Jim Harbaugh energized, motivated by Michigan football’s ‘real momentum’

It’s early May and an animated Jim Harbaugh appears, crouched down in football position before an auditorium full of onlookers in Bay City, telling the story of his 9-year-old self falling in love with football.
As the tale goes, and it’s one the Michigan football coach has told many times before, Harbaugh is dressed in full Ann Arbor Junior Packers uniform when he was sent to one side of the line. It was Day 3 of practice and today was tackling day.
“I was seventh in the tackling line and I did what every person that was seventh in the tackling line does — counted to see who was No. 7 in the running line,” Harbaugh said.
On the other side was a kid by the name of “Ralph,” who was bigger and more mature, Harbaugh says, describing him as being some 40 pounds heavier, sporting a five o’clock shadow and unibrow, and muscles.
“I just decided then and there that I was really good at basketball; I’m one heck of a baseball player and I’m pretty good at hockey,” Harbaugh quipped, the crowd roaring with laughter. “I don’t really need this football. But I knew I couldn’t do that.”
His dad, Jack, a longtime football coach of his own, wasn’t going to let him. Plus, he had just bought Jim a new pair of football cleats.
So, young Jim sucked it up, did what his youth coach instructed, lined up and went in for the tackle. The result? A knee to the sternum, Harbaugh recalls, being lifted off the ground and dragged some yards before the kid eventually went down.
“And when I opened my eyes, I was blind. I could not see anything,” Harbaugh says. “So I said, ‘Well, this is how it ends, right here. At least ya tackled Ralph.’ I did see a circle of light, so I just kind of concentrated on that. And then I realized I wasn’t blind, I was just looking out of the side of my helmet.
“Put it on straight, jumped up, and the guys were cheering me on.”
It there was ever a story to encapsulate the last three years for Harbaugh in Ann Arbor, that was it. His Wolverines went from a bitter disappointment during the pandemic-shortened season of 2020, nosediving to a 2-4 record (that could have been worse had the final three games not been called off due to the COVID-19 virus) that prompted widespread changes, both with the coaching staff, players and internally.
What arose from the ashes was a rejuvenated, refocused and desperate Harbaugh, now 59, whose tenure at his alma mater was on the ropes. Michigan responded with its best season to date under Harbaugh, a 12-2 record that included a monumental victory over Ohio State and the program’s first Big Ten championship since 2004. It was a reminder of what Harbaugh was — a smart, no-frills, principled football coach who operates at his best with a ground-and-pound offense.
A year later, with everyone in the Big Ten (and beyond) wondering what in the hell happened, Michigan called its shot and did it again. With a pair of electric running backs (one of whom, Blake Corum, who was in the Heisman Trophy conversation until a serious knee injury derailed his season late), a young, talented quarterback, an elite offensive line and a disciplined, adaptive defense, the Wolverines proved that their turnaround was no fluke.
Swanson, Harbaugh ‘tackle’ literacy through documentary: ‘The Truth About Reading’
Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh answers questions during a question and answer panel discussion after the premiere of “The Truth About Reading” on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 on campus at the University of Michigan-Flint in Flint. The documentary explores the experiences and struggles of adults who never properly learned how to read, while tackling issues of illiteracy and education from many angles. (Jake May | MLive.com)
This time Harbaugh and co. ran through the Big Ten — notching a perfect 12-0 regular-season record, including a shocking victory over Ohio State in Columbus, before winning their second straight Big Ten title and earning another College Football Playoff berth.
While the result was another semifinal round loss, Michigan suddenly became the new king of the north. And it has Harbaugh, who enters his ninth season at the helm after another offseason that saw NFL rumors bubble up, beaming from ear to ear heading into 2023.
“I love our team. It’s just one of the best teams I’ve ever been around, not only for talent but just the guys,” Harbaugh said, doubling down on a similar proclamation he made in April before Michigan’s spring game.
These aren’t statements that routinely come out of Harbaugh’s mouth. He is often guarded, almost too careful, when asked to trumpet his players and staff. He doesn’t like to make comparisons. Yet when he’s asked about this year’s team, an experienced blend of returning starters, transfers and young talent, there’s a different tone.
“It looks like a beaver dam when I go into Schembechler Hall and there’s work over here and opportunity over there,” Harbaugh explains. “Guys are happy. ‘What do we got today, coach?’ There’s never any of that ‘Why do we have to do that again? We did that yesterday. That’s some bull(expletive)! I don’t want to do that.’ Never does that happen. They always find ways to have fun and enjoy themselves.”
Maybe it’s the winning, but behind the scenes the football building in Ann Arbor is a total 180 from just a couple of years ago. Outgoing players admitted as much.
Perhaps more than anything, however, Michigan has recaptured its long-lost identity and built upon it. The running game is as strong as ever, and with Corum and Donovan Edwards both back this fall — and by all accounts in full health — the Wolverines figure to be a tough train to slow down. Throw in another year of experience for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, an offensive line many inside the building believe is legitimately two deep, two more elite tight ends and a defense full of experienced, versatile playmakers, the ingredients are there for Michigan to break the dam and play for a national title.
While Harbaugh isn’t willing to go that far (yet), his players have — with Corum (and others) declaring this fall national title-or-bust. High expectations, sure, but extraordinary when you remember where this Michigan program was just two years ago.
“Don’t get bitter — get better,” Harbaugh opined during his summer appearance in Bay City, a promotional event that took the Michigan coach and a handful of his players away from the team trip out East.
“About not quitting and grit — what rushes to my mind front and center is how you’ve lost at things, having been looked down at, having somebody say you didn’t do a good job,” he continued. “It’s this searing feeling that you never want to have. I probably got a lot of issues that have never been unpacked with being a kid, having crooked teeth, other kids making fun of you about other stuff on the playground. It just drives you.”
Harbaugh’s summer victory lap continued in June, when he appeared publicly at the Sound Mind Sound Body-hosted football camp in Detroit, delivering his usual stump speech about listening to coaches and giving full effort. Afterward, he fielded questions from reporters for nearly 30 minutes on everything from the cornerback position to embarrassing off-the-field headlines pertaining to fired ex-staffers.
Yet the entire time Harbaugh tried to keep the message positive, thanking support staffers by name, including strength and conditioning wizard Ben Herbert (who inked a new, long-term deal in February set to pay him $1 million annually), and the players, several of whom bypassed opportunities to enter the NFL draft to return for another season.
“It’s truly amazing; we don’t have any bad guys,” Harbaugh, who himself and his program are under investigation for various NCAA rules violations, said beaming. “There’s good guys, there’s elite, great guys — there’s good guys learning from the other guys. You got the Heisman habit guys.”
With summer winding down and preseason camp around the corner, Harbaugh arrives Thursday in Indianapolis for Big Ten Media Days with a trio of Michigan players looking to sell the public on why. Why they should be considered the Big Ten frontrunner, taken seriously as a national title contender, and why the Wolverines are back on top of the college football mountaintop.
“There’s momentum here,” Harbaugh said. “There’s a real cultural momentum taking place.”