[DC 86]

It’s kind of irrelevant how fans “feel”.  They are not the ones dealing with JH on a day to day basis.  The guy can coach, no question.  But the issue always has seemed to be that “he does not play well with others.”  That appeared to be the case in SF.  It didn’t help that York appeared to back Ballke.  

At Stanford there was, as I understand it, a slew of players that couldn’t stand him. Sherman and Baldwin were vocal about it.  But they were far from alone. 

In the end, the question for those making the decisions are is he worth the trouble.  He is far from the only good coach out there.  And if you can bring one in that is a good coach without the baggage, maybe you decide to make a move.  

Where I differ is that I've never been convinced that Harbaugh carries significant baggage other than being abrasive and being disliked by a lot of the people he works with, which is not unlike many head coaches, and CEOs for that matter. Certainly Belichick has a slew of players who can't stand him. It hasn't seemed to affect his or Harbaugh's results. The other issue is that while he's not the only good coach out there there is a scarcity of elite coaches. Obviously Tomsula represents an extreme but finding a replacement of similar or better caliber than Harbaugh is not easy at all.

I'm probably glad that I don't have to work with him or for him, but as an outside observer it sure seems as if Harbaugh is worth the trouble, and I think his Michigan tenure demonstrates that the conventional wisdom about him only being useful for 3-4 years is unfair.

[DC 86]

It’s kind of irrelevant how fans “feel”.  They are not the ones dealing with JH on a day to day basis.  The guy can coach, no question.  But the issue always has seemed to be that “he does not play well with others.”  That appeared to be the case in SF.  It didn’t help that York appeared to back Ballke.  

At Stanford there was, as I understand it, a slew of players that couldn’t stand him. Sherman and Baldwin were vocal about it.  But they were far from alone. 

In the end, the question for those making the decisions are is he worth the trouble.  He is far from the only good coach out there.  And if you can bring one in that is a good coach without the baggage, maybe you decide to make a move.  

Where I differ is that I've never been convinced that Harbaugh carries significant baggage other than being abrasive and being disliked by a lot of the people he works with, which is not unlike many head coaches, and CEOs for that matter. Certainly Belichick has a slew of players who can't stand him. It hasn't seemed to affect his or Harbaugh's results. The other issue is that while he's not the only good coach out there there is a scarcity of elite coaches. Obviously Tomsula represents an extreme but finding a replacement of similar or better caliber than Harbaugh is not easy at all.

I'm probably glad that I don't have to work with him or for him, but as an outside observer it sure seems as if Harbaugh is worth the trouble, and I think his Michigan tenure demonstrates that the conventional wisdom about him only being useful for 3-4 years is unfair.