Michigan Football: How Jim Harbaugh Can Avoid Hoke's Mistakes

Jim Harbaugh loves Michigan football enough to leave the NFL, but that alone isn’t enough to bring the Wolverines back to national prominence.

The fans who lined the windows of his press conference to see him are gone, and the unseasonably warm weather that greeted his arrival in Ann Arbor has disappeared, replaced by an arctic blast of cold and snow.

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Brady Hoke also gave a great speech at his introductory press conference, but he failed to lead Michigan back to national prominence.

Great speeches don’t revitalize programs—great players do, and a team needs top assistants to recruit and develop those players.

Harbaugh needs to build a great coaching staff or risk suffering Hoke’s fate.

Just days after 600 people crammed his press conference and 12,000 fans cheered his halftime speech at the Michigan basketball game, Harbaugh worked the phones talking to recruits from his office at an empty Schembechler Hall.

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His new vehicle sat forlornly among the vacant parking spots reserved for coaches; how he fills those spots will determine whether his regime will be successful.

The seeds for Hoke’s eventual failure were sown in the days after his initial press conference. He built his staff from a close network of associates from his previous coaching stops. Ultimately, they recruited well but couldn’t take that talent to the next level.

Harbaugh’s network of coaches has a much better track record than Hoke’s, but his former assistants are in demand.

He may have a special place in his heart for Michigan, but now he has to convince them to come to Ann Arbor.

The strength and conditioning coach is a key hire for any staff. Every player spends time in the weight room, and every position depends on how well their speed and strength is maximized during the offseason.

According to MLive.com, Harbaugh targeted Shannon Turley to fill the position and briefly had him on the way to Ann Arbor. Nick Baumgardner reported Turley’s impact at Stanford, writing, "Turley was brought to Stanford by Harbaugh in 2007 after spending one year with him at San Diego in 2006…Turley helped decrease Stanford's number of games missed due to injury by a whopping 87 percent."

He could have had a major impact at Michigan, which has had 12 season-ending injuries over the past four years, but he won’t be coming to Ann Arbor.

The good news is that Harbaugh has been successful in filling his coordinator positions. According to MLive.com, both Tim Drevno (offense) and D.J. Durkin (defense) recently appeared in Michigan’s online directory and have been confirmed by multiple sources. It also has been reported that he’s retaining previous defensive coordinator Greg Mattison in some capacity.

Harbaugh also missed on luring Kentucky recruiting coordinator Vince Marrow to join his staff. Marrow has been very successful in recruiting Ohio and would have been a great addition to the staff.

Despite the loss of Turley and Marrow, the coaching staff is off to a good start. Harbaugh is following through on his vow to target the best coaches to join him in Ann Arbor.

The next most important decision will take longer to sort out.

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Hoke inherited quarterback Denard Robinson when he took over in Ann Arbor. Robinson was an amazing athlete, but his talent eclipsed everyone else, and Hoke’s offense never developed the balance required to thrive after Robinson’s graduation.

It’s telling that Robinson was immediately moved to running back in the NFL and that his replacement, Devin Gardner, is projected as a pro wide receiver.

The conclusion is obvious—that over four years, Hoke and staff couldn't develop a top-flight quarterback.

Harbaugh’s experience working with quarterbacks is well established, but the lack of an experienced signal-caller means that he will be starting from scratch with early enrollee Alex Malzone or returning players Shane Morris, Russell Bellomy or Wilton Speight.

Harbaugh’s reputation will attract top quarterback recruits. The only question is whether the talent exists on the current roster to compete immediately.

Phil Callihan is a featured writer for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations obtained firsthand

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