Anonymous Coach Compares Michigan To Elite Ohio State, SEC Teams Of The Past

Michigan football is a true blue blood college program and because of that, they're not exactly loved by other fanbases or employees of other schools. Think the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers or Dallas Cowboys. Storied, successful programs and franchises are loved by their own and hated by pretty much everyone else. Because of that, when opposing coaches are asked to anonymously speak on the Wolverines, they usually do so without pulling any punches. In the past, that would sometimes result in some pretty spicy bulletin board material. Now, the Wolverines are humming along and Jim Harbaugh can seemingly do no wrong, and other coaches recognize it.

In the most recent college football preview magazine by Athlon Sports, an anonymous coach spoke about Michigan and could not have been more complementary.

Last season really sealed it for them. This is a different program. The gap between them and Ohio State hasn’t been this close in decades. It's reload, not rebuild, which is something they’ve never been able to claim like an Ohio State or SEC team. The transfers are good, the backfield is great, the QB is great, they’ve got speed on the edges and defensively they’re consistent and smart. It’s proof of concept now, that’s why they’ve stepped it up in recruiting. Jim (Harbaugh) has also found a niche inside the portal. They breed the culture into those guys. It’s elitist, but that’s built on confidence, and confident teams are consistent. The only thing they lack right now is that 'big one' win at the national title level. There’s no reason they should’ve lost to TCU, and they definitely know it, but they didn’t do anything crazy in response. And remember, Jim’s a distraction, but not to Jim. At the very top, that’s a calm, consistent culture.

Since 2020, Harbaugh has been King Midas. Everything he has done since that dreadful and weird 2-4 season has turned to gold. Just about every hire has been a home run. His players are developing, producing and getting drafted. He and his staff are recruiting very well and things are even picking up in the NIL department. There's really nothing bad to say about the program right now and you'd probably have to poll dozens and dozens of anonymous coaches before you'd hear a negative word...unless you started in Columbus.