Harbaugh to Michigan - expected announcement on Tuesday

[chferg]

To get a Saban or a Harbaugh you have to be willing to spend. Foley just doesn't like that route.

With that said I think we hired a solid coach and if it doesn't work out then it won't cost us big like it would with Harbaugh.

 

[T REX]

Agree with you on the Harbaugh/Miles part of things. That's no contest, imo.

But the second part of your statement is a little unfair. He didn't just leave to go back to college. He returned to his alma mater. When Leak or Tebow become major names in coaching, I'm sure we'd have a leg up on the competition and get them to embrace their roots. We've already done that once. We can/will do it again.

I'm not going to bag on Coach Mac, who is a solid hire, but it is a fair question...in this so called arms race we seem to be a step behind as of late.

 

[Fun N' Stun]

I'm not going to bag on Coach Mac, who is a solid hire, but it is a fair question...in this so called arms race we seem to be a step behind as of late.

That's because we have a bad AD. Foley is an awful football AD. Can't wait until he retires. I do like McElwain though.

 

[soflagator]

To get a Saban or a Harbaugh you have to be willing to spend. Foley just doesn't like that route.

With that said I think we hired a solid coach and if it doesn't work out then it won't cost us big like it would with Harbaugh.

Both of those guys were proven, big winners, who also happened to be miserable at their current NFL jobs. Beyond money and tradition-rich programs, Alabama and Mich provided an escape for their respective hires.

Even including the rushed scenario of 2002, when did we ever have that situation to offer? In 2011, nobody fit the description, to my knowledge. The same could be said about this year. I guess we could've made a a similar offer to JH, but Foley likely realized that he'd be going head to head with the guy's alma mater and would probably lose. Aside from that, I just don't think there was a slamdunk candidate, with which we had a chance, that we overlooked due to money.

 

[T REX]

What ties did Saban have to Alabama?

 

[MJMGator]

What ties did Saban have to Alabama?

$$$

 

[chferg]

Plenty of coaches we could have made offers too but we went straight to "diamond in rough" hire.

Both of those guys were proven, big winners, who also happened to be miserable at their current NFL jobs. Beyond money and tradition-rich programs, Alabama and Mich provided an escape for their respective hires.

Even including the rushed scenario of 2002, when did we ever have that situation to offer? In 2011, nobody fit the description, to my knowledge. The same could be said about this year. I guess we could've made a a similar offer to JH, but Foley likely realized that he'd be going head to head with the guy's alma mater and would probably lose. Aside from that, I just don't think there was a slamdunk candidate, with which we had a chance, that we overlooked due to money.

 

[soflagator]

What ties did Saban have to Alabama?

I assume you're asking me. The answer on Saban is none. He did have SEC ties, which from a conference and region/weather stand point are contributing factors(see Spurrier to Usce). That wasn't my only factor though. We'll use Chip Kelly as an example. If he'd been awful in the NFL, hated the league, and was wanting to get back to college, and we had an opening, I could see it. That would be the Saban-Alabama equivalent. But that wasn't the case. We didn't have any big name other than Harbaugh(who was always going to listen to UM first) that had legitimate interest in leaving their current post.

I'll repeat my opinion, that Foley waited a year too long. But that's history now. In the situation we faced this go-around, I think the diamond in the rough plan made sense.

 

[soflagator]

Plenty of coaches we could have made offers too but we went straight to "diamond in rough" hire.

Not really trying to debate this with you, but who are these names?

And I'm not insinuating that there weren't some great HC's that we could've offered. I'd put Freeze in that category. But in terms of slamdunks, that were truly looking for a new gig, I didn't see any.

 

[T REX]

Michigan and Bama both targeted their guy, set the price and bagged 'em.

 

[gatormandan]

I'd take Harbaugh for three times the money over Miles.

This is a big deal, very Sabanesque. It also, I think, shows something about our program's inability to bring a big name while others can.

Your not serious right? If we plopped down 8 mil a year in front of this guy or another target, we would have landed him too.

 

[MJMGator]

I'd take Harbaugh for three times the money over Miles.

Not so sure about that. Miles would be able to bring some strong recruting ties from Louisianna and Texas and help bring some talent up north. Not so sure how well Harbaugh will be able to recruit, as it's rumored that's why he left the college game to begin with. While Harbaugh is easily the better X and O's coach, Miles is a solid recruiter and has charisma that a program like Michigan needs badly.

 

[soflagator]

Michigan and Bama both targeted their guy, set the price and bagged 'em.

Michigan targeted their former QB, who wanted out of SF, and bagged him.

Alabama landing Saban was as much luck/timing as anything else. Do you forget that they originally targeted several others, including RichRod, who would ultimately turn them down? It's not as if they went straight out and got their guy. He, like JH, wanted out of Miami, and the timing plus money was perfect. Similar to our scooping up Meyer.

Do you think Ark is a step above us as well for the way they landed Petrino(identical to the above guys)? He would've probably signed on at Arkansas State at that point. The timing of things is a big factor.

I'll sort of agree with you though on your "step behind" comment. I think the obvious move would've been last year, and Foley botched it. No disagreement from me there.

 

[Fun N' Stun]

Your not serious right? If we plopped down 8 mil a year in front of this guy or another target, we would have landed him too.

Problem is our AD is very cheap and would have not offered 8 million.

If Foley was the Bama or UM AD they would have never gotten Saban or Harbaugh.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

This is a huge hire... michigan went from gump to great with this one. 3 years from now michigan will OWN the big10 and meyer will be having another aneurism/chest-spasm/etc. I wanted us to go after harbaugh when meyer bolted and again when we dumped the chump. Make no mistake, this will change the landscape of college football. Harbaugh can win big at a school with academic standards that are through the roof and can win big in the NFL as well. Recruits will be flocking to michigan. UM fans have to be j*zzing all over themselves right now lol.

 

[T REX]

Michigan targeted their former QB, who wanted out of SF, and bagged him.

Alabama landing Saban was as much luck/timing as anything else. Do you forget that they originally targeted several others, including RichRod, who would ultimately turn them down? It's not as if they went straight out and got their guy. He, like JH, wanted out of Miami, and the timing plus money was perfect. Similar to our scooping up Meyer.

Do you think Ark is a step above us as well for the way they landed Petrino(identical to the above guys)? He would've probably signed on at Arkansas State at that point. The timing of things is a big factor.

I'll sort of agree with you though on your "step behind" comment. I think the obvious move would've been last year, and Foley botched it. No disagreement from me there.

Honestly, do you see Foley ever offering $8 million for anyone even if there was one available?

 

[soflagator]

Honestly, do you see Foley ever offering $8 million for anyone even if there was one available?

If JH was a UF alum, and wanted out of his NFL job and was willing to come back to rescue us, then I'd say it's possible.

The one thing I see here is desperation here from UM, which is not necessarily a bad thing. They were cognizant of their circumstances and realized that they couldn't afford another miss. I'm not saying we're much different, but I think we can do well with a guy like McElwain, whereas they almost had to have that guarantee. Maybe Foley doesn't see us being in as bad a shape as they are. Who knows?

 

[T REX]

If JH was a UF alum, and wanted out of his NFL job and was willing to come back to rescue us, then I'd say it's possible.

The one thing I see here is desperation here from UM, which is not necessarily a bad thing. They were cognizant of their circumstances and realized that they couldn't afford another miss. I'm not saying we're much different, but I think we can do well with a guy like McElwain, whereas they almost had to have that guarantee. Maybe Foley doesn't see us being in as bad a shape as they are. Who knows?

I'll ask again...do you think JF would pay anyone $8 million if they were available?