Interesting article from from a Michigan writer at MLive today on Harbaugh and what he's up against. Upon hiring their dream coach, I know they were convinced they would start beating OSU and win a title, but you have to think it's starting to set in for Michigan fans.
Urban Meyer's rabid consistency continues to outline Jim Harbaugh's difficult path
Updated on July 25, 2017 at 6:11 AM Posted on July 25, 2017 at 6:01 AM
Urban Meyer shows no signs of slowing down. (G-Jun Yam | AP)
By Nick Baumgardner
(This is an opinion piece written by MLive's Nick Baumgardner)
CHICAGO -- So, this is what life is like near the top.
Minutes after walking toward a podium in downtown Chicago on Monday, a coach with 61 wins in five years dipped into a discussion about how none of it is good enough.
Urban Meyer and Ohio State won 11 games last year. The Buckeyes played in the College Football Playoff. They beat their rival. They signed another whopper of a recruiting class and churned out more NFL talent.
Still, not good enough.
Not nearly good enough.
This is what life's like at the top? An antacid-chewing, sweat-pouring meat-grinder of a churn that only has one label for success. When you're in this stratosphere, there is no close. There is no "we're almost there." There is no "we'll try to do better next time."
You did it or you didn't. The in-between lives in the dust.
"If you fail," Meyer began, "if you fail and things aren't going well, you change it."
Here's Urban Meyer -- a sure-bet Hall of Famer coach and probably the most touted coach in America not named Nick Saban -- discussing failure.
He's lost six games in five years. And he spent an offseason tweaking his staff, changing his offense and pouring over every detail to ensure an 11-2 nightmare doesn't happen again.
Nightmare, right? My word, not his. And while I'm being sarcastic, I'm really not.
Add all this up and you see the situation Jim Harbaugh and Michigan find themselves in moving forward.
Harbaugh's about to enter year three at Michigan. When he arrived, most assumed he'd have an instant impact on the program -- and, of course, he did. He changed the culture, he toughened up the roster and he made Michigan a team other squads weren't thrilled to play against. Almost overnight he accomplished this.
Almost overnight he accomplished this. And, in many ways, it was a staggering transformation. Now, the next step is championships. Big Ten championships, national championships, the top of the top. Think I'm being unfair with those expectations? Ask Harbaugh himself.
He'll tell you. He's said it before. He's at Michigan to win everything. All the chips are in the middle. I watched this guy throw a coin into a Roman fountain -- when the fountain was closed for cleaning, mind you -- and had him tell me what he wished for seconds later.
"A championship," he said. "The highest one."
In his world, there's no point in even showing up if you're not shooting for the top of the hill.
The ever-lingering problem, though, is the current monster standing atop that hill. Meyer and Ohio State are not waiting around for anyone to catch up. Harbaugh and Michigan are about to enter a year where they're the youngest team in America, by most measures.
Guess what?
"Last year we were the youngest team in college football," Meyer noted. "And this year we're not."
Michigan faces a litany of questions this season, positional and otherwise. But Monday proved as another example of how difficult this climb will be. Impossible? No. But painfully tough.
As each year passes, it becomes more clear. Harbaugh isn't going to enjoy the benefit other programs seem to step into: His chief rival happens to be one of the two most stable programs in the country and the odds of that rival stumbling long enough to give him an opportunity to make up free ground seem almost non-existent.
He's going to have to blast open a door that boasts 61 deadbolts and a bulletproof casing. There will be no easy cracks. There will be no easy paths.
Harbaugh's known in every corner of football for his furious, relentless approach to everything he does. If he's awake, he's bulldozing toward improvement. The seven minutes a day he actually sleeps, he's dreaming about it.
Popular sentiment is: "If anyone can do this, it's Harbaugh."
But Monday should have served as another splash of cold water in the face. This task -- even after all the ground he's made up -- may be the most difficult chore of Harbaugh's career.
Harbaugh's 0-2 against Meyer. One game was close, one game wasn't. Close no longer counts, though, as we've established.
You're chasing a guy who is every bit as maniacal, every bit as intense. And he has the drop on you right now.
That chase is -- and will continue to be -- fascinating.
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/ind...ers_rabid_consistency.html#incart_2box_sports
Urban Meyer's rabid consistency continues to outline Jim Harbaugh's difficult path
Updated on July 25, 2017 at 6:11 AM Posted on July 25, 2017 at 6:01 AM
Urban Meyer shows no signs of slowing down. (G-Jun Yam | AP)
By Nick Baumgardner
(This is an opinion piece written by MLive's Nick Baumgardner)
CHICAGO -- So, this is what life is like near the top.
Minutes after walking toward a podium in downtown Chicago on Monday, a coach with 61 wins in five years dipped into a discussion about how none of it is good enough.
Urban Meyer and Ohio State won 11 games last year. The Buckeyes played in the College Football Playoff. They beat their rival. They signed another whopper of a recruiting class and churned out more NFL talent.
Still, not good enough.
Not nearly good enough.
This is what life's like at the top? An antacid-chewing, sweat-pouring meat-grinder of a churn that only has one label for success. When you're in this stratosphere, there is no close. There is no "we're almost there." There is no "we'll try to do better next time."
You did it or you didn't. The in-between lives in the dust.
"If you fail," Meyer began, "if you fail and things aren't going well, you change it."
Here's Urban Meyer -- a sure-bet Hall of Famer coach and probably the most touted coach in America not named Nick Saban -- discussing failure.
He's lost six games in five years. And he spent an offseason tweaking his staff, changing his offense and pouring over every detail to ensure an 11-2 nightmare doesn't happen again.
Nightmare, right? My word, not his. And while I'm being sarcastic, I'm really not.
Add all this up and you see the situation Jim Harbaugh and Michigan find themselves in moving forward.
Harbaugh's about to enter year three at Michigan. When he arrived, most assumed he'd have an instant impact on the program -- and, of course, he did. He changed the culture, he toughened up the roster and he made Michigan a team other squads weren't thrilled to play against. Almost overnight he accomplished this.
Almost overnight he accomplished this. And, in many ways, it was a staggering transformation. Now, the next step is championships. Big Ten championships, national championships, the top of the top. Think I'm being unfair with those expectations? Ask Harbaugh himself.
He'll tell you. He's said it before. He's at Michigan to win everything. All the chips are in the middle. I watched this guy throw a coin into a Roman fountain -- when the fountain was closed for cleaning, mind you -- and had him tell me what he wished for seconds later.
"A championship," he said. "The highest one."
In his world, there's no point in even showing up if you're not shooting for the top of the hill.
The ever-lingering problem, though, is the current monster standing atop that hill. Meyer and Ohio State are not waiting around for anyone to catch up. Harbaugh and Michigan are about to enter a year where they're the youngest team in America, by most measures.
Guess what?
"Last year we were the youngest team in college football," Meyer noted. "And this year we're not."
Michigan faces a litany of questions this season, positional and otherwise. But Monday proved as another example of how difficult this climb will be. Impossible? No. But painfully tough.
As each year passes, it becomes more clear. Harbaugh isn't going to enjoy the benefit other programs seem to step into: His chief rival happens to be one of the two most stable programs in the country and the odds of that rival stumbling long enough to give him an opportunity to make up free ground seem almost non-existent.
He's going to have to blast open a door that boasts 61 deadbolts and a bulletproof casing. There will be no easy cracks. There will be no easy paths.
Harbaugh's known in every corner of football for his furious, relentless approach to everything he does. If he's awake, he's bulldozing toward improvement. The seven minutes a day he actually sleeps, he's dreaming about it.
Popular sentiment is: "If anyone can do this, it's Harbaugh."
But Monday should have served as another splash of cold water in the face. This task -- even after all the ground he's made up -- may be the most difficult chore of Harbaugh's career.
Harbaugh's 0-2 against Meyer. One game was close, one game wasn't. Close no longer counts, though, as we've established.
You're chasing a guy who is every bit as maniacal, every bit as intense. And he has the drop on you right now.
That chase is -- and will continue to be -- fascinating.
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/ind...ers_rabid_consistency.html#incart_2box_sports
