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College Football

Jim Harbaugh’s succession plan is as quirky as he is — and a bit disrespectful — but also ingenious

Alex Hickey

By Alex Hickey

Published:

Jim Harbaugh makes for such an interesting character study because he is a walking paradox.

In many regards, he’s hopelessly stubborn and set in his ways. His entire battle with the NCAA is a self-inflicted wound. The organization is more put off by the fact he chose to be misleading about Michigan’s rather benign rules violations than the violations themselves. Just fess up and move on.

But he can’t admit wrongdoing, for in his mind he did no wrong. Thus, we have a standoff that won’t be resolved until next year.

But in other ways, Harbaugh is as forward-thinking as any coach in college football. Probably more so.

He provided another example on Monday, banging the drum for student-athletes to get a piece of the pie as television revenue gives us Frankenstein conferences in college sports.

“I don’t understand how the NCAA, TV networks, conferences and schools can continue to pull in millions off the efforts of college students across the country without sharing ever-increasing revenue,” he said at his season-opening press conference. “Who do we all go to watch? Who do we all go to see? … They need to share in the profits.”

Harbaugh’s succession plan for the 3 games he will be sitting out thanks to Michigan’s self-imposed suspension is another example of his paradoxical mind at work. It simultaneously offers a solution to one of college football’s major issues, yet comes across as mighty disrespectful to Michigan’s 3 lightweight non-conference opponents. (So does that sentence, but I’m paid to be a hater.)

The plan: Michigan will rotate 4 head coaches for its first 3 games. Yes, there are more coaches than there are games.

Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter is the interim head coach against East Carolina. Against UNLV, special teams coordinator Jay Harbaugh will coach the first half while running backs coach Mike Hart coaches the second half. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore rounds out the rotation as Michigan’s interim coach against Bowling Green.

Let’s start with the wacky, because that’s the most noticeable element. Has anyone ever tried anything like this before in sports at all, let alone college football? A new coach every game?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes.

In 1960, Chicago Cubs owner PK Wrigley — good with chewing gum, not so good with baseball — decided the Cubs didn’t need a single manager anymore. They would instead rotate what he coined a “College of Coaches.”

“Managers are expendable,” Wrigley declared. “I believe there should be relief managers just like relief pitchers.”

Wrigley hired a staff of 8 head coaches who would rotate through the Cubs and their minor league system. It came to a head in 1962, when the Cubs posted their worst record in franchise history, losing 103 games. And that’s why you’ve never seen anybody try that idea since.

Harbaugh’s College of Coaches will fare better than Wrigley’s. Or at least it should.

For starters, Harbaugh will still be in charge of the Wolverines from Sunday-Friday. The coaching staff and players just have to execute his game plan.

And then there’s the obvious: Michigan can afford to get experimental against this non-conference schedule. None of these opponents are likely to mount much of a threat.

But therein lies the rub.

It sends a pretty clear message to each of those opponents that Michigan knows none of them is a threat. And in a sport where players invent disrespect for motivation — like the Georgia players who crafted the fiction of experts predicting they’d lose 5 games last year — this will provide an incredible amount of fuel.

If you were a UNLV player or coach, how could you take the fact Michigan is using 2 coaches against you as anything but a slight?

The Wolverines obviously aren’t concerned about which coach will need to give a halftime speech or make adjustments. This is designed for Harbaugh’s son to hand the baton to Hart with a comfortable halftime lead.

The talent disparity between the Wolverines and Rebels is likely wide enough to ensure that outcome. But Michigan better be prepared for those guys to come in with a massive chip on their shoulders. Though unintentional, it is certainly an insult.

Yet despite that being the case, I believe Harbaugh is absolutely doing the right thing here. Because the disrespect Michigan’s opponents will feel isn’t as important as the opportunity he is creating for Hart and Moore.

There are currently 15 Black head coaches at the FBS level, which amounts to 11.5% of all head coaching jobs. That doesn’t necessarily add up when 44% of assistant coaches are African American.

Different people will have different thoughts on why that disparity exists, but at the core much of it has to do with opportunity.

Say, for instance, a top Group of 5 coach gets a Power 5 opening. That Group of 5 program may then look to an FCS head coach because it wants experience. And because it’s far more likely that coach is white due to the numbers, the cycle perpetuates.

That’s certainly evolving. For example, Purdue’s hire of Illinois defensive coordinator Ryan Walters this offseason. But there’s still no substitute for experience.

Even though it’s just for a game — or in Hart’s case, just half a game — Harbaugh is offering his assistants something few of their peers can match. Real-time experience as a head coach.

At some point, that’s going to help Moore and Hart land head coaching jobs.

Yes, Harbaugh’s plan is highly unconventional and a tad disrespectful. But in the long run, it’s a rather ingenious way to help open doors that typically need to be kicked in.

Alex Hickey

Alex Hickey is an award-winning writer who has watched Big Ten sports since it was a numerically accurate description of league membership. Alex has covered college football and basketball since 2008, with stops on the McNeese State, LSU and West Virginia beats before being hired as Saturday Tradition's Big Ten columnist in 2021. He is an Illinois native and 2004 Indiana University graduate.