[Redrum]

The idea that kids commit to a coach as much as a school is not something we\'re discovering just now.   Yeah,  JH leaving would put a hit on the recruiting class,  just like his position now has attracted a lot of these guys.   Just part of the cost, part of the pain.  Pay him what the market says he\'s worth,  then if he bolts to Michigan  or to the NFL it will be for reasons that are completely out of Stanford\'s control.   If his personal fulfillment  always lay at UM or always in the NFL,  we never had a long lasting claim on him.   Just a crappy end to our lucky run with him.

I don\'t know about the Vic Fangio/ Harbaugh friction stories.  I can see where it might be true that Harbaugh\'s charged up personality,  open feelings and ambition might grate on some.   But on the other hand,  in sports and in business  people stay in similar circumstances to be part of something that succeeds.   Further,  it might not be true.  Could be UCLA types conflating their needs with their wishes with the fact that Neuheisel and Fangio once worked together.  Could be that Slick Rick grates on Vic as much as they believe Harbaugh does.  And one reason to doubt the friction story:  Every time  Harbaugh opens his mouth these days, he praises Fangio and the job he\'s done.  It seems that JH has gone out of his way --as he does with his players-- to take the adulation off him and put it on others.  Prima facie evidence that JH invests himself on good staff relations.

[Redrum]

The idea that kids commit to a coach as much as a school is not something we\'re discovering just now.   Yeah,  JH leaving would put a hit on the recruiting class,  just like his position now has attracted a lot of these guys.   Just part of the cost, part of the pain.  Pay him what the market says he\'s worth,  then if he bolts to Michigan  or to the NFL it will be for reasons that are completely out of Stanford\'s control.   If his personal fulfillment  always lay at UM or always in the NFL,  we never had a long lasting claim on him.   Just a crappy end to our lucky run with him.

I don\'t know about the Vic Fangio/ Harbaugh friction stories.  I can see where it might be true that Harbaugh\'s charged up personality,  open feelings and ambition might grate on some.   But on the other hand,  in sports and in business  people stay in similar circumstances to be part of something that succeeds.   Further,  it might not be true.  Could be UCLA types conflating their needs with their wishes with the fact that Neuheisel and Fangio once worked together.  Could be that Slick Rick grates on Vic as much as they believe Harbaugh does.  And one reason to doubt the friction story:  Every time  Harbaugh opens his mouth these days, he praises Fangio and the job he\'s done.  It seems that JH has gone out of his way --as he does with his players-- to take the adulation off him and put it on others.  Prima facie evidence that JH invests himself on good staff relations.