T1B

Wow. No defense to be found on the turf in Happy Valley tonight. This looks like it'll be a shootout.

Other than the Purdue, I don't see another win left on the schedule for the Wolverines. A 6-6 season should definitely be the final nail his RichRod's coffin. It's revolting to watch how far this program has fallen behind the pack in this conference.

Shoalzie wrote:Other than the Purdue, I don't see another win left on the schedule for the Wolverines. A 6-6 season should definitely be the final nail his RichRod's coffin. It's revolting to watch how far this program has fallen behind the pack in this conference.

They're letting tonight's game get out of hand. Do you really think that 6-6 will get RichRod fired? The sentiment of the fans I talked to on our trip to Ann Arbor would confirm what you're saying...at least from the fan's point of view...but do you think the school will pull the trigger?

I think they do it if they have "their guy" lined up to take over...that hopefully being Harbaugh. If he's not going to be available...maybe they keep him just because there's no better alternatives. Of course that would mean another year of starting strong and then getting their ass kicked in the conference season...plus, you have now have Nebraska coming in. It's not going to get any better...I don't see it happening. This program is flat-lining.

Harbaugh was the overwhelming consensus of the Michigan fans we talked to, and hopefully he'll be available to sign. I think you would see immediate improvement with Harbaugh but it would probably only take him a couple of years to become a contender, or at least a factor in the conference race.

Harbaugh is under contract through 2014.

Mikey wrote:Harbaugh is under contract through 2014.

Well, they got RichRod while he was still under contract West Virginia...didn't they?

He's so appealing right now because you can plug his Stanford team right now in the Big Ten and they'd compete for the conference title. They've got a stud QB, they run the football and they play tough defense. He's the guy...I don't see another option.

Shoalzie wrote:

Mikey wrote:Harbaugh is under contract through 2014.

Well, they got RichRod while he was still under contract West Virginia...didn't they?

I don't know what the situation was back then, but why would Harbaugh want to leave Stanford? The same rumors were flying around after last season, and that's one of the reasons they signed a three year extension last December. He's pretty much made a commitment to stay at least through then.

Is the UM job that much of a plumb? Why would he go back on that commitment with a program that he's brought back to respectability, and leave one of the nicest places in the country to move to a rust belt shithole?

Mikey wrote:

Shoalzie wrote:

Mikey wrote:Harbaugh is under contract through 2014.

Well, they got RichRod while he was still under contract West Virginia...didn't they?

I don't know what the situation was back then, but why would Harbaugh want to leave Stanford? The same rumors were flying around after last season, and that's one of the reasons they signed a three year extension last December. He's pretty much made a commitment to stay at least through then.

Is the UM job that much of a plumb? Why would he go back on that commitment with a program that he's brought back to respectability, and leave one of the nicest places in the country to move to a rust belt shithole?

Mikey,

You know that those contracts don't really mean anything if a coach wants to leave. They get broken all the time. Why would he leave? He's "a Michigan man", and he could return to Ann Arbor and cement his coaching legacy at his Alma Mater. I don't know if he could accomplish that, but he'd have a lot better chance to do it than RichRod. Would he have an interest in returning to Michigan? I have no idea.

All that being said...Shoelace is still beast.

Robinson is a great athlete but I would hesitate to call him "beast".

Well, I won't be needing nail clippers for a while.

Matt McGloin shocked me tonight. Rack that kid...and we'll have a genuine QB controversy.

Props to Penn State and unrack me for taking the Wolverines in my pick 'em contest.

Mace wrote: Mikey,

You know that those contracts don't really mean anything if a coach wants to leave. They get broken all the time. Why would he leave? He's "a Michigan man", and he could return to Ann Arbor and cement his coaching legacy at his Alma Mater. I don't know if he could accomplish that, but he'd have a lot better chance to do it than RichRod. Would he have an interest in returning to Michigan? I have no idea.

"Michigan Man"?



http://thewizardofodds.blogspot.com/200 ... baugh.html

Maybe he really is, but he also went to high school across the street from Stanford while his father was an assistant coach there.

Mikey wrote:

Mace wrote: Mikey,

You know that those contracts don't really mean anything if a coach wants to leave. They get broken all the time. Why would he leave? He's "a Michigan man", and he could return to Ann Arbor and cement his coaching legacy at his Alma Mater. I don't know if he could accomplish that, but he'd have a lot better chance to do it than RichRod. Would he have an interest in returning to Michigan? I have no idea.

"Michigan Man"?



http://thewizardofodds.blogspot.com/200 ... baugh.html

Maybe he really is, but he also went to high school across the street from Stanford while his father was an assistant coach there.

That may be true, but it would appear that Michigan fans have been willing to forgive and forget, as it was the overwhelming opinion of all I talked to, inside and outside the stadium, that Harbaugh was their choice to succeed DickRod....and the sooner, the better.

Mace wrote:Robinson is a great athlete but I would hesitate to call him "beast".

He's beast because he's a one man show and they've got a top 20 offense with basically him and the o-line.

On the other hand, that defense...good god, it's a horror show. Against a traditional Big Ten team with a power running game and a big o-line...they don't have a prayer.

I don't know what the situation was back then, but why would Harbaugh want to leave Stanford? The same rumors were flying around after last season, and that's one of the reasons they signed a three year extension last December. He's pretty much made a commitment to stay at least through then.

Is the UM job that much of a plumb? Why would he go back on that commitment with a program that he's brought back to respectability, and leave one of the nicest places in the country to move to a rust belt shithole?

are those serious questions? ja, why would he ever leave palo alto (considering he already did once) to return his alma mater to glory? or why would anyone ever leave stanford in the lurch after getting them back to respectability/using them as a springboard to better job? and i guess you might call ann arbor a rust belt shithole but harbaugh would call it the place he grew up, so there's that.

the jim harbaugh who made those comments is not the same jim harbaugh as today. back then he'd only coached at san diego so why the fuck was he running his mouth about michigan football. now he's the lead in our messiah fantasies, so all is forgiven. he only said what he said because he loves the university so much...

bottom line, you can drop all your m2oolish "california's so awesome/bankrupt" while we drop "eh, who gives a fuck he went to michigan," but until he either does or doesn't coach michigan all we can really do is speculate.

oh ja, props, psu. i'm glad i was wasn't able to watch the game. this season has become a fetus inside my belly that i'm about to introduce to a coat hanger.

I'm surprised the Robinson hire at DC has gone so badly, Mich's D is an absolute sieve. Robinson has to carry the team on his back.

M Club wrote:

I don't know what the situation was back then, but why would Harbaugh want to leave Stanford? The same rumors were flying around after last season, and that's one of the reasons they signed a three year extension last December. He's pretty much made a commitment to stay at least through then.

Is the UM job that much of a plumb? Why would he go back on that commitment with a program that he's brought back to respectability, and leave one of the nicest places in the country to move to a rust belt shithole?

are those serious questions? ja, why would he ever leave palo alto (considering he already did once) to return his alma mater to glory? or why would anyone ever leave stanford in the lurch after getting them back to respectability/using them as a springboard to better job? and i guess you might call ann arbor a rust belt shithole but harbaugh would call it the place he grew up, so there's that.

the jim harbaugh who made those comments is not the same jim harbaugh as today. back then he'd only coached at san diego so why the fuck was he running his mouth about michigan football. now he's the lead in our messiah fantasies, so all is forgiven. he only said what he said because he loves the university so much...

bottom line, you can drop all your m2oolish "california's so awesome/bankrupt" while we drop "eh, who gives a fuck he went to michigan," but until he either does or doesn't coach michigan all we can really do is speculate.

And all along I thought that speculating and arguing was the main activity here.

Michigan would be a "better" job?
I'm just wondering, in exactly what way(s) would it be "better"?

Mikey wrote:Michigan would be a "better" job?

False sense of entitlement much?
For some reason you're reminding me a lot of Dodgerfan.

Keep living in the past, assbite. It's all you've got left anyway.

Yes, Michigan is the better job. Right now, Stanford has a better team than Michigan, but Michigan would be the better coaching gig. Michigan has the football tradition that Stanford lacks, and is considered a destination job by most coaches...same as an Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Texas, or Nebraska. Stanford is a good job, but not a destination/elite job and, if he aspires to move up in the coaching ranks, he'll head to Michigan or one of the other more elite jobs. Harbaugh has turned the program around and may be willing to stay there...but I doubt it. He's young enough to still want more, and Michigan is where he could achieve it.

In the same sense, Iowa is not a destination/elite job either but they've been fortunate that their last two hires have been willing to stay here. Hayden Fry retired here and I suspect Kirk Ferentz will do the same. Harbaugh might do that at Stanford but, like I said, he's young and I doubt that he'll be satisfied to stay there. Harbaugh will ultimately have to determine the course of his own future, but I think there's every reason to believe that the Michigan job would be an attraction for him because, don't kid yourself, Mikey, Harbaugh is a Michigan man and, no matter what, he cannot escape it.

Edit: I'm not sure if the list I found is current but, according to this list, Harbaugh is paid $1 million at Stanford (same as the recently fired Tim Brewster at Minnesota) while Michigan is paying RichRod $2.9 million....almost 3 times what Harbaugh is making at Stanford, and with a lot more upside if he, unlike RichRod, returns the program to its previous level.
http://www.americasbestonline.net/index ... aches.html

I guess tripling his salary would make it a "better" job.
$1 million doesn't, after all, go all that far in the Bay Area (unless of course you're in R-Jack's part of town).

BTW...according to more recent info Harbaugh makes $1.25 million, and that list has Texas in the PAC-10 and Cal in the Big 10.

If he wanted to maximize his earning potential he'd jump straight to the NFL.

Mikey wrote: Michigan would be a "better" job?
I'm just wondering, in exactly what way(s) would it be "better"?

why is michigan a better coaching job than stanford? i'm probably not the best person to ask since i'm rather biased, but you could go ahead and ask just about anyone what the better cfb gig is and we can go from there.

ferentz and hayden fry considered iowa a destination job, so lucky on iowa. since we're speculating, i'm not so sure harbaugh would feel they same about stanford. what, because his dad was an assistant coach there? he was also an assistant at umich, so that category is push as well.

If Harbaugh wasn't literally a Michigan man, we wouldn't have a leg to stand on. I doubt he'd get poached by a floundering Michigan program considering where he is and if he didn't have Michigan ties. He seems to have a lot of integrity so I have to wonder if he would pass on a shot at coaching Michigan and at the chance of reviving their program to stay at Stanford and continue what he's to build what he's got going at a program that is very much on the rise because of him. To me, he's got a win-win situation. He doesn't have to leave Stanford but his alma mater is reeling and if Captain Comeback had another rabbit in his hat, I'm sure he'd love to bring it out in Ann Arbor.

College coaches put in ridiculous hours. I'd guess mountains and beaches are pretty low on Harbaugh's priority list. He's got a nice little gig at Stanford though. Good teams. Not a high pressure environment. Fans and boosters are probably fairly easy to please. But, he's a young and competitive guy and I can't imagine Stanford is the pinnacle for him. If Michigan comes calling I'd have to think the allure would be too much to turn down. But all this might be moot if he's using the Stanford job to springboard to the NFL.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:College coaches put in ridiculous hours. I'd guess mountains and beaches are pretty low on Harbaugh's priority list. He's got a nice little gig at Stanford though. Good teams. Not a high pressure environment. Fans and boosters are probably fairly easy to please. But, he's a young and competitive guy and I can't imagine Stanford is the pinnacle for him. If Michigan comes calling I'd have to think the allure would be too much to turn down. But all this might be moot if he's using the Stanford job to springboard to the NFL.

That's a very strong possibility. His brother is a coach in the NFL and he is a former NFL quarterback. The truth is, none of us know what his intentions are. While it may be hard to imagine him staying at Stanford, I just don't know. Ferentz was going to leave Iowa at the first opportunity- this is what EVERYONE outside of Iowa said. Why would he stay at Iowa when he can do "better"? Throughout the last 8 years, Ferentz was headed to the Colts, Jaguars (he actually did interview there), Giants, Falcons, Chiefs, Browns, Nebraska, Penn State when JoePa retires, Michigan (we will never know the truth to what really went down), and I'm sure I'm missing a couple. But he stayed at lowly Iowa for some reason.

So who is to stay Harbaugh won't do the same at Stanford? Maybe to outsiders, Stanford isn't a "destination" job, but maybe to Harbaugh he feels he's going to build it into an elite program and absolutely loves it out there. He's getting paid well, there is much lower pressure than in the NFL (or Michigan), he formerly lived in the area while his dad was an assistant with Stanford (so he has ties), and he's got a very good recruiting class coming in next year following a great season. Let's face it, dude is building something very special out there and just maybe he will get it to a level where Stanford is no longer seen as a non-destination job. That said, Bob Bowlsby is still a cunt!