The Wolverine

February 2015

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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J im Harbaugh didn't roll into Ann Arbor thundering out threats against Ohio State and Michigan State. He didn't offer up anything about little brothers or raffle rigging or even ultimate, impending pride 333 days after his arrival. "They're outstanding programs," Harbaugh praised. "I make no guar- antees. I made a guarantee a long time ago, and I've learned from that. I've grown. I understand that you don't make guaran- tees." Everyone laughed, and Harbaugh grinned back. So the fiery competitor long known for his talk and his actions re-entered Ann Arbor walking softly. It didn't take long to realize, though, that he's looking to fashion the biggest, boldest stick in the Big Ten, and begin swing- ing it. Remember, this is the guy who came to Stanford rolling verbal gre- nades into the camp of Pete Carroll, the smooth-talking commander of USC's well-funded juggernaut. When Carroll balked, Harbaugh doubled down — then went out and beat USC as a 41-point underdog. Harbaugh later jumped to the NFL, taking a San Francisco franchise that had been as relevant as a lemonade stand in Antarctica to three straight NFC champion- ship games and a Super Bowl. The coach NFL insiders insisted would never, ever come back to college did just that, send- ing shockwaves through the football world at every level. Former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr put it simply: "He'll bring cham- pionships back to Michi- gan." Harbaugh quickly dem- onstrated two facets of his homecoming approach. One: he's not going to try and talk his way to those titles. Two: he's deadly serious about getting there. He immediately began assembling what will be regarded as one of the best — if not the best — coaching staffs in college football. Culling tal- ent from top college programs, along with a wealth of NFL experience, Har- baugh dove into putting together the team to guide the team. When former NFL coordinators come back to the college ranks to take a position group, something's going on. It's Harbaugh hardball from here on out, words or no. WOLVERINE WATCH   JOHN BORTON Coach's Intent Is Crystal Clear There's never been any doubt about new head coach Jim Harbaugh's intent — it's to win. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN

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