All Things SkunkBear

[phork]

When you read between the lines, it's pretty clear that the 49ers don't want him in Oakland and their trade demands made him untouchable for most teams and that Michigan is a really soft landing spot where he won't have to deal with this BS and he'll be able to jump back to the NFL for the "perfect situation" on his terms a la Pete Carroll should that desire ever come.

Some accounts have the 49ers just firing him outright at the end of the season.

 

[woolybug25]

Is he elite? Potentially. I think you're saying that he doesn't have the resume to be considered elite. I think that's right. But my opinion is that he will be, especially if he takes a solid college position.

You're saying the same thing as me. I'm not saying he's not a good coach, I like him. What I'm saying is that when rotten skunkbears like Tom come on here saying he's "elite" and "better than Meyer", then I say "how so". Meyer has a better winning percentage and multiple titles. Something Harbaugh never sniffed.

Harbaugh certainly seems like a guy capable of it, but he hasn't done it yet, and he sure as hell ain't a better coach than Urban Meyer as of today.

 

[woolybug25]

FWIW, he had two 11-1 seasons at SDU. And his arc at Stanford was very good...4, 5, 8, and 12 wins. He built that team for sustained success and set up Shaw extremely well.

Kinda off topic, but I do find it ironic that if a coach came into Notre Dame or Michigan and went 4, 5 and 8... well, he may not get an opportunity on that fourth season.

Nothing in regards to the Harbaugh situation, but find it interesting.

 

[IrishLax]

Some accounts have the 49ers just firing him outright at the end of the season.

It's my guess... pure guess... that in the meeting they had a week or so ago they said something like "look, if you want to go back to college we'll cut ties and make it clean... but if you try to go to another NFL team, we'll hold your contract and not release you until we get compensation. If we don't get compensation we're going to hold onto your contract until it gets too late in the cycle and they have to fill the job up." Basically Option A is painless and easy, Option B we'll make very difficult for you and the team to execute unless we get compensated.

 

[woolybug25]

It's my guess... pure guess... that in the meeting they had a week or so ago they said something like "look, if you want to go back to college we'll cut ties and make it clean... but if you try to go to another NFL team, we'll hold your contract and not release you until we get compensation. If we don't get compensation we're going to hold onto your contract until it gets too late in the cycle and they have to fill the job up." Basically Option A is painless and easy, Option B we'll make very difficult for you and the team to execute unless we get compensated.

I feel like a team would compensate them though, no?

If i'm the Raiders or the Jets, I sell the farm for him. They have pretty big projects in front of them and a good coach would be the best place to start.

I wish the Bears would offer to pay Cutler's $38M guaranteed, pay the guaranteed amount left on Harbaugh and kill two birds with one stone. A man can dream...

 

[NDRock]

I feel like a team would compensate them though, no?

If i'm the Raiders or the Jets, I sell the farm for him. They have pretty big projects in front of them and a good coach would be the best place to start.

I read somewhere that Harbaugh may not want to go to a team that has to "sell the farm" for him as it will make it much more difficult to rebuild without the draft picks/players they would have to give up.

 

[pumpdog20]

I feel like a team would compensate them though, no?

If i'm the Raiders or the Jets, I sell the farm for him. They have pretty big projects in front of them and a good coach would be the best place to start.

I wish the Bears would offer to pay Cutler's $38M guaranteed, pay the guaranteed amount left on Harbaugh and kill two birds with one stone. A man can dream...

2 men can dream.

 

[IrishLax]

I feel like a team would compensate them though, no?

If i'm the Raiders or the Jets, I sell the farm for him. They have pretty big projects in front of them and a good coach would be the best place to start.

I wish the Bears would offer to pay Cutler's $38M guaranteed, pay the guaranteed amount left on Harbaugh and kill two birds with one stone. A man can dream...

I read somewhere that Harbaugh may not want to go to a team that has to "sell the farm" for him as it will make it much more difficult to rebuild without the draft picks/players they would have to give up.

Yeah, you obviously can't buy every report out there, but there is talk that San Francisco was basically asking for multiple top draft picks before the season and hasn't lowered their price since... and all other parties involved find it unreasonable.

 

[TheChosen1]

Jim Harbaugh will meet with Michigan officials this weekend - NFL.com

 

[phork]

Jim Harbaugh will meet with Michigan officials this weekend - NFL.com

Oakland will also be in the house.

 

[china423]

Not sure how credible this is:

@JoePequenoCBS5: Source says, Harbaugh will tell SF team after Sunday's game and be introduced Tuesday. Once again, nothing signed, but UM confident.

https://twitter.com/joepequenocbs5/status/548637223734607872

 

[vmgsf]

If San Francisco realizes get nothing if goes to Michigan will they suddenly get much more reasonable about compensation if stays in NFL? Some very tough negotiating going on here? I will follow this with interest.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

You're saying the same thing as me. I'm not saying he's not a good coach, I like him. What I'm saying is that when rotten skunkbears like Tom come on here saying he's "elite" and "better than Meyer", then I say "how so". Meyer has a better winning percentage and multiple titles. Something Harbaugh never sniffed.

Harbaugh certainly seems like a guy capable of it, but he hasn't done it yet, and he sure as hell ain't a better coach than Urban Meyer as of today.

Yes, we're agreeing. I think he IS elite, but the jury is still out. I just don't think his resume is quite there, mostly because he was coaching at SD and Stanford. I think he'd have an elite resume if he had Urban's jobs.

Although I think finishing 12-1 (only loss to #3 Oregon), ending the year #4, and winning in a blow out in the Orange Bowl is pretty darn close to "sniffing" a title.

Kinda off topic, but I do find it ironic that if a coach came into Notre Dame or Michigan and went 4, 5 and 8... well, he may not get an opportunity on that fourth season.

Nothing in regards to the Harbaugh situation, but find it interesting.

Rich Rod didn't. What a stupid decision that was.

 

[ThePiombino]

Rich Rod didn't. What a stupid decision that was.

He was effed before his first loss. Wasn't a Michigan Man, lots of opposition with the UM family to the hire, etc. It was only a matter of when. Welp, egg on UM's face for that now.

 

[Grahambo]

How bad will it be when Harbaugh struggles out of the gate because their roster is terrible?

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

How bad will it be when Harbaugh struggles out of the gate because their roster is terrible?

I would say great!

 

[TomHaverford]

If San Francisco realizes get nothing if goes to Michigan will they suddenly get much more reasonable about compensation if stays in NFL? Some very tough negotiating going on here? I will follow this with interest.

I think the one team that San Fran doesn't want him to go to is Oakland just 35 miles away. If the 49ers started to falter next year and Harbaugh turned Oakland around, the 49ers GM and owner who pushed Harbaugh out would have a lot of egg on their face and fan revolt on their hands. I think that is probably the one team they don't want him at regardless.

The only way they'd probably trade him to Oakland is if Oakland gave up a kings ransom. But if you're Harbaugh and you're going to a really bad Oakland team that needs all the picks it can get to improve, do you want to go there when your former team is going to get a ton of your new teams draft picks?

One thing to keep in mind with Oakland, their stadium lease is up after 2015. There's a very good chance they won't even be in the Bay Area after next year.

 

[TomHaverford]

How bad will it be when Harbaugh struggles out of the gate because their roster is terrible?

1) our roster isn't as terrible as you think

2) have you seen the schedule? it's easy, and the B1G is trash.

3) expectations will be low the first couple years. nobody would expect him to come in and win championships right away. the guy has the cache and the "Michigan Man" card to get a full 5 years to turn this thing around.

 

[Irish Insanity]

This feels like another Hoke hire to me.

Well except the cupboards weren't bare for Hoke.

 

[TomHaverford]

Rich Rod didn't. What a stupid decision that was.

you can say that again.

But as another poster said, people in the AD and those connected (Lloyd Carr) actively tried to undermine Rodriguez from the beginning, and he was even more screwed once that asshat Dave Brandon took the AD job.

Rodriguez is a fantastic football coach, there is no doubt in my mind that he'd have turned around Michigan if he was given more time.

 

[phork]

1) our roster isn't as terrible as you think

2) have you seen the schedule? it's easy, and the B1G is trash.

3) expectations will be low the first couple years. nobody would expect him to come in and win championships right away. the guy has the cache and the "Michigan Man" card to get a full 5 years to turn this thing around.

Your roster isn't as terrible as we think? You mean its worse? No QB, no stand out WRs. Only really one really proven RB in Smith, Green has been pretty mediocre as a 5* and hurt. Johnson torn his ACL, twice, and Isaac is unproven. The Oline is still a sieve, the only bright spot is Butt.

 

[DonnieNarco]

He'll have a good year there until the Indianapolis Colts poach him.

 

[Irish Insanity]

How many years was he at SD, at Stanford, and SF? He won't be any longer at UM. It's hard to tell if he can build UM back when he hasn't been anywhere long enough to show a long term effect

 

[IrishLax]

1) our roster isn't as terrible as you think

2) have you seen the schedule? it's easy, and the B1G is trash.

3) expectations will be low the first couple years. nobody would expect him to come in and win championships right away. the guy has the cache and the "Michigan Man" card to get a full 5 years to turn this thing around.

This is the crux of it. Outside of Ohio State, no one in the B1G has decidedly more talent than Michigan right now. Michigan has some good players on defense... legitimate, NFL caliber players. With just those guys and some good coaching Harbaugh could win 10 games with an offense that manages to score 21 points or so a game.

Where Michigan lacks talent is at skill positions on offense. Well, at Stanford Harbaugh won with truly mediocre skill players around Luck. If anyone can play half-decent at QB, he can beat bad B1G defenses. And I have no doubt he'll whip the OL into at least serviceable shape. Michigan doesn't have to be better than Alabama, just better than MSU minus Narduzzi, still recovering from sanctions Penn State, etc.

I don't see how he "fails" but I do see him being gone in 4-7 years for the right pro job. But Michigan will be in a much better place when he leaves.

 

[Grahambo]

This is the crux of it. Outside of Ohio State, no one in the B1G has decidedly more talent than Michigan right now. Michigan has some good players on defense... legitimate, NFL caliber players. With just those guys and some good coaching Harbaugh could win 10 games with an offense that manages to score 21 points or so a game.



Where Michigan lacks talent is at skill positions on offense. Well, at Stanford Harbaugh won with truly mediocre skill players around Luck. If anyone can play half-decent at QB, he can beat bad B1G defenses. And I have no doubt he'll whip the OL into at least serviceable shape. Michigan doesn't have to be better than Alabama, just better than MSU minus Narduzzi, still recovering from sanctions Penn State, etc.



I don't see how he "fails" but I do see him being gone in 4-7 years for the right pro job. But Michigan will be in a much better place when he leaves.

I'll disagree here. Harbaugh isn't winning 10 games next season at Michigan.

 

[DonnieNarco]

10 wins in the Big 10 doesn't mean much. They'll have 7 easy conference games.

 

[TomHaverford]

This is the crux of it. Outside of Ohio State, no one in the B1G has decidedly more talent than Michigan right now. Michigan has some good players on defense... legitimate, NFL caliber players. With just those guys and some good coaching Harbaugh could win 10 games with an offense that manages to score 21 points or so a game.

Where Michigan lacks talent is at skill positions on offense. Well, at Stanford Harbaugh won with truly mediocre skill players around Luck. If anyone can play half-decent at QB, he can beat bad B1G defenses. And I have no doubt he'll whip the OL into at least serviceable shape. Michigan doesn't have to be better than Alabama, just better than MSU minus Narduzzi, still recovering from sanctions Penn State, etc.

I don't see how he "fails" but I do see him being gone in 4-7 years for the right pro job. But Michigan will be in a much better place when he leaves.

agree with all that, even the last part.

Harbaugh is still young enough to make that jump back to the NFL down the road. I think if he does take the Michigan job, he'll be there for around 6-7 years, then take another stab at the NFL. I think he's just to competitive not to.

He could be a lifer if he wanted to and stay at Michigan for 20 years, but that competitive itch won't go away.

Regardless he will leave the program in much better shape than when he found it. Worked out very well for Stanford. He rebuilt Stanford and changed the entire culture there and brought David Shaw with him to Stanford from San Diego, and Shaw took that job and has kept things going the last 4 years going 41-12.

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Look at that Tom is back. This sucks guys, Harbough will have them in the top 10 annually, possibly as soon as next year.


Sent via tapatalk

 

[IrishLax]

agree with all that, even the last part.

Harbaugh is still young enough to make that jump back to the NFL down the road. I think if he does take the Michigan job, he'll be there for around 6-7 years, then take another stab at the NFL. I think he's just to competitive not to.

He could be a lifer if he wanted to and stay at Michigan for 20 years, but that competitive itch won't go away.

Regardless he will leave the program in much better shape than when he found it. Worked out very well for Stanford. He rebuilt Stanford and changed the entire culture there and brought David Shaw with him to Stanford from San Diego, and Shaw took that job and has kept things going the last 4 years going 41-12.

Exactly. Only talking regular season win totals, the trajectory I see is next year win 8-10 games (could see him getting 11 though honestly). Then year 2 win 9-11 games and potentially the B1G championship/playoff spot. Then year 3... depending on what happens with this dumpster fire of the class and if he can close it out strong... plateauing and not out performing year 2 (9-11 wins, potential B1G championship/playoff spot). Then year 4 really contend but come up short against someone.

And then at that point, I could see him strongly considering hopping back to the NFL if the right gig presented itself. I think he'd want to wait and see if the "perfect" opportunity came along before hopping back a la Pete Carroll and I don't think anyone can project when/if that might happen. But with his brother having Super Bowl rings and him getting so close I think he eventually gives it another shot and passes off the program to an assistant a la Shaw at Stanford.

The only asterisk on this whole thing is if his psychopath side screws something up and the whole thing implodes... I'd bet against that happening though.

 

[kmoose]

Well, at Stanford Harbaugh won with truly mediocre skill players around Luck.

I think you have to give them a little more credit than "truly mediocre". There are quite a few of those guys playing in the NFL right now. Or on rosters, at worst:

Coby Fleener (IND)
Toby Gerhart (JAX)
Stepfan Taylor (ARI)
Doug Baldwin (DEN)
Zach Ertz (PHI)
Tyler Gaffney (NE)
Chris Owusu (NYJ)