Georgia basketball coach Tom Crean is in an unusual position when it comes to the Bulldog football team’s upcoming date with Michigan in the Orange Bowl.
His brother-in-law is Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh.
“I’m very happy for Kirby (Smart) and his entire staff, his entire program, actually. I get to see how hard they work on an every day basis and it’s very impressive, it’s extremely impressive,” Crean said Monday. “I’m also happy for my brother-in-law, his program and what they’re doing. He’s dealt with a ton of adversity and negativity, things like that over time and it’s so great to see him and that entire coaching staff and program overcome it and be successful.”
The way Crean sees it, he’s in a win-win situation.
“My initial reaction was I’m happy for both. Kirby and I have developed a friendship over a period of time. We don’t see much of each other at this time of year, obviously, as we do in other parts of the year, but I follow them on a daily basis and my brother-in-law is my brother-in-law. It is what it is. I’m excited for both. I’m thrilled that both are at the championship level they’re at.”
Harbaugh was asked about having a “family divided” for a CFP semifinal game.
“We have not talked since this morning about that. But I have talked to him about what he thinks of Georgia and the football staff,” Harbaugh said during Sunday’s Orange Bowl Zoom. “He loves Georgia, he loves the staff there. Nothing but ultimate respect.”
The feeling is mutual for Crean when it comes to this coaching family.
John Harbaugh, of course, is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens. Crean said he speaks to both brothers-in-laws regularly.
“My relationship with Jim and John are great. We’ve been brother in laws for 28 years and I’ve known them longer than that,” Crean said. “I always had a lot of respect when he played, and obviously getting to know him on a much different level. It’s family.”
Jim Harbaugh joked that Crean’s knowledge about football exceeds what the Wolverine coach knows about basketball.
“Yeah, Tom knows a lot about football. Certainly, he knows a lot more about football than I know about basketball. And I thought I knew a lot about basketball, too,” Harbaugh said. “I played basketball in high school. But yeah, being around his meetings and being around his staff, I’ve sat on the bench or in the stands right behind him and watched him coach. You realize I don’t know too much about basketball. Not as much as he knows about football anyway.”
Crean said the Harbaugh brothers and wife/sister Joanie are as close as a family can be. It’s being in a coaching family which makes cheering for either team a difficult task.
“Joanie is a lot like me. I think when you’ve got a family member in it, but she also loves Georgia, you don’t look at it from a fan point of view,” Crean said. “I don’t watch either team as a fan – I really don’t. I don’t watch the Ravens as a fan. I don’t watch some of my other really close friends as a fan in coaching. I’m usually too stressed.”
