Jim Harbaugh’s view of his 2023 Michigan team — 'no complacency'

Some reporters asked Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh if he thought his team might not have anything left to prove in 2023 after back-to-back Big Ten titles. If there’s one thing he isn’t concerned about, Harbaugh said at Big Ten Media Days Thursday, it’s whether his team has any motivation heading into the season. 

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Beating Ohio State and winning the Big Ten has been incredible for all of them, of course. Crushing the Buckeyes on their turf heightened expectations, to the point that they added a “Beat Georgia” drill in addition to “Beat Alabama.” But they want it all, and guys like Blake Corum, Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter, etc. returned for just that reason. 

“In the conversations I have with the players, what I used to tell them, a message … they will tell that message to me now,” Harbaugh said. “’Coach, it doesn’t matter what we did the last two years. Now we’re doing it again. The only time that matters is now.’ “That would be my evidence [of their focus].”

It’s the minutia that goes into making everything so successful, he added — “thousands of little things … the work” — and their willingness to do it that’s built the program to where it is now. Everyone has bought in, from the Michigan coaches and players to the support staff, and they all have the same goal. 

The object now, Harbaugh said, is to find the right combinations and put players in the right positions to succeed. Michigan has so much talent that finding enough touches for the everyone is the hard part. But … it’s better than the alternative.

“The plan is to play the best players. The real challenge, and it’s a great, great, challenge to have, is the amount of playmakers we have on offense at the skill positions,” the Michigan coach continued. “It really just dictates that we’ve got to get the ball to Blake so many times a game. We’ve got to get it to Donovan [Edwards] pretty much that same amount that Blake does. There will be a third running back with designated touches per game. The three wide receivers — equal reps, equal targets for those three, and touches. 

“And the tight ends. There are four of them, especially the top two guys. To be able to spread that out … how hard that would be to defense is the thought I have in my head, like day would follow night. You would expect that if we could spread that out, if everybody touches the ball and we can come back on a Sunday and look at that game tape from Saturday — we hit the targets, hit the targets — be able to see those targets went all over the field, horizontally, vertically. Everybody was able to contribute and possibly they didn’t know where the ball was going at any one time. That’s a challenge for our coaches, for us coaches to be able to utilize the talent we have on the offensive side of the ball, especially at the skill positions.”

One he’s confident he and his staff can meet. He has arguably the best collection of talent working for him since he arrived at Michigan nine years ago, and they all have only one goal in mind — to keep winning at a high level. 

“I’m thrilled with the coaching staff. They’re just so good,” Harbaugh said. “I was asked today, who are the mentors in football you go to and talk football with, and the answer is I just walk down the hall. My own coaches … the relationship is the same as it is with my brother [Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh], who is also a football coach that I have with the coaches that are on our staff. 

“When I walk down that hall, every time you hear engagement. Not people in their offices with their doors closed. they’re together. They’re talking football. Defensive coaches are talking to offensive coaches, special teams coaches are talking to defensive and offensive coaches. It’s back and forth. It’s tremendous dialogue. It’s a tremendous, collaborative environment.”

One he hopes will take Michigan to an even higher level this fall.