Harbaugh to take more active role
Throughout his tenure at Michigan, Jim Harbaugh has tinkered with his coaching staff.
He has cycled through 29 assistants and rearranged the organizational structure, shifting responsibilities and titles from one year to the next.
At times, he has assigned one individual to oversee multiple position groups. In other instances, he has divvied up those duties between two people, and reallocated resources in different areas.
But as Harbaugh has repeatedly reconfigured the personnel framework below him, he has never completely removed himself from the finer aspects of Michigan’s operation. His willingness to delegate has only gone so far, and the offense remains in his sphere of focus.
This season, Harbaugh has already shown he will take a more active role in the team he hopes to resuscitate, after it flatlined during a tumultuous 2-4 season.
Following the departure of quarterbacks coach Ben Mcdaniels, Harbaugh decided he would step into that role at a position he played for 14 seasons in the NFL. That move was announced in conjunction with a slew of staff hires and role changes that transformed the program.
As Harbaugh bid farewell to his oldest staffers and initiated a makeover, he ushered in five Millennials as replacements and gave some of them roles they haven’t held before. Wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald are on-field assistants in the college ranks for the first time after they joined the Wolverines in January. Macdonald, whose professional rise took place in the NFL, has yet to call a play at any level.
The lack of experience is seen elsewhere among his colleagues. Sherrone Moore, who had overseen the tight ends during his first three seasons at Michigan, will supervise the offensive line — a position group where he once played but has never coached.
With this new staff, Harbaugh is
betting youth will galvanize the program and set the Wolverines on a different course.
The benefits of these moves are obvious.
The salary pool dedicated to Michigan’s 10 assistants in 2021 will be $870,000 less than it was last year, when the Wolverines didn’t get much bang for their buck while surrendering more points than they scored.
The cost savings have been accompanied by a recruiting bounce and broadened the program’s appeal to prospects in future classes.
The long-term payoff for Harbaugh and the Wolverines could be substantial if the talent infusion continues.
But the risk he has absorbed with this new staff is also considerable.
Harbaugh just signed a contract extension that virtually halved his base salary and slashed the university’s buyout obligation, which signaled his job security is far from guaranteed if Michigan doesn’t rebound.
Harbaugh tacitly acknowledged the tenuous nature of his situation, when he revealed at a Michigan High School Coaches Association clinic he wouldn’t be scared of “being fired.”
On a recent in-house podcast, athletic director Warde Manuel tried to downplay the possibility.
“As a former captain, former quarterback here, he knows exactly the
expectations of Michigan and Michigan football and the things that are expected in terms of success,” Manuel said. “Looking forward to his leadership for years to come.”
Yet Harbaugh understands he must win now to ensure his tenure in Ann Arbor carries on beyond this year.
If he has designs on controlling his own fate, entrusting his program to a group of young, green assistants seems counterintuitive.
Instead, it stands to reason Harbaugh will shoulder more of the burden this season as he tries to revive the Wolverines again.
The onus is on him, and he shouldn’t want it any other way.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Frances Tiafoe had never played a No. 1, had never beaten anyone in the Top 5, and now he'd just won a tiebreaker against Novak Djokovic to level their second-round match at the Australian Open.
He nodded and motioned for more noise before plonking down in his courtside chair and saying what everyone watching already knew: “I love this. … I love it!”
That lasted right up until the pivotal moment in the fourth set, serving at 3all, 30-all, when he walked to the side of the court to get a towel, dry his face, and didn't resume play before the countdown clock ran out. He was given a time violation by the chair umpire, and docked a serve.
He lost that game, and didn't win another.
The 23-year-old American, quarterfinalist here two years ago, threw everything he could at Djokovic. But it wasn't quite enough to beat the eight-time Australian Open champion, who won the 3 1/2-hour afternoon match 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 6-3.
“I felt like that kind of broke the match, honestly,” Tiafoe said. “And he ran off with it.
“Hats off to him, but that was a terrible ending to the match, to such a highquality match.”
Tiafoe shook his head after finishing the match with a double-fault, then jogged to the net to embrace Djokovic. He'll take plenty from this. He said he knows he can compete at this level.
“He pushed me to the very limit,” Djokovic said. “He's a very quick player. It's unpredictable what comes next … I'm really glad to overcome such a battle.”
Djokovic served 26 aces, Tiafoe 23. Djokovic had the edge in terms of winners (56-49).
After assessing the stats, Djokovic said he couldn't remember serving more aces, or seeing more serves pass him, in a match in a long time.
“Credit to him,” the 17-time major winner said, “for forcing me to feel uncomfortable.”
Djokovic also agreed in his on-court, post-match interview that Tiafoe got a tough call. It was hot and sunny – the temperature peaked at 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) – and Tiafoe had just lost a long rally.
“Those kinds of things are just unlucky,” Djokovic said. “He deserved to have the first serve.”
Tiafoe later said he was glad Djokovic acknowledged it, but he still thinks there needs to be “conversations” about allowing more time between points while COVID-19 pandemic restrictions mean ballkids can't hold the towels for players.
“Could I have handled it better? Yes,” Tiafoe said, answering his own question. “Yeah, I mean, that just broke me. I'm out there battling world No. 1, and like he needs any more help, you know.”
Djokovic will play another American in the third round after No. 27-seeded Taylor Fritz who held off Reilly Opelka 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Dominic Thiem, who lost the final last year to Djokovic but went one better to win the U.S. Open, took a short route to the third round with a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 win over Donimik Koepfer and will next play unpredictable Australian Nick Kyrgios.
Another U.S. Open champion, Naomi Osaka, needed only an hour to sweep Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-3.
Serena Williams kept her bid for a 24th Grand Slam singles title on track, making only 11 unforced errors as she defeated Nina Stojanovic 6-3, 6-0.
But a 21st trip to Melbourne Park ended painfully for her older sister, Venus Williams.
The 40-year-old Williams, a seventime major winner making her 88th Grand Slam main draw appearance, was down 5-1 in the opening set against Sara Errani when she landed awkwardly on her ankle as she approached the net for a volley. She fought back tears before receiving treatment on the ankle, and gamely continued, hobbling between points, before losing 6-1, 6-0.
Two top 10 players went out of the women's draw: 2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu, coming back from 15 months out with injury, was beaten by Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and ninth-seeded Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion and the 2019 Australian Open runner-up, lost to Sorana Cirstea
“It's strange,” Hsieh, who is ranked 71st and has a history of inconsistency, explained of her 8-2 record against top 10 players. “I normally feel more excited to play with better players.
Second-seeded Simona Halep narrowly averted an early exit, rallying from 5-2 down in the third set to beat No. 72 Ajla Tomljanovic 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
French Open champion Iga Swiatek, seventh-seeded Aryna Sabalenka and 2020 Australian Open runner-up Garbiñe Muguruza all advanced, along with Ann Li, a 20-year-old American who beat Alize Cornet 6-2, 7-6 (6).
No. 11 Denis Shapovalov, No. 14 Milos Raonic and No. 20 Felix Auger-aliassime all advanced, keeping Canadian interest alive, and sixth-seeded Alexander Zverev completed the night session on Rod Laver with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 win over American qualifier Maxime Cressy.
Crowd numbers lifted on a nice, sunny day, hitting 19,900 across day and night sessions – a maximum of 30,000, or roughly 50% of capacity, are allowed through Melbourne Park under COVID-19 restrictions.
There were thousands in John Cain Arena, known by Kyrgios and his fans as the Peoples' Court, to watch the mercurial Aussie save two match points before beating No. 29 Ugo Humbert 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4 in a rollicking night cap full of turns and twists.
“I don't know how I did that, honestly,” Kyrgios said, thanking the parochial, vocal crowd. “It's one of the craziest matches I've ever played.”