Shooter: Jim Harbaugh said "no thanks" when contacted about Gopher job

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Kirby Smart is a very good coach. I don't think his name has come up. I also don't think he has any chance of being the next coach.
 


This news is sure to be lighter fluid for the, "no good coach wants the gopher job" people.
 



Really is this news to anyone? What do they expect him to say in mid-November with his team playing well. The last thing he wants to do is stir the pot.

I am not saying he is lying or telling the truth, but I don't think there is any coach that would say "Yeah, I am interested in that job right now..."
 

B.S. my sources say he is viable still. NOBODY knows at this point.
 

Just as I wouldn't believe "Shooter" claiming that Harbaugh wanted the job, I don't believe "Shooter" when he claims Harbaugh said no thanks.
 




Breakin' The Plane said:
It's a better job, but that's because of what he's done there.
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No, Stanford has been much better for a long time. Do you remember them playing Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl not long ago? They've probably made a half dozen since we last did. Harbaugh has only been there a few years.
 

Its not news, but its good to see we are aiming high
 

He'd be a great get, but I'd be worried about his moving to the NFL or even to Michigan (remember Glen's interest in Ohio State).
 

Harbaugh appears like he would be great but it just seems so unlikely that he'd come to the U of M. Stanford is a really solid gig with good facilities, fabulous weather, strong academics and support for athletics, and I would assume students see it as a very attractive place to play (not only at Stanford but at most of the Pac 10 stadiums). The stadium was recently renovated and is great. Plus, until yesterday it has been in the 70s for most of the fall. Additionally, Harbaugh's bringing in a top 10 recruiting class (the last time I looked, anyway). It seems like Harbaugh goes to the NFL or takes a top 15 college gig if he chooses to leave "The Farm." I'd love to get him at the U but it just seems pretty pie in the sky.

I say this as a current Stanford employee (5 years) who has advised a couple of football players on graduate program options and as a current U of M doctoral student (3 years). I'm also a Minneapolis native and someone who grew up with U of M alum parents who had season tix to Memorial Stadium and took me to games until they moved to the Dome. Plus, my family has had hoops tix for 38 years and I'd probably move home just so I could go to every game. Big U of M homer with a Gophers Nerf hoop in my office. Anyway, it's neither here nor there.
 



Take_It_To_The_Bank said:
No, Stanford has been much better for a long time. Do you remember them playing Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl not long ago? They've probably made a half dozen since we last did. Harbaugh has only been there a few years.
Click to expand...

2000, 1972, 1971. So a quarter dozen. (p.s. their 2000 Rose Bowl head coach is available I hear!)

The two things that make Stanford a less than top job: fan apathy and high admission standards for recruits.

I still think Harbaugh will leave for the NFL.
 


Breakin' The Plane said:
It's a better job, but that's because of what he's done there.
Click to expand...

I think the problem is that it's not a good job, but neither is Minnesota.

How I'd rank the jobs in terms of fundamentals (not current team)

PAC10

USC
UCLA
Washington
Oregon
Cal
Colorado
Stanford
Utah
ASU
Arizona
WSU
Oregon state

Big10
OSU
MI
PSU
NU
WI
IA
MSU
Minnesota
Northwestern
Purdue
Illinois
Indiana

So the problem isn't that Stanford is a better job so much as it is that there isn't an appreciable difference.
 

NateDawgUM said:
2000, 1972, 1971. So a quarter dozen. (p.s. their 2000 Rose Bowl head coach is available I hear!)

The two things that make Stanford a less than top job: fan apathy and high admission standards for recruits.

I still think Harbaugh will leave for the NFL.
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Their stadium is similar in size to TCF and they couldn't sell it out for their night game against Arizona. I think they were ranked in the top 10 at the time.
 

Take_It_To_The_Bank said:
No, Stanford has been much better for a long time. Do you remember them playing Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl not long ago? They've probably made a half dozen since we last did. Harbaugh has only been there a few years.
Click to expand...

Stanford is either feast or famine, they have to get the best athletes from a smaller pool that most schools due to their academic requirements. Thy make an occasional Rose Bowl, but typically they are a lower tier Pac10 team, and they have been quite bad up until Harbaugh got their. I would say that MN should be a better job, but Stanford has its advantages as well.
 

Hello? Reread what Shooter says: "Word is..." NOT "Harbaugh says..." Why do so many people keep believing any of these faux reports? It says absolutely nothing and it means absolutely nothing. It doesn't even hint at any source. If it had any basis in fact at all, the report would begin "Word from..." not "Word is..."

Word is Gruden is not interested in Gopher job.

Gosh, this sports "journalism" stuff is easy.
 

How does Shooter still have a job? Seriously?

At a time when newspapers are hurting for cash, the PiPress continues to employ a man who only contributes faux rumors and the Diet Cola version of Sid Hartman's bold names in the news.
 

Shooter didn't include that I haven't been contacted about the Gopher job and word is I won't.
 

Stanford seems like a better job than Minnesota right now because of how well they have done under Harbaugh, but to most outside observers, it's not.

Here is the reason why...

#1: Assuming they don't buck their traditional trend, they don't pay a large amount of money. If the U was serious about getting into the $2 millions that would be a significant pay increase. Its hard to find out Harbaugh's salary because it's a private school, but almost everyone puts it at $1.2 million. Now if MN was really willing to shell out $2.5 million, then that is a drastic pay increase.

#2: Stanford has a ton of fan apathy and anti-sports wackos. Think that article posted on here yesterday from that academic egghead and multiple that by about 1,000 if you want to see how well sports are appreciated in Palo Alto. Stanford didn't really even come close to selling out their night game against Arizona when they were the 10th ranked team in the country. I can't envision that happening at the U. If the Gophers were #10 in the country playing against a real good Big 10 opponent, the place would be rocking.

Now, these two things go together for a variety of reasons, the key one is that because of fan apathy and the anti-athletic culture, the fact that Harbaugh even is making $1.2 million dollars is a strongly debated. With the lack of fan support, Stanford probably wouldn't be smart to pay Harbaugh $2.5 million because it a lot of ways it doesn't matter. Furthermore, if you combine that with their incredibly high admission standards (harder to get players), there is a decent chance they might have some down seasons or average seasons, which will only fuel the people that think $1.2 million is way to much to "waste" on football.


I've always said that there is a 0% chance Harbaugh takes the MN job (in my opinion). However, that has nothing to do with the Stanford job. If the U is really willing to shell out the kind of dough we are talking about, the U is a better job. The thing that will keep him from thinking about the U is that his name is so hot in coaching circles, he knows that his next job will be either in the NFL or a top notch college football program.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
combine that with their incredibly high admission standards (harder to get players)
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It's a curious phenomenon that people always bring this up as exclusively detrimental. In reality, it has its positive side as well. There always has been, and always will be, a certain subset of Division I-level players who take their academics very seriously. There are three top-15 academic schools* (Stanford #5, Duke #9, and Northwestern #12) who play Division I-A. In a hypothetical situation where a recruit has those as his three finalists, it's a no-brainer. Typically, those were the types of recruits Stanford signed, and why they were almost always a middling-to-poor team in the Pac 10 over the last few years. Now, they have a legitimate top-10 coach to sell to recruits, are beating out the other prestigious "combo" athletic-academic schools (USC, Michigan, Notre Dame, Cal, UCLA, etc.) and are building phenomenal recruiting classes.

Take a look at Harbaugh's 2011 commits. It's really fascinating - eight 4-stars from 7 different states (only two from CA!) and recruits from 13 different states/territories (DC) among 21 commits. It's obvious they're coming from far and wide for the Harbaugh/academics combo platter. He wouldn't have the restrictive academic standards at other schools, but he also couldn't sell a top-5 academic experience at any other DI-A school in the country. Despite all the other problems (attendance, salary, competing against other CA schools, etc.), I could see that as a reason he might stay there longer than any of us (including himself) think. Or, he may shuffle off to the NFL very soon. Either way, the odds of him coming here are slim, and Slim just left town.

*US News & World Report
 

dpodoll68 said:
There are three top-15 academic schools* (Stanford #5, Duke #9, and Northwestern #12) who play Division I-A.
*US News & World Report
Click to expand...

I don't question Duke's ranking, but I would not put them in with Northwestern or Stanford in terms of thier entrance requirements for athletes. I'm willing to bet that Coach K has gotten many players into Duke that would never get into Stanford or Northwestern. I would argue that Duke doesn't even have the toughest athletic admissions standards in the ACC, that would probably be UVa. Likewise, regardless of what US New says, I don't think Duke's academic reputation is in the same league in most people's eyes.
 

dpodoll68 said:
It's a curious phenomenon that people always bring this up as exclusively detrimental. In reality, it has its positive side as well. There always has been, and always will be, a certain subset of Division I-level players who take their academics very seriously. There are three top-15 academic schools* (Stanford #5, Duke #9, and Northwestern #12) who play Division I-A. In a hypothetical situation where a recruit has those as his three finalists, it's a no-brainer. Typically, those were the types of recruits Stanford signed, and why they were almost always a middling-to-poor team in the Pac 10 over the last few years. Now, they have a legitimate top-10 coach to sell to recruits, are beating out the other prestigious "combo" athletic-academic schools (USC, Michigan, Notre Dame, Cal, UCLA, etc.) and are building phenomenal recruiting classes.

Take a look at Harbaugh's 2011 commits. It's really fascinating - eight 4-stars from 7 different states (only two from CA!) and recruits from 13 different states/territories (DC) among 21 commits. It's obvious they're coming from far and wide for the Harbaugh/academics combo platter. He wouldn't have the restrictive academic standards at other schools, but he also couldn't sell a top-5 academic experience at any other DI-A school in the country. Despite all the other problems (attendance, salary, competing against other CA schools, etc.), I could see that as a reason he might stay there longer than any of us (including himself) think. Or, he may shuffle off to the NFL very soon. Either way, the odds of him coming here are slim, and Slim just left town.

*US News & World Report
Click to expand...



I agree 100% that there is virtually no chance that he would come here. I also think it is a valid point about the admission standards, which is why I didn't make it as one of my main points. I think Duke in basketball is different from Stanford in football because you really don't need as many good players to be dominant in basketball.

I also don't think a lot of years that Stanford is going to have huge problems getting good athletes (and when he does get them they will be a lethal combination of smart and athletic. However, because of the higher admission standards, it is more likely that they might run into a couple down recruiting classes just because there available pool is a bit smaller.

Don't get me wrong, I think he can have sustained success at Stanford. I just don't think Stanford will ever become one of the elite football programs in the country (meaning contending for conference championships every year, national title contenders most years, etc.). I just think that because they are critical of forking over a ton of money for a football coach that if they do start giving tons of money, they might have unrealistic expectations.
 

badgergopher said:
I think the problem is that it's not a good job, but neither is Minnesota.

How I'd rank the jobs in terms of fundamentals (not current team)

PAC10

USC
UCLA
Washington
Oregon
Cal
Colorado
Stanford
Utah
ASU
Arizona
WSU
Oregon state

Big10
OSU
MI
PSU
NU
WI
IA
MSU
Minnesota
Northwestern
Purdue
Illinois
Indiana

So the problem isn't that Stanford is a better job so much as it is that there isn't an appreciable difference.
Click to expand...

Illinois is a better job that MN. Purdue is about on par. NW and IU are the worst jobs in the Big 10.
 

I would love to have to eat crow on this, but I don't see any way Harbaugh comes here. He was born and raised in the Stanford area and went to school at Michigan. I don't see him coaching anywhere in college other than Stanford or Michigan. If he leaves Stanford after this season, I think it is to coach the Dallas Cowboys, not the Gophers.
 

At least he was contacted. Everyone, including Harbaugh, is a possible candidate until the new HC is hired.
 

thevintageeffect said:
Harbaugh appears like he would be great but it just seems so unlikely that he'd come to the U of M. Stanford is a really solid gig with good facilities, fabulous weather, strong academics and support for athletics, and I would assume students see it as a very attractive place to play (not only at Stanford but at most of the Pac 10 stadiums). The stadium was recently renovated and is great. Plus, until yesterday it has been in the 70s for most of the fall. Additionally, Harbaugh's bringing in a top 10 recruiting class (the last time I looked, anyway). It seems like Harbaugh goes to the NFL or takes a top 15 college gig if he chooses to leave "The Farm." I'd love to get him at the U but it just seems pretty pie in the sky.

I say this as a current Stanford employee (5 years) who has advised a couple of football players on graduate program options and as a current U of M doctoral student (3 years). I'm also a Minneapolis native and someone who grew up with U of M alum parents who had season tix to Memorial Stadium and took me to games until they moved to the Dome. Plus, my family has had hoops tix for 38 years and I'd probably move home just so I could go to every game. Big U of M homer with a Gophers Nerf hoop in my office. Anyway, it's neither here nor there.
Click to expand...

Good luck on the Doctoral. Hope the orals go well for you.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
At least he was contacted. Everyone, including Harbaugh, is a possible candidate until the new HC is hired.
Click to expand...

I agree. It never hurts to ask, you never know who will be interested. At least we're trying for the best, or so it seems.
 

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