It’s Jim Harbaugh‘s fourth year at the helm of Michigan football. After missing the playoff in 2016, and a disappointing 2017, is 2018 do or die for Harbaugh?
It feels like the lede to every Michigan story, especially every Michigan preview in the past two years has been roughly the same. Ever since Jim Harbaugh was hired to take over in Ann Arbor, expectations have been sky-high for the Wolverines. The issue with that is that for the most part, results have not lived up to those expectations.
It certainly didn’t help that in his first year, with a roster that was just a year removed from a losing season under Brady Hoke, Harbaugh led Michigan to a 10-3 season that saw the Wolverines lose to Utah by seven, and fall to Michigan State on the final play of the game. That season raised expectations further, and with an extremely talented team in 2016, that excellent 10-3 start in 2015 became a disappointing 10-3 season in 2016. Expectations are wild and can kill a good coach.
8-5 seasons don’t help either, and Harbaugh got a heaping helping of that in 2017. Now, with tons of expectations, no real results, and five losses to Michigan State and Ohio State in six tries under his belt, expectations have never been higher for Harbaugh and the Wolverines. Most of the 2017 team is back, especially on the good side of the ball, the defense. Defensive mastermind Don Brown is back. Offensive (what’s the opposite of mastermind?) dullards Jim McElwain and Ed Warinner have arrived.
With them comes a new face at quarterback in Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson. He’s been hailed as the savior of Michigan football, and while that may be hyperbole, he could certainly be a huge help for their offense and their playoff hopes in 2018.