All contracts expire season-end 2021
This is feeling like a major shakeup is coming. All contracts are set to expire at season end 2021 - Harbaugh, Brown, Gattis, and Manuel. So will everyone be non-renewed and the entire enterprise will be replaced ? Very strange contract circumstances for a major program like Michigan.
November 11th, 2020 at 10:41 AM ^
Henson has been a mixed bag with regards to the accuracy of his news, but the concepts he puts forth regarding the administration reining him in do fit with the drastic change we saw in him since the 2016 OSU game.
Harbaugh had fire in 2016. In 2017, his intensity on the sideline disappeared. It would be interesting to get the perspective of players who were on the team in both 2016 and 2017 and see if they saw any meaningful change in Harbaugh.
November 10th, 2020 at 11:22 PM ^
It looks like it could come down to a Mexican standoff. Michigan probably will not pay out all that money by firing everyone at the end of this year And will see if Harbaugh blinks and resigns to jump to the NFL at the end of the year. If not, next season will be crucial for Harbaugh and a possible contract extension. I think he would have to finish the season at 9-3 and win a season ending bowl game. A few years ago, I thought 2021 was going to be the year Harbaugh wins the B1G, beats OSU and makes the playoff. Not any longer!
November 11th, 2020 at 6:17 AM ^
So your 9-3 season would include a loss to MSU and Ohio and likely a win vs a very overrated SEC team in the bowl game? No thanks man, I just don’t see an avenue for JB to pull off what would need to be done this year to keep his job. It’s B1G champion w/playoff win or bust. I think his ship has sailed.
November 10th, 2020 at 11:25 PM ^
I did not watch the 2nd half vs Indiana until tonight and went into it thinking the worst based on the final score and all the fire everyone posts. This statement goes against most on this board BUT I actually agree with Harbaugh that they are close.
They are a very very young football team that was made even younger due to COVID and now key injuries on the OL and DL. They were a play here and there away from being very productive both offensively and defensively in the 2nd half.
- Freshman QB put in a position where the defense knew he had to throw the ball. Played a solid 3rd quarter BUT missed a couple of key posts by inches because he did not put air under the ball... that will come. He is looking more and more comfortable and made a lot of very good throws. Don't forget that all but Bell are basically new receivers too. Roman Wilson seems like he is going to be a gamer for a true freshman.
- The OL is down 2 starters. I have not researched it but I would assume we now have the youngest OL in college football. They also seemed to play much better in the 2nd half, at least in pass protection.
- The DL did start to bring pressure in the 2nd half and would have forced stops if our secondary would stop grabbing receivers for no reason or if they would have made a couple of tackles. For the most part, they were in position... now they just need to make plays.
Overall, we still have talent in a lot of areas. In the 2nd half of this game, we just missed several key plays offensively and defensively. We were down 10 at the start of the 4th quarter and driving when Milton made his freshman mistake. Not seeing the defender drop back underneath that throw is an obvious freshman mistake... unfortunately it came at the worst time. We had gained momentum, they were playing with emotion, and just like that, gone.
I really like what I saw out of Milton in the 2nd half. Assuming the OL and CB's can improve and settle in, this team may actually be pretty fun to watch. On the down side... we will be a middle school team matching up against Kansas City when we play OSU.
November 10th, 2020 at 11:46 PM ^
By year 6 a good coach would have plenty of depth at every position, so when your seniors or those NFL Juniors leave, then your sophomores are ready to take over as Junior and you should have some good seniors ready to play. There should be no youth blame for poor pay.
November 11th, 2020 at 12:05 AM ^
There are certain growing pains this year that are perfectly reasonable. Young receivers dropping passes is normal. New quarterbacks taking time to acclimate to the starting role is normal. New offensive lines taking a few games to gel together is normal. These things usually happen as we're steamrolling crappy non-conference opponents.
Cornerbacks getting obliterated by a god-awful quarterback from potentially the worst team in the B1G is not normal.
November 11th, 2020 at 12:07 AM ^
I am not trying to defend the recruiting misses we have had that along with all the other attrition has created the youth of this team. I am only saying that I can see where Harbaugh is coming from that this team is close.
Bottom line is that youth IS the reason this team is struggling. From a recruiting standpoint, the main area we missed and is killing us is quality CB depth. We have recruited the OL very well but unfortunately had 2 injuries and now we are breaking in brand new players. We have missed at the DT position but they are not terrible... just not a strength.
I would agree that Harbaugh needs to hire more aggressive recruiter coaches but to blow up the entire staff at this point is not the right answer.
November 11th, 2020 at 12:13 AM ^
I would be happy with this. The hiring of Gattis and Moore has us going in the right direction on offensive side of the ball after a stretch where the recruiting was a concern. I can look at the offense and understand how this team will grow over the course of the season. Now we have an extremely dynamic 2021 class coming in if we can hold them.
On defense, Harbaugh needs to make serious changes if he wants his seat to cool down. Brown is a mediocre recruiter, Shoop is literally not even coaching, Zordich recruits one player every other year, and Nua strikes out constantly.
November 11th, 2020 at 2:19 PM ^
Yeah this is shocking. The db recruiting been poor. Has to be negative recruiting by our rivals because it would seem wed would lose late over and over Hawkins might be nfl athlete but doesn't know how to play. Guys like washington, woods, the guy with the two last names i forget, etc... All misses. And a miss is also if they transfer save a rarity, meaning they took someone who wouldn't stick. There have been a few good ones
November 11th, 2020 at 12:13 AM ^
Outta here with your well-reasoned takes!
November 11th, 2020 at 8:26 AM ^
Played a solid 3rd quarter BUT missed a couple of key posts by inches because he did not put air under the ball... that will come.
Milton was a 47% passer in high school. He has a cannon for an arm. Those misses are the reason he was considered a project. To expect a 47% passer in high school to come in and become better against better competition while being green is why I did not get the Milton hype coming into the year. Can he be a solid QB? Yes. Will he be a solid QB? Who the hell knows. Harbaugh doesn't have a track record of making QB's better up there.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:42 AM ^
November 11th, 2020 at 9:10 AM ^
I agree that the 2nd half was played pretty well. Had the first half gone that well, I could see a win coming out of that game. But what the fuck happened in the first half? WTF happened against MSU? The offense we saw against Minnesota is not the same offense that lost to MSU and IU - not even close. Why the forced runs up the middle that set downs on fire? There's been zero 'speed in space', just a poor attempt to create some of that space between the C gaps. The 6 quarters between Minnesota and the 2nd half of IU have Harbaugh's offensive fingerprints all over them. Harbaugh's version of offense is the same as Lloyd's - 20 years old.
Defensively, Brown needs to scrap the press man base coverage and adopt whatever they did in the second half against IU (some flavor of hybrid zone and man). His base scheme doesn't have the corners to make it work, flat out. Green is serviceable, if not good, but Gray should be benched. Even if he's still technically more sound than Seldon or DGH, the athleticism they have needs to shine through.
My problem with Harbuagh is the same trait that Bo passed on to Moeller, Carr, and Hoke - stubbornness to change/adapt your system. At this point, based on so many examples (from OCs Drevno - Gattis), I don't believe he'll ever relinquish that control. He'll never adopt the mind set of today's game - defense is anachronistic, while a speed racing offense wins games.
November 11th, 2020 at 12:16 AM ^
Let him finish the year out and then clean house. By no means should JH be the coach for 2021. Heck after this year and another trouncing from OSU (100 pts Ryan Day), JH might jump at the chance to take any position anywhere.
November 11th, 2020 at 5:12 AM ^
He’s leaving. He’s had enough with the administration. This thing is done. Mi football will never be what it was. Liberals have to ruin everything.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:29 AM ^
How ironic.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:29 AM ^
Get out your dictionary
November 11th, 2020 at 7:08 AM ^
So will everyone be non-renewed and the entire enterprise will be replaced ?
If so recruiting will suck for the next cycle. You can't wait for a contract to end, either you extend or you fire them.
November 11th, 2020 at 7:17 AM ^
There is added complexity with covid...
- With pay cuts, layoffs, and budget issues how does it go over to announce a huge buyout (I assume it's quite a bit to buy him out)
- You can't have a lame duck coach for a year in CFB. You are talking over a full year where the program looks like the plague. At that point you are actively digging your grave deeper.
- To point #1, it would provide you cover to say admit while the optics don't look great the sport of football is what will help UM athletics financially whip back so it's just necessary to spend money on a buyout.
- This part of Harbaugh's tenure just has the feel of it running it's course...I'm not sure how an amicable handshake works at this point? Is there still a buyout if they just mutually agree to part ways?
I will be shocked if they just "let it run it's course". In a vaccum it's not a terrible idea but not in college sports with recruiting and all that.
November 11th, 2020 at 8:02 AM ^
Until there is an effective vaccine widely available, anything is possible for the program. It is hemorrhaging cash so I don’t see any buyouts or rich new contracts until Covid is behind us and the stadium is full. That could be the 2022 season.
November 11th, 2020 at 9:42 AM ^
Michigan didn't want the optics of a big Harbaugh contract, while the AD budget was slashed (bunch of employees laid off) and (at other schools, but possible at Michigan), other sports programs were shut down.
So, they waited. It doesn't mean anything.
November 11th, 2020 at 10:50 AM ^
Football funds the entire athletic department at Michigan, often with a surplus that goes towards student athletics (like equipment, facilities, etc). There are no meaningful endowments available to fund athletic operating budgets and the rest of the University is also suffering. Over 50% of the schools general budget is funded by the medical / research complex, which I hear is having a very bad year.
Tough choices are going to be needed if football can't get back in the black. I would expect everything is on the table as a stop gap ... cutting coach salaries/contracts, elimination of certain non-revenue sports, slashing administrative budgets further, etc. These Covid-related deficits will impact athletic budgets well into the future ... does it take 10 years to cover the damage ?
November 11th, 2020 at 10:35 AM ^
The take on Harbaugh was he wore on you after a while so he never stayed past year 4 and the hope was with the constant cycling of college players that wouldn’t happen here. Yet it seems to have taken 6 years this time.
November 11th, 2020 at 11:16 AM ^
If they were going to extend his contract, I'd insist:
1) Lower pay scale; he's not worth his salary now. Maybe more incentives
2) a lot lower buyout
3) Insist he hire some new coaches
4) Make him use wireless headset; the 1960's wired era are long gone.
November 11th, 2020 at 11:37 AM ^
My 2 cents:
1. JH is not going anywhere.
2. ‘May’ see coaching changes after season.
3. Wouldn’t be surprised to see contracts re-worked for another 3 years post season.