The Jim Harbaugh Aura Vanishes After Ugly Michigan Loss

Michigan brought Jim Harbaugh in to get the program back to where it belongs among the college football elite. For the most part he’s done that.

The team is playing much tougher than they used to. Unfortunately the honeymoon period is at an end for the head coach. Despite posting solid records of 10-3 each of the past two years, Harbaugh has developed a dubious reputation that people are going to start harping on moving forward. He’s not good in rivalry games. Already he’s 0-2 against Ohio State and now he is 1-2 against Michigan State after an ugly 14-10 loss.

In fairness some of the problems weren’t on him. The quarterback made some bad decisions that led to turnovers and the receivers really had a problem with dropping the football. At the same time, there were a number of play calls in that game that came across as baffling. These are the kinds of losses that a coach can’t escape from.

While not a crippling loss in terms of making the CFB playoffs, it does dim their hopes quite a bit. The offense has steadily gotten worse since the season began, which is never a good thing given that’s supposed to be Harbaugh’s specialty. Turnovers have gone up and they’ve gotten away from running the football.

For a man who came in with lots of promises about a national championship, it’s fair to point out winning titles hasn’t exactly been his thing. Harbaugh failed to win one at Stanford. He was an also-ran in the NFL, losing a Super Bowl in 2012. Now he’s back in college and still finding painful ways to come up short. It’s not too late to salvage the season but there is little doubting the impact of this game. At some point soon fans are going to start turning against him.