Michigan Football - 2025 Season.

[WM Wolverine]

The 'insiders' who were confident he was returning a few days ago are now expecting he leaves... If he gets the offer.

Good coach, maybe very good but not great/elite that'll have M in the CFP regularly.

[froot loops]

Always taking shots at Mel Tucker.

[Cody_Russell]

Not sounding good.

I'm ok with Gattis as the replacement in 2022. Not thrilled. Hopefully Warde will have some external conversations. Seeing what Matt Campbell could do with the Michigan job intrigues me. Go from top ~50-ish recruiting classes at Iowa State to top 10-15 classes at Michigan. That said, sounds like Campbell is very picky.

Issue with Gattis is he didn't do a good job as OC in 2019 and 2020. The offense finally put something together in 2021.

[lineygoblue]

A year ago at this time, most M fans here, including myself, would have felt it was no big deal if Harbaugh moved on. I'm still of that opinion. I see this situation the same as I do when a player enters the transfer portal. If that player is not happy at Michigan, and feels they need to move on to be better, then so long. I don't want anyone on that roster that is not fully committed to the team. Same goes for Harbaugh. If he feels he needs to go back to the NFL to further his career goals, then so long. Thanks for 2021. It was a great season with great and lasting memories. It was a great year for the fans, the students and the players. If he decides to stay, then good. Get back to work, build up the talent base, and lets go.

I have no idea who might replace him, should he leave. Gattis' name is being bandied about but he's never been a HC. I have no idea out there what kind of interest a Michigan vacancy would generate. Probably very little, if past experience is an indication.

And Brady is officially retiring. He confirmed it this morning on his Instagram account.

[THE_WIZARD_]

yawn

[froot loops]

WWJ is reporting that the Harbaughs are unhappy with how Jim was treated prior to the success of this year. I presume that to mean the paycut, but it could be other things.

[iam416]

Well, he was treated like a coach who, in Year-6, produced a total garbage football team and was spared the full extent of his failure by a once-in-a-century pandemic.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Old news, anyway. That was the talk after the OB. It particularly applied to two unnamed regents.

[hack]

Froot, to your point about basic AD competence, I would not at all be surprised if Warde is caught unprepared for this. He was on vacation when Beilein left, despite knowing that Beilein was going to try to leave. His best idea was Ed Cooley, until Juwan Howard save him from that stupidity. Michigan ADs have a history of being on sailboats or safaris when there's a coaching search to do. Is what it is.

What's interesting is the prevalence of this ``hurt feelings after 2020'' narrative when there is an obvious factor that explains some if not most/all of what's going on and has faded from foreground a few weeks ago to background now: Michigan's football coach is ultimately measured by his record against two rivals that will spend more and give their coaches more tools with which to compete. One of these things isn't going to change -- Michigan will have higher standards for admissions and will comply with the rules at all times save for the ones when it's too incompetent to get out of its own way. Sometimes it will comply with an even higher standard that it sets on its own.

It would be logical for the other thing to change -- Michigan can pay more, and does not have to continue to expect its coaches to get paid less to do more. It is right and honorable to pay people more as the job becomes harder to do, and it's a downhill run to hire a smart PR person/team that helps you say that in public in ways that fit the school's brand and image. But they don't do that. Magical thinking underpins this whole process.

So, IMO, maybe he's nursing hurt feelings or whatever, but that's just a take. Frustrating to me that that take is crowding out the basic facts and realities.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Frustrating to me that that take is crowding out the basic facts and realities.

If your talking about Harbaugh taking 7 seasons to win a championship "basic facts and reality" and he has to realize he should be held to account for that instead of whining that he was "treated unfarily after the 2020 seaso, , heartily agree. But I disagree that those have faded into the background. Yes, for a large portion of mgoboard crowd who are into and probably don't see or if they do see it, understand this "magical thinking" shit, yes, it's background noise to them.

You and I both know what this "magical thinking" is and the impact it has on M football - but there are smart people outside and inside the M football program that have influence, that do understand it and have the capacity to at least try to get the ship sailing in the right direction. Obviously, we have Warde's record but here's mgo's (Seth's) take on that very point ..... that is, he sees the potential circus but ....:

As for a head coach, it’ll of course be a circus. There are names I could put out there, and names others will come up with, but we have to get to that in its time. I believe the school wants to get it done quickly, has had ample time to think about it already so they’re already down to a narrow list of candidates, and that they value keeping most of Harbaugh’s staff together.

Quite frankly, I think way too much has been made of Jim Harbaugh's situation. There's a narrative there to be developed and speculation provides fodder for sports writers to advance whatever narrative they chose to advance. Fact based? - the last 4 weeks have proven the beat writers don't know shit...... and if that's your point, I agree.

I think this is a pretty good account of the Harbaugh saga from January 1st, 2022:

https://mgoblog.com/content/harbaugh...adow#read-more

[froot loops]

The facts are if you are to take a 50 percent reduction you are likely to hold a grudge. You folks might be 100 percent right on the facts and your Spock logic but if you had to take a pay cut at your position you would hold a grudge too. But you aren't leaving until you have another job secured. That has been the true since last year.

The takeaway I had is WWJ News radio 950 is reporting that. That is much more important than Shecfter or RapSheet. In Detroit if a place like 950 or Bernie Smilovitz reports something they deserve a listen, because that are outlets that have connections and rarely report on rumors, if they 950 is saying the Harbaughs are upset, it is coming from a valid source.

[hack]

Not criticizing you for sharing it Froot. You're not wrong. But it remains merely a take, for reasons John Bacon has repeated daily for about 2 weeks now.

[froot loops]

If Jack Harbaugh tells someone at News radio 950 that the Harbaughs are upset, it's not a take. They are reporting information that the Harbaughs want out there. Stephen A Smith making fun of the Chiefs meltdown is a take.

[hack]

If it's coming directly from Jack Harbaugh, then you're right. It's not a take. It's just spin. The Harbaughs are a coaching family. They know how many chances a coach usually gets. They know how long a rope Jim's been given in Ann Arbor.

Certainly I agree with you that 950's actual reporters aren't just shockjocking it, but I think they are a conduit for spin, as most media outlets are going to be. I think you level up by, basically, going to John Bacon's twitter feed. Bacon is not available to pass along one side of a story. Or maybe Sam Webb, but I'm not a subscriber and don't know what he's reporting on his premium service.

[hack]

Not often you find context and perspective from barstool sports, but...

https://twitter.com/Castellani2014/s...44128669470732

That's where I'm at. If he goes, he goes. I'm delighted he had the year he had, but have serious questions about whether that's sustainable. I might prefer to hang on to him for the duration of McCarthy's time here rather than gamble the next two years, but otherwise, they can quite possibly do better. Or get a more humble guy who isn't trying to swim upstream or reinvent the wheel and ends up outsmarting himself much of the time instead. Just get a good leader and recruiter who hires good coordinators. Can Michigan clear that not-terribly-high bar? I don't know. Maybe Gattis is really it. Have my doubts about that too, but sure seems like that would be the next move. I doubt he's able to keep the staff intact for all that long, though. His DC decision is his first decision and is going to piss off someone. Mike Hart is a great candidate for palace intrigue, too. Gattis would always be looking over his shoulder at Hart.