Jim Harbaugh has most likely coached his last game for the Stanford Cardinal, which demolished Virginia Tech last night in the Orange Bowl. Behavioral analysis of Harbaugh’s Orange Bowl pre- and post-game comments reveal multiple highly significant behavioral indicators that support this conclusion.
The first one surfaced during Harbaugh’s pre-game interview with ESPN reporter Michele Tafoya, when he failed to deny that this was his last game as head coach at Stanford. Tafoya specifically asked, “How likely is it that this is your last time coaching Stanford?” Harbaugh responded, “I’m the head football coach at Stanford University. We’re going to go out there and play as hard as we can, as fast as we can, for as long as we can. That’s about all I have to say about that.”
As we have said many times, the facts are the ally of the truthful person. If Harbaugh was staying at Stanford, or was even just considering staying at Stanford ,he would have, at a minimum, stated, “I don’t know.” Harbaugh’s use of the qualifying phrase, “That’s about all” also appears to be a significant behavioral qualifier, sending the message that this was all he was going to say on matter for the moment. His incorporation of the word “about” into his statement indicates there are surely some things he is aware of but not sharing on the issue for the time being.
Another significant and reliable behavioral indicator surfaced during Harbaugh’s post-game press conference, when he exhibited attack behavior in response to again being asked whether this was his last game at Stanford.
“Oh please, please give me a break,” Harbaugh responded. “Have some respect for the game. It’s about the performance of these players. Let’s talk about them.”
In addition to once again failing to deny that this was his last game at Stanford, Harbaugh went on the offensive by attacking the reporter in an attempt to get the press to back off and not ask any more questions about his future coaching plans. Harbaugh’s desire to focus the questioning on the players’ performance, although admirable on the surface, was a transparent attempt to deflect from the real issue at hand. His comments about wanting to focus on the players are highly likely a reflection of his concern about the players and the blow they will take when the announcement of his departure is made.
Where Harbaugh will ultimately land is pure speculation at this point. Most believe the University of Michigan is no longer in play, and that Harbaugh will move to the NFL, with Miami, Denver and San Francisco topping the list of likely destinations. What seems clear is that Harbaugh’s bank account is likely to get much, much bigger, and it will no doubt be fun to see the Harbaugh brothers go at it on Sunday afternoons.
I've got to say, you guys have been pretty accurate with most of your analysis.
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