Tag: Jim Harbaugh

Addressing Michigan’s Coaching Situation

Following a 2-4 season and five straight losses to Ohio State – plus an embarrassing loss to Michigan State in 2020 – questions about Jim Harbaugh’s status as head coach have been non-stop. I have a hard time calling for coaches’ jobs, because as a (lower level) coach myself, I know some of the struggles with coaching.

Of course, college coaches have a different situation than high school coaches, because they have more power and more control over which coaches and players enter their program. But there are similarities in that your team’s success is subject to injuries, off-the-field behavior of young people, administrative limits, etc.

So here I would like to address which coaches I would prioritize bringing back, from highest priority to lowest:

Sherrone Moore (Tight Ends): Moore is Michigan’s top recruiter, especially in-state. According to 247 Sports, he’s the #6 recruiter in the country and #2 in the Big Ten (behind Ohio State’s Brian Hartline). I have not been extremely impressed with the performance of Michigan’s tight ends over the past couple seasons, but I think that’s more of an issue with the structure of the offense than the individual players. Regardless, tight end is a position where you can hide a mediocre X’s and O’s/technique coach if the guy coaching them can recruit his butt off. And Moore can. He’s listed as the primary recruiter for QB J.J. McCarthy, OT Giovanni El-Hadi, C Raheem Anderson II, TE Louis Hansen, LB Tyler McLaurin, and WR Andrel Anthony, and he’s the secondary recruiter for RB Donovan Edwards.

Hit the jump for more.

Wisconsin 49, Michigan 11

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This is a shell of a team. Life sucks, at least in a football sense. In addition to starting WR Nico Collins and CB Ambry Thomas, who opted out, Michigan was without DE Kwity Paye, DE Aidan Hutchinson, LT Ryan Hayes, and RT Jalen Mayfield. Basically, every guy who looks like a surefire draft pick (at some point) sat out of this game except S Dax Hill. And if you’re counting on a safety to lead your squad to victory, you’re going to be disappointed most of the time.

Hit the jump.

All-Harbaugh Team: Offense

Thanks to Joe for the generous Paypal contribution over the weekend! It was much appreciated. After getting paid by Amazon, AdSense, etc. for the month of June, that was actually the roughest financial month since I started keeping track in August 2012 . . . and the second worst month in that span was April 2020. That’s fitting, of course, since we’re in the middle of a pandemic and a recession and everything. Anyway, if you would like to contribute, here’s the link:

I like to take a look back at the careers of Michigan’s recent coaches and see which players had the best seasons. After five years at Michigan’s helm, it’s time for a look at Jim Harbaugh’s tenure in Ann Arbor.

QUARTERBACK: 2015 Jake Rudock
Rudock, a former starter at Iowa, decided to grad transfer to Michigan for his final year of eligibility. Unlike some grad transfers who spend the spring at their new school, Rudock did not practice with Michigan until fall camp. Through seven weeks of the season, Rudock threw for 5 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. But when he heated up toward the end of the season, he really heated up. Over the final six contests, he threw 15 touchdowns and just 3 picks on his way to a 10-3 overall record in Harbaugh’s first year. His final stats included 249/389 (64.0%) on completions, 3017 yards, 20 touchdowns, 9 interceptions; he also ran for 166 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Hit the jump for more.

How to “Fix” Michigan Recruiting

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The title of this article implies that Michigan recruiting needs to be fixed. How terrible is it? Let’s take a look at class rankings during the Jim Harbaugh era using the 247 Composite rankings:

2015 (Harbaugh/Hoke combined class): #37 overall, #5 in Big Ten
2016: #8 overall, #2 in Big Ten
2017: #5 overall, #2 in Big Ten
2018: #22 overall, #3 in Big Ten
2019: #8 overall, #1 in Big Ten
2020: #14 overall, #2 in Big Ten
*2021: #6 overall, #2 in Big Ten (as of May 25, 2020)
AVERAGE: #11.4 overall, #2 in Big Ten

*Not included in averages

Not counting the 2015 combined class when Harbaugh had just one month to try to make up ground, he has averaged the #11 class in the country and finished as either #1, #2, or #3 class in the conference. It’s noteworthy that they have not finished behind any team from the Big Ten West during that time – only Ohio State and/or Penn State.

Hit the jump to see how I would go about improving Michigan’s recruiting.

Jim Harbaugh’s Coaching Hires

Jim Harbaugh was hired at Michigan prior to the 2015 season. Here’s a look at how his coaching staff has filled out and progressed over the years.

Hit the jump for more.