Harbaugh and Schembechler Part 3

Under coach Harbaugh, the Wolverines attained a 20-6 overall record; a 13-4 Big Ten conference record; and a 1-1 postseason with a win in the Citrus Bowl; and loss in the Orange Bowl. The University of Michigan was ranked numbers 11 and 10 in the AP polls, respectively. Coach Schembechler achieved in his first two years, a 17-4 overall record; a 12-2 Big Ten conference record; and a loss in the Rose Bowl. His Wolverines were ranked number 9 in the AP poll for both 1969 and 1970. Bo didn’t find the cupboard bare when he inherited Bump Elliott’s team. In fact, many of Bumps recruits were college all Americans; and drafted into the pros. All Pro Dan Dierdorf was elected into the NFL Hall of Fame; All Pro Thom Darden, was elected into the Cleveland Browns Hall of Fame, and All Pro, Reggie McKenzie was inducted into the Buffalo Bills Hall of Fame. Thus, Bo had a solid foundation from which to begin his quest, starting in his first season in 1969. Likewise, Jim Harbaugh’s cupboard wasn’t strictly bare of talent either. Jake Ryan is having a stellar season with the playoff bound Green Bay Packers. All-Americans, Jabrill Peppers, Jake Butt, and Jourdan Lewis are likely to have solid careers at the next level. However, in Bo’s third year, his Wolverines attained an 11-1 overall record; an 8-0 Big Ten conference, and a loss in the Rose Bowl. Also, he beat the Buckeyes, two out of three games they played. Let’s see what Harbaugh’s Wolverines can muster in the 2017 season? He’s going to lose a significant number of his seniors in 2016, so 2017 will be a good test. Jim Harbaugh has a long way to go. He’s already lost twice to the Buckeyes-42-13 in 2015 and 27-24 in 2016. Don’t forget that Bump was fired, when he lost to Ohio State 50 to 14. So much for the numbers and statistics as there is more that goes in the definition of what makes a great coach. What about the coach’s significant impact on his players lives and their psychological development? Bo Schembechler’s, greatest teaching, amid the racial divide in the 60s, was when he taught his young athletes about the meaning of “the team.” His players learned not to lose their identity, but to hold their narcissism in check even with unorthodox conditioning and brutal practice conditions. They learned they could accomplish the unfathomable by coalescing as “one” with a seemingly unbreakable bond. They came together in 1969 like a non-severed Gordian knot. In fact, the bond between these men still remain. In this process, Bo taught them, and he in turn learned from them, creating a unity of brotherhood along with a sense of integrity, honesty, trustworthiness and love. They never forgot him and he never forgot them. Good luck, Coach Harbaugh because now it’s your turn- Go Blue