2020 Michigan Offseason Thread

[CatsbyAZ]

Quietest Michigan offseason that I can remember during the Harbaugh tenure and well before that too. Maybe the usual coverage has just gotten bored or tired of spending so much time on Harbaugh’s first few seasons? 

[Mdot21]

Quietest Michigan offseason that I can remember during the Harbaugh tenure and well before that too. Maybe the usual coverage has just gotten bored or tired of spending so much time on Harbaugh’s first few seasons?

it's a sinking ship. the hype has worn off and Harbaugh has lost his luster. That's gonna happen when you continually get your dick kicked in by Ohio State. 0-5.

[Big Beef Tacosupreme]

it's a sinking ship. the hype has worn off and Harbaugh has lost his luster. That's gonna happen when you continually get your dick kicked in by Ohio State. 0-5.

To be fair, Ohio State is on a whole different level at the moment, so maybe that's not necessarily the best measuring stick.

And yes, Michigan is known as the team that always finishes 3rd in the Big 10 East.  I get it.

Let's look at this a different way.  Michigan has also consistently finished with 10 wins, and is on the verge of competing for the B1G.  Imagine if Michigan had Justin Fields and Chase Young last year.  What a difference just two players makes.

This is the same situation Penn State is in.  We need at least one Saquon Barkley in order to compete with a team that consistently has 2 or 3 on the roster.

Harbaugh will eventually find that player or two, and THAT is when Michigan will move up.

[Mdot21]

To be fair, Ohio State is on a whole different level at the moment, so maybe that's not necessarily the best measuring stick.

And yes, Michigan is known as the team that always finishes 3rd in the Big 10 East.  I get it.

Let's look at this a different way.  Michigan has also consistently finished with 10 wins, and is on the verge of competing for the B1G.  Imagine if Michigan had Justin Fields and Chase Young last year.  What a difference just two players makes.

This is the same situation Penn State is in.  We need at least one Saquon Barkley in order to compete with a team that consistently has 2 or 3 on the roster.

Harbaugh will eventually find that player or two, and THAT is when Michigan will move up.

Not buying it. Jim whifs on so many recruiting “locks” that wind up being great for other teams. *COUGH* OT Isaiah Wilson....*COUGH* RB AJ Dillon. How much better would Michigan’s offense have been the last few years with a 1st round pick starting at RT in Isaiah Wilson and mauling, powerful 2nd-3rd rd pick starting at RB in AJ Dillon? Probably significantly. 

Jim isn’t developing his QB’s or his WR’s either at all. DPJ is a freak of nature that never developed. 5*, top 10 player Overall, #1 WR in 247Composite as a recruit. Prediction: he will get developed in the NFL and be way better in the NFL than he ever was in college. Urban flat out said on national tv that when he was coaching he wanted DPJ baaaad and thought he was a top 10 nfl draft pick in 3 years but he hasn’t been developed.

Defense has been pretty good at developing players- but that’s because of Don Brown. Jim isn’t too involved there. It still hasn’t gotten the absolute max out of its elite athletes with the exception of Devin Bush. Just look at Peppers, Uche, and Gary. Those dudes are all freakish athletes. And I’d argue that they all should’ve been better, more impactful players at Michigan and all would’ve been drafted higher had they gone to OSU. Gary should’ve been the #1 overall pick. He was that insanely gifted. Athletically he’s superior to someone like Chase Young- who just went #2 overall. Peppers should’ve been a top 10 pick. And Uche a 1st round pick. His usage by Brown was terrible. They made him a situational player instead of an every down pass rushing maniac. In another scheme with more development- all 3 of those guys are probably way more productive and drafted higher. Brown tries to get too cute. He needed to use and unleash his elite athletes more. Don’t make them think too much or ask them to do too much. Just let them go. 

There’s a QB on the roster that has huge potential in Joe Milton but he was raw as hell. Jim didn’t redshirt him and I doubt we will see him progress. Joe Milton with Ryan Day would probably be a 1st rd pick. He’s 6’5”+, 250 pounds, runs a legitimate verified 4.65 in the 40. And oh yeah he’s probably got the strongest arm in the entire Big 10. 

It’s not just recruiting. They are developing guys way better. 

[Big Beef Tacosupreme]

Not buying it. Jim whifs on so many recruiting “locks” that wind up being great for other teams. *COUGH* OT Isaiah Wilson....*COUGH* RB AJ Dillon. How much better would Michigan’s offense have been the last few years with a 1st round pick starting at RT in Isaiah Wilson and mauling, powerful 2nd-3rd rd pick starting at RB in AJ Dillon? Probably significantly.

Jim isn’t developing his QB’s or his WR’s either at all. DPJ is a freak of nature that never developed. 5*, top 10 player Overall, #1 WR in 247Composite as a recruit. Prediction: he will get developed in the NFL and be way better in the NFL than he ever was in college. Urban flat out said on national tv that when he was coaching he wanted DPJ baaaad and thought he was a top 10 nfl draft pick in 3 years but he hasn’t been developed.

Defense has been pretty good at developing players- but that’s because of Don Brown. Jim isn’t too involved there. It still hasn’t gotten the absolute max out of its elite athletes with the exception of Devin Bush. Just look at Peppers, Uche, and Gary. Those dudes are all freakish athletes. And I’d argue that they all should’ve been better, more impactful players at Michigan and all would’ve been drafted higher had they gone to OSU. Gary should’ve been the #1 overall pick. He was that insanely gifted. Athletically he’s superior to someone like Chase Young- who just went #2 overall. Peppers should’ve been a top 10 pick. And Uche a 1st round pick. His usage by Brown was terrible. They made him a situational player instead of an every down pass rushing maniac. In another scheme with more development- all 3 of those guys are probably way more productive and drafted higher. Brown tries to get too cute. He needed to use and unleash his elite athletes more. Don’t make them think too much or ask them to do too much. Just let them go.

There’s a QB on the roster that has huge potential in Joe Milton but he was raw as hell. Jim didn’t redshirt him and I doubt we will see him progress. Joe Milton with Ryan Day would probably be a 1st rd pick. He’s 6’5”+, 250 pounds, runs a legitimate verified 4.65 in the 40. And oh yeah he’s probably got the strongest arm in the entire Big 10.

It’s not just recruiting. They are developing guys way better.

Well Gattis is a great WR coach, so that issue should be fixed.

IMO, Michigan is like Nebraska back in 2003.  Sure, you could get rid of Solich (Harbaugh) and Pellini (Brown), but you could end up with Bill Callahan and damage your program for a decade or more.

There's always room for improvement, but I don't think you should replace a consistent 10 win coach in one of the best divisions in college football. 

[Mdot21]

Well Gattis is a great WR coach, so that issue should be fixed.

IMO, Michigan is like Nebraska back in 2003.  Sure, you could get rid of Solich (Harbaugh) and Pellini (Brown), but you could end up with Bill Callahan and damage your program for a decade or more.

There's always room for improvement, but I don't think you should replace a consistent 10 win coach in one of the best divisions in college football.

Gattis has only been there 1 year. I think these WR guys will start to be developed, but it takes more than 1 year. Still doubt we will see any development at QB because: Jim. 

I’m not saying replace him. He’s a good coach. He’s just not what we thought he was. And Michigan is stuck with him right now. You don’t go replacing him just because.

[Cincydawg]

It all hinges on expectations of the Big Donors.  If they generally are content with the Citrus Bowl and a ten win season, JH will be around a long time, and he will get some teams into that 11-2 category probably.

Ohio State is going to be in the playoff every year or just on the fringe.  

[Big Beef Tacosupreme]

This is a weird question -- you guys had a running back that I thought was pretty darn good, but I believe he ended up being academically ineligible last year.  (or part of last year?)

Is that kid back on the team, and does he pose a risk to Mr. Charbonett?

[Mdot21]

This is a weird question -- you guys had a running back that I thought was pretty darn good, but I believe he ended up being academically ineligible last year.  (or part of last year?)

Is that kid back on the team, and does he pose a risk to Mr. Charbonett?

Chris Evans is coming back, and I don’t think he poses a threat. They are completely different types of backs. They actually compliment each other extremely well. 

Losing 4 starters on the OL to the NFL draft is a bigger threat to Charbonett.

[Mdot21]

It's hard to say oh just fire Harbaugh when you consider he's averaging about 10 wins per season over 5 seasons- and Michigan was a total dumpster-fire for almost an entire decade sans a flukish first Brady Hoke season when they went 11-2. Every other year under Hoke was not good- the team went backwards every year. And the Rodriguez years were a clown show.

Harbaugh era Michigan has sent 40 players to the NFL draft in his 5 years as coach. From 2005-2015, Michigan had sent 37 players to the NFL draft. So he's getting guys drafted at a way higher rate than previous coaches and he's averaging about 10 wins a season.

BUT...he's getting his ass kicked by Ohio State every year and losing about 1 game a year he shouldn't. Doubt that ever changes. Just it what it is. And you can't get rid of him- because you could easily go back to be a laughing stock if you get rid of him just because and wind up hiring the wrong guy.

[MrNubbz]

Harbaugh era Michigan has sent 40 players to the NFL draft in his 5 years as coach. From 2005-2015, Michigan had sent 37 players to the NFL draft. So he's getting guys drafted at a way higher rate than previous coaches and he's averaging about 10 wins a season.

That was the problem with Cooper - he'd loose the last 2 games of the season more often than not.But in the years he was in C-Bus the Buckeyes put the same amonut of guys in the League as UM - 64.Because of JHs contract he'll get prolly most of that.Cooper threatened to leave after going 1-4-1 vs M.And the idiots gave him an extension and raise.Not sure how I didn't end up in the ER

[ELA]

Harbaugh can't beat OSU and he can't win decent road games.  But he literally never loses bad  gets games.  What is his worst loss?  At home against a 10-3 MSU team?  A meaningless Outback Bowl against South Carolina.  He doesn't have blowout losses at Purdue or Iowa.  He doesn't have losses to Pitt and Syracuse.  That 9-11 wins per year with Michigan's talent.  If you bring in someone else, who gets the same results, but beats OSU occasionally, but then drops a game at Indiana or Minnesota, is that better?  That's basically Lloyd Carr, more big wins, more bad losses, solid end result.  And yet was Carrs seat ever hot?  Different times, WAY less scrutiny.  Maybe it's a product of the CFP or bust way college football is covered now, but I remember really enjoying Michigan's 10-3 Citrus Bowl 1998 season.  That season started 0-2 (so CFP gone), and ended with a loss at OSU.  That would be a disaster now.

/unfocusedrant

[Big Beef Tacosupreme]

Chris Evans is coming back, and I don’t think he poses a threat. They are completely different types of backs. They actually compliment each other extremely well.

Losing 4 starters on the OL to the NFL draft is a bigger threat to Charbonett.

Wow, I just realized that Michigan had 10 players drafted.  This initially made me agree that Harbaugh is underperforming as well.  However, on second glance:

1.  Michigan lost to an Ohio State team that was one of the very few in the country that had more talent than UM.

2.  An Alabama team that was one of the very few in the country that had more talent than UM.

3.  A Penn State team with comparable talent, but away in a white out and a very close game.

The fourth loss was to Wisconsin.  Wisconsin only had 4 players taken in this draft, but I could see them having 10 (or even more) picks in next year's draft.

[Cincydawg]

I think it's frustrating for a fan base not to have a "break through year".  An NC will mask a lot of 8-5 years.  An 11-2 year with a loss to OSU is disheartening.  Grumbling starts.  Expectations and hopes and dreams etc.  

And yes, if you fire a pretty good coach in hopes of getting a great one, you risk getting a substandard coach etc.