The Drama at Michigan Football is Not Over

Now that I have had time to kind of think about it, and after the turnover, which there may still be more of, I want to talk about Jim Harbaugh yet again.

Last week I was pretty frustrated with Harbaugh. Honestly there were times where I just wished he left and let Michigan football move on. Then I would settle down, try to figure out who they would get, and I would usually end up back at the fact that I wanted him to stay.

Well, after a long interview with Minnesota, and no offer being given, Harbaugh announced he was returning to Michigan and that this would be the last time he would entertain NFL offers. That remains to be seen, but at the time he said it, I kind of believed it. Michigan had already lost Mike MacDonald to the NFL, but I figured he was more of a rental from Jim's older brother. If he did good, he did great, he was going to be offered an NFL job. That was a given in my mind. But I figured no big deal, Michigan would lose maybe one or two coaches and keep the rest of the staff as together as possible.

Then yesterday came the big bomb. Josh Gattis, the Broyles award winner as the best assistant in college football, signed on with the Miami Hurricanes with the same job. I was pretty floored. Then I read about the "leaked text" to "a few offensive players", and I was an angry fan. I did not go online and gripe about it right away though. I sat with it. I do not know what happened behind closed doors. I am not privy to anything the coaches go through at Michigan. So, as someone that is not involved in any way, I think Gattis was upset that he was not the front runner to take over if Harbaugh left for the NFL. I wanted him if Harbaugh left, I read that some in the administration wanted him and I figured he was already the head coach in waiting. I guess he did not see it that way, and maybe he was not the front runner, so he left. He made a lateral move. I hope it works for him, I really like Josh Gattis. But I also do not like the way he left. I get hurt feelings and all, but to "leak messages", I have never been a fan of that tactic. It is a very high school move. But, best of luck to Gattis anyway.

I have also read that a certain other assistant, Mike Hart, is none too pleased with how Harbaugh handled this whole NFL interview. I get it. Harbaugh left everyone in the dark, and then just walked back like nothing happened. I am bummed on losing both coordinators, but I will be super duper bummed if Mike Hart leaves. He is a Michigan guy. He is one of their greatest players ever. He completely revamped the running game. The running backs looked like classic Michigan, and that is all due to Hart's coaching. I do not want to lose him and I hope the coaches and admin left are doing everything they can to keep him.

I also hope they are doing the same with guys like Matt Weiss, Sherrone Moore, George Helow, Steve Clinkscale and the rest of the current staff. I do not want any "splashy" hire or big name to replace the guys who left. Hire from within the program. Please. Try to keep some continuity. Keep this young, good and energetic staff as together as they possibly can right now.

Which leads me to Jim Harbaugh. Like I said, a week ago it was one day of wanting him to leave, only to have a completely different outlook the next day. But sitting in this, seeing the coordinators leave, hearing others may want out and contemplating what players may or may not transfer, I think Harbaugh might be getting a big time dose of medicine. It was clear he was doing what he wanted to do, when he wanted to do it, how he wanted to do it and he could have cared less about Michigan, the assistant coaches and the administration. He held them out to dry so he could go and chase a few NFL jobs. I said to both my wife and dad, about the only two people that will listen to me on this subject, that Harbaugh was handling all of these things the exact wrong way. You do not go out all blatant about interviewing for NFL jobs. You do not act flippant when reporters are asking questions. You should be in contact with the people who are currently on your staff. Harbaugh handled all of this like a spoiled child. He only thought about his interests and now has more overturn on his staff than he anticipated when he came back to Michigan.

All of that being said, I am happy he is back. I am glad that he is still coaching at Michigan. I said I believe him when he says he is done looking into the NFL. I feel like he will be able to keep Michigan competitive. He will have to make some new hires. He will have to tamp down the anger and frustration and anxiety that is going on with the staff and players. But I believe that he can do it, or do it enough that it does not affect the team too much. I'm still annoyed with how he handled this situation. I may be even a little angry still. But I am happy he is back as the head coach. I do believe that things will be okay in the long run. And I believe that he will have to eat a ton of crow and have a real talk with the players and the staff. But I think everything will be okay. Or at least, I hope everything will be okay. We will see.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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