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Michigan Wolverine Football: Jim Harbaugh — The Mechanist Takes Over — Part II

By Eroc Wolverine

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GBMWolverine Michigan Football TidbitsPosted at 6:00am — 2/26/2015

Michigan Wolverine Football: Jim Harbaugh — The Mechanist Takes Over — Part II

Series Finale Part II of IV

The “Peppered Football” series pointed out some clear mechanistic deficiencies of the past few years. The offense turned to contextualism to mold/create an offense for two good athletes with true execution deficiencies and position limitations. Add to that slow development of potential talent, some bad luck, and problems multiplied. The former staff was left with the contextualist option of shaking things up and constantly adapting to seek a winning formula.

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There were few available parts at quarterback and other skilled positions. The mechanist, with a broad roster, can simply change parts and continue the work of the machine. Those wondering why the onslaught of Michigan quarterback recruiting has occurred can consider the above postulation.

The limited contextualist “solution” did not work to the liking of most. The lack of mechanism and systematic precision manifested negatively in game management, more so time management and critical decision making, and somewhat regarding play calling and scheme use. It was thought that Coach Nussmeier would help the mechanistic development of the team, and to some degree Coach Doug Nussmeier was Michigan’s best sideline manager. But the failure of the parts to function doomed the whole of the machine. Coach Nussmeier can coach and when incorporated within a system rich in parts and precision he will again ascend in status.

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The formist thinks and operates in a world where ideas and what they stand for are paramount. Coach Brady Hoke put forth basic beliefs and values that served as an underlying foundation of the program. He never waivered from his formist ideas of loyalty, appreciation, emphasizing the value of teaching within a coaching approach, and practicing positive player treatment.

Many coaches, by the very nature of the must win profession, give quick lip service to underlying foundations and ideas that define Formism and proceed to the mechanized approach that values producing a winning product on the field. Being a formist does not doom one as a coach and being a mechanist does not guarantee success. The variable of talent will always be the ace in the deck for any worldview. The talent must be recruited, developed, and eventually win games. Right or wrong, that is how major sports have evolved.

There are players who loved Coach Hoke as a person and there will be plenty of players who love playing for Coach Jim Harbaugh, the reasons may just be different.

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    • Now on to the main mission: a small look at what appears to be the worldview of Coach Harbaugh. To this observer, Coach Jim Harbaugh is a true mechanist; this is stated with a high confidence level. He has spent little communication time delineating his underlying beliefs, ideas, or values. Harbaugh knows his underlying tenets and their source. He will not dwell on them, instead proceeding to his preference of Mechanism. His formist underpinnings are derived from a former, famous legacy Head Coach at Michigan, Bo Schembechler. Harbaugh simply identifies and quickly acknowledges his formist roots. They are familiar to all and will only be revisited upon need.

    Harbaugh’s coaching history does not demonstrate much contextualism. He has demonstrated a preference to mold parts, rather than reinvent the wheel (the organicist), or if that fails simply get better parts that work, instead of modifying his system to cover up a weakness resulting from a problematic part (the contextualist).

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    Written by GBMWolverine Staff — Doc4Blu

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