Harbaugh Makes Pledge To Michigan, Attributes Rumors To 'Jive Turkeys'
By: Will Burchfield
@burchie_kid
Jim Harbaugh put an end to the rumors, once and for all.
"I'm not leaving Michigan. Not even considering it," Harbaugh said at U-M's annual football bust on Tuesday night, per the Free Press.
Since being added to the NFL's Career Development Advisory Panel's list of recommended coaching replacements, rumors have swirled about Harbaugh's potential return to the NFL. The speculation heated up earlier this week, when the Rams fired Jeff Fisher.
"A lot of this talk is coming from our enemies, from coaches, you know the names. You probably know the names of the top three I'm referring to," Harbaugh said. "They like to say that to the media. They like to tell that to the recruits, to their families, try to manipulate them into going to some other school besides Michigan.
"We know them as jive turkeys. Say it like it is. That's the way it is."
(For those wondering, a jive turkey is defined by UrbanDictionary as, "One who speaks as though they know what they're talking about...though they do not.")
Harbaugh delivered the same message to his players after Tuesday's practice.
He said, 'I'm not leaving, I'm staying here,'" according to senior safety Dymonte Thomas, via the Free Press. "'A lot of people say I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that. That's a lie. I haven't talked to anyone.' He said he's going to stay here for us. He joked and said, 'You're stuck with me.'"
Senior nose tackle Ryan Glasgow said Harbaugh's pledge to Michigan got the Wolverines fired up.
"Short, sweet and to the point: 'I'm not leaving. Don't worry about it. These are lies made up by our enemies,'" Glasgow explained. "It got the team all riled up. We don't want any enemies infiltrating the fortress."
Harbaugh declined to identify the three "jive turkeys" he was referring to. But his players endorsed his theory about negative recruiting.
"Unfortunately distractions caused, some of it's by other teams. It really hurts recruiting if they're saying Jim Harbaugh's going to go to the NFL, said senior defensive lineman Erik Magnuson. "Some recruits could think there's instability in the coaching job at Michigan, so that could hurt him. So a lot of it is created for distraction in that aspect as far as recruiting. I couldn't see him going anywhere. This is where he wants to be."
One day, of course, Harbaugh may return to the NFL. But that day appears to be a long way off.
Glasgow, for one, sees Harbaugh building quite the legacy in Ann Arbor.
"It could be at the University of Michigan, 15-20 years down the line, the folklore like Bo Schembechler. I don't see him leaving anytime soon," Glasgow said.