Jim O'Donnell: Even when Ditka didn't want him, Jim Harbaugh and his iron will never wavered
THE FIRST MEETING WITH JIM HARBAUGH was memorable.
So memorable that it's odd to likely be pulling for Harbaugh and No. 2 Michigan (13-0) to beat Max Duggan and No. 3 TCU (12-1) in the Fiesta Bowl Saturday (ESPN, 3 p.m.; Wolverines -7½).
Random elements converged.
Harbaugh's rookie season in 1987 with the Bears was over.
The Bulls had ditched their dank practice facility at Angel Guardian Gym on Chicago's far North Side for courtin' at The Multiplex in Deerfield.
BEFORE AND AFTER PRACTICES, Michael Jordan and colleagues had no shield from Multiplex members - only faith in owners Hazel and Mickey Gitlitz.
That was especially true if any Bull wanted to work on weight machines.
One January afternoon, with almost all media and teammates gone, that's exactly what Dave Corzine was doing.
On a bench nearby sat a kibitzing chronicler from The Daily Herald.
They were talking about absolutely nothing - blackjack strategies, two-chord rock classics, notable staff at the original Sports Page in Arlington Heights.
In workout togs, up walked Harbaugh.
HE CASUALLY SAID: "Hey Dave, how ya' doing? Must be nice to have all those media (blank-blanks) gone."
Corzine laughed. He pointed to his chum and said, "Yeah. All of them but this one."
Harbaugh's face froze. He turned and started to try and form words.
The Insouciant cut him off, saying: "Hey Jim, don't worry. I couldn't agree more."
NO HARD FRIENDSHIP formed. But the original impression was "little filter but certainly speaks his mind."
In the 35 years since, Harbaugh's filter has apparently gotten better. But his single-mindedness has only expanded.
That focus and determination is a huge reason why Michigan is now only two wins away from its first national championship since Bill Clinton and Alanis Morissette ruled.
THE OHIO NATIVE HAS PLAYED on just about every mainstage in prime-time football.
That includes the Super Bowl, where 10 seasons ago, his NFC champion 49ers lost SB 47 to brother John Harbaugh and the Ravens, 34-31.
SF went down only because of a rancid non-call deep in Baltimore territory with little time remaining.
AS A BEARS QB FROM 1987-93, the full truth is that Harbaugh was initially not a man Mike Ditka wanted.
Ditka's Bears had the 26th pick in the '87 draft.
Da' Coach targeted a LB from the University of Cincinnati named Alex Gordon.
Mike McCaskey and director of player personnel Bill Tobin wanted Harbaugh.
McRank won.
AT HIS FIRST TRAINING CAMP, Harbaugh was somewhere on a five-deep that included Jim McMahon, Mike Tomczak, Steve Fuller and Doug Flutie.
It wasn't until 1990 that he emerged as starting QB. Ditka's Bears were 10-4 that season before Harbaugh dislocated a shoulder.
One year later, he went the full slate, throwing for more than 3,100 yards. The Monsters finished 11-5. They lost a Wild Card game to the visiting Cowboys.
THE FOLLOWING SEASON was the end of Ditka. It also produced the Ditka-Harbaugh moment that fans of that generation will never forget.
In Week 5, Harbaugh and Co. (2-2) were beating the host Vikings (3-1), 20-0. Early in the fourth quarter, Harbaugh audibled out of a coach's call. Neal Anderson was on the snooze end of a short pass. A Minnesota pick six by Todd Scott prompted a 21-20 Dennis Green victory.
The deflated Bears finished 5-11. McCaskey got to poleax Ditka, one of the last vestiges of his grandfather's intimidating legacy.
THE HARBAUGH OF TODAY - 59 years old last Friday - has long acknowledged that The Ditka Experience only further toughened him as a competitor.
His father, the grand patriarchal coach Jack Harbaugh, 83, has repeatedly told inquirers: "Jim has a special fondness for Ditka, never, ever said a bad word about him. Ditka put the will to win in him."
New Year's Eve afternoon, from Ann Arbor to Arizona, that Harbaugh football determination will once again be displayed on one of the game's premier testing grounds.
Even the most distanced media blank-blank can only salute.
• Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears Sunday and Thursday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.