All Things SkunkBear

[phork]

Marrow not coming per reports.

 

[Who'saWildManNow]

I really don't think their fans expecting 10+wins is all that crazy. Hell, Ohio State was 6-7 the year before Urby got there and went 12-0 the next season.

Harbaugh may not have a ton of talentl but whatever he does have will be maximized to it's fullest potential. Not many coaches have the ability to do that.

We'd all be predicting a dynasty if we got THE name in coaching.

I'm happy to see the Midwest take the spotlight this bowl season.

ND will be fine.

 

[phork]

I really don't think their fans expecting 10+wins is all that crazy. Hell, Ohio State was 6-7 the year before Urby got there and went 12-0 the next season.

Harbaugh may not have a ton of talentl but whatever he does have will be maximized to it's fullest potential. Not many coaches have the ability to do that.

We'd all be predicting a dynasty if we got THE name in coaching.

I'm happy to see the Midwest take the spotlight this bowl season.

ND will be fine.

The difference was transition from Tressel, to Fickel and finally to Uncle Urbz. The team was always there. Just shows you can't win on talent alone.

 

[Irish YJ]

The difference was transition from Tressel, to Fickel and finally to Uncle Urbz. The team was always there. Just shows you can't win on talent alone.

And it's not like UM is void of any talent. They had top 5 recruiting classes in 12 and 13 (Scout). Between his attitude and coaching ability, I would not be surprised to see a quick turnaround.

 

[ulukinatme]

And it's not like UM is void of any talent. They had top 5 recruiting classes in 12 and 13 (Scout). Between his attitude and coaching ability, I would not be surprised to see a quick turnaround.

That's kind of my feeling in the next year or two Harbaugh will be working with some decent talent that will be upperclassmen. He'll get the most out of them. However, 2016 or 2017 could be rebuliding years as he'll be working with upperclassmen from an average 2014 class as well as whatever he salvages for 2015 in the current class.

 

[phork]

And it's not like UM is void of any talent. They had top 5 recruiting classes in 12 and 13 (Scout). Between his attitude and coaching ability, I would not be surprised to see a quick turnaround.

That remains to be seen. Morris hasn't shown any signs of being competent at the QB position at this level and Green doesn't seem to have the 5*s he was labelled with. The defense seems to be the only sid eof the ball with any consistency. Their best skill guy just left for the NFL. Ty Isaac comes in after being 4th on the USC depth chart and probably being told he wouldn't get any significant time.

I can't say I am optimistic.

 

[Rack Em]

That remains to be seen. Morris hasn't shown any signs of being competent at the QB position at this level and Green doesn't seem to have the 5*s he was labelled with. The defense seems to be the only sid eof the ball with any consistency. Their best skill guy just left for the NFL. Ty Isaac comes in after being 4th on the USC depth chart and probably being told he wouldn't get any significant time.

I can't say I am optimistic.

The best skill guy got hurt, Jabril Peppers.

 

[phork]

The best skill guy got hurt, Jabril Peppers.

We don't even know that though. Funchess was the guy. Jake Butt is going to be super TE, but Peppers is still unknown.

 

[Irish YJ]

That's kind of my feeling in the next year or two Harbaugh will be working with some decent talent that will be upperclassmen. He'll get the most out of them. However, 2016 or 2017 could be rebuliding years as he'll be working with upperclassmen from an average 2014 class as well as whatever he salvages for 2015 in the current class.

I'll bet in two years he's bagged some top young talent, and would not be surprised if he went after the JC world with a vengeance.

That remains to be seen. Morris hasn't shown any signs of being competent at the QB position at this level and Green doesn't seem to have the 5*s he was labelled with. The defense seems to be the only sid eof the ball with any consistency. Their best skill guy just left for the NFL. Ty Isaac comes in after being 4th on the USC depth chart and probably being told he wouldn't get any significant time.

I can't say I am optimistic.

I'll give JH the benefit of the doubt that he'll either A) coach up a QB (he has like 6 on the roster ), or B) find a QB out there in this class, JC, or transfer. Several possible QB transfer candidates out there as well. Morris was a 5 star, and could have just been a victim of bad coaching. Malzone, a 4 star is committed for 2015. I just don't see JH having a hard time getting a QB given his background.

 

[ulukinatme]

I'll bet in two years he's bagged some top young talent, and would not be surprised if he went after the JC world with a vengeance.

JC might be the route he has to go in a few years. If he doesn't, he'll likely be starting a lot of freshman and sophomores that jump on board in the next few years and he'll have to hope he has them ready. Even if he finishes strong in February, I can't see them making up that many scholarships given the fact they're sitting at 6 recruits for 2015. Maybe they get to 16 recruits or more, but they're not all going to be studs that's for sure.

 

[phork]

Kyle Bosch is set to transfer per Wiltfong. Started one game and then took the year off. Not a huge blow but makes it pressing that UM find a few linemen in this crop of recruits.

 

[TomHaverford]

We don't even know that though. Funchess was the guy. Jake Butt is going to be super TE, but Peppers is still unknown.

Funchess was very talented, also was pretty soft. He should've been much better than he was, and there were times in games where you could see he just flat out quit.

Peppers is without question the top athlete on the team and the top recruit that Michigan has signed in a long time, and he was injured and redshirted in 2014.

I think Drake Harris will be a name to look out for in 2015. He redshirted as well because of injury, and there isn't a WR on the roster with his talent, that's for sure. Drake is the top WR recruit the state of Michigan has produced probably since Charles Rogers. Can he learn the new playbook and can Michigan find a QB to get him the ball?

 

[TomHaverford]

Kyle Bosch is set to transfer per Wiltfong. Started one game and then took the year off. Not a huge blow but makes it pressing that UM find a few linemen in this crop of recruits.

hate to speculate, but it sounds like Bosch has some pretty serious personal problems. Wish him the best of luck, hope he gets the help he needs. Sounds like he's moving closer to home to a D-1AA program so that he can be closer to his family/support system.

 

[IrishLax]

Soooo...
Jim Harbaugh swings and misses on potential staff hires

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/Espngreeny">@Espngreeny</a> said give me your pros vs. cons of being a college coach vs an NFL coach… Jim couldn’t come up with one. Not one. Wow.</p>— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) <a href="https://twitter.com/FootballScoop/status/552471590651580416">January 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Luckylucci]

That was maybe one of dumbest interviews I've ever heard in my life and just reinforces what an arrogant Fing prick Harbaugh is. He basically refused to answer all questions and honestly just sounded like a dumba$$. I get it, great coach, but what a dbag. No wonder his players stopped playing for him in San Fran, I would too.

 

[NCND]

Soooo...
Jim Harbaugh swings and misses on potential staff hires

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/Espngreeny">@Espngreeny</a> said give me your pros vs. cons of being a college coach vs an NFL coach… Jim couldn’t come up with one. Not one. Wow.</p>— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) <a href="https://twitter.com/FootballScoop/status/552471590651580416">January 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Umm no.. Just hired Dj Durkin from Florida.

 

[TomHaverford]

Soooo...
Jim Harbaugh swings and misses on potential staff hires

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/Espngreeny">@Espngreeny</a> said give me your pros vs. cons of being a college coach vs an NFL coach… Jim couldn’t come up with one. Not one. Wow.</p>— FootballScoop Staff (@FootballScoop) <a href="https://twitter.com/FootballScoop/status/552471590651580416">January 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

that footballscoop guy is a gigantic dbag that has been dead wrong on everything regarding Harbaugh leading up to the hire. just sayin'

 

[TomHaverford]

Umm no.. Just hired Dj Durkin from Florida.

he was trying to get DC Lance Anderson from Stanford to be on the staff with Durkin and Mattison. Holy cow that would've been a hell of a defensive staff.

 

[NDdomer2]

is he saying he couldnt come up with a pro for being in college vs nfl. the way it reads is that he couldnt find anything good or bad for either. Which really isnt that big of a deal.

 

[IrishLax]

Umm no.. Just hired Dj Durkin from Florida.

Yeah, they were saying that wasn't first choice.

 

[IrishLax]

is he saying he couldnt come up with a pro for being in college vs nfl. the way it reads is that he couldnt find anything good or bad for either. Which really isnt that big of a deal.

He was asked to come up with anything "pro" or that he liked better or whatever about college vs. NFL... could not come up with a single thing that he liked about CFB > NFL.

Apparently, the whole interview sucked.

I'm firmly on the "Harbaugh will destroy the shitty Big Ten" train, but at the same time there's already lots of little sniping at him. Rubs a lot of people the wrong way, that's for sure. It's reported that the only NFL team that even had serious interest in him was the Raiders, too.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

He was asked to come up with anything "pro" or that he liked better or whatever about college vs. NFL... could not come up with a single thing that he liked about CFB > NFL.

Apparently, the whole interview sucked.

I'm firmly on the "Harbaugh will destroy the shitty Big Ten" train, but at the same time there's already lots of little sniping at him. Rubs a lot of people the wrong way, that's for sure. It's reported that the only NFL team that even had serious interest in him was the Raiders, too.

With Ohio State, Michigan State, Harbaugh at Michigan, and an always solid Wisconsin, the B1G has a nice arc. Add in Franklin at Penn State, who I think will have them playing really well in the next couple of years, that's could change the landscape quite a bit.

 

[IrishLax]

With Ohio State, Michigan State, Harbaugh at Michigan, and an always solid Wisconsin, the B1G has a nice arc. Add in Franklin at Penn State, who I think will have them playing really well in the next couple of years, that's could change the landscape quite a bit.

This is the wildcard. There exists a world where he loses to Urban every single year plus drops a game routinely to either MSU or Penn State because Franklin has them rolling. Consistently winning 8-10 games is not going to have people content, much like how Kelly winning 8+ every year isn't having people completely content. If he isn't getting to Big Ten title games how long before it all implodes?

This isn't Stanford where you have no fans and no expectations. This is Michigan which is a serious pressure cooker/fish bowl scenario.

 

[woolybug25]

This is the wildcard. There exists a world where he loses to Urban every single year plus drops a game routinely to either MSU or Penn State because Franklin has them rolling. Consistently winning 8-10 games is not going to have people content, much like how Kelly winning 8+ every year isn't having people completely content. If he isn't getting to Big Ten title games how long before it all implodes?

This isn't Stanford where you have no fans and no expectations. This is Michigan which is a serious pressure cooker/fish bowl scenario.

I've said it before, Harbaugh's tenure at Stanford would have never flied at a school like Michigan, or Notre Dame for that matter. Sure, he went 12-1 in his fourth season. But he won 3, 5 and 8 games respectably before that. Call me crazy, but that 3 year start gets you fired at powerhouse schools.

In fact, RichRod went 3, 5 & 7 wins and was ran out of town.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

I've said it before, Harbaugh's tenure at Stanford would have never flied at a school like Michigan, or Notre Dame for that matter. Sure, he went 12-1 in his fourth season. But he won 3, 5 and 8 games respectably before that. Call me crazy, but that 3 year start gets you fired at powerhouse schools.

In fact, RichRod went 3, 5 & 7 wins and was ran out of town.

I think you're right, but he also had a lot less to work with at Stanford. I know Michigan's cupboards aren't exactly "full," but there's more raw ability there than there was at Stanford.

It's also pretty clear that Michigan was incredibly stupid to fire RichRod after 3 years.

 

[woolybug25]

I think you're right, but he also had a lot less to work with at Stanford. I know Michigan's cupboards aren't exactly "full," but there's more raw ability there than there was at Stanford.

It's also pretty clear that Michigan was incredibly stupid to fire RichRod after 3 years.

Did he? He had Andrew Luck for two of those seasons. He also had guys like Zack Ertz, Doug Baldwin, Toby Gerhart and Trent Murphy all before his miracle 12 win season.

Michigan is a dumpster fire right now and he had some pretty favorable schedules then too. I mean in 2007, he lost to Washington and Washinton St, who had 5 wins total between them. Hell, they were one of Notre Dame's wins in the '07 season that shall never be mentioned.

 

[koonja]

This is the wildcard. There exists a world where he loses to Urban every single year plus drops a game routinely to either MSU or Penn State because Franklin has them rolling. Consistently winning 8-10 games is not going to have people content, much like how Kelly winning 8+ every year isn't having people completely content. If he isn't getting to Big Ten title games how long before it all implodes?

This isn't Stanford where you have no fans and no expectations. This is Michigan which is a serious pressure cooker/fish bowl scenario.

And that's not even talking about the appalachian states of the world.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Did he? He had Andrew Luck for two of those seasons. He also had guys like Zack Ertz, Doug Baldwin, Toby Gerhart and Trent Murphy all before his miracle 12 win season.

Michigan is a dumpster fire right now and he had some pretty favorable schedules then too. I mean in 2007, he lost to Washington and Washinton St, who had 5 wins total between them. Hell, they were one of Notre Dame's wins in the '07 season that shall never be mentioned.

I know he had Luck...because he recruited him. He also recruited Ertz and Murphy (both 3 star guys). The other two guys were already there: Gerhart was a 3 star guy, Baldwin was a 2 star. He developed them (I know what people say about how they did that, but for the sake of the discussion...). He built that recruiting base and left Shaw with a full cupboard after he left...recruiting to Stanford. It was an incredible turn around.

Hoke has been a dumpster fire, but he has recruited well until this year.

 

[IrishLax]

While we're talking about Harbaugh and player development and such... it's pretty well documented that the vast majority of people who have played for him hate his guts. At Stanford, it worked out because most of the kids at Stanford he inherited were there because they put education above all and also didn't really have great alternative options during their recruitment.

Doug Baldwin... the best skill player on that 12-1 team... had filled out papers to transfer to Vandy because he hated Harbaugh that much. He was talked out of it at the 11th hour by his mother who urged he play his senior year and graduate.

Richard Sherman doesn't like Harbaugh, at all. Off the record, he absolutely hates the guy. It goes back to Harbaugh trying to convince Sherman to play through an injury and not get surgery. Sherman went and got the surgery... what did Harbaugh do? Stuck him at the very bottom of the depth chart for WRs coming into the next year. People forget that Sherman started off at as a WR at Stanford and led the team in receiving as a freshman in 2006. In fact, Sherman was a freshman All-American WR. The entire reason Sherman switched to CB was that Harbaugh punished him for getting surgery in '08 and not playing through injury. This would be like Kelly sticking Mike Floyd at the bottom of the depth chart because Floyd decided he couldn't play through an injury and needed to get surgery. How do you think a move like this goes over at a major football school with media attention? I'll give you a hint... really, really badly. So then Sherman... who had spent 3 years at WR including a dominant freshman season when he was healthy... switches to CB because Harbaugh has made it clear he's not going to play him on O, but the defensive coaches manage their personnel and are willing to give him a fair shot. The rest is history. Oh, except the part where Harbaugh *allegedly* bad-mouthed both he and Baldwin to NFL scouts.

What happens at Michigan when you recruit 4 and 5 star guys with egos? What happens when things start going poorly? What happens when there is actual media exposure? It has serious potential for cataclysmic failure. There's a reason why Harbaugh was forced out by the 49ers after incredible on-field results, and a reason why there was so little interest from other NFL teams. There is a reason why many players hate him.

Will the school and players tolerate his antics if he's going 12-0? sure. But at 8-4? Reallllly doubt it.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

It's going to be entertaining, that's for sure.