Leaving the iron jock at home: Muted, drab Harbaugh no fun
What have they done with Jim Harbaugh? And can we please have him back?
The Harbaugh who showed up Monday to Big Ten media days was muted. He was rational and drab. These are the qualities you might want in a brother-in-law.
I want Harbaugh to be JIM HARBAUGH.
Where’s the guy who blew into town before his first season at Michigan and regaled us with stories of visits to Paris and Mike Ditka’s restaurant? The one who made SEC coaches flip out regarding satellite camps? The one who caused a stir with seemingly every tweet? During 2015 media days, Michigan State defensive end Shilique Calhoun joked of Harbaugh’s shirtless pictures: “I think he’s a handsome man. I’m glad he took them.”
Back then Harbaugh was a must-listen — zany, unpredictable and bold. He called football “the last bastion of hope for toughness in America in men.”
Last year he took the stage and proclaimed: “Good afternoon. Wonderful to be here.” It was 9:30 a.m.
He had a great line about rejecting typical coach’s wardrobe of a suit and tie, saying: “I packed light. I packed a toothbrush and a good attitude.”
And his showstopper: “Let’s strap on the iron jock and work like crazy and get the job done.”
The iron jock has been replaced by tighty-whities.
The response to this frank question Monday said it all.
Reporter: “You came into Ann Arbor with perhaps the most hype of any coach in the history of the Big Ten. Maybe in all of college football. A few years later you’ve got a third-place, third-place and fourth-place finish. And you’re 1-5 against Michigan State and Ohio State. What do you have to do this year to demonstrate to the Michigan community that you are on the path to achieving what they hired you to achieve?”
Harbaugh: “The improvement will lead to success, will lead to championships.”
Harbaugh could have defended his record — two 10-win seasons, more than Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez combined — or proclaimed that this year would be different.
Instead he retreated — unlike another former quarterback hired to resurrect his Big Ten alma mater.
“People better get us now,” Nebraska coach Scott Frost warned, “because we’re gonna keep getting better.”
I get it. Frost is coming off an undefeated season at Central Florida. Every move he has made at Nebraska — especially re-emphasizing the strength program and reuniting with Tom Osborne — has been celebrated by the fan base.
Harbaugh is coming off an 8-5 season, and his team’s performance in the Outback Bowl was, well, pathetic. The Wolverines blew a 19-3 second-half lead to an average South Carolina team.
On top of that, Michigan’s basketball program is now the envy of the Midwest, with Jon Beilein showing you can run a clean program and still rise to the top of the profession.
Harbaugh used to tweet outlandish, thought-provoking things. His most popular tweet of the entire 2018 offseason (16,000 likes) was the one giving props to Beilein: “Fun team to watch, expertly coached.”
On top of that, the Wolverines are not exactly killing it on the recruiting circuit. One of their two top-110 commitments (via 247Sports.com’s composite rankings) in the Class of 2019, defensive end Stephen Herron, flipped to Stanford on Monday.
I asked Harbaugh if he made an effort to be more low-key this offseason, and he replied, “In what way?”
I basically repeated the question, and he responded, “Ummm ... no.”
I asked how his summer has gone, and he smiled and said: “Do you listen to the podcast? Been having a lot of fun with that. ‘Attack Each Day,’ the Harbaugh podcast.”
I do enjoy his podcast with family patriarch Jack Harbaugh, the kindly father everyone wishes he had.
Someone asked how new quarterback Shea Patterson could help the running game by stretching the field, and Harbaugh talked about line play. His answer lasted an excruciating three minutes and 15 seconds, with Harbaugh concluding, “Long story short, I think it’s been a good summer for them.”
With that I hit stop on my Voice Memos and moved on to Frost’s table.