Jim Harbaugh coverage by national media is out of control
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh’s national media coverage is out of control — is he bigger than Michigan, the Big Ten?
First off, I want to preface this by saying that I have the utmost respect for Michigan athletics and head coach Jim Harbaugh. In the great words of Tom Izzo: Do I like Michigan? No. Do I respect it? Absolutely.
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This issue may not concern Michigan State Football as much as it does the entire Big Ten and the rest of college football, but it needs to be addressed: Jim Harbaugh coverage by the national media is out of control.
Surfing the web on Thursday, I stumbled across an article about Jim Harbaugh’s satellite camp in Atlanta. Curious to see what big event occurred, I clicked on the link only to see that the story was about the head coach wearing a Hank Aaron jersey while at his camp. Nothing more than sporting a jersey to make national headlines.
Yes, Hank Aaron is one of the greatest baseball players of all time, but to make that an even bigger story than the baseball great speaking to campers is a shame. This goes to show that Harbaugh wearing the jersey of a MLB Hall of Famer is a bigger deal than the actual man speaking to campers about life, sports.
Turning on the news at night, another story about Harbaugh’s satellite camp appeared on the news in which they interviewed the quirky head coach, talking about the heat in Atlanta. This was the main sports highlight of the evening, Harbaugh talking about the heat in Atlanta like it’s news to the rest of the world that it gets hot in the south.
The day before, a simple tweet from Harbaugh set the internet on fire. He basically called out Nick Saban for calling him out. Sort of a childish series of events as the Alabama head coach really is grasping for straws and Harbaugh decided to take to social media to put him on blast.
Replies on Harbaugh’s tweet went something like this:
- Harbaugh = GOAT
- I love you, Jim
- Don’t ever leave Michigan
- Harbaugh is god
The Michigan fan base loves him, as they should. Jim Harbaugh is one of the best coaches in college football and an excellent recruiter who is turning Michigan completely around from the Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez days.
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Heck, even before this satellite and Atlanta circus, Harbaugh has been making headlines for basic occurrences. He plays with his son… national news. He wears an Andrew Luck jersey… national news. He goes to a WWE event… national news.
When will it end?
Unfortunately for the rest of the Big Ten, not until he leaves Michigan. Jim Harbaugh has grown larger than the conference to the point where Urban Meyer and Mark Dantonio, the two most successful Big Ten coaches, are forgotten.
Did you know that Michigan State also launched its satellite tour at the Sound Mind Sound Body camp in Atlanta today? No, because no one cares about little, old Dantonio who’s the only Big Ten coach to beat Urban Meyer (twice) and who is coming off a Rose Bowl win in 2013, Cotton Bowl in 2014 and College Football Playoff appearance and Big Ten title in 2015.
You can’t even blame Harbaugh for the coverage. Yes, he brings it upon himself by being an oddball who just doesn’t fit in with everyone else, but the media eats it up. They stick to him like white on rice and it’s becoming excessive.
Let the football play out and the coaches coach. If he wants to wear a jersey to a satellite camp, let him, but don’t make it a national news story.
It’s time the media starts treating him like a football coach and not the second coming.