He was in Michigan, I was covering him and his team on behalf of the Detroit Free Press and we were Mut 24 coins  both captivated by the charisma and fascination of then Michigan coach Bo Schembechler.

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There was no way around it with Bo. If you were a player for Bo or wrote about him Bo's direct, direct but also adamant sincerity grew. As a player Harbaugh did not agree with his teammates. As an author, I didn't agree with Harbaugh's writing. But his persistence and integrity cannot be denied. He inspired you to think. He caused you to take another look . And sometimes a third.

This is the core of Jim Harbaugh, the blueprint that he followed during all 14 of the years of Madden NFL 24 playing career and for every one of his head coaching assignments with the University of San Diego, Stanford and the San Francisco 49ers. His parents, Jack and Jackie, laid that foundation. Schembechler along with Mike Ditka were coaches who contributed to the cementing of it.

Harbaugh is back to his roots. He called it a "homecoming."

The 20th coach of Michigan is something that he has said was something he'd always dreamed of. Then, he added that it's the time to make it happen.

It's a matter of time to go, partly because his relationship with 49ers management got so sour and disjointed that a split was in order. It seems that it reached its peak during contract talks prior to the season ended, and when the 49ers made him feel relatively worthless. If you make Jim Harbaugh feel unappreciated, unimportant, and not worth the effort He's not the kind of player who will stick around. It's the right time, partly, because there's a demand at Michigan football and a need to answer. A door that is open, a broad-ranging embrace, gratitude and the feeling of being wanted was an overcoat thrown over him by Michigan direction. The need of Michigan and the way they approached it captivated him.

"This is a move I made out of my heart,"'' Harbaugh said.

Many pundits argued that Harbaugh could never be let go of Madden NFL 24 in the role of coach. They were not aware of the unrelenting pull of Bo Harbaugh's passion and devotion to Michigan. The need for him to feel valued. Appreciated. Comfortable. The need for his self to be stroked in a loving way and to feel his heart touched.

He often shared stories with me in Michigan about how in his teenager he would keep individual statistics for his batting average in baseball, scoring percentage for basketball and touchdowns football. He recalled them. There were few peers who wanted to play with the pre-teen Harbaugh because of his intense competition and the ego. It was at Michigan Harbaugh's school that Harbaugh got the essence of Schembechler's chief mantra"THE TEAM," THE TEAM, THE TEAM.

If you make Jim Harbaugh feel unappreciated, uncomfortable, unworthy Jim Harbaugh will not be the type of person to hang around.

He said in his introductory news conference on the recruitment process that he would be selling something that he "believes in to the heart.'' Selling something he believes in as well as "you are familiar with your name.'' That won't be the most difficult task according to him. He talked about relationships.