For months, Jim Harbaugh has brushed aside questions about his coaching debut at Michigan Stadium.
Even Thursday, he insisted he hadn’t thought about it.
He said he was focused on his team and focused on the game.
Why? Because he has already done this.
Thirty-one years ago, he was entering the same stadium with a similar responsibility with the same mind-set.
On Sept. 8, 1984, Jim Harbaugh was replicating his hero, just as he will Saturday. A different figure, but the same feeling.
Saturday against Oregon State he will be stepping onto the sideline and into the shoes of Bo Schembechler, his coach and mentor, fulfilling a moment imagined at least since he began coaching 13 years ago.