Jim Harbaugh: 10 Reasons He Should Stay In College Ranks
Jim Harbaugh seems destined to be leaving Palo Alto after his Cardinal take on Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl tonight.
The major question surrounding his future is whether he'll move up to the NFL, where there are a handful of teams (including the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers) that would love to snatch him up, or if he'll head "home" to Ann Arbor to take over a seemingly vacant Michigan job.
Harbaugh is a recent, former NFL quarterback who knows the pro game. So he seems unlikely to follow in the Steve Spurrier, Bobby Petrino, Lou Holtz, Dick MacPherson mold of college coaches who failed in the NFL.
But part of him has to consider staying at the collegiate level.
And here are 10 of the possible reasons why he might do so.
No. 10: The Lockout
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Today, Commissioner Roger Goodell told the public that "I know we can and will reach an agreement", regarding the impending doom of an NFL lockout in 2011.
But if Harbaugh leaves Palo Alto (or passes up the job at Michigan) to go to the NFL and there are no games in September, he'll certainly long for the college football season.
And maybe there will be a labor peace, but the general consensus is that it might not come until sometime next summer.
If that is the case, then he'll be coaching his first season with one hand tied behind his back: installing a brand new offense, defense, and special teams without OTA's, with a shortened training camp, and with a shortened exhibition season is not ideal.
No. 9: The Annual Black Monday
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Harbaugh probably will end up in the NFL someday: he is only 47 years old.
But considering how frequently teams change head coaches, he can afford to be patient and wait for the right gig.
Sooner or later, there is going to be an opening out there for a prominent team with a great owner, good talent, and the "right situation". Probably a team whose coach RETIRES rather than is FIRED.
That doesn't seem likely right now. But one could be around the corner.
And who's to say that two or three years from now, whichever team that drafts Andrew Luck isn't out there looking for a new head coach. That gig down the road might be perfect for him.
No. 8: Job Security
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The life span of an NFL head coach is not nearly as long as a college coach. If you don't make the playoffs in your first two seasons, you wind up on the hot seat or fired: see Eric Mangini, Mike Singletary, and Josh McDaniels.
Some coaches get longer stays without a playoff appearance, but usually not longer than three seasons without a trip to the postseason.
At the college level, he has already built up so much good will in such a short time that he doesn't ever have to worry about being fired from Stanford. In the NFL, the honeymoon lasts about one season.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 7: Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier
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Both Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban bounced back from their NFL embarrassments to get prominent jobs in the SEC right after leaving the pro game. And both men have had great success since returning to college.
But there's not doubt about it that Saban and Spurrier are laughing stocks in NFL circles. Their tenures were a mess and they seemed completely over their heads at the pro level.
Since Harbaugh was a longtime NFL player, and his brother is a successful NFL head coach, the fear of becoming a joke like Spurrier or Saban might weigh on his decision.
No. 6: A Pac-10 Title
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The 11-1 record, a trip to the Orange Bowl, and making Andrew Luck the prohibitive number one draft choice in April has made Harbaugh the premier coaching candidate for NFL teams not interested in or capable of hiring Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden.
But it is a bit curious that he has suddenly been dubbed a shoo-in to be the next Jimmy Johnson: a coach who goes from the college game to the pros without much lost in translation.
He's only been at the Division I, FBS level for four seasons, and his record is only 28-21.
Furthermore, he has yet to deliver Stanford a Pac-10 title, something that Tyrone Willingham, John Ralston, Bill Walsh, Pop Warner (all major names) did.
Harbaugh is a premier coach, but he might be interested in waiting to leave the college game until he can deliver the school another Rose Bowl appearance or conference title.
No. 5: NFL, The No Fun League
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One of the reasons why Pete Carroll was deemed a failure during his first two tenures in the NFL (with the Jets in 1994 and the Patriots from 1997-99) is because he was seen as too much of a "rah-rah" guy.
His enthusiasm was boundless, and because he didn't succeed in the NFL, people attribute his lack of wins to the players (millionaire grown men) not responding to that approach.
That may or may not be true: Carroll is just as energetic today and he took the Seahawks to a NFC West title in his first year.
Regardless, Harbaugh is a lot like Carroll when it comes to enthusiasm and the player-friendly approach.
He's always jumping around and excited. Not exactly how Bill Belichick carries himself.
Harbaugh might find the college game more FUN than the pro game.
No. 4: San Francisco, Carolina, Oakland, Cleveland, Denver, Cincinnati, Etc, Etc
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There is a good chance that whatever NFL team Harbaugh is approached by is a bad team.
Right now, it seems that the Cowboys, Vikings, Giants, Jaguars, and Texans aren't in the market for a new head coach.
That leaves several bottom-feeders and a handful of below average teams out there.
Moving from 11-1 Stanford to 2-14 Carolina or 4-12 Denver or 4-12 Cincinnati or 6-10 San Francisco cannot be that appealing.
Sure there is some talent on those squads, but is it enough to leave a program that Harbaugh has turned into a top five team in college?
No. 3: Bowl Season
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When the 2010 campaign is completely over, there will really only be one team that feels their season was a success: the team that leaves Cowboys Stadium carrying the Lombardi Trophy.
In college, the landscape really isn't the same. Sure, teams like to reach the BCS Championship Game, but with the Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Rose and a few other bowls out there, teams don't have to "win it all" to be a success.
Harbaugh could stay at Stanford for 10 more years, and as long as he takes the Cardinal to the Rose Bowl (or sadly, another bowl, as was the case this year) a few times, he will be regarded as a hero to the alumni and fans.
In the NFL, if he doesn't win a Super Bowl, he is probably going to be back on the job market in very short order.
No. 2: A Stanford Dynasty
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It's not a guarantee that Andrew Luck will leave Stanford and declare for the 2011 NFL Draft.
He too might consider the lockout and remain another year in college. Or maybe his former Phi Beta Kappa father, West Virginia Athletic Director Oliver Luck, doesn't want him to turn down a Stanford degree.
Either way, Luck is only a redshirt sophomore, so he could remain in college for another year (two would be stretching it in terms of probability).
The Cardinal finished the season 11-1 and earned a BCS appearance. Their only loss (a game in which they led at halftime) was at Oregon to a team that went undefeated and will play for a national championship in a week.
Next year, the Ducks come to Stanford Stadium.
An undefeated regular season and a trip to the National Championship is very possible in 2011. If Harbaugh delivered the Cardinal a national championship, he'd be a Stanford legend, one probably even larger than John Elway.
No. 1: Hail to the Victors
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The Michigan Wolverines program is definitely down these days and Rich Rodriguez seems headed for a pink slip very soon.
If that is the case, they will pursue Harbaugh, the former Michigan quarterback, as vehemently as possible.
Although it won't be a perfect situation to step into (the mess Rodriguez made, perhaps unlikely expectations, Nebraska moving into the Big Ten), he would be seen as a savior if he gets Michigan back to the top.
The best part about taking over Michigan is the fact that there are smaller, more reasonable goals than there are in the NFL. If he beats Ohio State (something the Wolverines haven't done since 2003) in his first year, he will already outdo Rodriguez.
And with Denard Robinson and/or Tate Forcier, he can build the program back with a fine quarterback already on his roster.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
