ATLANTA – Georgia’s College Football Playoff Semifinals against Michigan is connected with a strange irony, and not only because Kirby Smart was slightly irritated when the new, bold Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh held a subcamp in “SEC-Territory” . from Florida in 2016. (Harbaugh gave an amusing clap back on Twitter: “If the Georgia coach indicates our intention to break the rules, he’s barking the wrong tree.” Bonus points for “barking.”)
No, this strange irony actually comes much closer to some in Athens. It’s family.
Tom Crean, Georgia’s basketball head coach, is Harbaugh’s brother-in-law. Crean’s wife, Joani, is the sister of two famous soccer coaches: Jim and John, the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. The three coaches write and speak a lot, such as on Monday morning when Crean texted John for support after the Ravens lost to the Steelers in the final seconds.
“There’s the coaching side, but there’s also the relationship part that comes from being kinship,” said Crean.
What he is looking for and needs now is Jim Harbaugh’s alternate universe. Because before this season, the Michigan head coach’s job was just as jeopardized as Crean’s today.
Harbaugh found himself six years in a tenure of unfulfilled expectations with a 0-5 record against Ohio State. But in 2021 he dropped the Buckeyes, won the Big Ten, went 12-1 and put the team in second place in the playoffs. In other words, he’s fine now.
Crean, who knows what the dark side of the profession is, said: “He’s had a lot of adversity and negativity over time and it’s great to see the entire coaching staff and program overcome this and are successful.