Well, shoot, I guess we're stuck with Harbaugh

[detroitjohn]

Listened to the Tiki and Tierney interview with Jim where they pushed him about why he didn't look at Oakland and how long until he looks back to the NFL. His answer was simple and is going to disappoint our PSU, MSU, IU, etc. friends that insist his Ann Arbor stop is going to be short. He claims three loves regarding football, guess what is one of them? I think he's here to stay as long as UM wants him.

 

[tarun262]

I genuinely believe JH is on a mission and he wants to completely disrupt the college football landscape. I do think however that if he does win a NC - and nothing short of it - he will likely look to get a Super Bowl ring at some point too. I will take that all day though - I think JH knows he is building something very special at Michigan that will rank up there with the likes of domination that OSU and Bama have had over the past decade.

 

[detroitjohn]

I genuinely believe JH is on a mission and he wants to completely disrupt the college football landscape. I do think however that if he does win a NC - and nothing short of it - he will likely look to get a Super Bowl ring at some point too. I will take that all day though - I think JH knows he is building something very special at Michigan that will rank up there with the likes of domination that OSU and Bama have had over the past decade.

There is no indication, whatsoever, that he is planning a NC and then Super Bowl path. His interview underscored it for me, but then I was not a doubter.

 

[tarun262]

That's just my intuition - I have no inside information dude I know he would love to ink his name next to Pete Carroll who has done both. I think JH is inspired by absolutely dominating - so either he tries to go on a Saban type run at Michigan (which would be great for us) or NC + Super Bowl, but who knows.
I am getting very hyped about next fall - oh and the film on Gary is insane!!! That dude is so supremely talented. I can't even imagine what type of havoc our D-line will create in 2018 when Gary is way stronger with a 1+ year in the system and working alongside Mone who in his own capacity is quite the beast.

 

[detroitjohn]

That's just my intuition - I have no inside information dude I know he would love to ink his name next to Pete Carroll who has done both. I think JH is inspired by absolutely dominating - so either he tries to go on a Saban type run at Michigan (which would be great for us) or NC + Super Bowl, but who knows.
I am getting very hyped about next fall - oh and the film on Gary is insane!!! That dude is so supremely talented. I can't even imagine what type of havoc our D-line will create in 2018 when Gary is way stronger with a 1+ year in the system and working alongside Mone who in his own capacity is quite the beast.

The D-line this fall could well be the best we have ever seen at UM, which I thought was the 2006 line with Branch, Taylor, Woodley, Jamison, etc. Putting a freshman with that much talent next to players that are good to great across the line, there will be a lot of "pick your poison" decisions being made by our opponents' offenses.

 

[tarun262]

Well my only concern there is once Glasgow went down we got gashed. I mean seriously gashed! If one person on your D-line can break the backbone of your team by that much then we have issues. I am still not convinced that Mattison is a great coach unless he has GREAT players and we got hammered by Minn, Indiana, Ohio State, etc. I mean it was 10x worse - it was not like we went from giving up 50 yards rushing to 70 yards rushing it went to giving up 200 yards+++. I have never seen anything like that. To me that meant that either Glasgow is the 2nd coming of Superman, our D-line depth is absolutely horrible, or Mattison's system is broken and it was the individual effort of a few that kept us going. It also showed me that Wormley and Hurst Jr. are ok, not great and don't bring a mean streak and a motor that is needed.
While I think Mone, Gary and Glasgow will be formidable in my mind the jury is still out on the D-line. We played really well against a Florida team that has no offense so that does not count.
Having said that, I hope you are right and my concerns are not valid because I would love to see a dominant line for 15 games next year!

 

[Reality Man]

I think it's entirely possible that Harbaugh is attracted to the right NFL situation in a few years. More than reasonable for someone of his stature to pursue that course.

Now...it's entirely possible that once Harbaugh has his machine up and running it will become a little more difficult to walk away. Look at Saban. He built a monster and do you think he feels the need to try and chase an evasive Super Bowl ring when he is winning National Titles?

I mean...come on. What is more impressive...10 National Titles in college football or some Super Bowl title? Is Bear Bryant revered as much as Lombardi? I think so.



RM

 

[Reality Man]

My friend who is a Cincinnati Bengals fan and OSU grad said something very interesting to me. He said he thinks Harbaugh likes the fact that OSU and MSU are good because he likes to be challenged.

His point was the fact that UM was down and a distant second to these programs only inspires him more to beat them. Harbaugh likes challenges and if he winds up getting on top of the Big Ten then having Saban at Alabama is even better.

If Saban or Meyer leaves then that would be disconcerting for UM fans who want Harbaugh to stay. Interesting thought but not that far fetched.



RM

 

[realisticbuck]

Hope he stays, he is good for college football.

 

[LetsGOBlue!]

Well my only concern there is once Glasgow went down we got gashed. I mean seriously gashed! If one person on your D-line can break the backbone of your team by that much then we have issues. I am still not convinced that Mattison is a great coach unless he has GREAT players and we got hammered by Minn, Indiana, Ohio State, etc. I mean it was 10x worse - it was not like we went from giving up 50 yards rushing to 70 yards rushing it went to giving up 200 yards+++. I have never seen anything like that. To me that meant that either Glasgow is the 2nd coming of Superman, our D-line depth is absolutely horrible, or Mattison's system is broken and it was the individual effort of a few that kept us going. It also showed me that Wormley and Hurst Jr. are ok, not great and don't bring a mean streak and a motor that is needed.
While I think Mone, Gary and Glasgow will be formidable in my mind the jury is still out on the D-line. We played really well against a Florida team that has no offense so that does not count.
Having said that, I hope you are right and my concerns are not valid because I would love to see a dominant line for 15 games next year!

Don't think it was just RG being out- I think the D has struggled massively when they have to face a QB that can run a little out of some type of spread...LB just have not been good enough in space to make plays. The guys that JH is bringing in should change that. Question...who is the last UM LB any good in the NFL since Harris?

 

[detroitjohn]

Well my only concern there is once Glasgow went down we got gashed. I mean seriously gashed! If one person on your D-line can break the backbone of your team by that much then we have issues. I am still not convinced that Mattison is a great coach unless he has GREAT players and we got hammered by Minn, Indiana, Ohio State, etc. I mean it was 10x worse - it was not like we went from giving up 50 yards rushing to 70 yards rushing it went to giving up 200 yards+++. I have never seen anything like that. To me that meant that either Glasgow is the 2nd coming of Superman, our D-line depth is absolutely horrible, or Mattison's system is broken and it was the individual effort of a few that kept us going. It also showed me that Wormley and Hurst Jr. are ok, not great and don't bring a mean streak and a motor that is needed.
While I think Mone, Gary and Glasgow will be formidable in my mind the jury is still out on the D-line. We played really well against a Florida team that has no offense so that does not count.
Having said that, I hope you are right and my concerns are not valid because I would love to see a dominant line for 15 games next year!

I fully agree we were gashed and it was inexcusable (though we recovered nicely vs a crappy PSU team, still your point stands). However, I think the problem was actually that Glasgow's injury unearthed our lack of DL depth (remember we also were without Mone and ended up giving reps to Tom Strobel who just transferred to not that Ohio) and exposed our inadequate LBers.

We have a player who is a generational one in terms of talent and potential playing alongside some other outstanding linemen and I think Wormley and Glasgow are outstanding. The injury bug could hit again, or they might underperform, and we don't have amazing depth there thanks to losing out on Jordan Elliott, but we probably are in better shape than perhaps we even started the year last year. I'm saying those starters, together as a unit, may be the best I've seen in my lifetime. We shall see.

 

[detroitjohn]

Don't think it was just RG being out- I think the D has struggled massively when they have to face a QB that can run a little out of some type of spread...LB just have not been good enough in space to make plays. The guys that JH is bringing in should change that. Question...who is the last UM LB any good in the NFL since Harris?

I think Stevie Brown made some noise after Harris, but you're on point, they've had little at LB. I expect that to change.

 

[Reality Man]

In regards to Gary...I made this mistake. Everybody looks at his 'performance' but I was watching a video and he has a real nasty streak. I saw him and his Mom and he looks like the nice boy next door but when he gets on that field he takes it personal when you try and stop him.

He plays with a mean streak. This guy has all the tools and can't wait to see him play.


RM

 

[ChicagoBlueFan]

Well my only concern there is once Glasgow went down we got gashed. I mean seriously gashed! If one person on your D-line can break the backbone of your team by that much then we have issues. I am still not convinced that Mattison is a great coach unless he has GREAT players and we got hammered by Minn, Indiana, Ohio State, etc. I mean it was 10x worse - it was not like we went from giving up 50 yards rushing to 70 yards rushing it went to giving up 200 yards+++. I have never seen anything like that. To me that meant that either Glasgow is the 2nd coming of Superman, our D-line depth is absolutely horrible, or Mattison's system is broken and it was the individual effort of a few that kept us going. It also showed me that Wormley and Hurst Jr. are ok, not great and don't bring a mean streak and a motor that is needed.
While I think Mone, Gary and Glasgow will be formidable in my mind the jury is still out on the D-line. We played really well against a Florida team that has no offense so that does not count.
Having said that, I hope you are right and my concerns are not valid because I would love to see a dominant line for 15 games next year!

My b*tch naples won't like this post. No matter how bad the numbers are, "26 seconds" is the best DC ever to coach in the NFL or college FB, and JH is apparently terribly wrong to have not hired him as DC the 2 times he's had to hire a DC at UM. So how could he not be an even better DL coach? It doesn't make sense...

 

[scfanblue]

Michigan under Harbaugh will be much better than they ever were under both Bo and Loyd Carr. He is building a monster just like Saban did in Tuscaloosa. Before Saban arrived, Bama went through a decade of TERRIBLE football and also went through 3 coaching changes. Saban took over a sleeping giant because of the name and tradition it carried quickly brought back the talent. Tressel did the same thing in Columbus and Urban Meyer inherited a great football program and had NOTHING to rebuild. Harbaugh is just getting started. He won 10 games with the same players that Brady LOST with. He brought in a QB that was benched in Iowa and turned him into a NFL drafted QB. What he did this year in Ann Arbor was unbelievable. Michigan came back this year in a BIG way into college football among the relevant programs and they are just getting started. They will win a National Championship under Harbaugh no doubt

 

[detroitjohn]

Michigan under Harbaugh will be much better than they ever were under both Bo and Loyd Carr. He is building a monster just like Saban did in Tuscaloosa. Before Saban arrived, Bama went through a decade of TERRIBLE football and also went through 3 coaching changes. Saban took over a sleeping giant because of the name and tradition it carried quickly brought back the talent. Tressel did the same thing in Columbus and Urban Meyer inherited a great football program and had NOTHING to rebuild. Harbaugh is just getting started. He won 10 games with the same players that Brady LOST with. He brought in a QB that was benched in Iowa and turned him into a NFL drafted QB. What he did this year in Ann Arbor was unbelievable. Michigan came back this year in a BIG way into college football among the relevant programs and they are just getting started. They will win a National Championship under Harbaugh no doubt

Tressel inherited a very talented team and coached them up. They were underperforming, but had plenty of stars. UM was not only underperforming but, overall, was thin this year in terms of talent. Our starters serviceable, but not much after that and, at certain positions, they were a disaster coming into the year (I would never have guessed their WRs would emerge they way they did).