Former Michigan Stars Say Jim Harbaugh Is Bringing Bo Schembechler Era Back

With an estimated attendance of 60,000—including 320 former players—the atmosphere in Ann Arbor for Jim Harbaugh's first spring game as Michigan's head coach was impossible to ignore last Saturday.

But it wasn't very difficult to explain.

"Everybody is definitely supporting Coach Harbaugh," former Wolverines linebacker and president of the Letterwinners M Club, Bob Stites, told Bleacher Report. "He’s one of us."

That's a sentiment that's not only been shared by former teammates of Harbaugh's like Stites, but generations of ex-Michigan players who are eager to see the Wolverines return to national prominence after an eight-year hiatus. Even the most optimistic of U-M alums know that only so much can be accomplished in one session of spring football, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone associated with the Wolverines who didn't notice the dawning of a new era in Ann Arbor on Saturday.

“Obviously we have to wait and see what happens on the field," said Chris Howard, the leading rusher on Michigan's 1997 national championship team. "But what you do see and what you do get a sense and feel for is that the team seems very energetic. They seem to have bought into what Harbaugh is selling them."

It's not just the current Michigan players who have done so.

The Harbaugh Effect

Michigan may still be in the early stages of its overhaul on the field, but off it, the program has done a complete 180 from where it stood just months ago.When Harbaugh accepted the head-coaching job at his alma mater at the end of 2014, it sent a shockwave not just through Schembechler Hall, but through all of Ann Arbor. Immediately, his arrival was met with a "khaki out" at a Michigan basketball game, an enthusiasm that hasn't died in the months since.

"It is amazing what an impact he’s made," Stites said. "I talked to some people who worked at the M Den [bookstore] and they were definitely selling more items for it. Even around town, real estate developers and real estate people are saying condos are selling a little bit faster and they think think there’s a ‘Harbaugh effect.’ It’s definitely taken over the area as far as the optimistic attitude of having a new coach here."

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That attitude has extended to Michigan's strong alumni base, which was evident by the presence of former players in Ann Arbor over the weekend. Even if the product on the field hasn't changed just yet, the Wolverines' mindset has, after a near-decade-long deviation from their typical status as one of college football's elite programs.

"When you can create an atmosphere of competition and not an atmosphere of entitlement, only good things can happen," Howard said. "I see guys competing, I see guys loving to compete, I think everybody understands that nothing’s going to be given to them, they understand there’s no such thing as job security, and you have to fight for everything you say you want. And quite honestly, that’s the way it should be.”

Of course, attitude and optimism can only take you so far, and sooner rather than later, Michigan and Harbaugh are going to need to win football games. But that doesn't mean last Saturday's atmosphere or the current excitement surrounding the Wolverines is unwarranted, as there's certainly something sentimental to be found in the journey on which Harbaugh's currently embarking.

"He played on the same field, the same grass as they do now. He’s one of us. So that’s the exciting thing," said Jamie Morris, who played running back beside Harbaugh in the Michigan backfield. “He’s one of us."

"Bo-esque"

He may be just a little more than three months into the job, but Harbaugh's ties to the Michigan program have been long documented. The son of former Wolverines assistant Jack Harbaugh, Jim spent his formative years in Ann Arbor around legendary head coach Bo Schembechler before Jack's career took the family out West.

“He’s a coach’s kid. His dad and his brother [Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh], there’s pictures of them running around the stadium here," said Stites, who lives in Ann Arbor. "[Bo] was a father figure for Jim."

After starring at Palo Alto High School in California, Harbaugh would return to Ann Arbor to play quarterback for Schembechler from 1983-86. A three-year starter and eventual first-round pick in the 1987 NFL draft, Harbaugh left a legacy that spoke for itself, winning Big Ten Player of the Year honors while leading the Wolverines to a Big Ten championship in his senior season.

Reed Saxon/Associated Press

"You always hear the stories, you always hear the folklore about some of the former players," Howard said. "Jim’s heroics are no different.”

But even with all he was able to accomplish on the field, Harbaugh built a reputation for his leadership off of it. His upbringing as a "coach's kid" showed up in the huddle, where he was determined to prove that Michigan's best players were on offense—and not defense, as Schembechler claimed.

He also routinely challenged teammates, unafraid to be disliked but demanding to respected. Those who spent time with him in those huddles viewed him as an extension of Bo on the field and now find it unsurprising that he's roaming the same sidelines that his mentor once did.

"It’s surreal for me because I played beside this guy," Morris said. "I see him, but I see Bo’s teachings in him too."

That means a greater emphasis placed on the team as opposed to individuals and an atmosphere where competition is not just encouraged, but a requirement. After Saturday's spring game, the winning team feasted on steaks, while the losers were left with little more than pasta.

According to Stites, that was a page straight from the Schembechler playbook, which Harbaugh has carried with him throughout his climb up the coaching ranks from San Diego to Stanford to the San Francisco 49ers. Having remained close to the Michigan program, Stites says he's already seen other similarities between his former head coach and quarterback, including the abolition of preferred parking for football players.

"He’s cut things down, he’s actually trying to make it simpler: Just football, just school, just the basics. Trying to get rid of some things that maybe were distractions in the building and around it," Stites said. "He’s just getting back to the basics and treating them all the same just like Coach Schembechler did. We were all dogs and in the doghouse all the time, so he treated everyone the same.”

That was apparent in the spring game, where hitting was live—including on the quarterbacks. That sort of toughness may have been missing from Michigan as of late, but it wasn't unfamiliar to those who had been around Schembechler.

"The things he does, the things he says, is definitely Bo-esque," Stites said. "It’s good to see.”

"It's been brutal"

In order to understand why there's been so much excitement in Ann Arbor for Harbaugh's arrival, all one must do is ask about the last seven seasons.

Since losing to FCS school Appalachian State in the 2007 season opener, the Wolverines have been largely irrelevant, save for an 11-2 Sugar Bowl-winning season in 2011. After moving on from Lloyd Carr, Rich Rodriguez was fired after three seasons, and Brady Hoke lasted just four before Harbaugh's hiring at the end of 2014.

Under Rodriguez and Hoke from 2008-2014, Michigan compiled a 46-42 record, a far cry from the standard that was previously set by college football's all-time winningest program.

“It’s been brutal. You’re watching a program that you love, that you bled and sweated for, it’s been brutal to kind of watch the program fall to where it is," Howard said. "It’s no fun going into the gym and seeing people with Ohio State shirts on and Michigan State shirts on and you just not being able to say anything.”

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

It's now been 10 years since the Wolverines' last Big Ten championship, a drought that would have been unheard of under Schembechler, who won 13 conference titles in his 21 seasons as Wolverines head coach. For a program whose goal is to compete for the Big Ten championship every season, Michigan hasn't done so since 2007, nor won one since 2004.

Meanwhile, rival Ohio State has risen to the top of college football under Urban Meyer, while Michigan State can make a legitimate claim to being the Wolverine State's premier program. Having previously saved his 1986 conference championship ring as a keepsake, Stites now wears his around town as both a motivational and teaching tool.

"People need to see it," Stites said. "They need to see that it’s possible, that people have been there and done that. These kids just need to see that. They need to see that those are the expectations that we have here. At Michigan we play for the Big Ten title and that’s what we need to win. These kids need to see those rings and see people that have done it before and see how they act, see what they do, see what they say."

They'll now not have to look any further than their head coach to do so.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.