Jim Harbaugh to the NFL? Michigan coach expected to head back to pros if offered a job
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:23 PM ^
Good Lord! I'll believe it when it is "according to Jim".
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:29 PM ^
Whether this is real or clickbait is mostly irrelevant at this point because it's out there.
My first instinct is that Manual needs to tell him to refute it firmly or go, but I don't think UM really has much leverage here. If you give him an ultimatum and he leaves, is that really better than having a replay of last year? Maybe it is from a long term recruiting standpoint, but this team has the tools to make the playoff again next year and a coaching change is the one thing that could blow that up.
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:32 PM ^
Agree
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:35 PM ^
If Jim himself doesn't come out tomorrow to squash these stories then all bets are off.
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:45 PM ^
does he need to again ? serious question
"And for those people that don’t approve of the job we’ve done or would rather see somebody else coaching here, I think they’ll be most likely disappointed to learn we’ll be back coaching the Wolverines and in 2023" - Jim Harbaugh
January 2nd, 2023 at 9:01 PM ^
‘. . . Most likely . . .”.And “. . . No man knows the future. . .” Make everything he said far from definite and a firm refutation. I personally felt better about how he talked just after the Vikings interview than I did his more recent comments. Not panicky but not loving the hearsay either.
‘March 2022:
“I ultimately decided this is where I wanted to be,” Harbaugh said on Tuesday. “And really, (I have) a lot of gratitude for that.”
On several different occasions Tuesday, Harbaugh characterized the state of Michigan’s program as “scary good.” He praised the team’s depth on offense, talent returning on the defensive line and a group of true freshmen that he really, really likes.
“You know the law of averages is going to catch up to you at some point, but that’s the place where you want to be,” Harbaugh said. As I walk around our field — whether it’s the weight room, whether it’s the guys, coaches and players — it’s people that are engaged.
“Players will come up to you and they’ve got a smile on their face.”
January 2nd, 2023 at 8:19 PM ^
Why wait til tomorrow? Why hadn’t he done it already? These rumors have been out there for 24 hours. His silence likely means he’s listening
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:36 PM ^
You can't let this happen every year. It will eventually erode the foundations having a HC on loan. Recruiting is the immediate thing that hurts, it'll eat the rest slowly if you let it remain the norm.
He wants back and it's just so obvious. Let him go if he wants that but they need to have a direct, private talk if they haven't. Worse yet is that Warde may be part of the reason Jim wants to leave for all we know. That talk may not be possible.
If it's Warde or Jim, axe Warde yesterday. If Jim just wants to be back in The NFL that bad, let him go. No buyout. Trade the buyout for assurances about who he can and can't take with him as well as any views he has on his replacement.
Pretty much anyone can be replaced, even Jim. It just takes a heck of a replacement so that can't be fucked up.
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:55 PM ^
Anyone can be replaced, but choosing that guy is of critical importance. Up until this year I'd trust Warde, but now that many are having doubts about where Juwan has the basketball program, that confidence is a little shaky
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:37 PM ^
I mean, he said he was going to be the Michigan coach in 2023 so I’m not sure what else they can do? These reports have been flying around within the last 48 hours after a dramatic loss in the semi finals. Need some time for him to actually reaffirm his reaffirmation on his statement to Warde about him not doing this year in and year out in early 2022. Harbaugh has been an upfront guy so I’m not believing it until I see it.
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:42 PM ^
He can not say “no man can predict the future” before saying he will be back for 2023
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:56 PM ^
I’m exhausted. I suppose this could all be made up by other programs with an axe to grind. But I suspect not. I want to believe Harbaugh when he says this will not be an annual thing. But given last year, and given how various media works today, if Harbaugh means to stay he needs to stand up and channel William Tecumseh Sherman…”if persued I will not interview, if hired I will not coach” or words to that effect. But…if Harbaugh really is interested in the NFL then go. And don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. Michigan is nobody’s fallback option. No leaving the light on for him.
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:30 PM ^
Per the Athletic, this came from a source close to Harbaugh
January 2nd, 2023 at 7:10 PM ^
Like geographically close? Like within 100 miles?
January 2nd, 2023 at 7:54 PM ^
It seemed pretty evident to me that he wanted back in the NFL after last year. Reports were that he was telling fellow coaches and recruits that if offered, he would leave. He was never offered so he didn’t leave and returning to Michigan was his fallback plan. Yes, he said this wouldn’t become an annual thing, but he said it to the guy who just twelve months earlier cut his salary in half.
I hope I’m wrong, but I think if the NFL pursues him and he’s offered a head coaching position in Indy or Denver, he’s gone. I don’t think he will be reaching out, trying to get an interview, but if a team calls and says you’re our guy, he’s probably taking it. If so, Thanks for the last few years. He would absolutely be leaving the program in a better place than when he got here.
Maybe the next guy will embrace NIL and recruiting more so than Jim has. I just fear that Jim leaving would push everyone on the fence to leave as well.
January 2nd, 2023 at 9:11 PM ^
People are hilarious. I, me, we, think. Just so unintelligible that most people that are surmising are just as clueless as the whole, ATHLETIC.
January 2nd, 2023 at 7:38 PM ^
He wants back in the nfl. He made that clear last year. If he truly had no interest there wouldn’t be rumors because the back channels of the coaching world would shut down the conversation before it got to this point. There’s a reason we didn’t get a decade of Saban to the nfl rumors
January 2nd, 2023 at 7:48 PM ^
Or it's because Saban didn't light up the NFL when he was there
January 2nd, 2023 at 8:03 PM ^
He didn’t do any worse than carrol in his first stint. If you really believe no nfl team was willing to take a shot on him after the success of harbaugh and carrol you are just sticking your head in the sand.
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:52 PM ^
Every single denial has been followed by a "nobody knows what the future holds" comment. That's the opposite of putting a rumor to bed.
*Alan, do you plan on leaving your wife for that woman you're attracted to at the office that asks you out all the time?*
"Me? Leave my wife? Women everywhere may be heartened or disheartened to learn that I will remain with my wife in 2023...
...but, ya know, nobody knows what the future holds. Nobody knows that so..."
Alan is leaving his wife OR he wants his wife to think he is. That's not a denial at all.
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:30 PM ^
Lol, ohhh Alan..
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:50 PM ^
Because it could also mean he could lose his job. I mean Michigan did cut his salary in half two years ago.
January 2nd, 2023 at 7:18 PM ^
That was such a slap in his face to cut his salary. Guys like Jim Harbaugh don't forget stuff like that.
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:52 PM ^
He hasn't been as "upfront" as you think. He wasn't last year, and this year he always prefaced comments with a disclaimer about not being able to predict the future. Also: coaches never say, yeah, I'm looking elsewhere for a job, do they? If he gets an offer he likes, he'll take it. And if you don't hear him shoot down the reports with 24 hrs, that will tell you he's at the very least trying to leverage the reports.
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:07 PM ^
Plus all these so called sources are linking the athletic! If I felt like wasting one dollar and ninety nine cents, I’d let everyone know what I know. Any asshole with a keyboard and desperate for clicks will jump on this supposed “close to Harbaugh” source.
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:48 PM ^
Honestly, and it may not be a popular opinion, but I’m to the point where if he even interviews I’d just go ahead and fire him.
It’s hard to say that after going 25-3 over the last two seasons, but we can’t go through this every year. He’s either here 100% or he’s not. If he’s not, we need someone who is. The impact this has had on recruiting is evident. Cant go two years in a row into signing day being held hostage.
If Harbaugh’s heart is at Michigan, there should be no issue in coming out and putting these rumors to rest. Simple as that. If he’s going to continue interviewing and reciprocating NFL interest, I’m ready to just move on.
January 2nd, 2023 at 4:53 PM ^
Not alone. If he reciprocates in any way you move on.
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:02 PM ^
At the end of 2020, when the University gave him the choice of leaving as a failure or staying and accepting a humiliating pay cut, were they behind Harbaugh “100%”? Obviously not. Much of the fan base wanted him to be fired. Were the fans behind him “100%? Nope. But now, after he’s led Michigan back to heights they haven’t seen in decades, he must give the University 100%, to the point of not listening to any offers? Loyalty goes both ways.
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:16 PM ^
Last year after the Minnesota thing he publicly said that was it, that it was an itch he had to scratch but that it was over. Honestly this would kind of be BS if he left this year. Next year could be the best Michigan team since ‘97.
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:21 PM ^
He didn't take a pay cut. It was a new contract and it was incentive-based that he agreed to. Same kind of money, and structured differently. I don't think there was anything humiliating about it. He and the university both patently agreed that it was time to put up or shut up. After matching James Franklin for his first 6 years, that wasn't unreasonable.
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:28 PM ^
That’s what everybody said after the fact when it worked out all nicely. At the time it really felt like, and was widely talked about as, “we aren’t going to fire you, but if you were to get an NFL job we ain’t gonna stop you leaving”. And it absolutely was a huge cut in guaranteed money.
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:06 PM ^
Maybe it wasn’t unreasonable, but it was definitely humiliating and the University clearly demonstrated they weren’t 100% behind him. Harbaugh listening to NFL overtures would show he isn’t 100% committed to staying, but how would it be any less reasonable than you think the University was in cutting his base salary two years ago? He’s closing in on 60. NFL opportunities aren’t going to be there forever.
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:50 PM ^
I agree with everything but your last sentence. The fact that he is STILL pursued year after year suggests to me that demand for him isn't lessening.
January 2nd, 2023 at 8:17 PM ^
He’s TALKED about every year, not necessarily seriously pursued. When he really wanted a job last year, no one was willing to hire him. There are no guarantees.
January 3rd, 2023 at 9:58 AM ^
At the time this happened Harbaugh was getting his ass handed to him in every big game we played and could barely field a football team by the end of 2020. Yeah, I would say the University was not 100% behind him.
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:25 PM ^
Yeah I think that’s where his “no man can predict the future” comments are coming from. 2020 was basically an invitation for Harbaugh to look for any NFL team that would have him. Can’t expect blind loyalty if it isn’t reciprocated, and loyalty is about the only thing that M can offer that the NFL can’t.
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:37 PM ^
Michigan was incredibly loyal to Harbaugh by even GIVING him that second chance. Giving him every opportunity to make back the money from his “pay cut” through incentives. It worked out fantastic for both parties in the end.
But yes, he owes it to his employer to not hold them hostage every January-February with one of his feet out the door. Stay or go. We shouldn’t have to keep doing this dance every year. If you played this game with your employer, you’d likely be getting canned too.
I’d be through the roof if Harbaugh came out and shut these rumors down and came back as head coach. I don’t want him to go. I just recognize the damage he’ll be doing to the program if this nonsense continues.
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:39 PM ^
“Michigan was incredibly loyal to Harbaugh by even GIVING him that second chance.” At the end of 2020, Michigan was 49-22 in six seasons with Harbaugh, after going 46-42 in the seven seasons which preceded his arrival. Who was lucky?
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:50 PM ^
He had 0 wins over OSU at that point and just had a 2-4 season. Harbaugh. Harbaugh was lucky to get brought back. By every metric, he had failed to accomplish what he was brought here to do. I’m glad he did get brought back and I’m glad the results followed.
That does not give him free reign to hold the program hostage every offseason. He had his one freebie to test the waters. He said it was a one time thing and he’s locked in with Michigan. He’s either a man of his word or he’s not. And if not, I’m ready to move on.
January 2nd, 2023 at 11:27 PM ^
I’m sure you’ll love the next guy’s results.
January 3rd, 2023 at 5:14 AM ^
I’ll quote Jim Harbaugh here. “Nobody knows what the future holds.”
I’m not worried about what the next guy’s results are. We don’t even know who the “next guy” is. What we DO know, is what these actions from Jim have done to the 2023 recruiting class, what they would mean for his credibility, and what that would mean for his ability to build the program moving forward.
Jim’s results the last two years have been great. I’d love for him to shut the rumors down and run it back. But these results are going to get harder and harder to replicate the longer we allow these NFL flirtations to continue. And we can’t allow Jim to crater the program because we don’t know what the next guy will do.
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:46 PM ^
"heights they havent seen in decades" as in 2 decades..and he was the coach for a good chunk of it. Last year he got a freebie because of the way he was treated and the paycut, that's it. He screwed us all with that interview, himself included. Only a loser would accept a lifetime sentence of him screwing the program just because he was treated a bit harshly for the well documented failures he had.
If he interviews anywhere, he needs to be fired. The recruiting hit will be so bad that only a new coach could fix it at that point anyway.
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:37 PM ^
Man. My “fire Harbaugh” post looks bad in retrospect but at least I wasn’t saying it after what is by far the best stretch of Michigan football since 1997.
Honestly, people are so selfish about this. I wanted him gone two years ago. Then we had a great season last year and he made no promises to stay and looked to the NFL and it didn’t happen… and Michigan had an even better year this year. I think he’ll stay, but if he goes he goes. And it’s not a disaster for the program. Recruiting problem? C’mon. Texas A&M and LSU and USC and many others recruit just fine with way less program stability. Staff instability? That’s because Harbaugh fires bad assistants and replaces them with good ones, not because he’s an NFL candidate.
I mean two days ago a bunch of people were furious at the coaches because Michigan played in a crazy game. Now they’re furious again.
People need to chill a bit.
January 2nd, 2023 at 5:41 PM ^
My “Fire Harbaugh” post isn’t based on the results on the field. It has nothing to do with the results of the last two years. I want nothing more than for Harbaugh to come back and take us back to the CFP.
Recruiting problem? C’mon. Texas A&M and LSU and USC and many others recruit just fine with way less program stability.
If only those programs had something in common, like insane local talent that grew up rooting for those teams and a willingness to throw money around to high school kids… almost like Michigan is an entirely different situation.
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:50 PM ^
Just watch it if have not seen it already. People should chill. If it happens, I will be happy with Moore as our HC
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:55 PM ^
Roughly a week before signing day. No NFL teams had contacted him about a job, let alone offered him one. Trying to keep his team focused on the playoffs. What exactly were you expecting him to say there? His statement even contained a “no man can predict the future” caveat.
Now that there are reports and “sources” tying him to specific jobs, a statement NOW would hold a lot more weight.
January 2nd, 2023 at 7:43 PM ^
Definitely need to chill out. Look I hope he shoots this down quickly and stays at UM and wins a natty next year. But if he really wants to go then he should go so UM can continue to move forward. Either way we will be fine
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:05 PM ^
I wouldn't fire him; nobody would. But--and this might be an unpopular opinion--if Sherrone Moore were going to become HC, I'd look forward to that with great anticipation.
January 2nd, 2023 at 6:17 PM ^
Given how strong next year’s team seems likely to be, I think if Harbaugh left someone from the current staff would be promoted to replace him. Why rock the boat with this group? Moore appears to be the strongest in-house candidate, but fans aren’t in any position to do anything but guess how any of them might do in the top job. None have any real track record of being in charge.