Marquette, Michigan – October 26, 2016 – Two years ago, under the direction of Brady Hoke, the Michigan Wolverines football program had spun out of control so badly that it was giving away two free tickets to their game against Minnesota if you purchased a $1 Coke. This actually happened. Two years later, the program is under new direction, and the Wolverines are ranked 2nd in the country.
At the end of the 2014 season, Michigan Head Coach Brady Hoke was fired. Not long after, Michigan Athletic director Dave Brandon resigned. Michigan Wolverine athletics were headed in a new direction.
Jim Hackett took over as athletic director and his first and most important job, was finding a new head football coach. Not only did he need to find a new coach, he needed to find the right coach. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this was perhaps the biggest decision an AD has had to make at Michigan in the last five decades.
The football program, which is the most prominent and most important at the University of Michigan, was in a free fall. After two failed regimes under Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke, the program could not afford another failure waiting to happen. Against all odds, Michigan had hired their guy. On December 30th, 2014, Jim Harbaugh was announced as the next Michigan Wolverines head football coach.
Before coming to Michigan, Jim Harbaugh felt success at every stop along the way. His first head coaching job came at the University of San Diego, a Division 1-AA program, where he posted a record of 29-6 record over three years, while also winning two Pioneer League championships. He then got his first major college head coaching job when he was hired at Stanford University, a lowly Pac-10 program before Harbaugh. The Cardinal went 1-11 the year before Harbaugh arrived in 2007. In his final year there, just 4 years later, the team finished with a 12-1 record. Harbaugh then went on to coach in the NFL for the San Fransisco 49ers, which saw him reach the Super Bowl and another NFC Championship game in his 4 years at the helm.
Jim Harbaugh has the ability to turn any program around at any level. The Wolverines were at their low point in 2014. All faith in the program from the fans was gone. The team was coming off a 5-7 record and believing in improvement was based in faith rather than science. Harbaugh showed up, and in his first year he lead the team to their first 10-win season since 2011.
Harbaugh has the Wolverines in prime form again this season. They currently sit at 7-0, with a test at Michigan State upcoming. In just his second year, Jim Harbaugh has completely revamped the Wolverine program. The on-field production has improved vastly, and with that has come positive energy that surrounds the program. For the first time in a long time, Michigan fans have real optimism, and it’s all thanks to Jim Harbaugh.
