Storyline: Jim Harbaugh has made non-stop news since becoming head coach of the Michigan Wolverines. No matter how incidental, if Harbaugh said it then it’s a story.
A new reality show debuted around November 2014 and the sports world has been fascinated ever since. It’s about following the life of a winning NFL coach as he’s unceremoniously dumped by his former San Francisco 49er team. Watch the coach as he spurns the mighty NFL against expert predictions. See a man return home to coach his Alma Mater, the University of Michigan.
Witness the unpredictable and crazy world of Jim Harbaugh. It’s the new, must-see event of 2015: As the Harbaugh Turns.
I compare the Jim Harbaugh saga to a reality show because the events of the past year have seemed so crazy they must have been scripted. It all started when the senseless, delusional and vain ownership of the 49ers decided they didn’t need the headache of Jim Harbaugh anymore.
Courtesy: Forbes.com
Harbaugh was only 44-19-1 and led the team to three straight NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl appearance. But, dammit, Harbaugh can be just so tough to deal with! Niner’s owner Jed York and G.M. Trent Baalke decided to go with a coach they can control over a control freak. While that’s just the first domino to fall in an off-season from hell for 49er fans, it’s a horror movie all to itself. The whirlwind of “The Harbaugh Show” was just getting started.
Speculation began immediately about which NFL team would land Harbaugh. Of course the name “Michigan” popped up because the former UM quarterback has always been at the top of the university’s wish list. However, there’s history: successful NFL head coaches just don’t return to the college ranks. Pete Carroll and Jim Mora Jr. had mild success in the NFL before returning to college, but both were fired from NFL jobs and were no longer in demand.
With Harbaugh it was different. High-profile NFL jobs in Chicago and New York (Jets) would be open at season’s end and Harbaugh most likely could have had the gig he preferred. And because Harbaugh first got into NFL coaching with the Oakland Raiders and was a fan of the Raider’s late owner Al Davis he could have kept his family in Northern California and moved across the Bay. What better way to stick it to York and Baalke than to don the Silver & Black?
Courtesy: bleacherreport.com
For a while the Raiders were considered the NFL favorites to land Harbaugh. That’s why this got real interesting for me. I’ve been a die-hard Raider fan since Jim Plunkett was hitting Kenny King with 80-yard TD passes in Super Bowl XV. And my first college football memories are watching the great Bo Schembechler pace the sidelines in Ann Arbor, usually berating his All-American QB … #4, Jim Harbaugh.
It was a win-win for me as long as Harbaugh decided to coach either the Raiders or Wolverines. As a sports fan it’s all about personal gratification, right?
So I devoured all the Harbaugh news from both sides. The major NFL media groups and the local Bay Area media were insistent that the Michigan job was being used as leverage and that Harbaugh would eventually land in the NFL. I really can’t blame them for making that assumption because of history. However, NFL types showed a tad too much arrogance. believing that a “move down” to the college level would be admitting defeat for a coach of Harbaugh’s caliber. But “the experts” forgot about the uniqueness of one, Jim Harbaugh.
The Michigan fan base is known for arrogance, too. To legions who support Maize & Blue it was inconceivable that an alumnus wouldn’t want to return and and coach his former team. “Forget that pro ball stuff! This is Michigan…fer God’s sake” (in my best mumbling Brady Hoke voice). And it became “a happening” for the Michigan fan base once Michigan insiders, like John Bacon, Sam Webb, and MGoBlog’s Brian Cook, started posting rumors of The Savior’s arrival.
Yes, as I mentioned before, it was all a win-win for me. I leaned toward Harbaugh in Maize & Blue because I thought his success in college was almost guaranteed. Lifting the Raiders out of their decade-long morass would be a challenge for anyone. Would Harbaugh forsake the chance for a Super Bowl to go back to his Ann Arbor roots?
Well, the impossible was made official on December 29, 2014 when Jim Harbaugh agreed to become the head football coach at the University of Michigan. The prodigal son had indeed put the NFL in his rearview mirror. He was coming home to Ann Arbor where he spent a majority of his youth.
With most coaches the story would end there … until the start of the college football season. But not for one Jim Harbaugh.
Jim Harbaugh has made non-stop news since becoming the head coach of the Wolverines. Most of the stories are media driven, but Harbaugh has evolved into the “rock star coach” of the college football world. No matter how incidental a comment or tweet may be, if Harbaugh said it, then a story must be told. First, you have Taylor Swift and, then, you have Jim Harbaugh.
Harbaugh made noise and some SEC enemies by setting up satellite camps down South and inviting any coach to attend. That’s not allowed in the SEC and it riled up plenty of coaches, including Nick Saban. Saban even complained about the unfair competition in created for the SEC. (Please continue reading once your laughter ceases.)
Harbaugh then tweeted a quote from Sir Walter Scott: “What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive!” So he was instantly accused of trolling Ohio State head coach, Urban Meyer, for lying to a recruit. Of course Harbaugh denied having any ulterior motive.
The University of Michigan gave into student pressure and canceled a showing of the movie, American Sniper. But, of course, a certain head coach shared his opinion on Twitter. Harbaugh wrote: “Michigan Football will watch American Sniper! Proud of Chris Kyle & Proud to be an American & if that offends anybody then so be it!” That statement caused quite a stir and, eventually, the school decided to show the movie. The power of Harbaugh, perhaps?
Courtesy: jrn.com
Harbaugh did an interview with HBO Real Sports and the show emphasized the coach’s obsession with competition and the possibility that he burns out his players. I thought the piece twisted things to fit the narrative but, again, it afforded more publicity for Harbaugh.
And 49ers guard Alex Boone came off as complete tool by complaining about being pushed after “we got over the mountain.” Dude, winning The Super Bowl is the mountain. How many rings you have?
Harbaugh called 2% and Skim Milk “candy ass.” Awesome!
Harbaugh went shirtless in a Skins vs. Shirts football game at one of his many camps. Harbaugh has a “Dad Bod!” (Yes, that’s what rates for news in 2015.)
The man has been simply everywhere this spring and summer. The question that remains is whether all this publicity will transfer into wins for the Michigan football team.
PR may help with recruiting, but it doesn’t matter on the field. What does matter is that Jim Harbaugh is one hell of a driven football coach. He may be in the spotlight for his non-stop antics. But, beyond the bright lights, he’s a man consumed with building a great football team.
