Ono: Jim Harbaugh is Returning
You don't have to rouse those who asked to be woken when this round of Harbaugh to the NFL is over, but this makes it sound like it's about to be. Michigan's new president announced Harbaugh assured him he'll coach here in 2023, and Harbaugh reciprocated:
Happy Mission#GoBlue https://t.co/EQ1PksGYBX pic.twitter.com/KNNuYASJWz
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) January 16, 2023
And...uh...Santa is making MGoBlog jokes in response.
Unless Oakland is still in play? 😉
— Santa Ono (@SantaJOno) January 16, 2023
I think this new president might work out. Also:
We're all still waiting for word that Harbaugh's signed an extension to his contract that is more in line with his recent performance. It does seem from this exchange that they are close enough that the Harbaugh side no longer needs the threat of the Broncos job as a negotiating tactic. It also seems that Michigan's new president and old football coach are very much having this conversation without Michigan's sitting Athletic Director, with whom the negotiation over the terms of Harbaugh's employment are supposed to be taking place.
The details of that contract renegotiation will matter much. While nothing will stop NFL reporters and rival coaches from reporting Harbaugh-to-the-NFL stories, the term of the contract, and the severity of the buyout, will determine whether Michigan can dismiss future rumors out of hand, or expect two weeks of head coach limbo every new year to become the norm. Insiders have suggested the sides were close on a deal that makes it all but impossible for Harbaugh to leave for at least three seasons, and in return pays him like a top-five head coach, with a competitive assistant pool, strong support for players through NIL programs similar to those of peer institutions, and support for Harbaugh as they shoo away violations from a feckless NCAA that hoped to find a sentient being in 2023 who still takes them seriously.
January 16th, 2023 at 5:33 PM ^
Why is this president having to let the AD know?
January 16th, 2023 at 5:34 PM ^
That’s code for “I’m also in the process of finding a new AD.”
January 16th, 2023 at 6:02 PM ^
We should really be thanking Mark Schlissel's pecker for this. Without that douchebag thinking with the wrong head, he would likely still be the school president and I don't think that Harbaugh would still be our coach.
Not to mention that Ono seems to want a competitive NIL program and just seems to be an overall asset and winner.
Schlissel proved himself to be a spineless pompous asshat.
January 16th, 2023 at 9:44 PM ^
I recall it was a knish.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:04 PM ^
edited.
January 17th, 2023 at 8:32 AM ^
Saw Ono's tweet earlier but now seeing Harbaugh's tweet doubles the feeling that Manuel is on his way out.
January 16th, 2023 at 5:39 PM ^
The AD is in the dog house?
January 16th, 2023 at 5:39 PM ^
We're not tOSU?
January 16th, 2023 at 6:23 PM ^
Warde doesn't appear to have firing powers
January 16th, 2023 at 5:48 PM ^
Thanks Comrade Seth for the intelligence regarding the contract details. That’s just as important here. Competitive assistant salary pool, NIL unshackled, three years of high buyouts. That should be enough to at least get the 2024 class in the door.
January 16th, 2023 at 5:49 PM ^
Tomorrow morning's news radio for commuters:
"Good morning listeners! It's 8am! If you're getting ready for work right now, your name isn't Warde Manuel."
January 16th, 2023 at 7:29 PM ^
I'm not informed about Warde or the drama there, however, I thought he was too hard on the Beaver.
January 16th, 2023 at 8:26 PM ^
Logged in to upvote...
January 16th, 2023 at 8:44 PM ^
Hugh Beaumont was a MF…
January 17th, 2023 at 8:16 AM ^
Not to go too OT, but I was flipping channels the other day and came across a 1945 WWII movie, "Objective Burma," starring Errol Flynn. (Pretty good movie for its time.) I thought the guy playing an Air Corps staff officer looked familiar, and I finally realized it was Hugh Beaumont.
I thought "Wow - the Beaver's dad really got around."
January 16th, 2023 at 5:56 PM ^
That was incredibly bizarre. And Santa said it so directly too. WTF is has Warde been doing? Because it looks like not much.
January 16th, 2023 at 5:58 PM ^
Just Ono saying that is a huge insult to Warde. And Ono knows that. He is basically publicly saying that Warde had nothing to do with this.
Ono could have remained silent about Warde but chose not to. Also, Ono could have covered for Warde and said something along the lines of Warde and I have been working hard to keep Jim on board and Jim just gave me the call to confirm.
But, given Ono chose the most damaging public statement for Warde, I can’t image things are good between Warde and Ono. And given Jim called Ono and not Warde, I can’t imagine things are good between Jim and Warde.
It definitely appears Warde will be packing
January 16th, 2023 at 6:05 PM ^
I can't interpret that any other way. It was amazingly unsubtle. "Hey I just called this guy who works for me to tell him I just did the most important part of his job for him after weeks of waiting for him to get off his ass!"
Not a good look.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:15 PM ^
Owner of the restaurant tweeting "Hey! Just finished prepping this fantastic Caesar Salad with salmon. Called the salad chef to let him know."
January 17th, 2023 at 8:19 AM ^
Here's hoping the new contract has enough croutons and bacon bits to keep Harbaugh from looking for another restaurant next winter.
January 16th, 2023 at 7:31 PM ^
The Bobs would think Warde has upper management written all over him!
And they'd wanna know his favorite Josh Groban song!
January 17th, 2023 at 7:17 AM ^
You're correct that Warde doesn't come off well here.
But, what's especially striking to me is Ono's media savvy. Not many university presidents would have publicly injected themselves into this situation and especially not by using social media.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:17 PM ^
I think Warde lost a lot of power after the Pearson situation where he basically had to be told be the BoT and the school to not retain Mel. Warde isn't an idiot but he does seem weirdly loyal/stringent about certain things and that's clearly fallen out of favor.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:28 PM ^
I wonder if Warde is about to just jump ship to B10 Commissioner or something.
January 16th, 2023 at 7:19 PM ^
Can’t see the rest of the B1G presidents approving anyone from Michigan, given their longstanding biases against us, let alone a Warde Manuel after this public de-pantsing.
January 17th, 2023 at 8:41 AM ^
Actually, I think the opposite would be true. All those that possess that bias would LOVE a Warde that's been publicly de-pantsed and looking for an opportunity to return a shot or two.
January 17th, 2023 at 7:43 AM ^
Then again, there are some bosses who decide, "Screw the red tape, I want Issue X resolved"... at which point they ignore the typical chain of command, pick up the phone, and resolve it.
The press conference should be interesting, as far as answers to how it all came together.
January 17th, 2023 at 8:36 AM ^
Yes, but if Manuel was seen as not the problem, Harbaugh and Ono both would have been kinder to him. This has been going on long enough, and it seems like Harbaugh told Manuel to go f himself and Ono had to jump in and save the day.
January 16th, 2023 at 8:46 PM ^
Interestingly John Harbaugh is in a parallel universe with his QB.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:16 PM ^
Warde presumably disqualified himself from the process early on, necessitating Ono's ownership in his place.
Edit to clarify: I'm suggesting that Warde did something to piss off Harbaugh enough that Ono had to step in, not that Warde recused himself. I posted my fan-fic version as a top-level comment down below.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:34 PM ^
Warde dicked around for 6 weeks. Ono closed the deal in 1 week.
January 16th, 2023 at 9:20 PM ^
Someone get Santa some coffee.
January 16th, 2023 at 10:41 PM ^
And a Cadillac. Warde still gets the steak knives.
January 16th, 2023 at 9:24 PM ^
Fuck around and find out.
January 16th, 2023 at 7:13 PM ^
If our AD disqualified himself from the process of negotiating the head football coach’s contract … it sounds like he disqualified himself from being our AD.
January 16th, 2023 at 10:46 PM ^
Harbaugh is known for holding grudges until they die of old age, then sending them off to the taxidermist so that he can continue to cherish them in perpetuity. I would imagine that in a situation where he has the opportunity to participate in the public humiliation of a man who had publicly humiliated him by making him take a very public pay cut a few years ago, he did so with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.
(And that's not a knock on Harbaugh -- I can't honestly say that I wouldn't embrace that opportunity myself.)
January 17th, 2023 at 8:38 AM ^
Idk, i don't think this is about the pay cut froma couple years ago. If it was the case Manuel should have stepped up right after the 2021 season and said hey you did amazing here's your money. If he still hasn't done that after the 2022 season now, then Harbaugh is totally reasonable to be angry at him. Sounds like Ono had to step in and overrule Manuel.
January 17th, 2023 at 8:49 AM ^
I think the cut/extension are small bit in this, but I feel like it ties more into Coach's intense competitive drive. This seems like more of a chess move - playing the NFL card, going around Warde, to leverage better pay to keep a winning staff together, and to get UM into the real NIL game which will level recruiting, and help retain players. If Coach isn't going to win a super bowl, then I'd bet he is all in on winning a CFP title, and this is how he can best set up the program to compete at that level.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:46 PM ^
I think The Cube plus Derek adds up to a really plausible answer. Warde jumping ship to BigCommiss and so essentially recusing or Pres saying you shouldn’t handle this as lame duck on way out. Plausible. Who knows. Who cares: got coach back, as far as we know most asst coaches too, plus some more key players confirm returning = a great BLUE day!
January 16th, 2023 at 6:57 PM ^
Warde is not going to be the new Big Ten commissioner.
January 16th, 2023 at 8:04 PM ^
Rumor, Warde tried to interview for the AZ GM job but was turned down when he answered “there is absolutely no way I can ever get Jim Harbaugh to coach here, even if he is out of a job at Michigan.”
January 16th, 2023 at 11:19 PM ^
Where is this talk of Warde even in the running for Commissioner coming from? The only AD who even has a remote chance of this is Gene Smith, who by the way at least does his job looking out for his school's best interest.
I feel dirty now giving props to GS but here we are.
January 17th, 2023 at 8:22 AM ^
No one looks good here: warde for not getting it done, being stubborn. Jim for going around Wardes back to Ono. Ono for publicly announcing this and telling his AD. What a sh!t show
January 16th, 2023 at 5:34 PM ^
Great news.
Seems a bit weird the president of the university had to "share the news" with the athletic director.
January 16th, 2023 at 5:42 PM ^
Speaks volumes.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:01 PM ^
I have no idea, but if the AD is on the way out and I'm a candidate for a soon-to-be-vacated AD position, I would be concerned about the president having gone over the previous AD's head in this situation.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:04 PM ^
I think we just ruled you out as the next AD.
January 16th, 2023 at 6:08 PM ^
I wouldn't worry about that; we are in the top 3 for both athletic department revenues and the Director's Cup.
There will always be plenty of highly qualified people jumping at the chance to be the AD at Michigan.
Besides the President went over the head of the AD to keep a football coach who beat OSU, won the B1G twice and made the playoffs twice in a row. I think the person will understand.
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