It's about Winning and Losing

Shortly after the University of Michigan’s football recent loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, a number of individuals called for the firing of head coach Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh was also criticized for failing to win a Big Ten championship but more importantly for not being able to best Urban Meyer’s Ohio State Buckeyes. Urban Meyer stepped down from being their head coach after the past season. However, this year’s Buckeyes team, with its new coach, are currently tied for third place in the AP college football poll while Harbaugh’s Wolverines are ranked 16.

Harbaugh, prior to becoming Michigan’s head coach, was previously the head coach at Stanford from 2007 to 2010. His record at Stanford was 29 wins and 21 losses. Leaving Stanford, he became head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 through 2014. His record with the 49ers was 44 wins, 19 losses, and 1 tie or a .690 winning percentage. His National Football Conference Championship 49er team played in the Super Bowl against the Baltimore Ravens. His 49er squad lost to his older brother John’s Ravens in that game. After last week’s victory, Jim Harbaugh’s record at Michigan stands at 42 wins and 15 losses.

Let’s compare Stanford’s football record from 2011 to 2019. Currently, David Shaw‘s record as Stanford’s head coach stands at 85 wins and 29 losses. While his overall record is better than was Jim Harbaugh’s, it must be pointed out that in his first three years, his record was 34 wins and 7 losses.  Credit must be given to Harbaugh for his recruitment of those players. The San Francisco 49ers head coaches had been Jim Tomsula, Chip Kelly and currently Kyle Shanahan. Their overall record stands at 30 wins and 47 losses. Clearly, Jim record was significantly better than the array of 49er coaches.

Let’s now take a look at the Ohio State Buckeyes. Urban Meyer’s coaching record from 2012 through 2019 stands at 82 wins and 9 losses. In 2014, the Buckeyes were National Champions. His team also captured three Big Ten titles. Make no mistake about it, Myers record was spectacular. Perhaps, a big part of Meyer success was related in his ability to recruit outstanding high school players to come to Columbus. Just think of the All-Americans under coach Meyer- 19.  Further, 44 OSU players play in the NFL. Plus, Meyers had talented, skilled, offensive players such as Hyde, Miller, Elliott and Haskins to name a few. On the other hand, the Wolverines have 18 of their players playing in the NFL and 8 were All-Americans. Thus from a football achievement standpoint, that nod clearly goes to Meyer’s players.

Make no mistake about it, there are other significant variables that account for a football teams won and loss success but are beyond the scope of this essay. For example, what about the coaching continuity prior to the hiring of Harbaugh and Meyer as well as within their coaching tenure? The Buckeyes  have had more coaching continuity. Second, was Meyer’s offensive and defensive philosophy better suited for college football than Harbaugh’s? Third, which coach had better developed their player’s football potential? Fourth, which coach had better developed their player’s personality for life after football? Fifth, which coach developed a greater team camaraderie among its players? Sixth, which coach made a greater impact on the personal lives of their players? Seventh, which coach had more wins in their first three seasons-players recruited from the previous coach?  Meyer’s record was 38 wins and 3 losses while Harbaugh’s was 28 wins and 11 losses. These are just a few of the variables associated with winning a football game. We conclude, at this point, in their meetings, Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes scored more points per game than Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines. Is that a good reason for firing Harbaugh?

Go Blue!