Michigan Wolverine Football: I’m Coming Home, Too

Posted at 6:00am — 12/30/2014

Michigan Wolverine Football: I’m Coming Home, Too

EXCLUSIVE

Football’s most sought-after coach explains why he is returning to the University of Michigan

By Jim Harbaugh
as channeled through GBMWolverine.com writer Chris Hill
[satirically inspired by the work of Lebron ghostwriter Lee Jenkins]

Before anyone ever cared where I would coach football, I was a kid from Ann Arbor, Michigan. It’s where I was raised. It’s where I went to prep school. It’s where I felt the awkward urges of manhood course through my adolescent body. It holds a special place in my heart. Bo Schembechler saw me grow up. He saw the scribbles in his playbook, re-diagramming his boring offense. I sometimes felt like he was my second father. An Ann Arborite’s passion can be overwhelming. But it drives me. I want to give the Wolverines hope. Inspire them. My relationship with Ann Arbor is bigger than football. I didn’t realize that four years ago. I do now.

Remember when I was standing at the podium with that 49ers helmet in front of me in 2010? I was thinking, This is really tough. I could feel it. I was turning my back on the school that helped mold this tiny lump of clay into the person I am now. If I had to do it all over again… okay, I’d still bolt for the pros. The NFL is to me like college is to other, smaller coaches. These past four years helped build me into who I am. I became a better coach and a better man. I learned from a franchise that had been where I wanted to go. I will always think of Cali as my second home. Without the experiences I had there, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today.

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I went to San Francisco because I believed we could do something magical if we came together. And that’s exactly what we darn near did. The hardest thing to leave is what I built with those guys. I’ve talked to some of them and will talk to others. A Super Bowl and three straight NFC Championship games? With that team? With Kaepernick, for God’s sake? Nothing will ever change what we accomplished. I want to thank Jed York for giving me an amazing four years, and the intention of giving me a fifth.

I’m doing this essay, first because it worked incredibly well for Lebron James. And also because I too want an opportunity to explain myself uninterrupted. I don’t want anyone thinking: He and Paraag Marathe didn’t get along… He and that other guy with all the As in his name, Baalke something, didn’t get along… The 49ers couldn’t put the right team together. It may all be true, mind you. I just don’t want anyone thinking that.

I’m not having a party to celebrate the job and the big honking contract. After this letter, and maybe a week in Bali, it’s time to get to work.

When I graduated and left Ann Arbor, I was on a mission. I was a quarterback seeking Super Bowls. And if it weren’t for that dropped Hail Mary in Pittsburgh I would have found one, now wouldn’t I? But I finally got there as coach of the 49ers. My first season too. HARRR-baugh! We were getting our butts kicked for a while, but then we made our move. We were crushing it too. Five yards away from victory, fifteen more feet and it’s Lombardi time… and the Ravens guy runs right over Crabtree. Just flattens him. I’m all, “Jesus ref! Throw the freaking flag will ya? It won’t break!” Why does John get to have everything?!?

But enough about me. Ann Arbor hasn’t had a winning feeling in a long, long time. My goal is to win as many college playoff games and national championships as possible, no question. But what’s most important for me is bringing one B1G championship trophy back to the University of Michigan.

Michigan Wolverines /

Michigan Wolverines

I always hoped that I’d return to Ann Arbor and coach the Wolverines. I just didn’t know when. Is now the right time? Should I wait another 3-4 years? Or another 3-4 after that? Nope, after the 49ers season, getting traded to another NFL team wasn’t even a thought. I have six kids, including three with my beautiful wife, Sarah. I started thinking about what it would be like to be their father in my hometown. I looked at other coaching options, but I wasn’t going to leave San Francisco for anywhere except Michigan. Or Oakland, the train wreck. Or maybe Atlanta. I know, seriously right? Perhaps Chicago. As if they’d ever pony up for a real coach. Where was I? Oh yes. Like I said, I wasn’t going to leave for anywhere except Michigan. The more time passed, the more it just felt right. This is what made me happy.

To make the move I needed the support of my wife and my family, who can be very tough. But when I saw they were already packed and dad had his house on the block, I had the feeling they’d be on board with my decision. Then I had to make amends with the people of southeast Michigan. The rift with Lloyd Carr, that silly comment about academics at Michigan, the whole handshake thing with that angry little Lions coach—living through all that was hard for them, I know. My emotions were more mixed. It was easy to say, “OK, I don’t want to deal with these people ever again.” But then you think about the other side. What if I were a kid who looked up to a coach, and that coach made me want to do better in my own life, but he just didn’t want to coach my team? How would I react? Sure, I could take out some pent- up emotion playing laser tag. But then what? I met with Lloyd Carr, face-to-face, man-to-man. We’ve talked it out. Everybody makes mistakes. I’ve made mistakes as well. I’m sure I have. So who am I to hold a grudge?

Jim coming homeI’m not promising a national championship. I know how hard that is to deliver. At least I’ve heard it’s hard. Anyway we’re not ready right now. No way. Of course, I want to win next year, but I’m realistic. It will be a long process. My patience will get tested. I know that. I’m going into a situation with a young team. I will be the old head. But I get a thrill out of bringing a group together and helping them reach a place they didn’t know they could go. Not just bowl eligibility, but a really good bowl too. I see myself as a mentor now and I’m excited to lead some of these talented young guys. I think I can help Jabrill Peppers become one of the best defensive backs in the nation. I think I can help elevate Ty Issac and Derrick Green. And I can’t wait to get my hands on Shane Morris and show him what a real college quarterback looks like.

But this is not about the roster or the program. I feel my calling here goes above football. I have a responsibility to lead, in more ways than one, and I take that very seriously. My presence can make a difference in the NFL, but I think it can mean more where I’m from. I want kids in southeast Michigan to realize that there’s no better place to grow up. Maybe some of them will come home after college and start a family or open a business. That would make me smile. That would also help them pay back their student loans. Our community, which has struggled so much, needs all the revenue it can get.

Nothing is given. Everything is earned. It was true when Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. said it in 2012. It was true when Lebron said it last July. So it must be true when I say it today. You work for what you have.

This is what coach Schembechler would have wanted. I’m ready to accept the challenge. Hey Bo, Khaki’s coming home.

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Written by GBMWolverine Writer — Chris Hill

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