Michigan Man: Jim Harbaugh and the Rebirth of Wolverines Football

by Angelique Chengelis, Jack Harbaugh

All eyes and ears turned toward Ann Arbor in late 2014 when it was announced that Jim Harbaugh would be returning to the Big House as the new head coach of Michigan football. Now, Angelique Chengelis, longtime chronicler of the Wolverines for the Detroit News , gives the inside story on how exactly Harbaugh restored the Michigan program to national title contender status. Learn how he instilled a new culture and rankled rivals with outspokenness, creative tactics, and relentless recruiting. Get the behind-the-scenes story on how and why Harbaugh chose to come back to the university he led to glory as its starting quarterback in the early 1980s. Follow along as Jabrill Peppers, Jake Butt, and others develop into true stars. Michigan Man is a comeback tale, an examination of the rapid turnaround from a five-win team in 2014 to squads that earned 10 wins plus trips to the Citrus and Orange Bowls in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Featuring extensive interviews with Harbaugh himself, this is a book Wolverines faithful and football fans in general will not want to miss.

Genres: Sports, Football

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 2017

Reviews

[Mark Walsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good summary of the 2016 Season. If you are a Michigan football fanatic, this maybe a revisit to a season you are already well acquainted with. Very well written as expected given the author’s background covering Michigan football.

[Dave Cottenie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michigan Man was a really interesting look behind the scenes of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure at Michigan. The setting is the 2016 Wolverines season but the focus is on the preparation rather than what happened on the field. An excellent look into the mind of Harbaugh. After reading this, it’s hard to see him ever leave Michigan.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A journalistic overview of the last year or so of Michigan football under Jim Harbaugh. Lots of quotes from players and coaches and even Harbaugh himself. It gives you the perspective of the team as it went through the season. If you are a hard core UM football fan, I am not sure how much you will get out of this because you will have already read all of the author's excellent reporting. :-)

But for those who maybe don't live in Michigan and don't follow the team obsessively this puts a lot of that reporting in one place. The bad part is that means re-experiencing the painful oh-so-close heartbreaking nature of last season. You can being to feel as the team realizes this could be something special but then feel the pain again as they lost three out of the last four games by a combined 5 points. Brutal.

But if you are interesting in Michigan football this part of the history as Harbaugh seeks to return Michigan to national prominence once again.

[Gary Cousins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Story of the 2016 Season

Angelique Chengelis did a great job in telling the story of Jim Harbaugh's second season with the Michigan Wolverines. You see his intensity and his passion. And the 2016 season can be summed up this way: J.T. was short.

[Sean Kottke]

A chronicle of Michigan's 2016 season, for true Blue fans and Harbaugh admirers, like me. Readers not in either camp should seek out a book on their own favorite team.