Jim Harbaugh's Personality Won't Be as Big a Deal at Michigan as Many Think

Every now and then, Jim Harbaugh steps outside of the comfortable realm of coaching and into that of an architect.

He’s always considered himself the “construction” type anyway.

He likes to get his hands dirty. He gets a thrill out of setting foundations and erecting football fortresses. During the past decade, the 51-year-old has reached the highest levels of the NCAA and the NFL.

His appetite for success is the stuff of legend.

That said, he’ll probably always be in high demand and considered for future vacancies, both collegiate and pro. According to Bleacher Report NFL columnist Mike Freeman, Michigan could be just a stop on Harbaugh’s trail back to the Sunday ranks.

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He'll push the Michigan players to their breaking point, get the most out of them quickly, then build the talent. This process of restoring Michigan won't take seven years. Won't take five. The transformation will be fast and furious.

Then, as has happened everywhere else Harbaugh has coached, he will burn out many people around him, and then he'll be gone. This is the Harbaugh methodology. This is why he wins, and this is why he bolts.

So Michigan will get its title, Harbaugh will kick Urban Meyer's ass, and then he'll be gone. Probably back to the NFL.

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Freeman makes rock-solid points—Harbaugh has nomadic tendencies. He’s brash and does things his way, on his time.  

Without much warning, he left Stanford after four years—just as it reached elite status in 2010—to chase more. His quest prompted a slide over to San Francisco, where he claimed a pair of NFC West titles prior to losing Super Bowl XLVII to Baltimore and his brother, coach John Harbaugh, in 2012.

Freeman’s right: Harbaugh likes to build, move on to a new project and repeat. It’s been the hallmark of his career—a sentiment echoed by NBC Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who goes one step further in the “Harbaugh won’t stay long” discussion:

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Harbaugh has a reputation for wearing out his welcome and/or burning out within four years. So will it happen in Michigan, where he’ll have to deal with plenty of non-football considerations again, like recruiting and dealing with boosters and administration?

That’ll be the biggest question over the next four years. It’s widely believed that Harbaugh will do extremely well at Michigan; he’s done extremely well everywhere he has been. Maybe he’ll find a way to stay longer at his alma mater than he has elsewhere.

Or maybe the attraction of chasing a Lombardi Trophy eventually will bring him back to the NFL, where his brother (John) and his nemesis (Pete Carroll) have won the last two of them.

Either way, few believe Harbaugh will come close to spending the 20 years in Ann Arbor that Bo Schembechler did. Michigan fans who suffered though the Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke experiments probably won’t mind if it’s only a handful of great seasons.

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Many of the reasons why people think Harbaugh will inevitably “bolt” back to the NFL are exactly the same reasons why he may settle down in Ann Arbor for the long haul, if not until the end of his career.

Unlike in the NFL, Harbaugh will probably have full control of everything at Michigan; he’ll be judge, jury and executioner. His word will be the law of the land, a type of command that collegiate fanbases adore and few pro general managers allow.

Harbaugh’s in-your-face methods at the pro level have been questioned, but his intensity and heavy-handed paternal nature is perfect for Michigan, which has had two likeable and painfully affable—but not winning—coaches since Lloyd Carr left in 2008.

Likeable coaches are fine, just as long as they win. But the hand-clapping and hand-holding routines haven't remedied what ails Wolverines football. The team needs someone who really understands what’s at stake.

“He’s won everywhere he’s been, and we need a coach who knows how to win,” said sophomore quarterback Shane Morris. “We’re ready to win. We’re ready to turn everything around. We’re just ready to get back to work.”

Regardless of how Harbaugh initially rubs some (he could ruffle a few feathers), or if he happens to struggle for a year or two (he's inheriting a time-consuming project), Michigan players will be trained to look at him as more than a coach.

They’ll look at him as part of Wolverines history.

They'll see Bo’s boy and a player their fathers, grandfathers, older brother and cousins told stories about while watching the game on Saturday.  

He’s a former Heisman finalist. He embodies Michigan, and there are few franchises or NCAA programs that can boast having a true hometown hero at the helm.

“We all loved coach Hoke—he’s a great coach and a great person; we loved him,” Morris said. “Having coach Harbaugh here, we’re all very excited to have a new coach.

He’s proven himself and has won everywhere he’s been. He knows football. He’s a Michigan man. He’s been here, he grew up here, and we’re all just very excited [to have him].”

It’s worth noting that Morris has memorized Harbaugh’s background.

The kid did his homework.

“He started three years here, and he played 13 years in the league [NFL]… I mean, he knows quarterbacking. He knows it in and out and I’m just excited to be able to work with him,” said Morris, who obviously knows he's getting more than just another coach. 

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Harbaugh and Michigan were meant for each other. Success in the NFL may be the grand prize to most, but most aren’t Harbaugh. According to the man himself, “nobody has it better than us”—a battle cry he used to rally his family, the fans and the university before closing his introductory presser on Tuesday.

Those were words from a man who wants to walk down the streets of Ann Arbor as one of its own, not a visitor or temporary resident. Those were words from a man who knows he is where he is supposed to be.

In an effort to gauge his feelings, Harbaugh was asked if his personality was better suited for the college game. On the surface, his stories of yesteryear and mentality of "the team, the team, the team" seem like they'd resonate better with young men, not rich men with endorsements and incredible egos. 

“I feel like it’s the only personality I have…the other ones were all taken, so I got this one,” he said, grinning ear to ear. “We all have a great desire, a human agency, to be a part of a team. To be a part of something that’s bigger than yourself.

I have a great desire and I couldn’t be more excited, honored and humbled to be a part of this great team.”

Video: Lloyd Carr on Harbaugh’s Personality

Carr, a former Michigan coach, believes that Harbaugh is in the right place.

A historical moment, Tuesday's presser symbolized the start of a new era of Wolverines football. Carr feels that Harbaugh's touch will benefit student-athletes beyond the field of play. 

"Well, I think Jim is a very emotional guy and a very, very competitive guy," Carr said. "When you are that way, your players know, there's no doubt that they know what he expects.

I think based on his record and all of the things he's done in his career, he brings a great confidence to a team just because of what he's done. I think those things build on each other. He is a great motivator and I think he's a tremendous communicator."

Video: Harbaugh's Halftime Homecoming

Harbaugh, Michigan's newest football coach, addressed the fans this past Tuesday during halftime of the Wolverines' clash with Illinois at the Crisler Center. He appeared quite comfortable and professed his desire to reclaim glory on the gridiron. 

Follow Bleacher Report’s Michigan Wolverines football writer Adam Biggers on Twitter @AdamBiggers81.

Unless otherwise noted, quotes and references were obtained firsthand by the writer.