Michigan football news & views: What happened to 'speed in space,' more

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh went outside his comfort zone a few years ago when he changed his offensive philosophy. Did that set him back a bit? 

Plus, what’s the future for the offense with both Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy returning with several more years of eligibility? 

We tackle those questions and more in today’s News & Views segment.

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Michigan offense — Speed in Space?

NEWS: Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh hired Josh Gattis to run a quicker, up-tempo offense, but the Wolverines returned to man-ball this year to win their first outright Big Ten East title. 

Harbaugh was asked recently if this was what he expected was the way to beat Ohio State.

HARBAUGH: “The way I envisioned it is we were going to have to play really good in all phases. We were going to have to protect the passer, the quarterback; receivers making plays in the pass game. We were going to have to block up front, sustain blocks, get off blocks, tackle.

“Blocking and tackling is going to be huge. Defending the throws downfield, defending the crossing routes, the verticals, the seams, the screens. You have to do it all — you’ve got to play really good.”

VIEWS: In other words, he completely avoided the question.

And that’s totally fine. 

Harbaugh is not one to throw his coordinators or players under the bus publicly — never has been, never will be. People might have their differences with him, but he never airs the dirty laundry and is the kind of leader who is willing to take the bullets.

The irony here is that many believed Harbaugh held Gattis back a bit from what he truly wanted to do. Gattis, in fact, took offense to that when it was suggested (not by us, to be clear) that it wasn’t ‘his offense,’ and that perhaps he was being ‘babysat.’ 

This is the year Gattis designed the Michigan offense within the framework of how Harbaugh has always liked to play. There wasn’t a fullback, per se, but there were tight ends lined up who were used similarly, and a lot of the formations and ‘man-ball’ he used at Stanford. 

All credit to Gattis for his role, along with Harbaugh and co-coordinator Sherrone Moore and the rest for understanding how this group of offensive players could be best utilized. It was old school Michigan football, and dammit, it was beautiful. 

Future of the Michigan quarterback position?

NEWS: Cade McNamara became Michigan’s first quarterback since Chad Henne to win an outright title of some sort (Big Ten East), and he’ll have a chance for more. A reporter asked Harbaugh what he thought about those who liked to focus on what McNamara couldn’t do rather than his quarterback’s success.

HARBAUGH: “I don’t know the ‘they’ that you’re talking about, but we do focus on what they do well. And he checks all the boxes that you want in a quarterback to do well. 

“He makes great decisions when he throws. He’s got the arm strength to make every throw. He throws accurately; he throws with great timing. His knowledge and study of the game — his intelligence is also football intelligence. His ability to get the ball to the playmakers — that’s a quarterback’s most important job and you could say that’s a quarterback’s best attribute.”

VIEWS: He’s also grown in terms of how to play the game and from a “situational standpoint,” Harbaugh noted, and that only comes with experience. The more he gets, the tougher it will be for anyone — freshman J.J. McCarthy, whoever — to supplant him. 

The position isn’t just about the cannon arm or a kid’s speed. The intangibles are huge, and McNamara has so many. The Michigan signal-caller is smart, a great leader, dedicated and a leader in the weight room, too. 

“When he works out, when he trains, he’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” Harabugh said. “[Strength coach] Ben Herbert refers to him as the tip of the spear. 

“In many ways, you could say we’re not at where we’re at without Cade McNamara. I’m hard-pressed to find something he doesn’t do well, and the things he does well are the most important things.”

There’s a segment of the fan base that will still never accept that. Those are the ones who simply don’t understand what it takes to put a championship team together.

Early signs of a Big Ten East champion?

NEWS: Harbaugh said he knew last spring he had the makings of a potential Big Ten championship team (noting they hadn’t accomplished that yet, having to face Iowa for the title Saturday).

HARBAUGH: “Yeah, we did. We did. We felt like we had a ball team. We’ve got ourselves a ball team here.

“It’s one of those feelings that you have. Guys, they start feeling it, too. I know I shared that with you guys over the summer and the spring. But I think to the comments back then when everybody says that, but yeah, we felt it.”

VIEWS: Michigan had a team of “real football players,” he noted again — by that he meant guys willing to play through pain, sacrifice for their teammates, play for each other rather than for a contract, etc. … all the things he learned from coach Bo Schembechler. 

“I knew we had a lot of guys that were raised right. They learn right; they were taught right that you don’t fold or flinch at the slightest whiff of adverse circumstances,” he said. “I had a pretty good feeling that they would respond.”

That wasn’t a shot at anybody on previous teams, but some of the Michigan players on them were lacking in that area. 

We said before for you veterans, this team felt like the 1985 squad. There are some stars and really good pieces, but a lot of guys who wouldn’t play pro ball and just gave their all for the university.

That team, too, was coming off a poor season (6-6 in 1984), but Schembechler walked around that spring with a knowing grin on his face. 

Lots of parallels. 

Howard and Harbaugh — one big commonality

NEWS: Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard was one of the first to congratulate Harbaugh at midfield after the win, giving him a big hug.

HARBAUGH: “That was just so cool! That was just great. I was kind of working my way to the locker room and then all of a sudden, Juwan’s there!

“… He cares so much about the football team. He’s been great all offseason. He spoke to our team on more than a couple occasions. He comes to our games, he’s behind the bench cheering for us. He’s just a great guy, a great coach that loves Michigan, and we love him for that.”

VIEWS: People tend to call it ‘incestuous’ when folks suggest a former player, coach, etc. with ties to the university might be given preference for a job. 

And we couldn’t disagree more. 

These are the guys who care most, and all things being equal — sometimes even when they’re not — those ties to the past can make a difference. 

“I love this place so much — I can’t fail,” Howard said, paraphrasing, when he first took the Michigan job. And he lives that. You can see it. 

Culture is huge, and the guys who had success at Michigan understand it. Harbaugh and Howard have lived it in their daily lives since they left, and they have championship principles particular to Michigan. It’s in the DNA. 

A few bad breaks prevented Harbaugh from winning his title earlier, but he’s been close. He’s now closer than ever, and he just needs to finish to get his and join Howard as a Michigan Big Ten champion.