No doubt both have been successful in their professions. But now that they're at the schools in which they want to be most successful, the pressure significantly increases. Now, it occurs to me that, the real battle is being waged.
We all know that Meyer considers himself a protege' of Bill Belichek's. What may not be known is Bill's being a avid follower of the Sun Tzu treatises.In the initial chapter, "Laying Plans" , a significant difference between the two college coaches arises. Below is a portion of the treatise in which I see a stark difference in the coaches method of operation's. Particular attention should be paid to #4 which lays out the five necessary condition to insure success. Then #'s 6, 9 & 10 which Meyer again appears to hold an advantage.
4. These are: (1) the Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) the
Commander; (5) method and discipline.
6. The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with
their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives,
undismayed by any danger.
7. Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and
seasons.
8. Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security;
open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and
death.
9. The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerity,
benevolence, courage and strictness.
10. By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling
of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank
among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies
may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.
11. These five heads should be familiar to every general: he who
knows them will be victorious; he who knows them not will fail.
#6 ...Although all major programs have to deal with attrition, Harbaugh's recent acts seems to have caused a rift in the fan base, hence, Moral Law. Meyer on the other hand has made a point to clean-up any past activities that might cause the program embarrassment a move that got the people behind him.
#9.... The Commander. Harbaugh's heavy-handed wielding of the double edged sword to make room shows a lack of benevolence, insincerity, and IMO a lack of wisdom. All the while Meyer has been very careful to bide his time and mix the OOS/IS recruits and we constantly hear from recruits that "Meyer was honest with me"
#10... A fine line here, but I see a couple of obvious differences. A) "graduation of rank among officers". Harbaugh has put recruits inner-circle members, in the hierarchy of the program (That's gotta instill loyalty
)B) Meyer is constantly protecting his supply lines (Recruiting hotbeds within the Ohio borders)
while disrupting Harbaugh's(Cass Tech).
To me it's obvious that Meyer is a student of the Wartime philosopher. Look how he has the enemy making major mistakes in an attempt to stop the building of a dynasty. The man is
