Jim Harbaugh announced Monday that he would remain Michigan’s head coach.
Maybe, as he said, “because I love the connections I have in Michigan.” Or maybe it’s because he didn’t go anywhere else … No NFL offers came in despite being willing to interview.
At this point, it doesn’t really matter. Michigan retains a coach that has back-to-back Big Ten titles, back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances and, most happily, back-to-back victories over archrival Ohio State.
The Wolverines, with Harbaugh and plenty of returning talent, will be moving up to the three-peat next season.
“My heart is with the University of Michigan,” Harbaugh said.
Maybe that’s true, but if so, it didn’t stop him from interviewing for NFL jobs (Minnesota last year, Denver this time). If it’s serious, it needs to end.
A third gathering with the pros will be even more ridiculous and exhausting than this year’s with the pros, after passionately assuring that there will be no more hobbies with the pros.
Harbaugh can be difficult. He can also really coach the game of football, going 25-3 over the past two seasons. He doesn’t do much in the orthodox way, which has angered bosses from college to the NFL, whether as a player or coach.
For Michigan, though, it’s the best it’s been in a long time and the best it’s going to get at this point. It’s up to the school to figure out how to coexist with Harbaugh, fair or not, rather than Harbaugh giving each other.
Jim Harbaugh is giving Michigan quite a few headaches, but he’s also the one behind the Wolverines’ back-to-back seasons of winning the Big Ten, making the College Football Playoff and defeating Ohio State. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
That includes a strange NCAA scandal in which Harbaugh’s program is mentioned in a draft notice of allegations, part II. committing four level violations – moderate and minor things that generally have medium to small consequences – and one level I violation…failing to cooperate with investigators.
Harbaugh single-handedly turned a molehill into a likely suspension — either in games, recruiting, or both. At the same time, he left college wondering what to do next. Would he agree to be kinder to the NCAA and put this behind him, or would he fight it all to the death for no reason? How do you date a guy who won’t be honest?
Harbaugh v. The NCAA has yet to be determined, but sources believe a settlement could be reached with the infractions. And if he is suspended to start the 2023 season, so what? The Wolverines open with a pathetically smooth slate of games: East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green and Rutgers, all at home.
It’s what happens at the end of the season that matters for Michigan: Michigan State in late October, Penn State in mid-November, Ohio State in Ann Arbor to finish.
The Wolverines are well positioned. Stars J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, Donovan Edwards and Will Johnson will return. And Harbaugh is benefiting from a new name, image and likeness collective called “The One More Year Fund,” which helped bring back Corum and NFL Draft prospects Cornelius Johnson, Michael Barrett, Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan, among others.
Recent success has also set Harbaugh up for a strong Class of 2024. He’s never been a true elite recruiter, but his first order of business should be securing five-star prospects like North Carolina quarterback Jadyn Davis and Missouri wide receiver Ryan Wingo.
Add in Harbaugh’s knack for working the transfer portal thus far, and it’s possible that the modern roster management system could be a perfect fit for him and his program.
For all of this to work, though, you have to be really committed. He has made the good times too hard, turning a program with momentum into one shrouded in uncertainty. It was all self-inflicted.
“I heard a wise man once say, ‘Don’t try to be happy, be happy,'” Harbaugh said.
There is nothing wrong with that. Is he happy though? Can he be happy?
Everything is there, it seems. Big wins, big success, lots of appreciation in his alma mater and hometown. At the age of 59, he has prepared for the coming seasons. With the playoffs spread out, every season won’t come down to one game against the relentless Buckeyes.
It took a little longer for Jim Harbaugh to get Michigan to that level, a place where staying makes more sense than chasing every NFL job. It has not been easy. It has not been smooth. It hasn’t happened without ruffled feathers and broken relationships.
He is back though, out of necessity or genuine appreciation. Maybe this will all flare up again in 12 months, but for Michigan, right now, that’s the deal it has to live with.
Meanwhile, they are once again the team to beat in the Big One.
