Commentary

Harbaugh a perfect fit for Wolverines

A bevy of reports have Jim Harbaugh being introduced Tuesday as Michigan's new football coach.

My first thought: What took so long?

People say, rightfully so, that Pat Fitzgerald is the perfect fit at Northwestern. Harbaugh is so ideal for Michigan, he should chuck the white horse and saddle up a wolverine for his ride into Ann Arbor.

And the timing could not be any better.

Michigan football has done nothing right since Lloyd Carr's players sent him out a winner in the Capital One Bowl after the 2007 season. Rich Rodriguez had no clue about Michigan culture. Brady Hoke had no clue, period.

Harbaugh should be disgusted with the NFL -- or at least how San Francisco 49ers management undermined and back-stabbed him after he guided the team to three consecutive NFC title games.

He'll face none of that at Michigan.

A small glimpse into the excitement: Once rumors spread that he'd be introduced at Tuesday's hoops game against Illinois, ticket prices on the secondary market soared from about $25 to $125 for the "cheap" seats.

What makes Harbaugh so perfect for Michigan?

Start with the fact that his two biggest influences have been Bo Schembechler, the modern godfather of Michigan football, and father Jack Harbaugh, who coached under Schembechler. Jim spent eight years of his childhood in Ann Arbor and quarterbacked the 1986 team to the Rose Bowl, so he won't need directions to Zingerman's Deli.

The former Bears first-round draft pick (26th overall) won two FCS league titles at the University of San Diego and flipped Stanford from the dregs to the elite of college football in four seasons.

On Hoke's watch, the uber-talented Devin Gardner threw 32 interceptions and posted quarterback ratings that fell each season, from 161.7 to 146.1 to 118.8. Harbaugh coaxed an All-Pro season from Rich Gannon while coaching quarterbacks for the Raiders.

He's 51, in his prime, and has been a high-level recruiter. He has all the rah-rah motivational tactics to thrive. He can tell every Michigan recruit that he has walked in their shoes.

He took a bold stand in 2007 when he told the San Francisco Examiner that his alma mater was awarding football scholarships to "borderline" students and steering them into easy majors. He later told the Ann Arbor News that he opted for a communications degree after being advised that history would require too much reading.

He'll push for, as he put it, "a higher standard" at Michigan.

New Michigan President Mark Schlissel in November essentially echoed those thoughts regarding academics, so they are already in lockstep.

Michigan is ready to end its run as the league laughingstock. The Big Ten East will become a powerhouse with sensational coaches in Harbaugh, Urban Meyer (Ohio State) and Mark Dantonio (Michigan State). James Franklin's recruiting class is ranked ninth nationally by some recruiting services, so Penn State is poised to rise again.

It took a reported contract worth $8 million a year and nearly a month since Hoke's firing, but Harbaugh is ready to go home -- right where he belongs.

Sports on 12/29/2014

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