CHICAGO — Let’s get one thing straight: Jim Harbaugh doesn’t feel like he needs to apologize for anything.
He does things his way, says what he wants and does so when he deems it is necessary. That's why Michigan hired him. His no-nonsense, sometimes brash personality comes with the territory. Oh, and he is an excellent coach who wins at a high level wherever he coaches.
Harbaugh owned the eyes and ears of those in attendance Monday at Big Ten Media Days. He led the Wolverines to a 10-3 mark in 2015, but failed to win his two biggest games of the season — a 27-23 stunner against Michigan State and then a 42-13 humbling at the hands of Ohio State and Urban Meyer, both at home.
This offseason, Harbaugh took shots on Twitter at Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, Alabama head coach Nick Saban and even Ohio State Vice President and Director of Athletics Gene Smith. Each man shared his opinion on Harbaugh's satellite camp boom, where he and his staff flew all over the country to "promote the game of football."
They won't admit it helped recruiting but how much it actually pays dividends likely won't be known for another year or two. Michigan is trending north with Harbaugh at the helm, but he knows he still must get its brand out there as much as possible. He is three years behind Ohio State and Urban Meyer, and it showed last November on the field in Ann Arbor.
In March, reporters asked Smith about his thoughts on the satellite camp controversy. Smith called it "creative," but did not support holding practices in Florida during spring break as the Wolverines did. He also said this:
"If we were jump starting our program I'd probably try to do that too, but we're not jump starting our program," Smith said. "We're at a different place."
Not even seven hours later, Harbaugh fired back.
Good to see Director Smith being relevant again after the tattoo fiasco. Welcome back!
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) March 23, 2016
A personal slam to Smith and reference to the tattoo scandal that rocked the program and cost Jim Tressel his job ahead of the 2011 season, Harbaugh explained on Monday why he took it that far.
"I would put that in the category of if somebody shoots one over your bow, then you shoot one back over their bow," Harbaugh said. "Usually, I subscribe to 'sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me' philosophy. But when somebody talks about someone you love or something you love or makes a personal attack, then you have a right to shoot one back over their bow."
“If it’s warranted [to apologize], I will. I didn't feel like it was warranted in that case.”– Jim Harbaugh on his tweet at Gene Smith
Twitter made the situation much more than what it was four months ago; Smith's comment got taken out of context by many people, including Harbaugh. The next morning, Smith apologized to Michigan and athletic director Warde Manuel on his personal Twitter account.
"My comment wasn't personal," Smith told Eleven Warriors Wednesday. "He made it personal, which caused me to contact his AD, who is one of my personal friends. Just so he could understand where I was coming from."
Asked about Smith's apology Monday, Harbaugh stood his ground.
"He apologized to our AD, correct," he said. "He apologized to our AD."
He's not wrong. Smith did not type the words "Jim Harbaugh" into his tweet, instead having friends in the state of Michigan in mind when he sent it.
"People forget that I was at Eastern Michigan University for 10 years," Smith said. "My apology was to those people because I always take the high road if I can. I was a little shocked, but that's why you take the high road."
Harbaugh said Monday he didn't deem it necessary to apologize for any of his social media words directed at either Smith, Saban or Smart.
"If it’s warranted, I will," Harbaugh said. "I didn't feel like it was warranted in that case."
Fair enough. Harbaugh pushes the envelope as much as he can in the hopes of gaining an advantage. Isn't that what coaches are supposed to do?
Harbaugh isn't one to back down, either. Why do you think he put on so many satellite camps this summer? Because he could, and needed to.
In his mind, it is his way of being the head football coach at the University of Michigan.
"Do the best job that you can possibly do," he said. "You understand that you're not going to be right on all your decisions. Nobody is 100 percent right on every decision that you make. You do the best that you can.
"I've been made fun of, pretty much since I can remember. Since I was little. Today, yesterday. My whole life, somebody's made fun of me for something. It's a fact, it's going to happen to everybody. It's going to happen to your own kids, it's going to happen to my kids. Nobody is immune to it. You can't let that get you down."
