Top 10 most hated head coaches in college football heading into 2017
By Zach Bigalke
Jim Harbaugh grated on Pac-12 coaches for four years between 2007 and 2010. His Cardinal teams were a thorn in the sides of both USC and Oregon during this period, and the feud between Harbaugh and the Trojans’ Pete Carroll was legendary:
Then Harbaugh went to the NFL to coach the San Francisco 49ers, and it seemed like his brash style was gone from the college ranks.
But while he brought success to the Bay Area both at the college level and in the pro ranks, he rankled the 49ers brass and was effectively run out of town. He landed in Ann Arbor at his alma mater, and has started to return the Wolverines toward the levels of their past glories. All the while, Harbaugh has continued to build his reputation as one of football’s most hated coaches even as he consistently draws love from his own fans.
His innovative efforts at recruiting in SEC and ACC territory with satellite camps have drawn heat from opposing coaches. His tantrums on the sideline have led some to compare him to a petulant child. But Harbaugh gets results, and that is a big reason why individuals such as Carroll took such issue with the current UM coach. Like so many others on this list of coaches, Harbaugh is hated in large part because he succeeds where others fail.