Michigan Football, Team 139, 2018 Season

[AlabamAlum]

Jeff, I think he knows football. No doubt in my mind. And this isn't meant as sass. But, perhaps, just perhaps, he hasn't learned everything he needs to know from a CEO, delegation, personnel, game planning perspective for a major college team in a big time P5 conference to be successful in a shorter timeframe than what you're seeing. In that job as a P5 headcoach, he has 4 complete seasons at Stanford and 3 and some change at M and is 57-33 (.633). At a place like Michigan, that seems to be underperforming. There are just so many moving parts and getting the most out of these assistant coaches and having the kids for only 20 hours a week requires a specialized skill set. He is smart, though, and like you said, he knows football, so I am sure he figures it out.

[Hannibal]

Jeff -- Seth's stuff at mgoblog is crap.

[iam416]

[Hannibal]

Harbaugh had a better team at Stanford in Year 3 than he had at Michigan in year 3, and he had a better team at Stanford in year 4 than he has at Michigan in year 4.

[AlabamAlum]

Harbaugh has lost more times in the last 10 games than Saban has in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 combined.

Harbaugh has lost more times in the last 10 games than Meyers has in 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 combined.

Since Harbaugh has been at Michigan, the Wolverines have the same record as Northwestern and a worse record than Iowa, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Ohio State.

Tied for 5th best record in the BigTen at a place like M is hard to fathom. I understand the fans who are mad. I would be, too.

[AlabamAlum]

Okay. Jumping off this topic now. It's starting to sound like piling on.

[WingsFan]

This is what we are now Moral Victories the official Michigan Twitter account


We never gave up. SAD!

[Jeff Buchanan]

So, yeah, you have the Harbaugh record at M - it's not great. You have the player recruiting and development issues contributing to that middling record, you have what most consider to be Harbaugh's poor selection of assistants who have turned out to be under-performers, you have loud complaining about his offense being too complex for CFB and from all of that you have predictable outcomes.... a poorly performing football team that has yet to climb out of the pit created by the poor decisions of past administrations. Michigan is not alone in having a long road to redemption.

So what do you do about all of this? You can fuck-holler, you can call for the heads of the coaching staff including Harbaugh or you can look at the problems, constructively criticize and offer solutions. I've offered them in terms of ways to improve on-field performance from my own knowledge of football, the current situation after the ND loss and from studying what other more reasonable minds have to say about it.

Hanni, without offering any insight about why you take the positions you do, you simply announce, for example, this coaching staff is made up of bumbling, incompetent idiots - or words to that affect. In your line of work, if your section wasn't performing to goals and you came to me and I was your boss and threw some shade on folks you supervised saying everyone working for me is incompetent without providing a reasonable basis for that assessment, I'd tell you to come up with one and get back to me. If you couldn't, I'd walk you out the door on the spot.

talent, you advance the argument that Harbugh is accountable for all the elements that have produced the current circumstance. I agree but what's missing from your position and the rest of the mob's call for accountability is a rational, fact based analysis of mitigating factors and what steps have already been taken to address those factors. We don't know and probably can't know these things yet we are self assured that Harbaugh, ultimately responsible for everything in the program, is a failure. You and I agreed on this requirement in ufm's case involving the ZS affair yet you sit in stern judgement in the case of Harbaugh. Hypocrisy.

I can tell you this: Harbaugh is going to be M's coach for as long as he wants to do that. I do believe that if he thinks he's harming the program with his approach or his management style, he'll resign ..... and get snapped up by any number of NFL teams looking for a competent HC. Maybe CFB is not his gig but I doubt that. I doubt it very much.

I'm simply not disposed to pillory Jim Harbaugh regardless of the perception that M football is failing; failing in year 3, 4 or infinity. I'd say on multiple levels the program is doing fine. If he goes, due to some football outrage from the media and fan base because he can't put a football team on the field that goes undefeated in a season, I'll be unhappy about it. That's because he is a good man with a ton of integrity and deep caring for his players and their professional and personal development. I'll be unhappy, much like I was unhappy about the faux outrage over ufm's poor management of of the ZS affair - a personale and internal matter that had noting to do with enabling DV - and led to an uncalled for punishment and could still cost him his job. Garbage.

And it will be garbage if Harbaugh, for whatever reason, leaves Michigan because he's not winning enough games, has a shitty overall record, fucked up OL recruiting in 2016 or can't win championships. Frankly, I believe he will win championships. I believe he will sort out and correct the current set of problems that are fundamentally the reason M's record is what it is. Call them excuses but what the fuck does it matter? Maybe if making the case that he ought to be gone is important to you it does matter. I'm not there and probably won't ever be.

[iam416]

[Hannibal]

Hanni, without offering any insight about why you take the positions you do..

I've offered these reasons. If you watch a sampling of college football and you think that our offense is not the victim of gross incompetence then I don't know what to tell you. I can tell you though that this past weekend Utah State and Oregon State had more success moving the ball and scoring against our rivals than Harbaugh has had at Michigan against any of our rivals in three years, going on four. I don't believe that mitigating circumstances justify having one of the worst offenses in the country for the second year in a row and going a whopping 365 days without a wide receiver catching a TD pass. You can mitigating circumstance yourself to death forever if you want.. This is one of the things that I really dislike about mgoblog.

You are fond of military analogies. How many generals would have lasted more than four years without winning a major battle? Can you imagine George McClellan trying to rationalize to Lincoln in 1867 why General Lee was still kicking his ass in the Civil War?

[paul daugherity]

WM. That is sad. It's UM's "losing with dignity" moment.

[WingsFan]

I think your referring to me Paul (not WM Wolverine) witch seems to be happening lately, we both have M helmets as avatars. But either way, yes "losing with dignity" and this it the M vs M fan on twitter.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Fair on all counts. Great analogy Hanni. Both of you are enjoyable contributors to discussions we have on a whole range of topics.

[AlabamAlum]

Thank you.

[Jeff Buchanan]

Not you, fuck stick. That comment was for Hannibsl and talent.