Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is currently serving a three-game suspension for alleged NCAA violations. In the meantime, Harbaugh's assistant coaches will be splitting head coaching duties on Saturday, and they have gotten some interesting counsel from Harbaugh.
During his Monday press conference following Michigan's 30-3 win over East Carolina, Harbaugh was asked about the core game-day responsibilities of a head coach. Harbaugh, who has 17 seasons of head coaching experience between the NFL and college, gave a unique answer.
"Be the guardian of victory is probably the No. 1 job," Harbaugh said. "Making sure that the decisions you're making are complementary in all three phases. There's no offense. There's no defense. It's a 'We-fense.' Making sure that they put the players in a position to have their hard work achieved."
It appears as though defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, the interim coach for Week 1, took Harbaugh's advice to heart. The Wolverines' offense and defense were in sync for four quarters. Michigan racked up 402 total yards while holding the Pirates to just 235 yards.
"I really loved what I saw out of our team," Harbaugh said.
This coming weekend, special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh and running backs coach Mike Hart will split head coaching duties when Michigan hosts UNLV on Saturday. Both sides of the ball should be clicking again with the Wolverines entering the game as heavy favorites.
