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Jim Harbaugh identifies a head coach’s No. 1 job: ‘It’s a we-fense’

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

Jim Harbaugh is entrusting the first 3 games of the season to his assistant coaches. Forced to the sidelines by a self-imposed 3-game suspension, Harbaugh has assigned interim head coaching duties to 4 different assistants to start the season.

In Week 2, those duties will be split between Jay Harbaugh and Mike Hart. During his Monday press conference, Harbaugh addressed the main job of being a head coach on gamedays.

Harbaugh acknowledged the head coach is responsible for being “the guardian of victory” and described it as a “we-fense” with the head coach forced to focus on all areas of the team.

“Be the guardian of victory is probably the number one job you have. Making sure the decisions you’re making are are complementary on all three phases. There is no offense. There is no defense. It’s a we-fense,” said Harbaugh. “Making sure that the players are in position to have their hard work achieved.”

Defensive coordinator Jesse Minter had his taste of the head coaching role in Week 1, guiding Michigan to a 30-3 victory over East Carolina. If not for a last-second field goal, Minter and the Wolverines would have secured a shutout over the Pirates.

Now, Michigan will get a glimpse at Jay Harbaugh and Hart as they tackle the “we-fense” of being head coach.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.