Jim Harbaugh 'Is Like A Real Kid'
If you don't know Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and strictly view him as what the national media creates him -- an odd figure. He may not be best answering the media's questions or give the best answers, but he does have some of the best analogies you can find.
However, there is a big reason why high school kids and college players gravitate to Harbaugh. Not only is he a good football coach, his record shows that, but he is a genuine human being and has a fun side.
On Friday, wide receiver Roman Wilson was asked about his head coach. Wilson shared he wishes the media would ask him more questions about Harbaugh and the actual person he is -- not the person the media makes him out to be.
Wilson shared the 60-year coach is more like the college kids he coaches.
"He's like a kid for real," said senior wide receiver Roman Wilson. "He be cracking jokes like trying to get us with Deez Nuts jokes. He is out there having a good time. He really is a player, like one of us deep down."
Harbaugh shared awhile back that he bought a chicken coop and takes care of the chickens. Some people wondered if that just another Harbaugh-ism and wasn't the actual truth. But Wilson confirmed that Harbaugh truly does have chickens.
Wilson said he went to Harbaugh's house on Christmas and Harbaugh was actually taking care of his chickens -- alongside his kids.
"I told them out there, I went to his house for Christmas, and I thought he would just be inside chilling on the couch. He was just outside working on the chicken coop, chickens following him around. His actual kids were following him, and then chickens were just following him, and he was working on the chicken coop. I was, 'like, man, this is the most Coach Harbaugh thing I've ever seen'."
But has Harbaugh changed his ways? When Harbaugh first returned to Michigan back in 2015, he was known for his temperament on the sidelines that got him in trouble a few times. Then he went to being a calm coach on the sideline, and now he is a good mixture of the two.
Wilson believes he has seen a change in Harbaugh since he came to Ann Arbor back in 2020. He believes Harbaugh has gotten more comfortable with his players and is really becoming better at connecting on a personal level with the players he coaches.
"He definitely has," said Wilson. "I can't really speak on it too much, but I feel like maybe he's getting more comfortable with his players, like really building that personal connection with us. I don't know if that was something we were missing when I was younger. I don't know if I was a younger guy and didn't see it. Being an older guy, I feel that one-on-one connection with him."
Harbaugh and the Wolverines will take the field on Jan. 1 with Michigan battles Alabama in the Rose Bowl.
