Michigan Football: Jim Harbaugh was robbed of Big Ten Coach of the Year

If you’re a Michigan football fan right now, you have to be on cloud-nine with everything that has happened lately with the football team.

The football team thoroughly dominated and broke the will of Ohio State. Michigan ran for almost 300 yards on OSU and also threw for over 200 total yards. They won 42-27 (in a game that wasn’t even that close to be honest).

Now that “The Game” is in the past, it it time for Michigan to turn their attention to Iowa and winning the Big Ten Championship.

One thing that always comes after the end of the regular season though is conference awards. Various coaches and media members all vote on offensive, defensive, coaching, and special teams awards for the season.

With more awards set to be announced later today (offense), three Michigan football players took home first-team all defense awards in Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, and Daxton Hill.

Aidan Hutchinson took home an additional award, and was named the Big Ten defensive lineman of the year, and the Big Ten defensive player of the year:

David Ojabo and Daxton Hill:

Lastly, our favorite kicker Jake “Money” Moody took home the Big Ten kicker of the year award for special teams:

All of those awards are so deserved for all the work that was put in to make Michigan a playoff contender this season, but one award that was noticeably absent that Michigan didn’t come away with (and the man who won the award is very irritating) was the Big Ten coach of the year award.

If you hadn’t heard the news in that regard, MSU head coach Mel Tucker won the Big Ten coach of the year award.

Listen, I want to say this. Mel Tucker did a damn good job this year (despite Michigan fans obvious disdain for him). He turned around a terrible MSU program in one season.

He found some many gems in the transfer portal last offseason (with the main guy obviously being Kenneth Walker III) and has MSU in the top-15 programs in the country again.

But Mel Tucker didn’t even win his own division! I understand that he beat Michigan. Gotta give him credit for that, but the week after, he got destroyed to Purdue.

And we all know how the game against OSU went. He got annihilated 56-7. Again, it’s obvious that Tucker is a good coach. LSU and USC at one point or another were both rumored to try to steer him away for MSU.

But MSU did not beat OSU, they did not win the Big Ten Championship, and they sure as heck aren’t going to the playoffs. Guess who could be, though?

Jim Harbaugh.

It makes no sense why Jim Harbaugh wasn’t named conference coach of the year. He turned around a struggling Michigan football team (just like MSU did) and has a better record than MSU.

Oh, and by the way, he also absolutely dominated OSU, the team that Michigan State gave up 49 points to in the first half.

Jim Harbaugh deserved the Big Ten Coach of the Year Award

This had to be one of the biggest snubs ever. Usually, the coach that coaches the best team in the conference wins the Big Ten coach of the year. More often that not, that’s what happens.

Ryan Day has won the award a few times already. Wanna know why? Because OSU won their division and their conference and was the best team in the conference.

It makes no sense to me why a coach whose team won’t make the playoff (and probably not even a Rose Bowl appearance either) won the Big Ten coach of the year award.

Harbaugh has been constantly criticized, scrutinized, made fun of, put down, etc. I’m sure he’s heard and seen the criticism and put downs. The constant scrutiny. Has Mel Tucker faced criticism to the tune of Harbaugh? Hell no.

Then, the one year Harbaugh proves his doubters wrong and actually wins his division, he doesn’t win the coach of the year award.

I can’t get too upset at this, because I’ll gladly take a potential playoff spot over an award any day of the week, but the coaches and media gave the award to the wrong person.

One person just signed a massive extension, making a ridiculous amount of money (that he honestly doesn’t even need and doesn’t deserve).

Another person just got more incentives after beating his biggest rival, and winning his division, but is donating all of his incentive money back into his program and the staff that took pay cuts during the pandemic. I’ll just leave this here. I guess you can decide who is more deserving of the Big Ten coach of the year award: