When Nick Saban was perturbed by reporters questions concerning the status of former Crimson Tide defensive back Maurice Smith, the Alabama coach threw out a threat of "doing a [Bill] Belichick on you." It was a joke-serious threat from a coach who wanted to move "on to Cincinnati," or whatever the next topic of conversation would be.
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh started to sound a little Belichick-ian himself during a scrum with reporters on Monday. After being asked several questions about the status of Ahmir Mitchell and Shelton Johnson, Harbaugh decided that the 10-plus minutes of media availability was enough and he would not take any more questions.
A coach walking away from a press availability is not breaking news, but when it's the same Jim Harbaugh that demanded constant attention and headlines during the offseason, a moment like this is going to resonate during the weeks of camp leading up to the regular season.
Mitchell, Johnson and Kareem Walker, all freshmen, were absent from the team's preseason photo. When asked about their status, Harbaugh indicated that "two" of those players are suspended. A school spokesperson later confirmed to the Detroit Free Press that Kareem Walker is not suspended, so we are left to believe those "two" are Mitchell and Johnson.
"You're never satisfied"
Harbaugh's face says it all. There was a progression from "business as usual" to "annoyance" to "forget this I'm out of here."
"That's why I don't give you any information, because you're never satisfied. You want a second question, a third question, a fourth question. I just said we'd handle it internally," Harbaugh said.
And finally, the "forget this, I'm out" moment of the press conference, which according to the Detroit Free Press did occur after about "11 1/2" minutes of availability. It's a fair time for a coach to entertain questions and perfect time if Harbaugh was trying to get out of there before saying anything else to reporters.
Another way to "do a Belichick" would be to dictate the end of your own press conference. Belichick's most recent notable walk-off was actually a George Costanza-approved comedy routine, not one out of disgust.
