The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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ers always believed they could win, despite how they were viewed by the college football world. They needed a leader to make it happen, he mused, and Harbaugh's fiery competitive- ness lit the fuse. "It's wildly contagious," Marinelli said. "We were a program that, as far as the pundits were concerned, had no upside, no mentality as win- ners, couldn't figure it out and had no promise to ever figure it out. He quickly changed that. "When you have a leader that can instill those thoughts in you ev- ery day, and that eats, sleeps and breathes it every day, it's wildly con- tagious. It's something you become familiar with. It's something you expect." These days, Marinelli observed, if Stanford does not make it to a big bowl game, it's a letdown. That's the sort of standard Harbaugh put in place, even before the Cardinal started winning at a high level. What impressed Marinelli the most involved how Harbaugh was never afraid to go after those at the top. Outwardly respectful of USC's pro- gram, he wasn't for an instant cowed by it. He wouldn't back down, and soon enough, neither would Stanford. "When he was a player, whether it be in college, or the pros, or as a coach, what he instantly did was take whoever was the best and challenged them," Marinelli said. "He chal- lenged them on a very public stage. "He did it with Pete Carroll at USC, when we were terrible and they were running college football for a decade. He went right after them." Marinelli wasn't shocked to hear about Harbaugh's initial comments regarding Ohio State and Michigan State at his opening press confer- ence in Ann Arbor. To the surprise of those awaiting some incendiary pub- lic challenge, Harbaugh spoke with great respect of the Buckeyes and Spartans, insisting both have very strong programs. That only makes sense, his former offensive tackle pointed out. "Everything is done with respect," Marinelli said. "How do you not respect what those programs have done, and those coaches? He will treat them with the utmost respect, and credit every talent that they have, every coaching ability that they have. "But he will fully go out to embar- rass them. That will be his role when the time comes. Whether [the media] catch wind of it or not, I guarantee that will be something he will tell the players there and the recruits there, that it's his number one goal." TOUGHNESS AND POWER PERVADE How he'll get it done, schemati- cally, is something San Francisco Chronicle reporter Eric Branch ob- served over the years. Branch serves as the San Francisco 49ers beat re- porter, and saw Harbaugh dramati- cally transform an NFL franchise that had gone eight consecutive seasons without a winning record. They were 6-10 in 2010, and in Harbaugh's first three seasons at the helm went 13-3, 11-4-1 and 12-4 while