Jim Harbaugh and the Blueprint for Buildling a Program

#1
DiderotsGhost

DiderotsGhost

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#1
As the Vols go into Oregon this week, only a few of us expect our team to come out with a "W." The most important thing to me this weekend is how hard we play. Do our guys play like their lives depend on it, even when it's the 4th Quarter and they are down by 14? Or do they give up the moment things look bad?

In my 20+ years of watching college football, I've seen few coaches that were more impressive in building a program than Jim Harbaugh at Stanford. Very few people were paying attention during the first few years, when the Cardinal went 4-8 and 5-7. And yet, I've never seen more impressive 4-8 or 5-7 squads than Harbaugh's Stanford teams. They might not have been "good", but that team believed it could win every game and never gave up. Even when they lost by three touchdowns, they looked like winners.

In Year 1, that 4-8 Stanford squad managed to upset #2 USC that year 24-23 on the road. They also narrowly lost (38-36) to a pretty good TCU team. In Year 2, they went into Autzen and played the 10-3 Ducks close. They also surprised an eventual 9-4 Oregon State team in the opener. In terms of talent, Stanford dramatically trailed the rest of the Pac-10, but the players never seemed to believe that. Eventually, we all know that in Year 4, Harbaugh finished 12-1 with an Orange Bowl win.

Harbaugh's 4-8 and 5-7 Cardinal teams were similar record-wise to our Vol squads under Dooley, but they were world's apart in how they played. Harbaugh's guys played till the bitter end and had all the confidence in the world. Dooley's guys gave up at the first hint of adversity and didn't care.

What I like about the Vols this year: our guys seem to believe they can win again. Butch Jones has instilled confidence in them. The odds are against us, but what I really hope to see is that our guys keep battling no matter how bad things look. I want our guys to win, but if we come out with a 21 point loss, and our guys fought till the end, I'll be happy.
 
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#2
#2
Thank you for reinstalling my faith in vol nation. As a 40 something yrs old fan... I think it's our job to set an example on here. You did it.
 
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#4
#4
I have found that success in college football involves confidence and leadership. Most of the times a good coach will pass this off to his players, and sometimes, a certain player does it for his team.

Obviously, you have to have skilled players, but emotion, confidence, and leadership are so pivotal in college football. The quotes and stories that you read about our new coach are just a 180 turnaround from prior years. Even qusotes from recruits are unbelievable, and some of them haven't even chosen us.

18-22 year olds just need someone to lead them and tell them that they can be good with maximum effort.
 
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#5
#5
93TNVol said:
I'm 42, are we considered the old guys on here?
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Yes. I mean I feel totally out of touch with most of the under 30's crowd and my guess this guy's post is going to get a lot of negative responses from the"realist" crowd. They are just sitting back and formulating their responses at this moment. Put your flame proof pants on OP, there are lots of people on here that feel the same way.
 
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#6
#6
I'm the same age as some of these players, and I feel the same way. It's always a process, but Butch can do it.
 
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#9
#9
Agree. This give up mentality started with the Oregon game in 2010 (IMO) and got so bad that by the Vanderbilt game in 2012, I stopped watching in the first half after Bray's interception.

We'll see the mental magic that CBJ has conjured on this team tomorrow and I expect to see 4 quarters of hard fought football.
 
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#11
#11
IluvdoubleD's said:
Yes. I mean I feel totally out of touch with most of the under 30's crowd and my guess this guy's post is going to get a lot of negative responses from the"realist" crowd. They are just sitting back and formulating their responses at this moment. Put your flame proof pants on OP, there are lots of people on here that feel the same way.
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Believe me, you are not the one who is out of touch! :no:
 
#12
#12
i am a duck fan and what i admire most about stanford is their ability to play good football while at the same time maintain extremely high academic standards. if i recall you have to have an 1700 SAT score and a 3.5 GPA before they will even look at a students application for acceptance. harbaugh referred to his players as "warrior geeks".

as i see it stanfords environment is a kind of two edge sword with respect to recruiting. on the one hand high academic achievers who are also good football players tend to flock to palo alto. on the downside they have to reject a lot of otherwise suitable players who would otherwise be college material because they dont meet their high academic standards.

try to imagine vanderbuilt becoming one of the flagship teams of the SEC. thats sort of what stanford has done in the PAC12 and im still sort of scratching my head as to how they do it.
 
#14
#14
IluvdoubleD's said:
Yes. I mean I feel totally out of touch with most of the under 30's crowd and my guess this guy's post is going to get a lot of negative responses from the"realist" crowd. They are just sitting back and formulating their responses at this moment. Put your flame proof pants on OP, there are lots of people on here that feel the same way.
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I understand. The sad part is those "realist" will never understand the real pride that some of us have in UT. Not just winning football, but the kind of pride that you feel when you see a picture of The Hill or the torch or a maple tree in all it's fall glory. Their loss...
 
#15
#15
azVolFan said:
Agree. This give up mentality started with the Oregon game in 2010 (IMO) and got so bad that by the Vanderbilt game in 2012, I stopped watching in the first half after Bray's interception.

We'll see the mental magic that CBJ has conjured on this team tomorrow and I expect to see 4 quarters of hard fought football.
Click to expand...

I agree about that 2010 Oregon game. We probably couldn't have won regardless given the talent and skill differential, but the way we quit was disheartening.

I definitely think Butch Jones is what this team needed: a guy who can instill confidence and keeps an upbeat attitude no matter how down things get. May take a few years to truly pay dividends, but I'm hoping we finally see a team that fights for four quarters.
 
#16
#16
Oregon gets scared easily...I've seen it. They don't know toughness because they don't even have ghetto in Portland. I know...I lived at 17th and burnside for 6 years through the Joey Harrington years. Ducks don't know tough. You get in their face and stare them in eye, they see you have no fear what so ever and they get nervous, because they are not used to it. You can see the nervousness in their bones. Deep inside. I told them Joey Harrington wouldn't do anything in Detroit...he'd never seen a ghetto before.
 
#18
#18
You could always stick your head in the sand and watch every other news channel and believe that everything is great!
 
#19
#19
I'm going to get flamed for this but I honestly believe if he would have stayed at Stanford he'd have at least NC. I do think he could actually out coach Saban. JMO.
 
#20
#20
Jim Harbaugh is one of the best coaches in the country--not just a good leader but also a tough, demanding, hypercompetitive guy. He played in the NFL for several years, I believe, so he knows Xs and Os and no doubt brought some pro cachet to Stanford. The thing about Stanford teams is that they almost always very fundamental and rarely beat themselves. They may not win--but they don't make stupid mistakes. They play hard and they play smart. Butch and his staff seem to take a similar approach. If Butch ratchets up the recruiting and proves 3/4 the coach that Harbough is, we'll be in good shape.
 
#21
#21
DiderotsGhost said:
As the Vols go into Oregon this week, only a few of us expect our team to come out with a "W." The most important thing to me this weekend is how hard we play. Do our guys play like their lives depend on it, even when it's the 4th Quarter and they are down by 14? Or do they give up the moment things look bad?

In my 20+ years of watching college football, I've seen few coaches that were more impressive in building a program than Jim Harbaugh at Stanford. Very few people were paying attention during the first few years, when the Cardinal went 4-8 and 5-7. And yet, I've never seen more impressive 4-8 or 5-7 squads than Harbaugh's Stanford teams. They might not have been "good", but that team believed it could win every game and never gave up. Even when they lost by three touchdowns, they looked like winners.

In Year 1, that 4-8 Stanford squad managed to upset #2 USC that year 24-23 on the road. They also narrowly lost (38-36) to a pretty good TCU team. In Year 2, they went into Autzen and played the 10-3 Ducks close. They also surprised an eventual 9-4 Oregon State team in the opener. In terms of talent, Stanford dramatically trailed the rest of the Pac-10, but the players never seemed to believe that. Eventually, we all know that in Year 4, Harbaugh finished 12-1 with an Orange Bowl win.

Harbaugh's 4-8 and 5-7 Cardinal teams were similar record-wise to our Vol squads under Dooley, but they were world's apart in how they played. Harbaugh's guys played till the bitter end and had all the confidence in the world. Dooley's guys gave up at the first hint of adversity and didn't care.

What I like about the Vols this year: our guys seem to believe they can win again. Butch Jones has instilled confidence in them. The odds are against us, but what I really hope to see is that our guys keep battling no matter how bad things look. I want our guys to win, but if we come out with a 21 point loss, and our guys fought till the end, I'll be happy.
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Agree wholeheartedly with the post.

My only caveat is that it remains to be seen if Jones can match Harbaugh's level.

My only expectations for this season is vast improvement in the fundamentals and a better attitude and competitiveness on display by our players.

I am just sick of seeing Vol teams lay down like 2008 Alabama, 2009 Ole Miss, or any of the past seasons under Dooley.

If Jones keeps these guys on an even keel throughout what is soon to be a very long season, he'll have gained my trust.
 
#22
#22
IluvdoubleD's said:
Oregon gets scared easily...I've seen it. They don't know toughness because they don't even have ghetto in Portland. I know...I lived at 17th and burnside for 6 years through the Joey Harrington years. Ducks don't know tough. You get in their face and stare them in eye, they see you have no fear what so ever and they get nervous, because they are not used to it. You can see the nervousness in their bones. Deep inside. I told them Joey Harrington wouldn't do anything in Detroit...he'd never seen a ghetto before.
Click to expand...

Sorry but this post is kind of stupid...you know Harrington hasn't played at Oregon in about 12 years, right? 12 years ago we were a much different program as well.
 
#24
#24
kafkaclone said:
i am a duck fan and what i admire most about stanford is their ability to play good football while at the same time maintain extremely high academic standards. if i recall you have to have an 1700 SAT score and a 3.5 GPA before they will even look at a students application for acceptance. harbaugh referred to his players as "warrior geeks".

as i see it stanfords environment is a kind of two edge sword with respect to recruiting. on the one hand high academic achievers who are also good football players tend to flock to palo alto. on the downside they have to reject a lot of otherwise suitable players who would otherwise be college material because they dont meet their high academic standards.

try to imagine vanderbuilt becoming one of the flagship teams of the SEC. thats sort of what stanford has done in the PAC12 and im still sort of scratching my head as to how they do it.
Click to expand...

Tough, fundamentally sound football will never go out of style.

It's what has won Bama their championships and what Harbaugh installed at Stanford.
 
#25
#25
FiremedicVol said:
I'm going to get flamed for this but I honestly believe if he would have stayed at Stanford he'd have at least NC. I do think he could actually out coach Saban. JMO.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a stretch, the dude is pretty amazing considering what he's accomplished in a relatively short amount of time at a doormat Pac 12 team and reviving the 49ers to former glory.
 
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