Imrem: Harbaugh's hiring humbling for Illini

Jim Harbaugh kept saying Tuesday how humbled he was to be hired as Michigan's head football coach.

Just imagine how humbled my fellow Illinois alums are.

Sorry, but I almost puked watching Harbaugh's introductory news conference.

"We're this" ... "We're that" ... "We're God's gift to everything" ...

They're just so self-superior annoying.

The problem is that the Wolverines are a tarnished football brand yet still a brand recognized throughout America.

How are the brand-less Illini supposed to compete with that? Or with Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State these days, or even with Wisconsin and Nebraska in their own Big Ten division?

Michigan was just another program the last few years, but the Harbaugh hire is expected to vault the Wolverines back into the race toward a national championship within the next few years.

"I pledge to you," Harbaugh said to the crowd at halftime of the Wolverines-Illini basketball game, "we'll do our very best to carry on Michigan's tradition of excellence."

You know, as opposed to how Illinois has squandered whatever football tradition it ever had.

To be honest, I was hoping Michigan would hire Marc Trestman instead, or Terry Bevington or Tim Floyd or Alpo Suhonen, or dare we say Ron Zook.

No such luck.

The timing was right for Jim Harbaugh, a former Bears quarterback, to "part ways" with the San Francisco 49ers after four successful seasons and matriculate his way back to Michigan.

"I'm standing on the foundation built over 100 years by some great men," Harbaugh told the basketball crowd.

Harbaugh is so enthusiastic about this new adventure that he wore a suit and tie instead of his customary khakis and sweatshirt.

His hair looked freshly cut. Instead of grating he was grateful. Instead of sarcastic he was amusing.

"It's the only personality I have," Harbaugh said with a smile when asked about being fiery. "The other ones were all taken."

So here Michigan is with Harbaugh, who goes from being one of the NFL's best coaches to being one of college football's best coaches.

Meanwhile, Illinois retained Tim Beckman as head coach because the Illini finished 6-6 during the regular season and qualified to lose a bowl game.

Celebrate, celebrate, dance to the music.

Harbaugh received a couple standing ovations after being introduced Tuesday. Remind me if Beckman received that sort of welcome when he arrived in Champaign.

Initially, Harbaugh is being respectful of rivals Ohio State and Michigan State. Most intriguing is the anticipated confrontation with Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer.

Suddenly, one of the best rivalries in college sports pits - perhaps in a mud pit - two of the sport's best coaches against each other.

If as Stanford's coach Harbaugh challenged and feuded with Pete Carroll, who was at the top with USC back then, how might he treat Meyer?

"Any time you add a quality coach," Meyer diplomatically said in advance of the Sugar Bowl, "it's good for the Big Ten, good for college football."

The sparks will have to wait at least until next autumn.

Meanwhile, Beckman isn't qualified to initiate a feud with any elite coach, and Illinois isn't qualified to challenge any of elite program.

Oh, did you hear that Michigan rallied to beat Illinois in basketball?

Please, don't talk to me about being humbled.

mimrem@dailyherald.com