Harbaugh found an ‘old’ way to win
The celebration along the Michigan sideline began shortly after the Wolverines lined up in a tight formation with one receiver split out wide. On Ohio State’s 4-yard line, five offensive linemen crouched next to a pair of tight ends. Seconds later, the ball was handed to Hassan Haskins, who reached the end zone untouched as the Buckeyes waved the metaphorical white flag in a 42-27 upset that rocked the college football universe.
The “12”-personnel look Michigan flashed on the play was straight out of coach Jim Harbaugh’s personal playbook, brought back into circulation this season as the Wolverines launched their improbable turnaround.
The same program that crowed about “speed in space” two years ago, then averaged fewer rushing attempts than 12 other Big Ten teams last fall, reverted to the “in your face” style that made Harbaugh one of the most famous coaches in the sport.
“After what happened in the 2020 (season), we took it upon ourselves to start building an identity of what we wanted to be,” right tackle Andrew Stueber said after the victory Nov. 27. “It started in the spring, it started in training camp, just building that intensity, that ability to move people off, the ability to become nasty. We’ve been building that all year.
“We’ve been able to run the ball on a lot of teams that other teams haven’t been able to. It came to a pinnacle in this game.”
At a time when passing dominates and maximizing plays is prioritized, the Wolverines have veered in a different direction and embraced an old-school approach. Before Michigan bullied Ohio State at the line of scrimmage and netted 297 rushing yards, Harbaugh promised his team would be “channeling” the ethos of Bo Schembechler and
Woody Hayes – iconic coaches of the Big Ten’s two most storied programs. That same spirit made Harbaugh so successful when he revamped Stanford, resurrected the 49ers and revived Michigan at the outset of his tenure in 2015.
But as his most recent stint in Ann Arbor evolved, he somehow lost his way. To keep up with the trends of a sport that favored the wide-open spread attacks seen in Norman, Tuscaloosa and Columbus, he searched for an offensive coordinator who could implement that system. He settled on Josh Gattis, an Alabama position coach who had never called plays. When he arrived in 2019, Gattis aimed to speed up the Wolverines’ tempo and rely predominantly on three-receiver sets.
During his first season, Michigan lined up in “11” personnel 54% of the time – almost double the rate it deployed two tight ends. The following season, Michigan continued to skew
further from Harbaugh’s brand of football. In 2020, when the Wolverines finished 2-4, they averaged only 28.7 rushes and 25:37 of possession time per game, dropping into the bottom 10 of the Football Bowl Subdivision in both categories.
Harbaugh knew something had to change. Gattis did, too. At the launch of 2021’s preseason camp, the offensive coordinator replaced the “speed in space” mantra with a different slogan that revolved around three words: physical, smart, precise.
“I think that you’ve always got to be able to shape yourself and you’ve always got to be able to change and grow, and you grow with your players and what they do best, and you grow with your team and where your team is positioned,” Gattis said in November. “I think that’s credit to Coach Harbaugh himself, being able to guide this team along in the right direction.”
That stewardship began in January, when Harbaugh drafted
a series of goals for himself that he shared with the Michigan High School Coaches Association.
One of the objectives he aimed to accomplish was “develop and administer a process (plan) that supports team success and winning.”
He did so by rediscovering what has led him to prosperity in the past. In 2021, the Wolverines would win games by controlling the line of scrimmage and the clock with an offense that minimized mistakes and protected the football. As the Wolverines head to Indianapolis to face Iowa in the Big Ten title game, they lead the conference in rushing, are tied for first with only nine giveaways and rank fourth in time of possession.
“We just started building to do both: to be able to run the football and be able to throw it,” Harbaugh said the day after the Ohio State game. “Eleven personnel, throwing the football; 11 personnel, running the football;
12 personnel, running the football; 13 personnel, running the football.”
Pounding the rock became the primary focus, and soon thereafter an offense built on what Harbaugh values took flight. This season, only two receivers feature among Michigan’s top 11 in total offensive snaps. Two years ago, when Gattis began to exert his influence, it was four. The identity has shifted as Michigan has again taken on the persona of its hard-nosed, no-nonsense coach.
The Wolverines aren’t just channeling Woody and Bo, but also Harbaugh himself.
“One of my favorite sayings of all time,” Harbaugh said, “is ‘When there’s a will, there’s a way.’ ”
Harbaugh had the desire to get back to his roots, and in this age of “speed in space,” he’s now going where no Michigan coach has gone before.