Dan Wetzel has the details on Harbaugh's contractual demands
Dan Wetzel, who appears to have very good sources within Schembechler Hall and/or related circles, has the details of what the sticking points are with Harbaugh's contract (emphasis added):
Specifically, sources said Harbaugh is seeking language that would grant him immunity from termination from any finding or sanction that could arise from multiple current NCAA investigations into the football program.
Harbaugh is also seeking a delay in the start date of the new contract to maintain a lower buyout that NFL teams would have to pay Michigan to hire him away. The buyout in his current contract dropped from $2.25 million to $1.5 million on January 11. Michigan is seeking that to rise to about $4 million in a new deal. Harbaugh has sought to have the new deal not start until Feb. 15, thus maintaining the lower, and more favorable, buyout number until after the NFL hiring cycle has concluded.
Harbaugh is seeking a matrix of fines be spelled out if there are any future NCAA violations as well as prohibiting the school’s athletic director from firing him “for cause” and instead having that decision, should it ever arise, rest in a three-member arbitration panel, sources said.
Seems pretty clear that Harbaugh doesn't trust Manuel (or, perhaps, any future AD) to be the decider of Harbaugh's fate.
Harbaugh has sought to have his contract grant him immunity from termination for any violation stemming from those cases. It additionally spells out any penalty he may face should the NCAA rule him responsible in any future case. That would include specific fine amounts for any Level I or Level II violation.
He is also seeking to have any decision involving “for cause” termination — whether for NCAA violations or anything else — to be determined by a three-member arbitration panel rather than the school’s athletic director, a role currently held by Warde Manuel. Traditionally, for-cause termination of a coach would be determined by his direct supervisor. The athletic director would still be able to fire him for performance-related issues.
The arbitration panel is a system used by the university's president. It is common in university executive contracts, but not with coaches, according to numerous college administrators.
January 16th, 2024 at 1:41 PM ^
Great point. The compromise is both sides need to absorb some risk. How that is defined by both parties falls on the university to counter. The spirit of the university having harbaughs back may just be the necessary ingredient.
i like the move by Harbaughs camp to leak the deal points to the public.
January 16th, 2024 at 12:19 PM ^
I wish Michigan would just ignore the NCAA like all the other schools.
January 16th, 2024 at 12:38 PM ^
Actually, if true as reported/noted above, I'm not sure just how reasonable it is.
What if additional facts come out and show that Harbaugh or any of his assistants were less than truthful or forthcoming. I certainly hope that is not the case, but not deserving of immunity were it to be true.
As for the buyout, I doubt very much that the difference between the two amounts would be an impediment for any NFL franchise wanting to hire Harbaugh.
To me, this seems to be a Harbaugh stalling tactic. It seems as if his first choice is to be an NFL head coach and that Michigan is a fallback. Obviously, I don't know but that's how it appears.
I appreciate all that Harbaugh has accomplished these last few years, but I personally would prefer a coach who really wants to be here and lead the program. If that's Harbaugh, then great. If not, I'd prefer an amicable parting.
January 16th, 2024 at 2:00 PM ^
Not truthful about what specifically, growler? And what has allegedly transpired thus far would that you be against granting immunity for?
Very unclear there...
January 16th, 2024 at 2:06 PM ^
Stallions was literally on camera in disguise on the opponent sideline of a future conference opponent just months before the game while employed by UM. I would be very surprised if anyone with a modicum of responsibility knew about this, but if they did, it would certainly be fireable.
January 16th, 2024 at 3:09 PM ^
Oh come now..
There are investigations that are, or have been,, being conducted. The NCAA and Michigan are involved. Interviews have and may still be being conducted. Hopefully no facts emerge that conflict with anything that Coach Harbaugh and/or staff have declared.
January 16th, 2024 at 12:46 PM ^
except the "immunity from anything the NCAA finds", I would think.
January 16th, 2024 at 1:11 PM ^
Agreed. Mad love for Harbaugh, and I'm sure there are better MGoLawyers on the board than I, but I can't see a scenario in which the University is literally signing off to any and all potential harm that could come up.
January 16th, 2024 at 12:56 PM ^
The issue is that with the portal period, classes starting, and the CFB coaching timeline that even 1/15 is way too late to leave a job, let alone 2/15.
We are lucky to get Sherrone as a "backup" and even if he's the #1 choice over DeBoer, who is he getting as coordinators, portal players, and early enrolees?
January 16th, 2024 at 2:04 PM ^
I love harbaugh but risking 9 digits guaranteed on the whims of the NCAA could very reasonably be a nonstarter to the university. I don’t know that I see this as reasonable.
January 16th, 2024 at 2:34 PM ^
Bingo. It’s easy as a fan to sit here and say “give him whatever he wants” but from the perspective of the President and the Regents, it’s a pretty significant risk that Jim is asking them to take on. One that university lawyers would almost certainly be advising against.
January 16th, 2024 at 2:32 PM ^
Here’s the thing. It’s been pointed out in previous threads, but this is not your standard coaching contract. The fact that Jim is wanting all of these additional clauses and terms included makes it a much more complex process. One that Warde would not have the authority to accommodate on his own.
Warde is certainly in close contact with Ono, the Regents, and University Legal Counsel throughout the talks with Jim. Warde can offer a standard contract, which would then have to be approved by the President and Regents. Warde isn’t going to offer a revised contract without consulting with the very people who would have to approve the deal.
This isn’t solely Warde at this point.
January 16th, 2024 at 3:10 PM ^
Immunity for current violations and predeclared penalties for future violations are not reasonable at all. Michigan can’t control what arbitrary shit the NCAA will hand down, and they absolutely have the authority to make keeping Harbaugh employed here untenable, leaving us in a Jimbo situation.
Especially if Harbaugh is only willing to accept a paltry $4 million NFL buyout.
Poison pill. Harbaugh is slow playing Michigan so he can pursue his option A (NFL job).
Absolutely his prerogative, and fans should be grateful for all Harbaugh has done, but it’s clear we’re his second choice at this point in his career. Michigan shouldn’t mortgage the farm to be somebody’s second choice.
January 16th, 2024 at 5:57 PM ^
Really? Immunity from anything the NCAA throws at him? What if the ncaa suspends him for a season? Regardless of how absurd that would be, do you really want to be stuck with a coach for a year who can’t actually coach, recruit, etc? Do you know how badly it would hurt recruiting?
and the buyout continues to be ridiculous. $4 million is a nothing burger for NFL teams. This request really underlines his desire to get out of college and to the NFL.
these requests are completely unrealistic. What if the NCAA finds direct evidence that he is guilty of something else and lays down a crazy long punishment? Listen, the NCAA is a joke, but for as long as they have the power to suspend coaches, vacate wins, and ban post season play, his requests aren’t reasonable. From strictly an employer standpoint, you’d have to be crazy to agree to these things. I love coach, but these are bad requests.
January 16th, 2024 at 9:06 PM ^
Immunity from being fired for NCAA violations is a wild demand. What?
January 16th, 2024 at 11:21 AM ^
If I'm Harbaugh I would want all these provisions. If I'm the AD I'd probably balk at some of them. Typical contract kinda stuff but at some point the AD will have to give something they're uncomfortable with to keep Harbaugh.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:26 AM ^
or at some point Harbaugh has to be reasonable enough to realize that no employer in the world would unconditionally guarantee 125million in salary. The NCAA could render him unable to coach for several years. Michigan would be absolutely foolish to agree to the condition harbaugh is reportedly asking for*.
* unless they can agree to language wherein the salary drops to $1, and any non-compete type of language becomes null and void, should the NCAA take action that makes harbaugh unable to coach for any significant period of time. And if harbaugh was willing to agree to that, then he wouldn't be making the demand he's reportedly making now. so, we're back to the fact that harbaugh seems to want something that the University can't reasonably consider.
that's not a good sign for those of us hoping Harbaugh remains Michigan's coach.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
I think Texas A&M agrees to a lot. Glad to see their AD heading to Columbus.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:36 AM ^
Can’t afford it???
do you know how many $$$ harbaugh has already brought in.
how many $$$ the natty will bring.
how many $$$ keeping him will bring.
he’s earned his cost many times over. I used to be heavily involved in the alumni association ( president of a major city club). Development says in his first year alone they thought he was worth well over $100 million and possibly $200 million in additional donations.
and if the arbitration clause doesn’t scream “ warde is out for me “ I don’t know what does.
January 16th, 2024 at 12:01 PM ^
I don't think Warde was going to go rogue and fire JH without having everyone on board.
I read the arbitration stuff very differently: it gives the employee a lot more leverage against a cause firing. A lawyer can object extensively to the process used by the arbitration panel. It'll take much longer to reach a result. The list goes on. If we decide to terminate JH at some point in the future, he's more likely to get a settlement (and a richer one) with extra procedural protections.
I'm not a Manuel fan. But these read to me as a man very concerned with the NCAA hammer.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:37 AM ^
But if this report is true that's not what the debate is. Harbaugh is asking for a three person arbitration panel to be able to fire him for cause versus Warde Manuel being able to do it. Which is different from asking his contract be guaranteed no matter what.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:46 AM ^
Exactly. And screams “ warde is out for me”.
January 16th, 2024 at 1:21 PM ^
Or "this contract's going to outlive Warde and I have no idea who the next guy's going to be."
Ultimately it seems to that if the NCAA doesn't call off its vendetta (and there's no reason to think they will), Harbaugh needs to know the Regents have his back because ultimately that's where the decision to bring out the heavy legal guns would rest. One thing these demands do is push the contract decision to that level. Maybe that's calculated?
January 16th, 2024 at 11:49 AM ^
Exactly. And screams “ warde is out for me”.
January 16th, 2024 at 12:56 PM ^
Username checks out.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:51 AM ^
so you're saying the part of the report that says "harbaugh is seeking immunity from termination" is incorrect? or just incomplete?
it seems like the issue still comes back to a notion that he wants to not be fired if the NCAA takes action that makes him unable to coach. which seems like an unreasonable ask.
January 16th, 2024 at 1:32 PM ^
Obviously we don't have the full details, but my sense is he's trying to limit his exposure from the two current cases, while setting up something in case the NCAA comes after him on something different in the future.
I think on Michigan's end you have to stipulate a set of agreed upon facts in terms of what's currently understood to be the case and the fact that no evidence has emerged that Harbaugh had any involvement in what's transpired.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:55 AM ^
the way the Wetzel piece reads, Harbaugh wants immunity from any penalties resulting from the current investigations, and wants a guarantee that any future NCAA investigations/violations be considered by a 3-person panel rather than by the AD.
Maybe I'm misreading, but the way I read it, it doesn't sound like Harbaugh is negotiating like a guy who wants the job.
January 16th, 2024 at 12:07 PM ^
He's negotiating like a guy who knows he is under attack by the NCAA and Big Ten and also doesn't trust his AD to have his back. If he's going to commit to the university, he wants the university commit to him and protect him from these attacks. It's not unreasonable given the circumstances, but it's also not unreasonable for the university to balk.
January 16th, 2024 at 12:31 PM ^
boiling it down, he's saying "I want my $125 million guaranteed no matter what, even though we both know there's a non-zero chance the NCAA might tell me I can't coach anymore."
Michigan would be foolish to agree to it no matter how much faith and love they have in and for the guy.
January 16th, 2024 at 1:30 PM ^
I think the question is, what will the university do when the NCAA says he can't coach any more?
Bill Self's still coaching; it can be done. Even Will Wade's still coaching, if not at the same school.
January 16th, 2024 at 1:33 PM ^
The number we're talking about is much less then 125 million however. It's about half of that according to this report (6 years at 11.5 million). And the NCAA isn't going to rule tomorrow and it'll probably take years for this to be resolved so you are probably talking about less than that.
January 16th, 2024 at 1:17 PM ^
Yeah, your misreading it. 3 person panel is for termination decision and is same panel used for university executives. Makes sense for the $$$ he would be making.
"he arbitration panel is a system used by the university's president. It is common in university executive contracts, but not with coaches, according to numerous college administrators."
January 16th, 2024 at 11:42 AM ^
Just add a clause that any financial penalty assessed to the university or jim as a result of anything ever will be invoiced to one Stephen M. Ross, in perpetuity.
Then everyone's covered!
Seriously though, Jim's always going to listen to the NFL and may some day take them up in a sweetheart deal. That's not gonna change. But if you want him here, you need to give the man what he wants in the meantime.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:53 AM ^
This seems doable to me. Break his salary down into a more granular level:
-Recruiting/Fundraising/off season stuff: $X per year
-In-season weekly game prep: $X per week
-In-game coaching: $X per game
Then you add a clause that says he is immune from firing, but if any NCAA/Big Ten sanctions prevent him from doing any of these tasks, then his salary for said task goes to $1 and his pay will roll to the assistant who takes his job duties for that time period.
1. This protects the U and doesn't lock in his salary if he gets in trouble. The coaching staff salary is flat, it just reallocates who gets the money if Harbaugh gets in trouble.
2. It rewards the assitants (like Sherrone) who gets stuck with double the work. Harbaugh believes in meritocracy and paying people fairly so he should be on board with this and it should force him into a corner here, he cannot refute that having an assistant wear two hats shouldnt get paid more.
January 16th, 2024 at 3:13 PM ^
Or at least be reasonable enough to offer something commensurate in return, e.g. a guarantee he won’t go to the NFL in the form of a buyout ten times that size.
January 16th, 2024 at 5:59 PM ^
I can’t believe it took this long for someone reasonable to post this reply, lol.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:26 AM ^
If I’m Warde Manual, I say let’s do this, unless he thinks Harbaugh actually did something wrong. Which if that’s the case, then let’s move on from Warde.
He seems like a stand up guy, but to be big time in College Football, you need a big time Coach, and we have one.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:31 AM ^
I think the problem with this is that "actually did something wrong" doesn't seem to be the threshold for punishment from the NCAA.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:37 AM ^
bingo. I think the University has conducted an exhaustive internal investigation. This isn't about fact-finding. This is about how the NCAA decides to interpret actions in the context of bylaw language, and then if/how they decide to connect the two investigations to trigger more serious Allegations and their consequent punishments. And neither Michigan nor Harbaugh is in a position to predict how the NCAA is going to act with any accuracy or certainty.
January 16th, 2024 at 2:01 PM ^
Harbaugh- “we are innocent, and we stood strong and tall because we are innocent”
January 16th, 2024 at 3:14 PM ^
“But also I demand you pay me nine figures if the third party that actually gets to decide this determines I’m not innocent”
January 16th, 2024 at 11:32 AM ^
Was Kirby Smart big time when Georgia hired him? Was Day? Was Lanning? Was Riley when OU hired him?
January 16th, 2024 at 11:48 AM ^
You just can't gamble the program like that, though. Even with Michigan's resources, $125 million is a lot, and if the NCAA hits Harbaugh with a show-cause for any currently known violations, then Michigan has no choice but to fire him and pay him all the money. That would severely hamstring Michigan's ability to then go get a new top-tier coach (especially if any current assistants are implicated in whatever the NCAA does as well).
I know we all want Harbaugh, but the NCAA is the very definition of arbitrary and capricious, and Michigan still has to play by their rules, whether we like it or not. Warde has to make sure the contract gives him the ability to make Michigan football has good as it can be if the NCAA decides Harbaugh can't be a part of it.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:30 AM ^
No one cares about the AD. It is an administrative position who's primary responsibility is that we have a top tier football coach who is happy. (80% of the job) Basketball (15%) Hockey (1%) Everything else (4%) . Warde may be doing a good job with everything else, and it is all more important than you would think, but he's doing a rough job with 96% of it.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:38 AM ^
What is the benefit of a contract extension for Michigan if the increased buyout doesn't happen until after NFL hiring season? Harbaugh needs to be willing to give on that, in exchange for support against the NCAA.
January 16th, 2024 at 12:05 PM ^
it's not the 2million that's a problem, it's the ask for the guaranteed 125million.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:21 AM ^
Well, give it to him.
Edit: Also, if this is true regarding the 3 member panel, all of this smoke about Harbaugh and Manuel not getting along definitely has a fire to go along with it. Just fucking make Harbaugh head coach and Co-AD. Grants him autonomy and decision making.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:47 AM ^
You want to give Harbaugh more autonomy? The guy who hired Shemmy, the guy who hired Connor Stallions? The on-field results have been amazing, and we should do everything we can to keep him in that position, but giving him more responsibility seems like a recipe for disaster.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:50 AM ^
Stalions, at the time, probably wasn't that bad of a hire for a low-level analyst position. Seems like a reasonable gamble to make.
Shemmy, while bad, should have been caught by HR, which is under the AD, not Harbaugh. It's HR's job, not the hiring manager's, to do background checks and such.