It isn’t like this is new for Brown or the Wolverines, either. Ohio State has killed Michigan with game plans exactly like this and a talent advantage for Ryan Day’s entire tenure in Columbus. The book is out on beating this group and when it’s down like this and every conference opponent now has the book, the results are going to be, understandably, pretty awful.
Does that mean that Brown’s tenure is untenable, and that there’s no fix here that could arrive in time to save Harbaugh’s job? I think it certainly could. The talent isn’t likely to improve any time soon and offenses aren’t going to suddenly get worse in the Big Ten, meaning that the only real stop gap here would be a shift to more cover 3, or a full embrace of that edge drop look used on that last RPO.
Without that, though, there’s just not much to be encouraged about here, especially with the Buckeyes on deck in a few weeks. I don’t feel as strongly anti-Harbaugh as a lot of people do, and I don’t think that his tenure is completely doomed, but this defense is bad news, much more so than the offense. There are fundamental flaws here that seem too significant to overcome without a large shift in recruiting and development strategies, and I really don’t see Michigan making those necessary changes. If it doesn’t, expect more of the same on RPOs and quick-hit passing plays for the rest of this season, and likely for the rest of Brown’s tenure, which seems to be staring down its conclusion right now.
