Mike Valenti: Beilein Couldn't Top Jim Harbaugh

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(WWJ) In what seemed like a shocking twist for the storied University of Michigan basketball program, the Cleveland Cavaliers plucked away John Beilein.
While many debate what's next for the team,  97.1 The Ticket host Mike Valenti tried to explain why Beilein would suddenly leave the team he built into a powerhouse.

And he cast his eyes directly at University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh -- lover of khakis, grand gestures, inspirational sayings and the white-hot glare of the spotlight.

"I think he was very frustrated the last couple of years," Valenti said about Beilein. "I mean, coaching at Michigan as the basketball coach is a huge challenge especially with Harbaugh there because he takes all the air."

Case in point, when Harbaugh arrived to watch Michigan fight its way through the Sweet Sixteen, Harbs sat courtside and talked to the media about his team's trip to South Africa. He couldn't even give him that moment in the sun?

Apparently not. The moment where Harbaugh gets interviewed live on television while Beilein has a meltdown about a play, gesturing wildly, face contorted in despair, went viral. Harbaugh became the story of Beilein's game.  

"You’ve got to be wired way differently if that doesn’t grate on you," Valenti surmised.

To his way of thinking, Beilein had become the greatest coach in the history of that program, but he couldn't gather the accolades he deserved with Harbaugh perpetually in the spotlight. Though personally, the two men seem friendly, so much so that Beilein spoke on Harbaugh's podcast, going deep about family and coaching philosophy.

But there's this.

"There is no co-existing with Harbaugh," Valenti said. "I think Beilein got really good, really desired by a lot of people. This is a rare opportunity at 66 to make a leap for the pros ..." so he went for it.

As for the team he leaves behind, Valenti summed it up this way: "For Michigan, it’s a catastrophe."