Jim Harbaugh and Michigan face a challenge this year to bounce back from a miserable 2-4 season that was plagued by stoppages, injuries, horrible losses and more. The goal this year isn't to just improve — that's the obvious 'must' — but to get the program back on track for long term success.
Here's our list of "must and must nots" for Harbaugh and his squad heading into the 2021 campaign:
RIVALRY MUST: The Wolverines have to beat Michigan State. Period, end of story.
Last year's home loss to a terrible MSU squad was one of the worst in Michigan Stadium history. Had it been a "normal" year and not a COVID season, the game might have been the beginning of the end of the Harbaugh era in Ann Arbor. It was that bad. We also found out a lot about the team and its ability (inability) to handle adversity, which spoke to the lack of chemistry. We had several former coaches and players — football, basketball and otherwise — reach out to us after the game with two words, and two words only: "broken culture."
Most pick Michigan State to finish last in the Big Ten East this year. The Spartans are flat out bad ... just as they were last year, when U-M decided not to show up.
Harbaugh is 3-3 against the Spartans, and it could easily be 6-0. It needs to be 4-3 after this year.
RIVALRY MUST NOT: U-M simply can't get blown out by Ohio State. Or, in 'must' terms, Harbaugh's team needs to play its best game against the Buckeyes for a change. It's only happened twice in five attempts — the other three were abysmal — but this should be an annual occurrence. Yeah, you might lose, but the expectation is to bring the 'A' game on every play, from every position.
We all know about 2016 — that was a robbery — but there were key mistakes in that game, too, you simply can't make in a game of that magnitude. Mason Cole's stupid face mask penalty, missed blocks that led to pressure-forced interceptions, etc. ... can't happen. Key, dropped passes were the culprit in 2018, along with blown assignments on defense everywhere (and a terrible defensive game plan).
OSU will come in to Michigan Stadium this year expecting to win. The Buckeyes probably will, if we're being honest. But the Wolverines need to show up and take a step toward turning the tide in the rivalry. There's no excuse for getting blown out year after year.
PROGRAM MUST: As noted above, last year was a chemistry disaster. There were far too many guys not invested enough or who were more concerned about their own success than the team's — if things went bad for them it was, "I hate (so and so group of people)" or "I'll leave this place and come back and kick their butt," etc.
Frankly, that's pathetic anywhere. At a place like Michigan, it should be blasphemous.
We aren't saying the program needs to be what it was 30 years ago — God knows the blowback we'd get from a segment that rips on people longing for the "old days" — but coaches need to get it back to some semblance of accountability that existed back then. It's a different era now of self-gratification, but the programs that are on top, regardless how they got there, all have unbelievably strong culture and kids who fight for the name on the front of the uniform, not as concerned with the one on the back.
This is going to be a tougher one now, even, with the advent of Name, Image and Likeness and an era of "getting mine," but it's something they've got to manage.
PROGRAM MUST NOT: No caving to the malcontents.
No, we're not saying Harbaugh needs to go back to the "my way or the highway" approach with his players. Today more than ever, kids need to ... we wouldn't say be coddled, but have their egos stroked sometimes. As new assistant Ron Bellamy noted about Lloyd Carr, "he had a way of showing me he cared, but coaching me tough — he knew how to get the best out of me."
That doesn't mean making promises or guarantees, for example. A lot of times it's about what guys DON'T want to hear, followed up by, "but we're going to make sure you get there by doing it this way." That's where new assistant Bellamy, and — even more so — Mike Hart come into play. They remember the championship days, and Hart in particular won't have any trouble with the tough love.
We think the new coaching additions are going to help a lot in this respect, but it still starts at the top. It does appear Harbaugh has gotten some of his mojo back, so that's a positive.
SEASON MUST: The Wolverines need to get at least marginally better each week building up to 'The Game' and be mentally tough enough to overcome tough losses ... and this is something Harbaugh teams have actually been pretty good at, minus last year and, in part, the 2017 season. Even that one was marred by injuries at key positions (quarterback in particular).
As many in the building have noted, this season is a 'reset.' It's not necessarily a rebuild, though some will view it that way ... there's talent on the roster, albeit lacking at a few key positions (front seven, a game breaker at the receiver position, consistent tight end play). This is a year in which Harbaugh needs to develop a quarterback, find the young players who are going to make a difference in the years to come (the Nikhail Hill-Greens, Mazi Smiths, J.J. McCarthys, Junior Colson, Zak Zinter etc.) and build for the future.
Seniors like Josh Ross, Andrew Stueber, etc. are important and need to lead in their last few years, but these are the guys that are going to change the program's fortunes. There are going to be setbacks this year (probably five or so), but they need to overachieve for a change — 'win like Northwestern,' as some would say.
That's something Harbaugh's teams haven't done.
SEASON MUST NOT: No rolling over when things start to go downhill. We're talking about Wisconsin, No. 1, and the tendency to collapse when things start to go south. Last year it was in the second quarter, when a few Wolverines packed it in, some even asking for mercy and to "take it easy" when the Badgers started to roll.
If that doesn't make your maize and blue blood boil, nothing will. That's not the Michigan many of you grew up with, and it's never acceptable.
If there's a guy going through the motions on even a single play or two, a message needs to be sent. We saw it from a few veterans who were allowed to lollygag last year, and it needs to be clear — that's not acceptable anymore. Frankly, it never should have been, but that's where we are.
Harbaugh was once a great coach, perhaps the best in the game at any level. He knows what a winning team and winning program looks like. If he gets his edge back, he can turn this thing around. We don't expect a championship this year, but playing like his former Michigan teams (on which he was a player) and his Stanford, San Diego teams, etc., isn't too much to ask.
Here's our list of "must and must nots" for Harbaugh and his squad heading into the 2021 campaign:
RIVALRY MUST: The Wolverines have to beat Michigan State. Period, end of story.
Last year's home loss to a terrible MSU squad was one of the worst in Michigan Stadium history. Had it been a "normal" year and not a COVID season, the game might have been the beginning of the end of the Harbaugh era in Ann Arbor. It was that bad. We also found out a lot about the team and its ability (inability) to handle adversity, which spoke to the lack of chemistry. We had several former coaches and players — football, basketball and otherwise — reach out to us after the game with two words, and two words only: "broken culture."
Most pick Michigan State to finish last in the Big Ten East this year. The Spartans are flat out bad ... just as they were last year, when U-M decided not to show up.
Harbaugh is 3-3 against the Spartans, and it could easily be 6-0. It needs to be 4-3 after this year.
RIVALRY MUST NOT: U-M simply can't get blown out by Ohio State. Or, in 'must' terms, Harbaugh's team needs to play its best game against the Buckeyes for a change. It's only happened twice in five attempts — the other three were abysmal — but this should be an annual occurrence. Yeah, you might lose, but the expectation is to bring the 'A' game on every play, from every position.
We all know about 2016 — that was a robbery — but there were key mistakes in that game, too, you simply can't make in a game of that magnitude. Mason Cole's stupid face mask penalty, missed blocks that led to pressure-forced interceptions, etc. ... can't happen. Key, dropped passes were the culprit in 2018, along with blown assignments on defense everywhere (and a terrible defensive game plan).
OSU will come in to Michigan Stadium this year expecting to win. The Buckeyes probably will, if we're being honest. But the Wolverines need to show up and take a step toward turning the tide in the rivalry. There's no excuse for getting blown out year after year.
PROGRAM MUST: As noted above, last year was a chemistry disaster. There were far too many guys not invested enough or who were more concerned about their own success than the team's — if things went bad for them it was, "I hate (so and so group of people)" or "I'll leave this place and come back and kick their butt," etc.
Frankly, that's pathetic anywhere. At a place like Michigan, it should be blasphemous.
We aren't saying the program needs to be what it was 30 years ago — God knows the blowback we'd get from a segment that rips on people longing for the "old days" — but coaches need to get it back to some semblance of accountability that existed back then. It's a different era now of self-gratification, but the programs that are on top, regardless how they got there, all have unbelievably strong culture and kids who fight for the name on the front of the uniform, not as concerned with the one on the back.
This is going to be a tougher one now, even, with the advent of Name, Image and Likeness and an era of "getting mine," but it's something they've got to manage.
PROGRAM MUST NOT: No caving to the malcontents.
No, we're not saying Harbaugh needs to go back to the "my way or the highway" approach with his players. Today more than ever, kids need to ... we wouldn't say be coddled, but have their egos stroked sometimes. As new assistant Ron Bellamy noted about Lloyd Carr, "he had a way of showing me he cared, but coaching me tough — he knew how to get the best out of me."
That doesn't mean making promises or guarantees, for example. A lot of times it's about what guys DON'T want to hear, followed up by, "but we're going to make sure you get there by doing it this way." That's where new assistant Bellamy, and — even more so — Mike Hart come into play. They remember the championship days, and Hart in particular won't have any trouble with the tough love.
We think the new coaching additions are going to help a lot in this respect, but it still starts at the top. It does appear Harbaugh has gotten some of his mojo back, so that's a positive.
SEASON MUST: The Wolverines need to get at least marginally better each week building up to 'The Game' and be mentally tough enough to overcome tough losses ... and this is something Harbaugh teams have actually been pretty good at, minus last year and, in part, the 2017 season. Even that one was marred by injuries at key positions (quarterback in particular).
As many in the building have noted, this season is a 'reset.' It's not necessarily a rebuild, though some will view it that way ... there's talent on the roster, albeit lacking at a few key positions (front seven, a game breaker at the receiver position, consistent tight end play). This is a year in which Harbaugh needs to develop a quarterback, find the young players who are going to make a difference in the years to come (the Nikhail Hill-Greens, Mazi Smiths, J.J. McCarthys, Junior Colson, Zak Zinter etc.) and build for the future.
Seniors like Josh Ross, Andrew Stueber, etc. are important and need to lead in their last few years, but these are the guys that are going to change the program's fortunes. There are going to be setbacks this year (probably five or so), but they need to overachieve for a change — 'win like Northwestern,' as some would say.
That's something Harbaugh's teams haven't done.
SEASON MUST NOT: No rolling over when things start to go downhill. We're talking about Wisconsin, No. 1, and the tendency to collapse when things start to go south. Last year it was in the second quarter, when a few Wolverines packed it in, some even asking for mercy and to "take it easy" when the Badgers started to roll.
If that doesn't make your maize and blue blood boil, nothing will. That's not the Michigan many of you grew up with, and it's never acceptable.
If there's a guy going through the motions on even a single play or two, a message needs to be sent. We saw it from a few veterans who were allowed to lollygag last year, and it needs to be clear — that's not acceptable anymore. Frankly, it never should have been, but that's where we are.
Harbaugh was once a great coach, perhaps the best in the game at any level. He knows what a winning team and winning program looks like. If he gets his edge back, he can turn this thing around. We don't expect a championship this year, but playing like his former Michigan teams (on which he was a player) and his Stanford, San Diego teams, etc., isn't too much to ask.
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