The pressure is on Michigan’s new coach to turnaround football team after a “homecoming” in December.
Home is where the heart is.
As cliche as it seems, it’s been the reality in the world of sports lately — particularly in 2014. The year was headlined by LeBron James announcing his homecoming to Cleveland in July and capped off by Jim Harbaugh taking the head coaching job at Michigan in late December.
"I was reminded of another very special word when I was driving into Ann Arbor this morning, and that word is homecoming,” Harbaugh said during his introductory news conference. “Our family's had three homecomings to Ann Arbor, Michigan, in my lifetime.”
Harbaugh went on to explain that the three “homecomings” were when his dad, Jack, became the secondary coach at Michigan and the family moved to Ann Arbor; when he was recruited by the Wolverines and played quarterback there; and now, as he returns to serve as head coach.
The idea of being able to return home might affect a person’s decision more than any other factor. That was apparent in Harbaugh’s choice, after hearing reports that he would have received offers from multiple teams in the NFL if he decided to stay in the professional ranks.
After Harbaugh’s news conference, it was obvious the Michigan job was a lifelong dream of his and an opportunity he could not pass up.
Through the hilarity that surrounded Michigan football, Harbaugh maintained a strong focus on getting to work. He held the first team meeting on Jan. 7 and has already put key pieces of his staff into place, hiring D.J. Durkin as defensive coordinator and Tim Drevno as offensive coordinator.
Both Durkin and Drevno have ties with Harbaugh. Durkin spent three seasons at Stanford with Harbaugh serving as defensive ends coach and special teams coordinator. Drevno has worked with Harbaugh at three prior stops for a total of 11 years, first at San Diego, where Drevno was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, then at Stanford as tight ends coach and offensive line coach, and then most recently as offensive line coach for the San Francisco 49ers.
Harbaugh has had success turning around football teams at all of his previous stops.
He started off with San Diego, where the team went 11-1 and won the Pioneer Football League championship each of his last two years.
His next stop was at Stanford, where he coached the team to an Orange Bowl victory and was named Woody Hayes Coach of the Year in his final season.
The most recent turnaround project for Harbaugh was with the 49ers, a team he led to three consecutive NFC title games and appeared in Super Bowl XLVII.
The pressure will be on Harbaugh at Michigan to recruit and bring the program back to the prestigious status it once held.
Expectations are sky-high after Wolverines fans watched Urban Meyer lead rival Ohio State to a National Championship on Monday in just his third year with the team. Harbaugh knows he needs to produce strong results, or his dream of coaching at Michigan will turn into his worst nightmare.
Matt Fout is a freshman studying journalism and a sports writer for The Post. Let him know what you think about Jim Harbaugh’s hire on Twitter @Matt_Fout or by email at mf056713@ohio.edu.
