Jim Harbaugh Has Decided To Return To Michigan After Not Getting Offered By The Vikings

Well, this was fucked. There's no other way to say it, the last few weeks of the Michigan coaching carousel (or lack of carousel) has been a completely fubar'd process filled with misinformation. And I contributed to that that. It was a fuck up on my part to assume he was completely gone. It seemed that the entire world was reporting that Harbaugh was set to leave and take the Vikings job. And I believe Jim Harbaugh interviewed for the job believing he was the guy. And now the reports seem to indicate that the never got offered the job. Now he's back. Michigan football is in better standing right now than it's been in a long time. They won the Big Ten last year. They have a solid recruiting class, and while the defense will likely take a big hit, they have a lot of weapons returning offensively. 

There's no coach in America whose criticism feels as personal as Jim Harbaugh's criticism. Let me say something for the record. I like Jim Harbaugh. I think he's a good guy. For some reason when it comes to criticism of Jim Harbaugh, to be critical of the coach means to be critical of the man or the people who support him. The blog I wrote yesterday was not a reflection of his character but simply a reflection of the business side of football. What I said yesterday about his inability to develop a star quarterback and inability to beat his rivals is true. He has had one great season in seven years. Other than that, his tenure has been a disappointment. That's an opinion, and opinions can change. Many people used to say that I was a disappointment, and then I got this job. In hindsight, it was stupid of me to jump the gun. I'll own up to that. But if Jim Harbaugh wins a few more Big Ten championships, I will be the first to admit that my opinion was wrong. I hope he develops a stud NFL QB, I hope he beats Ohio State a few more times and I hope he wins the Big Ten again. I'm disappointed with the way that this process went. I know he's back, but interviewing for another job on national signing day, in my opinion, is not a good look. None of that will mean a damn thing if he continues to win and recruit at a high level.

I know many people have egg on their face now, myself included, for thinking that he was going to the NFL. I believe that he will have to regain a lot of trust here. But you know what solves all the issues? Winning games, beating rivals, winning bowl games, going to the playoff, which Jim Harbaugh has not consistently done in his seven years at Michigan. Can we not go through another saga like this ever again? I hope that he continues to succeed and builds upon a tremendous year a season ago. I never have and will never root against the coach of a team that I cheer for. I'm a bit disheartened by how this process went, but he's Michigan's coach, and I'll continue to root for him. You know that thing he did last year? Do it again.