Jim Harbaugh kindly destroys Butch Jones on Twitter
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh joining Twitter is one of the great advancements of 2015.
After joining the social media platform last January, he quickly became a master of the medium's dark arts: subtweeting and trolling. He used his skills to call out his former employers, the San Francisco 49ers, and irk the college football establishment. He would also post things that, to a non-Harbaugh mind, came across as totally nuts.
There are too many tremendous tweets to list, but we can add a new one to Harbaugh's greatest hits.
Thursday, the Michigan coach, who has drawn the ire of college coaches around the country by taking his team to practice at the IMG Academy in Florida this week, called out Tennessee coach Butch Jones — no subtweet needed.
The controversy started when Arkansas coach Bret Bielema tweeted that he was planning on visiting IMG Academy, which has perhaps the highest concentration of Division-1 prospects in high school football history, while Michigan was in town. Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio then chimed in, saying they should grab lunch after watching Michigan's "open practice."
Jones didn't want to be left out:
Mind if I join you guys for lunch? @DantonioMark @BretBielema
— Butch Jones (@UTCoachJones) March 2, 2016
Seeing as Jones has a tornado of controversy surrounding his program, stemming from a federal lawsuit which alleges that Tennessee has a "hostile sexual environment," this was not a good move. Also factor in that Jones is at the center of the controversy —€” in an affidavit from Drae Bowles, the former UT wide receiver said that Jones told him that he "betrayed the team" after helping a woman who has alleged she was raped by two of Bowles' Tennessee teammates — and the decision to be cheeky seems even more ill-advised.
What's happening at Tennessee is serious stuff — now is not the time for jokes and ribs.
Adding to the complexity, Jones offered scholarships to 20 IMG Academy players last weekend, a clear warning shot to Harbaugh and Michigan.
All of it was enough for Harbaugh to break his silence.
Consider it officially "on."