In which I agonize over the Michigan coaching situation

[SeattleUte]

Harbaugh is either going to stay at Stanford or go to the NFL -- presumably the Niners, Broncos or even Panthers (Harbaugh and Luck come as a package deal).

It would be a mistake for him to transfer laterally to Michigan right now. Michigan's personnel wouldn't suit his system and he wouldn't have the same level of success that he's had at Stanford right away. If Michigan were patient, then I think Michigan would have the same type of season in his fourth season as Stanford has had in its fourth season. But I'm not sure if they have that kind of patience.

I think it should also be said that Stanford is a unique school in that it can beat out other schools pretty easily with a certain type of kid. In this regard, I do not view the Michigan job as superior to the Stanford job. Stanford is the best academic Div. 1 school. Its campus is gorgeous and it's in the Bay Area. In any given year, there are a number of very good recruits who are also very bright and know that getting a scholarship to Stanford presents a great opportunity. This year, Stanford has the #5 class according to scout.com and the #11 class according to rivals.com. This is the first year of immense success under Harbaugh at Stanford. They could even improve on this year's haul of recruits in future classes. It may sound strange, but I wonder whether recruiting to Michigan might actually be more difficult than recruiting to Stanford. The only question in my mind is the money -- Michigan may pay more than Stanford.

Harbaugh can go to the NFL (I think he will) and if things don't work out there, he'll still have his pick of college jobs.

I've been saying for years Stanford is a sleeping giant. Harbaugh can be college football's Coach K. It would be very good for college sports if Stanford became a powerhouse.

If my kid got an offer from Stanford the search would end. Stanford is literally as good a school as Harvard and Yale (not any "Harvard of the west" pretense; it's as good as Harvard), with DI programs that it cares about.

[Flystripper]

I've been saying for years Stanford is a sleeping giant. Harbaugh can be college football's Coach K. It would be very good for college sports if Stanford became a powerhouse.

If my kid got an offer from Stanford the search would end. Stanford is literally as good a school as Harvard and Yale (not any "Harvard of the west" pretense; it's as good as Harvard), with DI programs that it cares about.

pretty much

[Paperback Writer]

I've been saying for years Stanford is a sleeping giant. Harbaugh can be college football's Coach K. It would be very good for college sports if Stanford became a powerhouse.

If my kid got an offer from Stanford the search would end. Stanford is literally as good a school as Harvard and Yale (not any "Harvard of the west" pretense; it's as good as Harvard), with DI programs that it cares about.

Not to mention that Stanford actually offers athletic scholarships while Harvard and Yale (and the rest of the Ivy league) do not.

[woot]

One report is saying that Hoke is in and that Harbaugh wasn't seriously considered. I doubt it's true, but if it is DB needs a kick in the jim.

[CJF]

It seems RR has been fired. As long as there's somebody in the pipe I'm neutral on this.

Since I'm an OSU fan when not cheering for BYU, this is terrible news. I'm very disappointed that RichRod was not given a chance to right the ship.

[Hot Lunch]

Since I'm an OSU fan when not cheering for BYU, this is terrible news. I'm very disappointed that RichRod was not given a chance to right the ship.

We used to be friends.

[Babs]

We used to be friends.

He's not a real fan or he would have thrown the 't' in there.

[SipiTau]

I've been saying for years Stanford is a sleeping giant. Harbaugh can be college football's Coach K. It would be very good for college sports if Stanford became a powerhouse.

If my kid got an offer from Stanford the search would end. Stanford is literally as good a school as Harvard and Yale (not any "Harvard of the west" pretense; it's as good as Harvard), with DI programs that it cares about.

I don't know about being a sleeping giant in football. It's been their best season in years and they still can't sell out their stadium. That being said, if Sipi Jr were to get recruited by Stanford, it would be over, except for SC.

[woot]

Now it seems that RR may not have been fired? There has already been at least one tweet from a player expressing excitement over it, but it seems the "leak" may have been a false one.

[Hot Lunch]

Now it seems that RR may not have been fired? There has already been at least one tweet from a player expressing excitement over it, but it seems the "leak" may have been a false one.

Great, I just got off the phone with a prospect who I have been working with for over a year now and we are finally getting close to getting a big deal done. The company is just outside of Detroit, in Troy to be exact, and I told him RichRod was gone and he told me I better be getting his hopes up.

We have a follow up call on Friday to try and finalize things. RichRod better be out.

[Maximus]

Great, I just got off the phone with a prospect who I have been working with for over a year now and we are finally getting close to getting a big deal done. The company is just outside of Detroit, in Troy to be exact, and I told him RichRod was gone and he told me I better be getting his hopes up.

We have a follow up call on Friday to try and finalize things. RichRod better be out.

Now espn is backtracking, saying players meeting has been moved to wednesday. hmmmmm.

[woot]

And now a tweet saying that RR might have talked his way into keeping his job. That might be good news, but with sources saying Harbaugh still hasn't been contacted, I don't know what to think.

[CardiacCoug]

The prescription for keeping your program forever mired in mediocrity: change coaches every 3 years.

I would see going from Rich Rod to someone like Hoke as a downgrade.

Firing Rich Rod only makes sense if you have Harbaugh or maybe Gary Patterson in the bag as the next coach.

[TripletDaddy]

I've been saying for years Stanford is a sleeping giant. Harbaugh can be college football's Coach K. It would be very good for college sports if Stanford became a powerhouse.

If my kid got an offer from Stanford the search would end. Stanford is literally as good a school as Harvard and Yale (not any "Harvard of the west" pretense; it's as good as Harvard), with DI programs that it cares about.

Stanford is a sleeping giant.

it wakes up once a decade, does some stuff, then goes back to sleep again for another decade.

I remember when Wazzou was a power in the PAC.

[woot]

The prescription for keeping your program forever mired in mediocrity: change coaches every 3 years.

I would see going from Rich Rod to someone like Hoke as a downgrade.

Firing Rich Rod only makes sense if you have Harbaugh or maybe Gary Patterson in the bag as the next coach.

My thoughts exactly, especially given that Michigan has the personnel to be really good the next two years regardless of who the coach is. Of course, that is becoming less true daily, as each of the last two days has seen a high-4-star commit "re-open" their recruitment.

What struck me as strange about the whole thing is that the "leak" occurred while the meeting between RR and DB was still going on. Apparently, the meeting lasted 4 hours in total and continues tomorrow. That doesn't seem like a good way to spend one's time if the goal is to fire someone.