All Things SkunkBear

[TomHaverford]

Lots of people. Pointless to get into this now.

there are always a couple coaches who become available when nobody thought they would this time every year.

I agree with you on Chip Kelly for instance. If the Eagles miss the playoffs for a second year in a row, his seat will be very hot.

 

[Crazy Balki]

I think from a recruiting perspective, this changes little to nothing. Up until this year, Hoke has always recruited extremely well. I think the main difference will be what Harbaugh gets out of them. We were battling Michigan for recruits regardless of how bad/good they were. Ohio State is a similar boat, and we seem to win more than our fair share of recruiting battles, not to mention that the midwest isn't the only place ND recruits. I think the big key for this 2016 class and beyond is getting down to Atlanta, and forming those ties with the South. The summer camp at GSU will go a very long way in forming a recruiting base for ND in the South.

 

[Irish#1]

Another thing... the only thing stopping ND from hiring a Grade A coach is money. Pony up $8mil/year and you can get virtually whoever you want (with obvious exceptions). But we're not willing to do that.

We have a near $10billion dollar endowment and the second most valuable team but the administration is not willing to go financially "all in" and probably never will be. It's sad. We'll instead always be stuck gambling on somebody like Whittingham or whoever that we can snag for around #3mil/season.

I'm hoping that this Harbaugh to Michigan is actually a good thing in that it'll give the administration a wakeup call. If Chip Kelly misses the playoffs next year.......... #justsayin

Keep dreaming.

 

[BobD]

I think from a recruiting perspective, this changes little to nothing. Up until this year, Hoke has always recruited extremely well. I think the main difference will be what Harbaugh gets out of them. We were battling Michigan for recruits regardless of how bad/good they were. Ohio State is a similar boat, and we seem to win more than our fair share of recruiting battles, not to mention that the midwest isn't the only place ND recruits. I think the big key for this 2016 class and beyond is getting down to Atlanta, and forming those ties with the South. The summer camp at GSU will go a very long way in forming a recruiting base for ND in the South.

Hoke had to recruit, Harbaugh will have to decide who he takes. That is the difference and its a big one.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Harbaugh is a slam dunk hire. And absolutely the right decision. But everyone seems to be locking him in for coach of the year the next few. The only D1 CFB team he ever coached was Stanford for 4 years. He was barely over .500 with a decent list of players now in the NFL. Most management can't stand him past year 3. He's an easy sell on the recruiting trail, but their roster is not great at the moment. OSU and MSU aren't going anywhere either. He may do great, and may do meh. Writing him in for 10 wins annually, a B1G championship annually, and staying past year 4 is a stretch.

 

[TomHaverford]

Harbaugh is a slam dunk hire. And absolutely the right decision. But everyone seems to be locking him in for coach of the year the next few. The only D1 CFB team he ever coached was Stanford for 4 years. He was barely over .500 with a decent list of players now in the NFL. Most management can't stand him past year 3. He's an easy sell on the recruiting trail, but their roster is not great at the moment. OSU and MSU aren't going anywhere either. He may do great, and may do meh. Writing him in for 10 wins annually, a B1G championship annually, and staying past year 4 is a stretch.

1) you think our roster is bad? He had to rebuild a team with a truly terrible roster that was like 3-9 and 1-11 the two years before. By year 3 he turned that program around to 8-5, year 4 he turned it around to 12-1 with a BCS win. He handed a well-oiled machine off to David Shaw and all Shaw had to do was keep it going. He rebuilt a program at Stanford that was truly in the pits, an did it all while having his hands tied behind his back in terms of recruiting solely because most big-time recruits simply cannot get admitted to Stanford.

2) most management can't stand him, might be true. But interim AD Jim Hackett is friends with his Jim's father, played for him under Bo, and word is that Hackett will stay on for at least 2-3 years and that Harbaugh will help pick the next AD. Jim's father Jack is also said to be moving to Ann Arbor. My guess is he'll be around the football offices a lot and act as a buffer if any problems were to arise.

3) For the last time our roster isn't nearly as bad as some of you make it out to be, and Harbaugh has shown a great ability regardless of where he's been, whether it be at San Diego, Stanford, or in the NFL with the 49ers, to get the absolute most out of what he has. He takes players that weren't performing or were used to losing and gets the absolute most out of them. He's a lighting rod that can change a culture as great as any coach that I've ever seen.

4) The B1G is absolute dog crap apart from Ohio and MSU. Literal dog crap.

 

[Irish Insanity]

^So Tom, would you be happy if his stay at Michigan mirrored that of Stanford? I guess I assumed you guys were desiring more than 2 mediocre years followed by a good one then a great one, just for him to leave. Like I said before, he's a slam dunk hire. And the one you have to make. But he hasn't shown anywhere along the way his ability to mesh with management or stay past year 4. His contract is healthy. But 4 years from now, or less, and NFL team comes calling that can offer him a shot at a SB that he could get in SF. He's gone and you're no better off.

 

[scUM Hater]

Funny how at a time like this scUM fans come to an ND site...I am not impressed by a scUMbaugh hiring. He will be gone in 2 years after realizing how much he hates to recruit and deal with college kids. His ego is bigger than Petey Carrols.

 

[IrishLax]

Funny how at a time like this scUM fans come to an ND site...I am not impressed by a scUMbaugh hiring. He will be gone in 2 years after realizing how much he hates to recruit and deal with college kids. His ego is bigger than Petey Carrols.

I'm guessing buyouts will make it somewhere between hard and impossible for him to leave before at least 3 and probably 4 years.

 

[drake29]

It's good for the MW, good for the Big10, bad for ND.

That said, academic requirements are a far bigger barrier than Jim ever could be. We need to do a better job developing what we have, and perhaps a tweak or two to the systems could attract more skilled personnel.

But the shouldn't be. Stanford has been getting solid players for the past several years (kids ND should be all over). High level 4 and 5 star players. Why can't we get those kids that commit to Stanford, and any that are committed to places like UVA, Vandy, Duke, etc?

 

[drake29]

I'm guessing buyouts will make it somewhere between hard and impossible for him to leave before at least 3 and probably 4 years.

If Harbaugh really wants to go back to the NFL soon, he'll make sure isn't the case.

 

[Rizzophil]

I'm guessing buyouts will make it somewhere between hard and impossible for him to leave before at least 3 and probably 4 years.

Great point Lax. I'm sure that will be a negotiation and Harbaugh with leverage meeting with the Raiders.

 

[Crazy Balki]

Hoke had to recruit, Harbaugh will have to decide who he takes. That is the difference and its a big one.

Not really. Harbaugh will still have to recruit, and honestly, I don't see him exceeding what Hoke did in that area. Hoke was an incompetent coach, but he could recruit as well as anybody. Only difference is with Harbaugh, the guys that he'll be getting, he'll more than likely get a lot more out of them.

 

[West Coast Domer]

Funny how at a time like this scUM fans come to an ND site...I am not impressed by a scUMbaugh hiring. He will be gone in 2 years after realizing how much he hates to recruit and deal with college kids. His ego is bigger than Petey Carrols.

You wouldn't love to have him?? I would take him any day. Just because he is Michigans coach doesn't mean it's a bad hire.

 

[BGIF]

But the shouldn't be. Stanford has been getting solid players for the past several years (kids ND should be all over). High level 4 and 5 star players. Why can't we get those kids that commit to Stanford, and any that are committed to places like UVA, Vandy, Duke, etc?

Just a couple of wildass guesses:

Because they want to stay local.

Because they want to play in warmer weather.

Because they don't want parietals.

Because they don't want a religious school structure.

Because they don't love the smell of ethanol in the morning.

Add Res Life, Honor Code, du Lac, etc, etc,

 

[dudexcore]

I don't care who coaches Michigan. That entire university can huff my dong.

 

[BoredIrish]

I don't care who coaches Michigan. That entire university can huff my dong.

BOLD PREDICTION: Raiders come in at the 11th hour with a big money deal... Skunkbears left at the altar.

Kyle Whittingham hired within the next 24 hours.

 

[IrishLax]

If Harbaugh really wants to go back to the NFL soon, he'll make sure isn't the case.

That's not how stuff works. You can't just wave a wand and get no buyout penalty for you quitting whenever you want, but expect the opposite party to make you highest paid coach in CFB with guaranteed money.

 

[kmoose]

But the shouldn't be. Stanford has been getting solid players for the past several years (kids ND should be all over). High level 4 and 5 star players. Why can't we get those kids that commit to Stanford, and any that are committed to places like UVA, Vandy, Duke, etc?

Since Brian Kelly has been at ND, he has outrecruited Stanford. Kelly has signed 61 four star guys, to Stanford's 39. Kelly has also signed 8 five star guys to Stanford's 3.

 

[NCND]

Since Brian Kelly has been at ND, he has outrecruited Stanford. Kelly has signed 61 four star guys, to Stanford's 39. Kelly has also signed 8 five star guys to Stanford's 3.

Yet, They still have won more games.

 

[kmoose]

Yet, They still have one more games.

My comment was strictly a response to the assertion that we have been losing a bunch of 4 and 5 star guys to programs like Stanford. That's obviously not true, based on the actual numbers. I wasn't trying to draw any other conclusions.

 

[IrishLax]

Yet, They still have won more games.

I mean... sorta? In the last 3 seasons... i.e. Shaw's guys versus Kelly's for the most part... ND is 2-1 against Stanford, and 28-10 overall. Stanford is 30-10. Shrug.

I don't see how anyone looks at the current roster at Stanford and would trade ND's for it. They're deeper on defense but not better when you look at projected starters, and they're much worse across the board on offense.

 

[NCND]

I mean... sorta? In the last 3 seasons... i.e. Shaw's guys versus Kelly's for the most part... ND is 2-1 against Stanford, and 27-9 in the regular season. Stanford is 29-9. Shrug.

I don't see how anyone looks at the current roster at Stanford and would trade ND's for it. They're deeper on defense but not better when you look at projected starters, and they're much worse across the board on offense.

I'm looking at BCS wins man. ND hasn't won a Major Bowl game since 1994 or some shit.

 

[phork]

BOLD PREDICTION: Raiders come in at the 11th hour with a big money deal... Skunkbears left at the altar.

Kyle Whittingham hired within the next 24 hours.

One can dream, but the 49ers have to grant permission first.

 

[TheChosen1]

Mark Snyder@Mark__Snyder

Harbaugh on U-M: "There will be announcements made concerning those things."

Everything with Harbaugh is past tense in this presser. "I think we accomplished great things."

Harbaugh asked if he'll miss the NFL, grinning: "Is the NFL going somewhere?"

Adam Schefter‏@AdamSchefter

Jim Harbaugh and 49ers have mutually parted ways, per source.

 

[EddytoNow]

I'm looking at BCS wins man. ND hasn't won a Major Bowl game since 1994 or some shit.

As a fan of both Notre Dame and the Detroit Lions for over 40 years, I haven't watched many meaningful post-season victories in the past few years. With Notre Dame matched up against LSU and the Lions scheduled to play at Dallas, it doesn't look as if this year will be much different.

Well, at least the pain of watching Notre Dame and Detroit will be over by next week. The season ends and the drama of the off-season begins. Who will decommit, transfer, or be suspended for academic reasons, and who will sustain a career-ending injury? And best-of-all, who will be in Kelly's doghouse next year and create an opening for a less-talented player to start?

I think Michigan fans have more reason to be optimistic than Notre Dame fans. I have seen nothing over the past five seasons to suggest Notre Dame is getting better. The roster is full of Kelly's recruits. The team lacks heart and consistency. Can anyone provide me with evidence that we are nearer to either?

I think that Harbaugh will bring an intensity and consistency to Michigan football that Notre Dame will continue to lack. Can anyone provide concrete evidence to suggest I should be more positive regarding the future of Notre Dame football?

 

[NCND]

As a fan of both Notre Dame and the Detroit Lions for over 40 years, I haven't watched many meaningful post-season victories in the past few years. With Notre Dame matched up against LSU and the Lions scheduled to play at Dallas, it doesn't look as if this year will be much different.

Well, at least the pain of watching Notre Dame and Detroit will be over by next week. The season ends and the drama of the off-season begins. Who will decommit, transfer, or be suspended for academic reasons, and who will sustain a career-ending injury? And best-of-all, who will be in Kelly's doghouse next year and create an opening for a less-talented player to start?

I think Michigan fans have more reason to be optimistic than Notre Dame fans. I have seen nothing over the past five seasons to suggest Notre Dame is getting better. The roster is full of Kelly's recruits. The team lacks heart and consistency. Can anyone provide me with evidence that we are nearer to either?

I think that Harbaugh will bring an intensity and consistency to Michigan football that Notre Dame will continue to lack. Can anyone provide concrete evidence to suggest I should be more positive regarding the future of Notre Dame football?

Agree. Sorry to continue to derail the thread but next year is New Year's Six bowl or bust. Now, back to Michigan.

 

[TomHaverford]

BOLD PREDICTION: Raiders come in at the 11th hour with a big money deal... Skunkbears left at the altar.

Kyle Whittingham hired within the next 24 hours.

I'd take Whittingham. Great coach.

 

[TheChosen1]

As already reported.

@BruceFeldmanCFB: Jim Harbaugh is scheduled to take a 10 AM PT flight on a private jet to #Michigan Monday morning, source tells @FoxSports.

 

[phork]

"The San Francisco 49ers and Jim Harbaugh have mutually agreed to part ways," the team's release read. "The 49ers organization has begun its search for the team's next head coach, while Harbaugh is now free to consider his next coaching opportunity without any constraints."

I think that is very interesting... Granted outright release?