Michigan Football Coach Jim Harbaugh: Crazy like a fox…or just crazy

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh is practicing his button-pushing during the offseason, but is it having the desired effect?

When E.F. Hutton talked, people listened. And when Jim Harbaugh talks, people listen, laugh, or even go nuts. That’s because Harbaugh isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind, whether it be in an interview, on Twitter, or anywhere else his words will be indelibly saved for posterity.

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You get the feeling that Harbaugh’s view on communicating is much like that of General George S. Patton.

"“When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty…As for the types of comments I make, Sometimes I just, by God, get carried away with my own eloquence.” (From the book The Unknown Patton, by Charles M. Province)"

But it’s not just the boisterous attitude or (for those who lip-read during games) questionable use of profanity, it’s his whole me-against-the-world attitude, and he doesn’t care who he has in his sights when he’s protecting his interests or his turf.

This offseason, once again, the point of contention has been Harbaugh’s nomadic football camps, and whether or not they adhere to the letter of the law (or even spirit of it) when it comes to recruiting. Harbaugh seems to think he can take his show on the road, anywhere…anytime. Other conferences – more specifically the SEC – seem to disagree.

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Harbaugh plans to hold spring practices at the IMG Academy campus in Florida, where some of the nation’s top recruits flock. Warm weather, spring break atmosphere, top recruits – and Harbaugh there with pen in hand, waiting to make offers to those who come gander the Wolverines in action.

An idea brilliant in its conception, completely misguided as it may be.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, ACC commissioner John Swofford, and NCAA President Mark Emmert all balked at the idea (short of stopping it, however), but Harbaugh simply shrugged them off like a surface nuisance and isn’t letting any criticism take root. In fact, the questions of his tactics caused him to go on the offensive.

Harbaugh sent out several Tweets over the past few weeks that SEC brass and coaches would most certainly be invited to read on Jimmy Kimmel’s “Mean Tweets”.

At first it was rather passive-aggressive seeming.

But then he really started calling out his enemies.

The “Georgia coach”…like, “I don’t know your name, bruh, but…”

He was even quoted by others with some choice thoughts.

Recruiting is all about geography, and Harbaugh knows it. Kids from Florida, Georgia, Texas and other talent-rich states stay in the SEC and ACC because those are the schools they have been exposed to, and – let’s face it – nobody wants to travel to cold, damp Michigan in the spring.

It’s turning Harbaugh into the most entertaining sports celebrity Twitter follow since Jose Canseco.

But the question remains from the header of this column…is Harbaugh crazy like a fox, or just crazy? He manages to alienate those around him with his antics and boorish behavior at times, and if this little not-really-recruiting trip to Bradenton backfires, it all comes back to those who hired him.

This isn’t about whether or not Harbaugh is right or wrong in his plan. He’s undeniably right. There are no rules prohibiting what he wants to do. It requires no more time from the student-athletes (other than travel time), and it’s being done over spring break, so there’s no conflict with classes.

What’s at question is the way Jimmy chooses to defend himself. It’s easy to understand his frustration and how he may feel like certain conferences are trying to bogart the talent in a geographic area, but coming off on Twitter like a petulant schoolboy – while entertaining – is not the most productive response.

Maybe all these tweets and barbs tossed during interviews are a ploy to get inside these other coaches heads and off their games. The college football version of the Lawnmower Man.

More than likely, it isn’t a plan at all. This is just who Jim Harbaugh is. He doesn’t mince words or filter his thoughts, and that’s been his downfall in some previous stops, although I’m sure folks in San Francisco would be glad to have his temper and peculiarities back at this point.

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Yeah, he’s a little crazy…but the results speak for themselves. If you can stomach the eccentricities and intensity, Harbaugh is among the top football coaches in the nation at any level. If you can’t…well, ask a 49ers fan.