Preface: when I started Will2Win, my editorial philosophy was to focus upon Spartan Football, and it still is my focus, yet the Spartans play in a 14 team conference, and I think it’s important to include content of other Big Ten opponents across the Big Ten landscape.
So as Spring Training is underway on Big Ten campuses, it’s an opportunity to review other Big Ten teams, and there is no better place to start than with University of Michigan, the reigning Big Ten Champion. So, let’s take a look and I hope you find it informative!
Jim Harbaugh finally won a Big Ten title, but he is not in the pantheon of brilliant coaches or historic leaders
Building an coherent football organization is arguably the single most important characteristic of Championship coaches because an efficient organization is the centerpiece that sets the table for hiring assistant coaches and staff, scouting and recruiting, crafting playbooks, establishing game plans and efficiently calling plays at game speed.
In brief, organizational architecture is the foundation of success. Of course, certain coaches do it better than most, including but not limited to Dabo Swinney (Clemson), Lincoln Riley (Oklahoma/USC), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Ryan Day (Ohio State) and of course, the inimitable Nick Saban…but let’s be clear, Jim Harbaugh is not on the list.
After 11 years coaching Power 5 football (4 at Stanford & 7 at Michigan) Jim Harbaugh only has one undisputed conference title…yet shortly after winning Michigan’s first Big Ten title since 2004, and getting an invitation to the CFP, Harbaugh lost both his Offensive and Defensive Coordinators.
On January 27, Mike MacDonald, Michigan’s Defensive Coordinator departed after just one season at Michigan to take a similar job with the Baltimore Ravens.
And then on February 17, Josh Gattis, Michigan’s Offensive Coordinator departed after just 3 seasons at Michigan to take a similar job with University of Miami Hurricanes, citing he didn’t feel appreciated at Michigan.
Whatever the reason for their respective departures, the fact remains that neither MacDonald or Gattis established long term tenures at Michigan, but moreover both coaches left the program less than 50 days after Michigan’s best season since 1997. In brief, MacDonald and Gattis both decided it was time to find “greener pastures” and therefore had no intention of demonstrating a false measure of loyalty to good ole Jim Harbaugh and/or the Maize & Blue!
Keep in mind, MacDonald and Gattis enabled Harbaugh to win his first ever Power 5 Conference Championship, and during Michigan’s Big Ten title run, Michigan’s Defense ranked a respectable #20 when measured against 130 D-1 Schools (good but not great). On the other hand, Michigan’s Offense ranked a functional #25. Neither unit was dynamic or dominant, but together, it was just enough to win a Big Ten title.
Yet, why should we be surprised at MacDonald and Gattis leaving?
After all, Jim Harbaugh has churned thru an unprecedented 30 Assistant Coaches in just 7 seasons at Michigan, and if you believe in the power of organizational continuity as a foundation of success whether it be business, sports or everyday life (and I hope you do) then Harbaugh is anything but a model of organizational continuity and stability, in fact he might best be described as an overseer of organizational disorder.
So, it’s fair to ask the question: if you don’t have consistency, then who are you? It seems to me, Jim Harbaugh has lost the plot!
The Harbaugh coaching churn:
I don’t expect any reader will be overly interested in studying a list of coaching changes under Jim Harbaugh, but seeing an itemized list of 30 coaches who have come and gone at Michigan in just 7 years is beyond shocking.
Take a quick look:
Defensive Coaching Churn:
- DJ Durkin…Defensive Coordinator
- Greg Mattison…Defensive Coordinator
- Don Brown…Defensive Coordinator
- Mike MacDonald…Defensive Coordinator
- Al Washington…Linebackers Coach
- Anthony Campanile…Linebackers Coach
- Chris Partridge…Director of Player Personnel…Special Teams Coordinator…Linebackers…Safeties
- Bob Shoop…Safeties
- Mike Zordich…Cornerbacks
- Greg Jackson…D-Backs
- Brian Jackson…D-Backs
- Shaun Nua…D-Line
Offensive Coaching Churn:
- Tim Drevno…Offensive Coordinator
- Dan Enos…Offensive Coordinator
- Josh Gattis…Offensive Coordinator
- Jim McElwain…Receivers
- Ben McDaniels…Quarterbacks
- Jedd Fisch…Passing Game Coordinator
- Pep Hamilton…Asst Head Coach & Passing Game Coordinator
- Ed Warinner…Offensive Line
- Greg Frey…Running Game Coordinator & Tight Ends
- Tyrone Wheatley…Running Backs
Special Teams Churn:
- John Baxter…Special Teams Coordinator
- Kelvin Tolbert…Strength & Conditioning
There you have it: Harbaugh has churned through more than 30 assistant coaches in just 7 years, including 4 Defensive Coordinators and 3 Defensive Coordinators (no wonder Harbaugh doesn’t have consistency).
So, let’s ask another question: does Jim Harbaugh wear out his assistant coaches, or is Jim Harbaugh simply incapable of building a stable organization, or is he simply a bad judge of coaching talent?
It doesn’t require great analysis because it’s the same result!
So, why all the hype about Harbaugh?
There is a long standing principle that organizational continuity begets consistency, and consistency is the foundation of stability, and stability is a precursor to excellence.
Yet Harbaugh’s failure and/or inability to oversee coaching continuity underscores “just why” he has posted just a single undisputed conference title after 11 years coaching Power 5 football in spite of the fact he consistently acquires Top 10 recruiting classes stocked with future NFL players.
Yet, Harbaugh has precious little to show for his organizational tinkering…after all, there is just one Big Ten Trophy in his Trophy Case.
Moreover, on the big tally sheet whereby we measure pluses and minuses, Harbaugh’s meager Big Ten championship is offset and underscored by an upside down 1-5 record vs Ohio State; a 3-4 record vs Michigan State; and 5 consecutive Bowl losses.
Yet, some refer to Harbaugh as a Quarterback Guru, or Quarterback Whisperer, but really? Let’s be honest, Harbaugh is a beleaguered architect of one of the most unimaginative Offenses in Power 5 football.
From 2015 to 2020, Michigan’s best Offensive ranking was #49 in 2018 (certainly nothing to boast about) while his worst season was a dismal #105 ranking in 2017.
In fact, from 2015 to 2020, Harbaugh’s “old school” Offense posted dismal rankings in this order: #69…#58…#105…#49…#68…and #78 when measured against 130 D-1 schools. Of course, any ranking lower than #65 ranks in the bottom 50th percentile and in that context, Harbaugh has etched 4 bottom tier rankings in just 7 seasons!
So, we have to ask yet another question: why all the hype about Jim Harbaugh?
Michigan would have been better served if Harbaugh left for the NFL (but the NFL didn’t want him).
Casual observers thought Harbaugh would be an NFL coaching prize, but the NFL said, “not so fast”…we don’t want you!
After all, there were 9 NFL teams seeking head coaches after the 2021 NFL season, yet Harbaugh received just one invitation to interview with the Minnesota Vikings (call it a courtesy interview) but at the end of the day the Vikings rejected 58 year old Jim Harbaugh in favor of 36 year old Kevin O’Connell.
Of course, O’Connell was Offensive Coordinator and architect of the LA Rams offense which just won a Super Bowl Championship. In brief, O’Connell’s youth and achievements were credentials Jim Harbaugh simply couldn’t match.
In fact not a single NFL team put forth an offer for the idiosyncratic Jim Harbaugh, nevertheless after a public dalliance with the Vikings, Michigan welcomed Harbaugh back with open arms because…well…Jim Harbaugh was a “Michigan Man” yet in reality Harbaugh is a self-serving vagabond logging 4 head coaching gigs in just 17 years.
By all accounts, Michigan could have, and should have told Harbaugh to hit the road…but they didn’t.
Meanwhile, virtually every NFL team engaged in a coaching search except one, opted for youth:
- Dolphins, Jags and Vikings chose coaches in their 30’s;
- Broncos, Giants, Raiders and Saints chose coaches in their 40’s;
- Meanwhile the Bears chose the older Matt Eberflus who is 51, nevertheless he is a full 7 years younger than Harbaugh, and of course, the foundering Houston Texans were the single outlier which opted for a sexagenarian when they hired the well-travelled 63 year old Lovie Smith.
So, Michigan was willing to be second fiddle to an idiosyncratic, vagabond, and let’s remember, prior to Michigan, Harbaugh had 3 short term coaching gigs: University of San Diego (3 years); Stanford (4 years); and San Francisco 49ers (4 years) and failed to create a legacy anywhere.
Let’s just say, long term tenure is not Harbaugh’s stock in trade.
Yet, the message from the NFL was loud and clear. The NFL clearly did not think Harbaugh was good value, and they certainly didn’t believe he provided a reliable return on investment. After all, 9 NFL teams sought new Head Coaches, and not a single NFL team gave Harbaugh a meaningful look.
So, while Michigan welcomed Harbaugh back with “open arms” and a new 5 year, $37 million contract, on the other hand, 9 NFL teams made an unspoken statement that Harbaugh is not only “over the hill” but he is also an organizational liability and as former NFL Quarterback, Chris Simms said eloquently: Harbaugh is a jerk who wears out his welcome wherever he goes!
At the bottom line: (Harbaugh’s high water mark is in the rearview mirror and his best days are done):
There is an assumption by Michigan Beat Writers that Harbaugh will reload at Michigan, but I ask the question, “reload to what”?
Let’s remember, Michigan isn’t Alabama, and Harbaugh isn’t Nick Saban. After all, Nick Saban has won 7 National Championships at two different schools, including LSU 2003, as well as an astounding 6 National Titles at Alabama in just 11 years, including 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020.
By comparison, Jim Harbaugh’s high water mark is a single Power 5 Conference Championship after 11 futile tries.
Yet after posting his best regular season at a Power 5 school, Jim Harbaugh got embarrassed nationally in a beat down by Georgia 34-11. In fact, in that game, Michigan’s Defense yielded a whopping 522 Yards to Georgia (nearly 200 yards more than Michigan’s season average), and in turn Michigan Offense posted just 114 Yards Rushing or 100 yards less than their Rushing average. It would be fair to say Jim Harbaugh did not have a coherent game plan, and Michigan players were unprepared…and Harbaugh embarrassed the Big Ten
So, let’s be clear, Jim Harbaugh doesn’t have the capacity to “reload” ala Nick Saban (never has…never will).
In fact, it would be fair to say Jim Harbaugh is “light years” away from winning a National Title…and while Nick Saban’s teams peak at the end of each season, to the contrary, Jim Harbaugh’s teams are generally unprepared and fold, hence 5 consecutive Bowl losses.
So, what did Michigan’s think they got by signing Harbaugh to a new contract?
History tells us that Harbaugh arguably notched his “high water mark” last season, meanwhile the two Coordinators that helped Jim Harbaugh win his first undisputed Power 5 conference championship, took off as soon as the season was over, and now Jim Harbaugh is in full “rebuild” mode instead of “reload” mode.
Yet, Michigan got what they wanted: they got a “Michigan Man” that fulfills its judgement that only a “Michigan Man” can coach Michigan Football. Of course, the absence of National Titles in its trophy case (just one National Title since 1950), tells us Michigan’ needs a different organizational strategy.
At the bottom line, given his public dalliance with the Minnesota Vikings, Harbaugh gave Michigan a gift wrapped opportunity to part company with the “quirky/idiosyncratic” coach, and in turn Michigan had an opportunity to search for a young, dynamic football coach in the likeness of Lincoln Riley (38), Ryan Day (43), Kirby Smart (46), or a young Nick Saban and that coach would have an opportunity to guide Michigan Football at Championship levels for at least a couple decades.
Instead, Michigan opted to retain a “tired…quirky…eccentric…old school ball coach” who will arguably hold onto the job until he is unable to hold onto a clipboard any longer, and in so doing, he will continue to disrupt the organizational solidarity and continuity of a school with great potential that always falls short.
Michigan Football chose a “Michigan Man” whose best days are done!
Thank you for reading, and you can always go to Will2Win.blog for more information.
