NFL Network analyst and Michigan alum Rich Eisen recently joined "The Audible With Stew and Bruce" podcast (which is hosted by The Athletic's Stewart Mandel and FOX's Bruce Feldman), to discuss a variety of topics, including Jim Harbaugh, Michigan football and the team's quarterback situation.
Eisen, who is very outspoken in his love for Michigan, gave several interesting takes on the Wolverines, which we have highlighted below:
Rich Eisen on his opinion of Jim Harbaugh and the quarterback situation at Michigan:
"I believe in Jim Harbaugh, because he definitely has the passion for the job. I’ll be honest — what other options are out there for Michigan other than Harbaugh? I’m not going to be part of some kind of alumni squeeze play to get him out of there — that would make no sense. I’ll always be bias toward him, because he was my first quarterback and a bridge to the Bo [Schembechler] years.
"He understands what it takes to win here. To me, the one mystifying thing is where has his quarterback prospect been? Where’s his duo? Everyone is telling me it comes down to whether or not [junior] Shea Patterson will be cleared this year.
"Harbaugh has had good quarterbacks here, from Jake Rudock to Wilton Speight, who performed well. But he hasn’t yet had that one quarterback talent who makes every other player on the roster look over their shoulder and see what a real spectacular talent on offense looks like. I’ve been told Patterson is that guy. What does [former offensive coordinator Tim] Drevno’s departure mean though? What do we take from that?
Bruce Feldman, on Michigan's offensive staff changes:
"From what I’ve heard, it’s been a pretty messy transition with the staff. You still have [passing game coordinator] Pep Hamilton there, and they’re trying to get everyone on the same page. I think [new offensive coordinator and former Florida head coach] Jim McElwain coming in is big — he was a good offensive coordinator for [Alabama head coach] Nick Saban [from 2008-2011].
"Last year, Michigan was breaking in new receivers, because they had lost two really good ones [Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh] and a great tight end [Jake Butt]. They’ve finally got some experience there now. If you get Shea Patterson with a group of experienced receivers, McElwain will help settle things down a bit.
"As a result, Ed Warinner becomes the offensive line coach, and he was [Ohio State head coach] Urban Meyer’s o-line coach the year they won the national title [2014], and did a great job in that role — they had a bunch of mismatched parts at the beginning of the year, and by the end of the season they were dominating Alabama.
"I like some of the moves Harbaugh has made, and it’s obviously key they still have [defensive coordinator] Don Brown on the other side of the ball. They’re loaded on defense."
Rich Eisen:
"I’m really looking forward to seeing [former Michigan defensive tackle] Maurice Hurst at the NFL combine, and more talent coming out of Michigan on that line in the future. Defensively, I’m not concerned about them.
"The losses on the field have been tough to handle though, especially to Ohio State after you’ve knocked [quarterback] J.T. Barrett out of the game [this past year]. Then a kid who’s hardly done anything all year [redshirt freshman Dwayne Haskins] comes in and wings it around.
"It’s tough to take, but I’m not going to be part of that group of people who turns their back on Jim Harbaugh — not in a million years."
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