Has Jim Harbaugh been a disappointment at Michigan?

Jim Harbaugh was definitely the right guy for the hire, although expectations seemed a little too high for the head coach.

He was the perfect guy to hire, and they wouldn’t even think about firing him for a second. Although, expectations were just too high for what the results have been. There are many different things Harbaugh hasn’t done that well with the Wolverines. Especially his weakness against Ohio State and Michigan State, his inability to develop a quarterback, and more.

Without a doubt, Jim Harbaugh was the right choice. No one would fire him with the energy and talent he brings to Michigan. Although, when expectations aren’t meant, you start to question if he was a disappointment or a success at Michigan.

In his time as the head coach at Michigan, Harbaugh is 0-2 against the Buckeyes. Both games he’s coached, resulted in complete disaster. Both games resulted in a 42-13 victory for Ohio State, and each game had incredible amounts of turnovers and failures on Michigan’s end. Harbaugh also has malfunctions against Michigan’s in-state rival, the Michigan State Spartans.

In Harbaugh’s time as head coach, he is also 1-2 against the Spartans and said he is “well aware” of it. This 2017 season, unranked Michigan State stunned the Wolverines in the Big House 14-10. That continued to grow the loss-column that Harbaugh is currently getting buried under. Is Harbaugh to blame for all these rivalry game losses? You bet. The main cause of these losses is he is just simply getting outcoached.

During the 42-13 route that Penn State handed down last week, Harbaugh refused to change quarterbacks. Whether it’s Wilton Speight or John O’Korn, Harbaugh hasn’t been able to adequately develop a passer that can be a true difference-maker. He’s also been stubborn to give the reins of the offense to former top recruit, redshirt freshman Brandon Peters. That was, until the first half against Rutgers after O’Korn continued to struggle to lead the offense.

Throughout Harbaugh’s time at Michigan, his team has only finished as high as third in the East Division of the Big Ten. With the high expectations Harbaugh has been set when he came in as head coach a few years ago, it comes to a surprise to the team overall seeing these results year after year. Along with the bowl game losses, Michigan hasn’t really done much other than being high in the rankings which results in a good bowl game.

This season, Michigan could find themselves finishing fourth in the East Division. Ahead of them is Ohio State Michigan State and Penn State. All three of those teams remain undefeated in Big Ten play, which is going to make things extremely difficult for the Wolverines to crack the top-three.

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What really makes Harbaugh get hit hard by the media and fans were the expectations. In the fans’ minds, and the team’s mind was a championship. With everything he has brought to Michigan so far, I think he was absolutely the right man for the job. He will most certainly not be fired anytime soon and could stay as long as he wants. But Harbaugh wasn’t hired to finish in fourth place in the Big Ten East, even if it’s the toughest division in college football. So while he’s been a great hire, it’s fair to say he hasn’t lived up to expectations, yet.