The Most Interesting Things Jim Harbaugh Said: East Carolina Week

Jim Harbaugh talked a lot about the NCAA and the financial setup of collegiate athletics but also coined a new term, talked about his dad and explained how painful this Saturday is going to be.

Jim Harbaugh took to the podium during game week to discuss the current financial setup of collegiate athletics and the NCAA. Instead of diving deep into the ECU Pirates, Harbaugh advocated for his players and gave his opinions on how the enormous amount of money should be allocated more evenly. Once Harbaugh had said his piece, he got into some other areas of the upcoming week and season opener.

Unfortunately, Harbaugh spoke about the NCAA for so long that the rest of his video is unusable per U-M rules, but here are a few quotes that stuck out.

1. "When you're the head coach during a game, and you're the guardian of victory, that is a tremendous responsibility."

This isn't exactly news, but I just really liked the way Harbaugh worded it. Calling a head coach a "guardian of victory" is just badass and really portrays just how important this stuff is to these guys. So for Jesse Minter first, then Jay Harbaugh and Mike Hart, and finally Sherrone Moore in week three, winning is paramount, obviously. The Wolverines are going to be favored by a ton in each game, so victory is expected, but getting the win is just such a huge, huge deal as each one of these guys fills in for Harbaugh.

2. "I do what he tells me to do, when he tells me to do it and how he tells me to do it, and things just keep working out well for me, so I'll just keep rolling with that."

As someone who is extremely close with his dad, this just resonates with me. Usually when my dad says to do something, I do it. Thinking about running a college football program with my dad in two is such an amazing concept and it's something Harbaugh gets to do with his father Jack everyday. Really, really cool. Also, I found it interesting that Harbaugh still listens to his dad often when it comes to running a team and figuring stuff out on the practice field or in the film room. Jack Harbaugh obviously has a lot of experience, but it's been a minute. Still, Jim can't help but follow his dad's lead. Pretty awesome.

3. "I've heard people comment, it's a slap on the wrist. It's more like a baseball bat to the kneecaps."

This one really hit me as well. Jim Harbaugh eats, sleeps, breathes, dreams about and unconditionally loves football. He has spent the last eight months taking his team through winter conditioning, spring ball, summer workouts and now fall camp, only to miss the first three games of the season. It must be absolute torture. I grew up playing football my whole life and was lucky enough to coach middle school football for five or six years. Thinking about