Michigan held an open practice at Ford Field in Detroit Saturday afternoon and following the session, the Michigan beat had their first chance to ask Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh about the tweet he directed at Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith earlier in the week.
If you'll recall, in the course of saying he was not in favor of Ohio State following Michigan's lead and holding spring practices, Smith said it would be something he'd look into if he was trying to jump-start a program. 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
Childish? Sure, but par for the course for Harbaugh (and Ohio State players wasted little time in roasting him in response).
When asked about his response today, Harbaugh chalked it up to getting even for what he felt like was a shot across his program's bow:
On the Gene Smith stuff: Harbaugh says he felt a shot was tossed across UM's bow. He tossed one back. Says all is even now.
— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) March 26, 2016
Michigan's All-Big Ten cornerback Jourdan Lewis also had some words about the incident, telling the Detroit News' Angelique Chengelis that Smith's original comment was “unprofessional.”
Jourdan Lewis says Gene Smith's comment was "unprofessional"
— angelique (@chengelis) March 26, 2016
Sure.
Harbaugh's Twitter antics are nothing new. He's recently exchanged barbs with SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Tennessee coach Butch Jones, and the SEC as a whole.
The really interesting angle to all of this is the sudden flip for “Michigan Men” – fans of the program, who for decades have espoused dignity, stoicism, and doing things the right way. Guess losing changes a man.
