Michigan Football: Breaking down why Jim Harbaugh is a fraud

What did we learn from the National Championship game Monday night?  My biggest takeaway is that the Michigan football program isn’t even close to competing for a Championship.

When the Michigan Wolverines hired Jim Harbaugh, the school was in dire need of a change.  Michigan Football desperately needed a jolt of energy.  At the time, there wasn’t a better man for the job. Now the biggest question remains, is Jim Harbaugh still the right man for the job?

The National Championship game was just as advertised.  It was an explosion of wide-open offenses trying to keep pace with one another, plus plenty of skilled defenders flying to the football in hopes of making a play.

LSU’s Joe Burrow proved he’s ready to leap into the NFL.  He’s a sure bet to be selected first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals; I’m sure sports stores are already printing his jersey.  Don’t take this the wrong way; but Burrows reminds me of Aaron Rodgers.  Sure, he’s not as good as Rodgers today, but let’s talk in ten years from now.

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He proved once again he can make all the throws, he tosses one of the prettiest deep balls college football has ever seen.  Burrow was dropping dimes on the grandest stage last night, capping off the greatest single-season we’ve ever seen from a quarterback in college football history. He’s also much more mobile than we like to give him credit for.  Not only did the Tigers go undefeated, but Burrow also threw for 60 touchdowns and accounted for 65 total touchdowns. Unbelievable.

That being said, who is the last quarterback Jim Harbaugh developed?

Andrew Luck?

I’m starting to wonder if Harbaugh, who is supposed to be the quarterback whisperer, is a fraud.  Remember, I’m a Harbaugh fan.  I’m a Michigan fan.  That doesn’t mean I can’t call it how I see it.  Perhaps Andrew Luck was so talented, to begin with, and Harbaugh used him to his strengths.

Luck entered the NFL playing behind the worst offensive line in the league.  The man was hit as many times as David Carr in Houston but continued to make play after play.  Luck continued to will a bad Colts team to ten-win season after ten-win season and playoff birth after playoff birth – all without Harbaugh.

During his time in San Francisco, Harbaugh had tremendous success with Colin Kaepernick, whether you like him or not he played well enough to get the 49ers to a Super Bowl.  Greg Roman was his offensive coordinator, yes, the same Greg Roman, who’s excelling calling plays now for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens.  Sure Jackson’s ceiling is much higher than Colin, but both quarterbacks have a similar skill-set. What I’m saying here is how much of an impact did Harbaugh actually have on these quarterbacks?

Since taking over Michigan football, he hasn’t been able to replicate the success he’s had in the past.  He’s desperately tried to ‘right the ship’ with transfer quarterbacks such as Jake Rudock and Shea Patterson but with minimal success.  He’s been incapable of elevating Patterson into a Heisman Trophy candidate.

This past offseason, Patterson’s name was being floated around in that conversation. Still, his inability to protect the football and make a great throw when they’ve needed him most has kept him from being anything more than a middle of the road quarterback.

Middle of the road isn’t acceptable, nor should it be when you strap on the Maize and Blue bucket. Who has he recruited at the quarterback position for Michigan and had success with?  I’ll leave it there.

It’s time to point the finger to Harbaugh.

Watching these skilled players Monday night, I couldn’t help but salivate over the thought of having a Joe Burrow to get Nico Collins the football.  Is that Joe Milton?  Let’s hope so, but I wouldn’t hold your breath.

The Wolverines have yet to win a Big Ten title with Harbaugh at the helm little own sniff an opportunity to take part in the College Football Playoff.  He’s 1-4 throughout his Michigan coaching career coaching in bowl games, including four straight losses.  He’s also 0-5 against Ohio State, so let’s start there.  Beat them and then we will try and take the next step.

Until Jim proves he can develop a quarterback, we will continue to be a 15th ranked team while the Ohio State’s, Alabama’s, Clemson’s, LSU’s of the world blow by Michigan football like we’re stuck in traffic and they’re on the autobahn.