Greg McElroy, who recently called the Sugar Bowl alongside Sean McDonough, will return to cover the National Championship game with his partner on Monday. Although Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be covering the game for ABC/ESPN, McElroy’s voice can be heard on the radio for the showdown between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington.
And ahead of that matchup, the former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback shared a personal anecdote with Jim Harbaugh. McElroy shared on the Always College Football podcast that he remembered seeing the Wolverines head coach at the Big Ten media day in either 2015 or ’16 and was approached by Harbaugh, who asked him if he was done playing.
Gotta love Jim Harbaugh 😂@GregMcElroy shares an EPIC Jim Harbaugh story ahead of the National Championship ⬇️
FULL Natty preview: https://t.co/ViE5xshR9h pic.twitter.com/zsgM4S9UVM
— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) January 5, 2024
“I said, ‘No, coach, I decided to kind of move into this world. I’ve enjoyed it a lot. I love college football. It’s great to be back and working in the world that I’m working in. It’s not quite as hands-on as coaching; I have a little bit more flexibility and things like that,'” recalled McElroy. “He basically looked at me and as dry and as direct as you can possibly be and he said, ‘Oh, you don’t love football?’
“I’m like, ‘No, I love football. I love it. I mean, football is amazing, coach. I work in football. I’m a broadcaster, but I work in football.’ And he said, ‘Well, no, no, no, you love football when you play football. And when you’re done playing, and you can no longer play, you coach, and if you don’t, you die.”
If there was any doubt, Harbaugh is all about ball. So, if you had any inclination that Harbaugh may join the sports media world today, you might be out of luck. The Wolverines head coach plans on coaching until he dies. And whether that’ll be in college football or the NFL remains to be seen.
“You play as long as you can, you coach as long as you can, and then you die,” said McElroy. “That’s Jim Harbaugh.”
McElroy’s anecdote underlines Harbaugh’s intense dedication to coaching. His stark response, “Oh, you don’t love football?” followed by his three-step process of playing, coaching, and dying, paints a vivid picture of someone who defines himself through the game and cannot imagine life without it.
While some find fulfillment in the analysis booth, others thrive in the heat of competition.
