Dan Patrick, Rich Eisen, Mike Greenberg Criticize Jim Harbaugh For MSU Loss
In the aftermath of Michigan's loss to Michigan State from the weekend, Jim Harbaugh as the face of the U-M program has undergone fire from all directions-- and justifiably so.
When playing at home, the Wolverines are 1-6 against Ohio State and Michigan State under Harbaugh, which is a bright red flag considering the reputation surrounding Coach Harbaugh is that road games are his Achilles heal.
However, this past Saturday proved that close games that require one savvy coaching decision or a big play to restore momentum is not in Coach Harbaugh's bag of tricks at Michigan, at least not over the past several seasons.
As Michigan fans have tried to process how U-M loses to MSU after the Spartans were just defeated by Rutgers, members of the national media have spoken out vociferously regarding Coach Harbaugh's position as Michigan's head coach.
Dan Patrick
"This was to a Michigan State team that had just lost to Rutgers. This is worse than a loss to Ohio State because Ohio State is a better team, has been a better program. Losing to Michigan State at home? They've got Indiana coming up then they have Wisconsin, but the seat has been warm. The question is: how hot does it get before Jim say I'm going to leave for the betterment of his alma mater or does Michigan say it's just not working out?"
Rich Eisen
"We all believe that Jim is awesome and the right guy for the job, and it's the third rail of Michigan fandom-- that Jim Harbaugh is not the right guy to bring Michigan to the prominence. He recruits his head off. The kids are all really talented, and they don't show up on the wrong side of the newspaper and Ohio State keeps on crushing it and Ohio State keeps winning game like this last week."
"Who is Michigan bringing in? Who? Give me a name. You hear all the same candidates. P.J. Fleck at Minnesota. Matt Campbell at Iowa State. Will Michigan just go ahead and say to one of their all-time greats in school history, one of Bo's boys, 'hey man, it has not worked out against Ohio State and against Michigan State, way too inconsistent. We're done here.'"
Mike Greenberg
"You just cant overlook the numbers. The proof is in the numbers. The proof is in the fact that he's 8-13 over the last seven seasons against Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Penn State, who are generally considered the be the teams that he's supposed to beat, that he was brought there to beat. Against every other team in the Big Ten he's 25-1. But against those teams? And you know the numbers. He's 0-5 against Ohio State, and he keeps losing to Michigan State at inopportune times."
Based on those takes, it is clear that Harbaugh is not getting the job done in Ann Arbor based on five-plus years of results. At times, Michigan has looked like a national contender and even a force to be reckoned with on the recruiting trail, but those moments are fleeting.
After one game against Minnesota in 2020, the Wolverines were lauded as serious threats to the College Football Playoff race potentially. Michigan had just clobbered a ranked opponent on the road and did so with relative ease, which jettisoned U-M up the flagpole as a potential contender this season. However, that narrative only lasted for seven days before the Wolverines were grounded once again by their in-state rivals from East Lansing.
Whenever Michigan reaches a moment of prominence, there often comes a serving of humble pie soon after that reminds U-M it is not an upper-echelon football program. An upper-echelon football program would have competed for a conference championship by now. An upper-echelon program would have beaten its most bitter rivalry at least once in five tries. And an upper-echelon program would not allow three losses to an on-the-surface inferior program in the span of six years-- at home.
These factors have compounded to the point where national media, such as Mike Greenberg, believe there is legitimacy to the possibility that Harbaugh bolts out of Ann Arbor for another job in the NFL. Rich Eisen, a noted Michigan fan and alumni, openly postulates about Harbaugh's inability to win big games against bitter foes. Dan Patrick bluntly states that Coach Harbaugh's tenure in Ann Arbor has not gone to plan.
And as these voices becomes louder and louder outside Schembechler Hall, eventually the same narrative will begin to creep into the athletic department if Harbaugh does not course correct in a major way.
Where does Michigan go from here? Is Coach Harbaugh still the guy? Let us know!
