New Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh may be getting all the publicity this offseason, but he's walking into a field of landmines when it comes to future head-to-head battles with Urban Meyer and the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes. Here's 5 Reasons Why Urban Meyer Will Dominate Jim Harbaugh.
1. The Elite Recruiting Factor
Harbaugh has piqued the curiosity of recruits around the nation, but the general stink cloud that has surrounded the program for nearly a decade hasn't worn off quite yet. Urban Meyer has a distinct advantage in landing five-star prospects based on both recent success and the general eye test for both programs.
2. A Championship Pedigree
Meyer has three national championships to his credit over stints at two schools. Harbaugh did an admirable job building both Stanford and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers into contenders, but he doesn't have hardware to show for his efforts. There's a reason why Meyer just wins and wins and wins...and wins. He's that dang good.
3. Harbaugh's Inability To Play Well With Others
Meyer is the ultimate coach both from a players' respect standpoint and a face of the program standpoint. Jim Harbaugh is like that summer fling that goes on six months too long -- everyone knows it's going to be a disaster at some point, but nobody says anything. Just look at his exit from San Francisco. Where there's smoke -- and there was A LOT of smoke coming from that locker room by way of mutiny rumors -- there's usually fire.
4. Quarterback Play
The fact that the Ohio State Buckeyes have three Heisman-caliber quarterbacks is no accident. Urban Meyer knows how to woo the right QBs to Columbus at the right times. We don't expect Harbaugh to ever have the luxury to choose between quarterbacks like Braxton Miller, JT Barrett and Cardale Jones.
5. These Things Take Time
This is pretty much a mixture of all four previous bullet points. Michigan is in need of a complete program rethink both on and off the field, and that's not going to happen overnight. So, while Michigan paddles upstream to get back up to speed, Meyer continues to hum along with a football team at the peak of its powers. Harbaugh could get there someday, but not soon.
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