Hard pass from me...I want stability and wins, not a roller coaster ride.
Good read here...
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Harbaugh, to put it bluntly, is a strange person.
He's quirky and unique and extraordinarily competitive; his mind is always racing and his temper isn't always in control. From the famous khakis he wears every day to over-the-top recruiting tactics, there are all kinds of wild little details and stories from Harbaugh's coaching career — and others that date back to his playing days. His intense, demanding coaching style and personality, in his own words, can "wear out his welcome" somewhere after a while. Alex Boone, a former Vikings guard who played for Harbaugh in San Francisco, once said the coach "might be clinically insane."
Things fell apart quickly for Harbaugh with the 49ers despite an incredibly successful three years to begin his tenure. He feuded with general manager Trent Baalke over various things, including control of the roster. He feuded with CEO Jed York. It wasn't pretty towards the end of that run.
The Vikings came into this GM and coaching search looking to go in a different direction from the Rick Spielman-Mike Zimmer era. They preached that they wanted to find great leadership, communication, and collaboration skills in the two new people who will preside over their football team. In hiring Adofo-Mensah, they followed through on that stated mission by landing a strong collaborator who is the stark opposite of Spielman when it comes to background and personality.
Harbaugh is not the opposite of Zimmer. He's a similarly intense coach who expects to win at all costs and knows he might rub some people the wrong way in that process. After the way the Zimmer era ended and everything we know about some of
the Vikings' culture problems during his tenure, the question of whether or not Harbaugh is the right fit at this moment must be raised.
Roster control would be an interesting dynamic as well. Adofo-Mensah is clearly interested in Harbaugh, but who would make the final personnel decisions? It seems unlikely Harbaugh would come on board without any sort of say in those matters. During his introductory press conference, Adofo-Mensah declined to specify if he would have full roster control or not, saying it'll be a collaborative process. But what happens if he and Harbaugh struggle to stay on the same page over time?
That brings up another topic of discussion: how Harbaugh fits with the Vikings' timeline for potentially becoming a contender. Minnesota had a window of opportunity under Zimmer from 2015-2019, one that peaked in 2017 and ultimately only resulted in two total playoff victories. Instead of recognizing that the window had closed and entering a rebuild, the Vikings spent the past two offseasons trying to convince themselves they were still contenders. They extended Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, and several other veteran players and "reloaded" by signing or trading for players who they thought would help them win right away.
What resulted was a 7-9 season followed by an 8-9 season that cost Zimmer and Spielman their jobs. The defense was horrendous in each of the past two years and Cousins' shortcomings — at least relative to his lofty price tag — limited the offense at times. The Vikings now have a difficult salary cap situation, major decisions to make on Cousins, Danielle Hunter, and other expensive, aging veterans, and a defense that needs an influx of talent. Despite the roster still having plenty of win-now pieces, including one of the game's elite wide receivers in Justin Jefferson, a rebuild might once again be the best long-term choice for the franchise's future.
I'm not sure that option would be on the table if Harbaugh comes to town. He desperately wants to win a Super Bowl and might not have any interest in a rebuild that could require his first full season with a losing record since 2008 at Stanford. If Harbaugh is hired and has partial or full control over roster decisions, that might mean another offseason of trying to jam the window open by extending Cousins again and making other win-now moves.
Maybe it would work out this time with Harbaugh at the helm. Or maybe it would flame out in damaging fashion. A cautionary tale Minnesota sports fans are familiar with is the Timberwolves hiring Tom Thibodeau as their coach and president of basketball operations in 2016. Thibodeau, like Harbaugh, had an extremely successful first stint as a head coach (with the Chicago Bulls) come to an end because his intense style wore players down and led to tension with the front office. He got roster control in Minnesota and blew up the future for one playoff appearance before things became a disaster.
I'm not saying Harbaugh is Thibodeau. But with where the Vikings' roster currently stands — and what they've said they're looking for in terms of collaboration and culture — it's possible that the fit isn't ideal. Maybe they should
give Morris another chance to lead a team. Maybe the timeline makes more sense to let Morris or a first-time head coach in O'Connell or Graham grow from the ground up along with Adofo-Mensah.
Or maybe that's overthinking things and the Vikings would be foolish to let Harbaugh leave the building without an offer on Wednesday, provided he wants the job. After all, the hope with Morris, O'Connell, or Graham is the possibility that they could become a good head coach. With Harbaugh, he's already proven to be that. Coaches who win 70 percent of their games don't become available very often, so maybe the Vikings should hire Harbaugh and figure everything else out from there.
It's a fascinating possibility for so many reasons. Harbaugh becoming the Vikings' next head coach could go extremely well or it could blow up in everyone's face. Either way, there's no doubt that it would be an entertaining ride.
https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/woul...ta-vikings
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