Excerpt — Michigan Man: Jim Harbaugh and the Rebirth of Wolverines Football
Below is an excerpt from Angelique Chengelis' new book Michigan Man: Jim Harbaugh and the Rebirth of Wolverines Football, which hit bookshelves today. She also joined us for a recent podcast to talk about the book and all things Michigan football.
After the 2014 season, one that finished a dismal 5–7, saw the firing of head coach Brady Hoke, and the sudden resignation of athletic director Dave Brandon, the task of hiring a new coach fell to Jim Hackett, a former Michigan player under Bo Schembechler and CEO of Steelcase.
Jim Harbaugh became the popular choice among Michigan fans.
But it seemed the Michigan fans were the only ones who thought Harbaugh would leave the NFL where he had enjoyed success with the San Francisco 49ers, including a Super Bowl appearance facing his brother John’s Baltimore Ravens.
Harbaugh’s name had been bandied about during previous searches at Michigan if only for the reason he played quarterback for the Wolverines under legendary Coach Schembechler, and his father, Jack, had been an assistant coach on Schembechler’s staff when Jim and John were growing up. But Harbaugh had a proven coaching record in college and then with the 49ers, so he was by no means just a sentimental favorite.
The sentiment among NFL insiders and experts, though, was that Harbaugh would never leave the NFL, even though the pull to his alma mater could be strong. No way college football, they believed, would be appealing enough for him—not even the Michigan job.
Hackett wanted to bring Harbaugh to Michigan, but he knew he would have to build a larger candidate pool in case the NFL experts were right about his main target. He and his staff referred to the Michigan football coach hiring process by an amusing code name—“Project Unicorn.” In his first detailed comments about the search on The Huge Show, Hackett would later say that while they were having some fun with the name, “the unicorn is about perfection. To find something that’s perfect.”
Then again, he also just really liked referring to it by a ridiculous name. Hackett and his select group worked secretively in the Michigan Stadium suites. They used the “Project Unicorn” reference to keep their work secure and avoid leaks. Although there were other names on the candidate list, Harbaugh was always the No. 1 goal and target. He was the unicorn Hackett wanted.
But this wasn’t only about Hackett. The Michigan players were left coachless, and he met with them that December to get a sense for what they were going through and what they wanted. “When Brady had departed and we hadn’t hired the coach, I asked for feedback,” Hackett told me. “And they said they respect the history, but they wanted to make history. They wanted to be known for something special they did to contribute to the Michigan legacy.”
They echoed what Hackett wanted. He wanted to contribute in this way to the Michigan legacy. Jack Harbaugh became an important conduit, considering Jim Harbaugh was still coaching the 49ers through their season. Hackett was determined to make a splash and make this hire. “I didn’t want to be denied what was best for Michigan,” Hackett said. “That’s the way I thought about it. It wasn’t Jim Hackett; it was Michigan. This was a cause for me.”
Hackett obtained Harbaugh’s cell phone number from Jack. “I asked his father if he thought it would be a waste of time given his options,” Hackett said. “Jack said, ‘Nah, you should talk to him.’”
The initial call was made. “Jim was 10 or 12 when I played, and Jack was the coach that I would talk to often,” Hackett said. “I had to reacquaint myself [with Jim]. I called Jim and identified myself. ‘This is Jim Hackett.’ He said, ‘Is this the Jim Hackett who taped me into the locker?’ I didn’t hesitate, ‘No. I cut you out.’”
When the Harbaugh boys were kids and had the run of the football building, Michigan players often taped Jim and older brother John with what Hackett called a “fence of tape” into the open lockers as a joke.
The ice was broken. Hackett had Harbaugh’s attention and got to work. “I said to him, ‘Jim, I’m starting down a path here trying to figure out what to do, and you’re the first guy I’d like to talk to about this,’” Hackett said. “We didn’t talk about the job. We talked about Michigan, philosophically what Michigan needed, and how we both saw it. In a subsequent call, he said, ‘You didn’t just offer me the job did you?’ I told him no. ‘I didn’t accept, did I?’ I said no. He said, ‘Good because we’re both getting excited here.’ We wanted to honor his employment. These talks were just spectacular. It was so easy. It was incredible because of his zest for life and how he sees people and values them. It was really easy. It was a similar philosophy about things. I was surprised actually how aligned we are and still are [considering the] difference in generation. And he was a football coach, and I was a business guy.”
But because they were both coached by Schembechler, Hackett said they had the ability to communicate on a different plane. There was an inherent bond, though their playing days were years apart. “He didn’t want to sign the agreement until the season was over,” Hackett said. “Because of who he played for and I played for, how we were both raised, I just needed to hear him. If you want to tell me you’re coming, that’s all I need. He said, ‘I’m coming.’”
Harbaugh would not make it official until December 28 when the 49ers’ season had concluded. He had not even seen a contract from Michigan until after the game and it had been made official he would no longer be coaching the 49ers.
There was a moment of mild panic when Hackett, who had been faxing contracts with Harbaugh’s representation, was flying back to Michigan from California and could not get his computer to work on the plane. Hackett wanted to get his signed offer to Harbaugh, so he used his phone to take a photo and emailed it to the Harbaugh camp.
Harbaugh pulled an upset in NFL circles and signed the agreement with his alma mater on Monday and flew to Ann Arbor the next day for his introductory news conference. Hackett, despite Harbaugh’s urging to stay on as Michigan’s athletic director, decided to leave U-M 13 months later to become the chairman of Ford Smart Mobility and more recently he became Ford president and CEO. He attends Michigan games when he can and keeps track of what is going on at his alma mater. And he praises Harbaugh for the turnaround. “I don’t want to take any credit for it,” Hackett said. “I haven’t had to coach a down of football. That’s where the hard work is. I was committed to the success of it, so I’m proud of that.”
This excerpt from Michigan Man: Jim Harbaugh and the Rebirth of Wolverines Football, by Angelique Chengelis, is presented with permission from Triumph Books. For more information and to order a copy please visit www.triumphbooks.com/michiganman.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @AndrewVcourt and @Balas_Wolverine
• Like us on Facebook