Harbaugh joins an exclusive group of national champions and Hall of Famers. Harbaugh is only the fifth of the 12 to return after losing as a player and will aim to match the likes of Bob Stoops and John Robinson in winning their first trip to Pasadena as head coaches.
Harbaugh is only the third player/coach with Michigan ties to appear in the Rose Bowl, and only the second to do so as a member of the Wolverines. Pete Elliot was a Michigan athlete who later led California and Illinois to the granddaddy of them all as a head coach. Bump Elliott, Pete’s brother, led the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl as both a player and a coach.
The following is a list of everyone who has ever played in the Rose Bowl, as well as head coach Jim Harbaugh (Michigan).
As a player, he was 0-1 with a 22-15 loss to Arizona State in 1987.
TBD as a coach
Bret Bielema (Wisconsin, Iowa)
As a player, he was 0-1; in 1991, he was defeated by Washington, 46-34.
As a coach, he is 0-2*; he lost 21-19 to TCU in 2011 and 45-38 to Oregon in 2012 (Wisconsin qualified for a third Rose Bowl under Bielema in 2013, but he resigned before the game to take the head coaching position at Arkansas).
Rick Neuheisel (UCLA, Seattle)
As a player, he went 2-0, defeating Michigan 24-14 in 1983 and Illinois 45-9 in 1984.
As a coach, he is 1-0, having defeated Purdue 34-24 in 2001.
Bob Stoops (Oklahoma, Iowa)
As a player, he was 0-1 with a 28-0 loss against Washington in 1982.
As a coach, he is 0-1; in 2003, he defeated Washington State 34-14.
UCLA’s Terry Donahue
As a player, he went 1-0 and defeated Michigan State 14-12 in 1966.
As a coach, he went 3-1, defeating Michigan 24-14 in 1983, Illinois 45-9 in 1984, Iowa 45-28 in 1986, and Wisconsin 21-16 in 1994.
John Robinson (USC, Oregon)
As a player, he was 0-1 with a 10-7 loss against Ohio State in 1958.
As a coach, he was 4-0; he defeated Michigan 14-6 in 1977; he defeated Michigan 17-9 in 1979; he defeated Ohio State 17-16 in 1980; and he defeated Northwestern 41-32 in 1996.
Pete Elliott (Illinois, California, and Michigan)
As a player, he was 1-0; he defeated USC 49-0 in 1948 (Michigan).
AD
As a coach, he was 1-1; he lost 38-12 to Iowa in 1959 (California) and 17-7 to Washington in 1964 (Illinois).
Elliott (Michigan) has been bumped.
As a player, he was 1-0; in 1948, he defeated USC 49-0.
As a coach, he was 1-0, defeating Oregon State 34-7 in 1965.
Tommy Prothro (UCLA, Duke, Oregon State)
As a player, he was 0-1; he was defeated by Oregon State, 20-16, in 1942 (Duke).
As a coach, he was 1-2; he lost 35-19 to Iowa in 1957 (Oregon State) and 34-7 to Michigan in 1965 (Oregon State). – In 1966, UCLA defeated Michigan State 14-12.
Chuck Taylor (Stanford University)
As a player, he was 1-0, defeating Nebraska 21-13 in 1941.
As a coach, he was 0-1 with a 40-7 loss against Illinois in 1952.
USC’s Jess Hill
As a player, he went 1-0, defeating Pittsburgh 47-14 in 1930.
As a coach, he was 1-1; he defeated Wisconsin 7-0 in 1953 and lost to Ohio State 20-7 in 1955.
Oregon’s Charles ‘Shy’ Huntington
As a player, he was 1-0; in 1917, he defeated Penn 14-0.
As a coach, he was 0-1 with a 7-6 loss to Harvard in 1919.
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