The Jim Harbaugh era for Michigan was worth all the drama no matter how it goes from here
This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
Goooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win! Thank you so much for rocking with us here at FTW today. We appreciate you.
Some performance from Michigan last night, huh? It was a bit sloppy at times. Washington missed a ton of golden opportunities to punch some scores in and give us a closer game than we ultimately got. But much of that is a credit to Michigan and the way its defense made Michael Penix Jr. so incredibly uncomfortable.
Michigan broke its 26-year championship drought by playing Michigan football. It won the game in the trenches on both sides — running the ball on offense and forcing pressure on the other. It was classic. And it could only happen thanks to the genius of Jim Harbaugh.
Say what you want about the coach, but he did it, man. He coached Michigan to its first championship since 1997. That’s all that matters in the end.
Of course, there was lots of drama on the way to get here. We can’t forget about the sign-stealing controversy and Connor Stalions. Fans certainly aren’t forgetting about it anytime soon. There was also the other self-imposed suspension earlier this season for recruiting during the COVID-19 dead period in college football when everything was on pause.
Because of all this, Harbaugh’s future with Michigan is in question. Rumors are swirling about him potentially making a jump back to the NFL where he’d easily be a top candidate on everyone’s list.
RELATED: Six possible landing spots for Jim Harbaugh if he jumps to the NFL
Hasn’t that always been the case though? Hasn’t Jim Harbaugh always been under the spotlight? As soon as he touched down at Michigan the clock began to tick tick tick.
Time was almost up in the Harbaugh era on so many occasions. When he lost five in a row to Ohio State everyone questioned whether Michigan for standing behind him. When he lost to TCU everyone questioned him despite watching him get to the doorstep of the promised land.
My, my how things have changed? Harbaugh and the Wolverines have dominated Ohio State for three years in a row. He’s toppled Nick Saban and the vaunted Alabama Crimson Tide — not at the top of their game, sure. But it’s still Bama.
And, most importantly, he brought a national championship back to Ann Arbor.
No matter where things go from here on out, the Jim Harbaugh era at Michigan was always worth it. For the first time in nearly three decades, saying the Wolverines are back is not a mistake. He earned that. They earned that. Today, Jim Harbaugh and Michigan are champions. Respect them as such.
Jimmy Kimmel absolutely cooks Aaron Rodgers
Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The fallout from Aaron Rodgers’ appearance on the Pat McAfee show last week is not over. On Monday night, Jimmy Kimmel came back at him.
During his first show of the year, Kimmel used his opening monologue to go scorched earth on the Jets’ quarterback after Rodgers baselessly claimed the comedian was on the Epstein list.
Our Charles Curtis has more on the monologue here.
“Kimmel got in the next word. He broke down how we got here, looking back at how making fun of Rodgers which “so badly bruised his Thanksgiving Parade-sized ego.” Then, he spoke about how Rodgers believes he’s smarter than everyone else and it was off to the roasting of the quarterback, a full seven minutes devoted to ripping the QB”
You can watch the monologue here.
Perfect nightcap…7 minutes of Jimmy Kimmel roasting Aaron Rodgers
pic.twitter.com/bOMfkX57ho— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) January 9, 2024
Kimmel doesn’t waste a beat in this one. It’s incredible. Totally worth seven minutes of your time this morning.
Ja Morant is out. Again.
Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Grand opening, grand closing. Ja Morant is out for the rest of the NBA season, according to a shocking announcement from the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Morant’s epic comeback is being cut short by a torn labrum. The guard is undergoing a season-ending shoulder surgery after playing just nine games for Memphis this year.
The @memgrizz announced the following medical update: pic.twitter.com/Cr7xKj1Wm4
— Grizzlies PR (@GrizzliesPR) January 9, 2024
This was so shocking. It came out of nowhere. Morant got hurt in practice, but the Grizzlies didn’t seem to think it was this serious. Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported that the team thought he’d be a game-time decision for their next outing against the Suns. Now, his season is over.
It’s quite a shame to see considering how good Morant looked coming back after his 25-game suspension. It’s super unfortunate. Hopefully, next year, he comes back better than ever.
Quick hits: WHERE IS NCAA 25 … NFL death spirals … and more
— CFB fans were furious they didn’t get an NCAA Football 25 trailer during the national championship. Stupid rumors. Tyler Netunno has more.
— Christian D’Andrea tries to figure out who is falling faster: The Eagles or the Dolphins. Check out his latest power rankings here.
— Here are 12 photos of Michigan celebrating its first championship since 1997 from our own Michelle Martinelli, who could not be happy writing this.
— Gotta love good sportsmanship. Michigan’s Jaylen Harrell goes to cheer up fellow Florida native Michael Penix Jr. after a devastating loss. Cory Woodruff has more.
— What happens when you put Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter, Travis Scott and Stephen A. Smith in the same room? Michigan wins a championship, apparently. Here’s Cory Woodruff.
— Somebody cashed in on $322,000 after Michigan’s big win. Lucky them. Here’s Ben Fawkes with more.
That’s all, folks! Thanks so much for reading TMW today. We appreciate you. Have an awesome one. Let’s do it again tomorrow. Peace. We out.
-Sykes