The Wolverine

January 2020

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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4 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2020 NOT TIME FOR A CHANGE Dear The Wolverine, You are undoubtedly going to re- ceive letters calling for the dismissal of Jim Harbaugh as football coach and I want to say what a mistake that would be for several reasons. 1. Recruiting has been better under Harbaugh than it has ever been in the past, and consistently so. 2. If we win the bowl game this year, the current fifth-year seniors, who have been entirely with Harbaugh as coach, will be the first group since 1980 (39 years) to have four 10-win seasons in their stay (hopefully this will be extra motivation for the bowl game too). 3. The stellar coaches we have had in the more modern era since Bo Schem- bechler, meaning Lloyd Carr and Gary Moeller, averaged about three losses per year, which Harbaugh is averag- ing, so no one has been better than him since Bo. 4. The big knock is that he has not beaten Ohio State, but we need to re- alize that they have recently become almost unbeatable since they hired that great recruiter and terrible human be- ing Urban Meyer. Prior to that Ohio State was averaging about three losses per year, but since then they have av- eraged one loss a year and are recruit- ing at a level with only Alabama and Clemson as equals. Since then, Penn State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Notre Dame are 3-20 against Ohio State — if the refs had made the right call in 2016 Har- baugh would be 1-4 against Ohio State, which would be as good as almost any- one. There is no one out there who could recruit at a level to make us an elite team at the level of Clemson, so let's keep a great coach and not make a mis- take that would certainly send us in the wrong direction. Robert A. Murden Stuck in Columbus, Ohio DOCTOR'S ORDERS Dear The Wolverine, After reading "Dr. J's final letter" in the September issue, I went to my The Wolverine scrapbook and did a count. I had submitted 33 letters and had 15 published. This would give me a .450 batting average, which is pretty good. My letters' style was no match for Dr. J's. His letters were very thoughtful, well expressed and had a sophisticated style. No doubt he had an undergrad in literature. My style was more off the cuff and many times an attempt at humor. I never criticized or offered advice, except in one case when it was with "tongue in cheek." It was more in the style of Andy Rooney on the 60 Min- utes TV show. Also, I tended to use Shakespeare as a co-author to improve my presentation. The only thing I have on Dr. J is that at 92 I am still able to write letters. Maybe there is some literary gene in older doctors that keep them writing letters. Nevertheless, I continue to look for- ward to writing to, reading and enjoy- ing The Wolverine. Keep them coming. Arnold Herman, M.D. The Bard Of Thousand Oaks We see you as more of a .471 hitter and hope you keep the letters coming, Doc. And just to be clear — a medical degree is not required to write in to The Wolverine. January 2020 • Vol. 31, No. 6 ISSN 1048-9940 Editor John Borton TheWolverine.com Editor Chris Balas Football Recruiting Writer EJ Holland Staff Writers Austin Fox, Drew Hallett Bob Miller, Clayton Sayfie Managing Editor Ryan Tice Contributing Editor Steve Downey Layout And Design Jeanette Blankenship Chris Miller Contributing Photographers Lon Horwedel Per Kjeldsen Cover Photo Lon Horwedel Publisher Stu Coman Business Manager Linda Autry Marketing/Merchandise Manager Beverly Taylor Director Of Advertising Michelle Delee-Hamilton Customer Service Cathy Jones, Laura Thornton The Wolverine is published monthly. A one-year (12 issues) subscription is $56.99. The Wolverine is printed at The Papers in Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Wolverine, P.O. Box 2331, Durham, NC 27702. Periodical postage paid at Durham, NC 27702 and additional offices. For advertising or subscription information, call 1-800-421-7751 or write The Wolverine, P.O. Box 2331, Durham, NC 27702. The Wolverine is a publication of Coman Publishing Company, 905 W. Main St, Suite 24F, Durham, NC 27701. E-Mail Address: thewolverine@comanpub.com Subscription questions: cjones@comanpub.com Website: www.thewolverine.com Be Heard! Send your letters to: Wolverine Letters • P.O. Box 2331 Durham, NC 27702 Or email: ryantice@comanpub.com Letters may be edited for clarity or length.   FROM OUR READERS Jim Harbaugh has gone 47-17 as the head coach at Michigan and 32-12 against Big Ten foes. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL

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