Is Penn State Football a better gig than coaching Michigan?
By Evan Smith
Penn State Football and Michigan are two Big Ten powerhouses and national blue bloods, but the Nittany Lions might actually be a better job
ESPN’s senior writer Adam Rittenberg compared the two national programs to see whether Penn State Football’s or Michigan’s coaching job is truly the better position.
Both Penn State Football’s James Franklin and University of Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh have coached long enough at their respective institutions to firmly place their fingerprints on the direction and tenor of the football team.
Unbiasedly, Penn State Football has had significantly more big-time success, having won a conference championship in 2016 and victories in two New Years 6 bowl games. Michigan has racked up the regular season wins but Harbaugh has yet to even win a divisional title in the conference and, perhaps more embarrassing, has yet to beat the rival Ohio State Buckeyes.
Rittenberg started by comparing the recent history of both teams, which surprisingly over the past 10 years was only separated by one game.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Nittany Lions and Wolverines have split 4-4 in their last eight games. Extending that another forty years, the Lions have a slightly better record than that school up north, with 3 more wins and 7 less losses. The edge went to the Lions!
With regards to stadium and administrative support, interesting quotes from former B1G assistants about how neither school is as ‘cutthroat’ as the SEC.
Sadly, I think fan bases from both UM and PSU would probably agree.
Harbaugh wouldn’t be given this long to win a division in the SEC and it’s tough say how long the SEC would have given Franklin to turn around the program after the Sandusky scandal. He gave Michigan the slight edge in this category thanks to their recent spending on their practice facility.
Access to talent was one area where Rittenberg gave UM an advantage that probably surprises most Nittany Lion fans. While the recruits available near Penn State are stronger (PA, NJ, MD, VA) are strong than what Michigan has (UM, OH), he gave the Wolverines the edge here because they have a stronger national footprint.
Although PSU has made great strides recruiting in Florida, the Wolverines have been recruiting from Califorinia so I guess that gives them the edge? Whatever, Adam can get one wrong. But keep reading…
Expectations and climate was the final category he judged. The comparision here came down to Penn State’s blue collar fan base creating one of the most prolific gameday atmospheres in the nation to Michigans sort of ‘big but blah’ stadium, to go along with their entitled fans (boy he got that one right).
In the end, here was Rittenberg’s final assessment:
"“Michigan is still more national than Penn State, which has its benefits, but even Harbaugh hasn’t consistently capitalized on the advantage. You wonder if anyone can.”"
Better Job: PENN STATE (duh, we already knew that)