As we enter Day 77 of Jim Harbaugh Watch, it appears we are on a freight train heading toward a railroad switch at well over 100 miles per hour. At the moment, the tracks are set in the direction of Ann Arbor.
Whether that changes in the ensuing days is unclear, but one thing is coming into focus as the drama swirls around Harbaugh: One way or another, he is going to disappoint the maize and blue faithful.
Maybe it's in the near term, with Harbaugh deciding to spur the Wolverines' massive contract offer to remain in the NFL and count his millions in much better climates. Yes, things have apparently changed, and the chances he winds up back in college are significantly better than they were just three weeks ago. Maybe that's because the Niners are finally out of playoff contention, or maybe it is the tug of nostalgia and family finally starting to pull him back to Big Ten country.
At this point, Michigan fans have invested so much emotional energy in this that landing a coach who is anything less than Harbaugh will be a severe disappointment. There are fans right now believing this is a done deal, and that the conclusion of the NFL season is the only thing preventing Harbaugh's hiring. What's worse, this has been rumored for close to a year and is not just the product of the situation that we all currently find the program in.
If Michigan doesn't hire Harbaugh, talk about a hostile fan base welcoming the new coach to an unwanted situation. If Michigan does end up hiring Harbaugh though, I don't see him hanging around for as long as many think, nor do I see him being the savior most make him out to be.
I covered Pete Carroll during the end of his tenure at USC. I genuinely believe he loved the college experience as a head coach -- it didn't hurt his sons were around at the same time -- and enjoyed working with young players and his energetic staff. He loved the rock star status he had in Los Angeles as the de facto NFL team and reveled in the success the Trojans had.
Despite all of this, I always got the sense that he wanted another shot at the NFL done his way. I heard Carroll lecture about his philosophy and talked with him several times about how his head-coaching stints with the Patriots and Jets ended, and each time he lamented that he wasn't given the freedom to implement what he wanted to do.
Carroll's time off from coaching allowed him to refine things, and the result was a remarkable dynasty at USC. I always suspected that if the 49ers, Carroll's hometown team, or the Chargers came calling with big money and an offer of organizational control, he would have jumped no matter what was happening with the Trojans. The Seahawks beat them both to it, and the rest is history.
I view Harbaugh in the same light. He liked his time at San Diego -- where he met his wife, by the way -- and on the Farm at Stanford. The opening to move down the street and coach the 49ers was too good to pass up at the time, and given the way the Cardinal program was run, it made too much sense to try his hand at the NFL.
But now Harbaugh has tasted success at the highest level of football and come agonizingly close to a Super Bowl ring. That's hard, impossible even, to let go of, especially for a man as intense and consumed with football as Harbaugh.
Maybe he takes the job in Ann Arbor. It would be fantastic to see Harbaugh revitalize the program and go toe-to-toe with Urban Meyer -- and they would do just that and more given their personalities. It would be even better than the days of Woody and Bo. If he does go to Michigan though, I don't see him being there longer than six years or so before he breaks the hearts of Wolverines fans across the country. Heck, at that point, the fans might be willing to show him the door, given how hard he grinds those around his organization and how often he can turn off people if the wins are not there to back up the talk.
Just ask those around Santa Clara.
So when it comes to Michigan and Harbaugh, the pair are damned if they do and damned if they don't. We don't need to wait around for him to make a decision about his coaching future to know that.
Stat of the Week
Heading into their game against Northern Illinois in the Boca Raton Bowl, Marshall sports the highest winning percentage of any team in bowl games with at least 10 appearances, at .800. Utah sports a 14-4 record (.778) after its Las Vegas Bowl win last week and leads all teams who have made at least 15 appearances.
Quote of the Week
In the game notes for its Holliday Bowl appearance against Nebraska, USC notes that the game is being played in San Diego, home to a number of terrific former players in cardinal and gold, and "one famous Trojan alumnus was a noted news anchorman in the city." The Trojans' first game in the city was a loss to the San Diego YMCA back in 1897, by the way.
Tweet of the Week
Pre-snap read
Sun Bowl: Arizona State vs. Duke on Saturday afternoon is a sneaky good bowl game between two programs looking to remove a bad taste from their mouths after shaky regular-season finales. I think the Blue Devils are underrated, but that won't matter against the Sun Devils, who simply have too many athletes. This might start out close before turning into a blowout.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.