Why 2016 is a pivotal year for the Jim Harbaugh narrative at Michigan
Sure, Michigan's coach is a media darling, but 2016 will be a critical year for him to do something he's never done before
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3 min read
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is a media darling. There's absolutely no doubt about that. He's also an outstanding coach capable of transforming teams for the better. That isn't up for discussion, either.
However, here we are in 2016, and Harbaugh's place in college football is still being debated.
Case in point: Peter Burns of SEC Network tweeted out an interesting take on Harbaugh early Wednesday morning:
Jim Harbaugh isn't great for college football, he's great for college football media.
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) June 1, 2016
Burns is right about one thing: Harbaugh is great for college football media. There's no sense in trying to hide it. If Harbaugh tweets or says it, chances are we'll cover it. And remember: Harbaugh didn't actually invent satellite camps; he just became the most visible face of a controversial, but ultimately meaningless, offseason topic. But it sure seems like Harbaugh invented the idea.
The part about Harbaugh not being great for college football? That's underselling his accomplishments. He took Stanford, a program with all of two winning seasons in the decade before his arrival, to the Orange Bowl by his fourth year. In his first season at Michigan, Harbaugh reinvigorated the Wolverines and led them to 10 wins. In no way does his FBS winning percentage (.619) tell the whole story.
So yes, Harbaugh has been good for college football. He might be an FBS newbie still, but Harbaugh has done a lot in five years.
Still, listing off his accomplishments does bring up a notable fact: Harbaugh, for all his success, has never won so much as a divisional title, let alone a conference crown, let alone a national championship.
That can be explained. In 2010, Stanford lost one game: to Chip Kelly's Oregon Ducks, who went on to play for the national championship. In 2015, the Big Ten East was stacked with Ohio State, the defending national champions and a loaded Michigan State team.
If Harbaugh wants to put this notion to bed that he's only a media-friendly pot stirrer, though, 2016 is as good a place as any to start checking off some of those boxes.
The good news for Michigan is the Big Ten East is up for grabs this year. Yes, Ohio State will have talent, but this is a reloading (and potentially rebuilding) year for the Buckeyes after losing 12 players to the NFL draft, 10 of which went in the first three rounds.
Similarly, the Spartans are undergoing a rebuilding project of its own. If Harbaugh wants to show he'll get instant results in Ann Arbor, this is the prime opportunity to do it.
To Burns' credit, Harbaugh will have to show at some point he's more than just college football's heel. It's a role Harbaugh -- a WWE fan -- plays well, but there's a fine line for guys like him when it comes to winning. Without divisional, conference or national titles, Harbaugh is just a guy who talks. He might still win a high percentage of games, and he may be entertaining, but that's all he'll be. The question then becomes how long does that act go on before it gets old.
None of this is to say Harbaugh is a paper tiger. He does have Michigan on the right track. He's recruited at a high level, hauling in the fifth-best class nationally in 2016, per 247Sports. He didn't overachieve last season, per se, but getting 10 wins right off the bat is a tremendous place to start -- and there's room to grow.
Betting on Harbaugh to thrive at Michigan feels like a sure thing, but that's all it is right now: a bet. If Harbaugh comes through, especially this year, the notion that he isn't good for college football will go away entirely.
