[Farm93]

I wish that the entire staff was named Harbaugh. I doubt that he would have called a time out on a punt. Good grist for a Monty Python skit.

We do?  He was the one that rescuscitated Stanford football, even though "you guys" think Shaw is in the process of undoing all that.

I was sorry to see him leave Stanford ,too, but I've gotten over it
There still seem to be a few Stanford fans who haven't.

This is all fine to lust after Harbaugh...if Harbaugh was fired.
The coach left this program.  He would not return if Stanford offered $10 million per year.

FWIW - He was looking for more prestigious assignments after year #1 at Stanford.   Those that didn't realize he would be leaving for the NFL and/or the BigTen after the 2007 season clearly don't understand what motivates top coaches.  For example Denny Green was eager to try to get NFL opportunities at least by 1990.

And that is the cautionary tale.   Top tier coaches are not common, cheap or loyal to Stanford.   Very few of those top tier coaches could succeed at Stanford given its geographic location, academic standards, and small fan base.   And those coaches that do succeed at Stanford then become very appealing to the NFL because NFL teams understand just how hard it is to win at Stanford.

The NFL offers a chance for those super successful type coaches to test their skills against the very best coaches in football.   If they are that great it will be a challenge they will not turn down and will likely take after a couple of decent years at Stanford (see...Walsh, Green, Harbaugh).

[Farm93]

I wish that the entire staff was named Harbaugh. I doubt that he would have called a time out on a punt. Good grist for a Monty Python skit.

We do?  He was the one that rescuscitated Stanford football, even though "you guys" think Shaw is in the process of undoing all that.

I was sorry to see him leave Stanford ,too, but I've gotten over it
There still seem to be a few Stanford fans who haven't.

This is all fine to lust after Harbaugh...if Harbaugh was fired.
The coach left this program.  He would not return if Stanford offered $10 million per year.

FWIW - He was looking for more prestigious assignments after year #1 at Stanford.   Those that didn't realize he would be leaving for the NFL and/or the BigTen after the 2007 season clearly don't understand what motivates top coaches.  For example Denny Green was eager to try to get NFL opportunities at least by 1990.

And that is the cautionary tale.   Top tier coaches are not common, cheap or loyal to Stanford.   Very few of those top tier coaches could succeed at Stanford given its geographic location, academic standards, and small fan base.   And those coaches that do succeed at Stanford then become very appealing to the NFL because NFL teams understand just how hard it is to win at Stanford.

The NFL offers a chance for those super successful type coaches to test their skills against the very best coaches in football.   If they are that great it will be a challenge they will not turn down and will likely take after a couple of decent years at Stanford (see...Walsh, Green, Harbaugh).