NC Game. M 34, W 13.

[lineygoblue]

With whatever the NCAA hands down as Michigan's 'punishment', they could be lighting the fuse of their own destruction. Michigan isn't the only P5 institution that has had enough of the NCAA's crap. Eventually enough teams and conferences are going to band together and oust the NCAA as its leader in football, and maybe even men's basketball. There WILL be a new entity leading college football within 10 years, and maybe even within 5 years.

Just like the new conference alignments. These spread-out conglomerations with east coast teams playing west coast teams as a 'conference' cannot stand permanently. Eventually there's going to be a re-organization of conferences based on regions, along the lines of what the NFL has done. And the NCAA won't be the administrator of those conferences. And it can't happen soon enough for me.

[iam416]

Mike is 100% right. The "immunity" provision is irrelevant. Either HARBAUGH***** gets an NFL job this time around -- after striking out a couple times -- or he doesn't. If he gets an NFL job offer he is 100% gone. The idea that M could persuade him with some immunity provision is, IMO, laughable. And, of course, if, in the unlikely event the Chargers change their mind, he comes back to M, he'll sign w/o the immunity shit.

God, I hope the Chargers change their mind.

[lineygoblue]

I do too.

Harbaugh is more suited for the M job than Sherrone Moore is. Moore is a great recruiter, OC, and overall assistant, but he's never been in control of an entire program before. He'd be way in over his head for at least a couple seasons if he's hired to replace Harbaugh.

Articles I've read say that both Minter and Moore are about to be offered huge contracts by NFL teams to move on, but Michigan is supposedly getting ready to make huge offers to both of them as well, to entice them to stay. Both have said they'd like to stay, but big money can change minds in a hurry.

As of today, I'd say Harbaugh is gone, and he's definitely going to have his son Jay follow him, along with Ben Herbert. Only question now will be does Moore get the HC job, and does Minter decide to stay with Moore as a top assistant, or move on with Harbaugh. If M loses all five of them, its back to Rich Rod suckdom. There's nobody out there that can come in and make an immediate impact to save the program, under those circumstances. I think this is the scenario that 3rd base really wants.

[Mike]

Football will dump the NCAA within 5 years, IMO. Basketball, like all the other sports, is tied to them because of the post-season tournament. The NCAA refused to take control of football when they should have. The beginning of the BCS in 1998 was a harbinger of an actual playoff. Instead of the NCAA administering the championship of their most lucrative property they let others do it. Because they are morons. The NCAA can't put the toothpaste back in the tube now.

The sooner we have a system in place that will regulate player compensation and tampering rather than impermissible Zoom calls and text messages, the better.

[lineygoblue]

The sooner we have a system in place that will regulate player compensation and tampering rather than impermissible Zoom calls and text messages, the better.

And hamburgers. Don't forget the impermissible hamburgers....

dang .. if it came down to the best hamburgers, Michigan would win every recruiting battle forever. One stop at Crazy Jim's, and kids would never consider anywhere else.

[iam416]

You mean covid recruiting restrictions. That's what the NoA is about. No matter what M fans spin.

Compensation gets regulated only when there's a union and that's ALMOST unworkable UNLESS you do it through two or three power-concentrated conferences. Then it's conceivably workable even though it's a long shot. But what they absolutely cannot do is collude to limit wages. They can probably do something about free transfers if they deal with that contractually as opposed to making generalized rules.

[Jeff Buchanan]

You and Mike seem to be saying that Harbaugh has no intention of returning as HC at M. Do I have that right?

What everyone commenting on this is doing is speculating based on Harbaugh's behaviors - specifically accepting interviews with NFL teams - indicating "he's gone." I think there's a viable alternative speculation. Harbaugh is using the time shopping NFL interest in him, not signing whatever contract has been presented to him by M, to get past February 15th - the point at which the buy-out drops. I think the Chargers are seriously interested in hiring JH. I think M wants him to stay and I've seen comments that the U has already added the immunity clause in the contract extension.

I'm not saying he's going to stay at M or bolt to the NFL. What I'm saying is that after February 15th with a Chargers offer in hand he's optimized his options and can evaluate them both and choose one. Jim is a smart guy and hires smart people to deal with complex employment issues, not the least of which is making sure he's protecting his future salary. I would think, M has put a "drop dead" date in the extension offer and it's probably February 15th. Harbaugh is probably asking the Chargers that if they plan to make an employment offer, make it and have it be effective after February 15th. With an offer in hand from the Chargers, he's now got two options instead of just one.

[iam416]

I've said he was gone since October. The only variable was the NFL job offer. If he finally gets one this time, he's gone.

[Jeff Buchanan]

You could be right, Talent. Well see. I really think he likes where he's at coaching M and I don't think an NFL team's offer in hand assures he'll take it and bolt. That assumes, of course, that as I mentioned above, the extension that's in front of him includes what he's asked for. If it doesn't and he gets an NFL offer, yes, he's gone.

It would not surprise me that if the Chargers and JH have gotten down to serious negotiations, JH is going to ask for control that Chargers management may not want to give him. In that circumstance my senario makes sense.

[Mike]

He's meeting with the Chargers as we speak. He's gone and he's taking Minter with him.

It's been as obvious as the nose on your face but nobody can just admit that he wants back in the NFL. It's not complicated. I don't blame him in the least (I'd be running back to the NFL like my hair was on fire with the state of CFB what it is). He's going into a perfect situation: Young franchise QB, solid team that underachieved, shiny new Gazillion dollar stadium, and the wife can live in a mansion in Malibu if they so choose. He'll probably get upwards of $20M a year and never have to go on another recruiting visit or deal with the transfer portal, NCAA or Big Ten morons. It is 100% the right call for Jim Harbaugh. Period.

Re: Michigan run of 2021, 2022, & 2023: Don't be sad that it's over. Be happy that it happened.

Time to turn it over to Sherone Moore and the next chapter of Michigan football.

[iam416]

I could end up being wrong, Buchanan, but I've felt certain of it for awhile and I'm 100% comfortable staking out posts for you to shitbird me with if he opts to stay -- or rather, if he chooses M over the NFL (I do fully acknowledge that he'll be back at M if he, again, fails to land an NFL job).

[Mike]

This time I'm fairly certain NFL teams are courting him, not the other way around. I've treated this entire season as thought it would be his last. It was absolutely impossible not to see the signs.

[iam416]

Last February after HARBAUGH**** failed at his attempt to land the Vikings job, he was actually quoted as saying "And I told him, Warde that this will not be a reoccouring theme every year. This was a one time thing."

Meanwhile, recruiting is on an absolute dead pause. I'm not even sure they're gonna have a Junior Day. They seem fairly certain to lose other coaches off the staff to the Chargers. And they're going to roll with Sherrone.

But, the upside, of course, is that memories of 2023 will last a long time. And that's a massive upside. Unfortunately.

DraftKings has taken "Harbaugh coaching destination" off the board -- it's about as done as done can be.

[lineygoblue]

Time to turn it over to Sherone Moore and the next chapter of Michigan football.

Agree

The biggest concern I have is his ability to assemble a staff. Harbaugh is going to take Jay with him, along with Herbert and most likely Minter. One or two others may go as well. The staff is going to be decimated by a Harbaugh departure. Moore is going to have his work cut out for him trying to replace everybody. Then he has to run the program.

I hope he's up to it. If he can assemble a staff and run a program as well as he coaches the OL, we'll be fine.

Will John Harbaugh still be willing to send a coaching prospect our way? Its worked out well in the past.

[Hannibal]

Let's just hope that Moore is more David Shaw than Brian Ellerbe.