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‘Pete’ Finebaum responds to Jim Harbaugh’s Twitter jab in a funny way

Jason Fraychineaud

By Jason Fraychineaud

Published:

While Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is universally revered as a fierce competitor on the gridiron, he’s also not afraid to take on those in the media.

There was a report recently, which indicated UM was on the cusp of hiring King’s Academy High School coach Michael Johnson as an assistant coach. Johnson — the former OC at UCLA and a longtime NFL assistant coach — is the father of stud 2019 QB prospect Michael Johnson Jr. He is considered the top dual-threat signal-caller in his class.

Johnson did work with Harbaugh during the head coach’s tenure in San Francisco. However, many — including ESPN pundit Paul Finebaum — figured this potential move was made solely to get a leg-up with the elite high school prospect. Finebaum publicly criticized Harbaugh Wednesday on ‘Outside the Lines’ for this practice:

“This is wrong. It may not be illegal by NCAA standards and bylaws, but to me it’s cheating. Its blatantly disregarding the spirt of the NCAA rule. We all know why he’s doing it. I know he won’t be penalized for it, but he’s cheating. There’s no other reason he would hired this man. It’s been done in the past, but it’s still wrong.”

The head coach was understandably bent out of shape — and offered this jab on social media:

Harbaugh is an incredibly detailed individual. He obviously knows that Finebaum’s name is Paul. With that said, it didn’t stop him from trolling the media member. The two have had a strained relationship in the past, and Finebaum hasn’t been shy about voicing his opinion of the Michigan program:

 

“Michigan fans lately have been the worst. Because they have won, let’s see, half a national championship in about 60 years, and they talk like they’re Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Penn State wrapped into one. When Harbaugh showed up, it gave them a sense of entitlement that they really haven’t earned. Harbaugh’s a very good coach, he’s one of the best coaches in the country.

He’s yet to beat his chief rival [Urban Meyer], he’s yet to win a championship in two years, and I’m sure in two more years, if he hasn’t done that, he’ll kick the lockers and walk out and go back to the NFL. But right now, to me, they don’t have a seat at the big boy table.”

During his radio/television program on Friday, Finebaum reveled in the “Pete” lore. The logo of ‘The Paul Finebaum Show’ was changed from Paul to Pete, and the graphics behind Finebaum during the entire set also featured “Pete.”

There’s a whole lot of irony in this entire situation. Johnson ended up snubbing Michigan in favor of becoming the WR coach at Oregon. While his son has two years until he’ll be making his college decision, Oregon surely has to be a preferred choice over Michigan at this point.

While the “quarrel” between Harbaugh and Finebaum may have been for naught, the theatre emanating from the two is incredibly entertaining.

Jason Fraychineaud

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