During John Harbaugh’s keynote speech at the Michigan Coaches’ Clinic at Crisler Arena on Friday, he took the opportunity to reminisce about the 2013 Super Bowl, when his Baltimore Ravens defeated his brother Jim’s San Francisco 49ers.
The victorious John thought that his postgame handshake with his brother could be special, a celebration of two brothers reaching the pinnacle of their sport. When John reached the middle of the field, he met Jim.
John went in for a hug with his left arm, only to receive a slight elbow in the stomach from Jim to block the hug. John used an audience member to mimic his brother’s motion.
“There will be no hug,” Jim said.
Jim sat on the floor throughout the speech, his back relaxed leaning against the dividing wall between stands and the court at Crisler. He chuckled during many of John’s old stories, except those involving that Super Bowl. Whenever they came up, it seemed as though his smile disappeared.
It’s evident the affection between the siblings is brotherly to its core. Born just 15 months apart, competition is an integral part of their relationship, even to this day, when Jim is 51 years old and John is 52.
Before his keynote speech, John recalled the last time the brothers played golf. The brothers thought they had time for just nine holes, and John was victorious. But John noted that Jim also claimed victory afterward.
The discrepancy in the result comes from extra time at the end of their match, when Jim suggested they play a couple of extra holes. Jim won the final two holes with a birdie and an eagle to best John’s par and birdie.
“These were the two extra holes, as I reminded him,” John said with a hint of defiance. “He claims now he won by one stroke. I’m like, there are no 12-hole golf matches, no 11-hole golf matches, they don’t have those in golf. I won the last time we played golf.”
When asked who won the last game of golf between the brothers, Jim claimed he didn’t know, before admitting that John was the winner.
Jim also disputed his brother’s claim that he had “pulled a Bo” in practice Thursday, kicking out bystanders, including former Michigan star quarterback Rick Leach, because he felt like there were too many people observing practice.
“I did?” Harbaugh said with a laugh. “No, you never kick Rick Leach out of a Michigan practice. It was exaggerated.”
One agreement between the brothers on Friday, though, was their love of football. John spent much of his keynote speech stressing the importance of the game to the 800 high school coaches in attendance.
Despite much of the scrutiny surrounding the impact of head injuries in the sport, the brothers believe the good of the game outweighs the bad. In his speech, John emphasized how important the value of teaching responsibility to players and turning them into men.
Like Jim is known to do, John referenced Bo Schembechler throughout his speech, speaking in the same reverent tone that his brother does when referring to his old coach. Though John never played for Schembechler, he spent a great deal of time around Schembechler’s team when their father, Jack, was a coach on Schembechler’s staff.
In one memorable incident, the brothers played football with friends next to the Michigan’s practice field. An errant throw made its way onto the field. John told his younger brother to retrieve the ball, briefly interrupting the Wolverines’ practice.
Schembechler wasn’t pleased.
“Who is that little son of a gun?” John recalled Schembechler yelling. “Harbaugh, I told you your kids could come over, but keep their little asses off the field!”
Now that Jim Harbaugh doesn’t have to obey his childhood rules, his practice schedule indicates that he wants to keep his team on the field as much as possible. The Wolverines have spent four hours on the field during their first five spring practices, a longer amount of time than the players had been accustomed to. Michigan even conducts some meetings on the field, which Harbaugh refers to as “class on the grass.”
The results of those classes are currently unknown. Harbaugh offered little new information Friday about what his team will look like on the field in the fall. Nothing has been decided in the battle to be Michigan’s starting quarterback, with reps still being split relatively evenly among the candidates. For now, his top priority remains seeing his players play as much as possible.
“You get better at football by playing football,” Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh has stated that he hopes the eventual result of his quarterback competition is clear, that the winner rises above the rest.
The outcome will be less disputed than a Harbaugh golf outing.