and Indiana. Elsewhere, almost every previous year provided disappointments. Now, not every everything is going to work every time, but it usually doesn't take 7 years to solve most puzzles.

Maybe he finally has, but who knows?

[Hannibal]

If Bacon believes it then I believe it.

I don't think he's disgruntled at all, but maybe just looking at things and being realistic about them. There are massive expectations and consequences here, and a set of bosses who won't give him the full kit of tools he needs. It's not a good job to have, and this offseason is one in which he can leave with head held high. If he stays, it's surely got to be an act of love.

If Harbaugh is flirting with the NFL to try and enact policy change at UM, he is probably wasting his time. The need to embrace NIL is so self-evidently obvious that if we are still turning up our noses at it, Harbaugh won’t move the needle.

[froot loops]

In regards to Harbaugh here are two rules to follow when you read these reports

1. Nobody knows anything
2. Coaches never leave for money, they only leave for a challenge, but when they do leave it is always for a bigger contract.

Remember these two rules and they will serve you well. I will even give you a bonus rule.

3. Agents for coaches are always, always, always talking to the next potential suitor.

You can bet there has been talks with the Raiders, but then again the Raiders have been talking to everyone. There was a rumor that they had strong interest in Mel Tucker, who knows if it is true. Just consult rule #1. But Michigan fans should be rooting for the administration to back up the brinks truck for Coach Jim if they want to participate. That means getting into the arms race again.

[hack]

This could very well have been a broken clock/twice a day kind of season. The pieces came together well. Or, perhaps instead of just assuming the Xs and Os were right this year, he has finally found a way to fit his square peg brain into college football's round hole. Or maybe he's now mentally rejuvenated and is back to being the guy we got from SF. Dunno. Hard to tell. I'd be excited about McCarthy/Bell/Edwards/Corum next year, but he's wasted gads of talent before. We'll see.

[hack]

Michigan fans should be rooting for the administration to back up the brinks truck for Coach Jim if they want to participate. That means getting into the arms race again.

I'm rooting for the administration to retire and go away forever. Would like it to be replaced by one that no longer expects to win without doing what it takes to win.

[Mike]

That point can't be emphasized enough, Hack.

[Jeff Buchanan]

If Hack's and other's views that JH may be trying to leverage the U into optimizing NIL and all that implies, this is a similar situation he had with management at SF. It's about running a football program the best way in his view he can by removing obstacles placed in his way by management.

He left that job because owners were assholes. The outcome here at M may be the same. "Owners" at M are just incompetent and/or unwilling to do what's necessary to win football championships.

[hack]

If Harbaugh is flirting with the NFL to try and enact policy change at UM, he is probably wasting his time. The need to embrace NIL is so self-evidently obvious that if we are still turning up our noses at it, Harbaugh won’t move the needle.

I agree. Progress will come one funeral at a time. But I'm going back to what I thought before he came here -- if there's anyone who could move the higherups off their magical thinking, it's him, given his history, success, and standing, it's him. A Matt Campbell isn't going to succeed with the administration where Harbaugh fails, nor would someone like Luke Fickell.

That argument is much weaker now than in 2014, but I don't see a better alternative.