Joel Klatt Seems Confident Harbaugh Stays
Joel Klatt on Denver Sport Radio this morning, starts at 8:15. Some interesting perspective on Harbaugh with Klatt believing that Harbaugh is likely to stay at Michigan.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:38 PM ^
I don't believe it will effect the portal too much as most of the players coming from there are 1 or 2 year rentals. Far less worried about 3 or 4 years down the road. This years LB from Nebraska seem more like the exception than the rule.
This could obviously shift, but right now the portal is a place to plug in holes on your roster with 1 year rentals.
January 4th, 2023 at 5:24 PM ^
You still need a handful of 5 stars at key positions. Just look at JJ, Donovan and Will, all immediate impact players. I love how we find diamonds in the rough, recruit the "right" players and develop guys, but JJ was what we were missing and begging for since 2015, a high level, five star quarterback to take us to the next level.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:10 PM ^
The offensive coordinator/WR coach was one of the best recruiters on the staff. He left.
The defensive coordinator left (which made everyone wonder what a new DC could do)
The longest (non Harbaugh) tenured coach on the staff, the D-LINE coach left.
The Safeties coach suddenly becomes the Wide Receivers coach.
The Tight Ends coach suddenly becomes the Safeties coach.
A Grad Assistant suddenly becomes the Tight Ends coach.
A brand new Defensive Line coach joins.
A brand new Defensive Coordinator joins
NIL still within it's first full year.
The transfer portal is unprecedented in what is going on there.
In the day and age when recruits continuously talk about things like "relationships with coaches" and "development". How can you simply overlook all of the staff turnover and lack of established relationships and changed relationships (since coaches that were recruiting players are no longer coaching that position) as the main factor?
Not to mention the whole, "Michigan is slow to adapt NIL, like the rest of the schools".
Sure.....let's just go with the narrative that Jim Harbaugh’s (open and honest) dalliance with the NFL was the reason for the class rankings. Sure. Makes sense. 🤷♂️
Narratives are fun, but sometimes a little bit of actual thought goes a long way.
January 4th, 2023 at 4:23 PM ^
Despite all of those coaching staff changes from 2021 to 2022, this team still won 13 straight games. Point being, it all worked out. Were there and are there some flaws?--Yes there are.
As far as Jim being open and honest, he doesn't pass the sniff test IMO. The NIL landscape has changed so much but Michigan's system of recruiting goes beyond high 4 star and 5 star players because they want guys who will fit their system and really want to develop and then become one of the best. I don't have a problem with that.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:24 PM ^
You need top 5 classes to win playoff games (only Michigan pooping their pants has changed that)
You need top 10(ish) classes be at the Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Michigan level and make the playoff
There are still lightning in a bottle chances like LSU and TCU
January 4th, 2023 at 1:26 PM ^
Not sure any contract can prohibit this from happening again. Best you might be able to do is significantly raise the buyout (with coaching salaries and NFL deep pockets, this would have to be well into 8 figures).
January 4th, 2023 at 1:38 PM ^
Not sure any contract can prohibit this from happening again.
Make Jim the highest paid coach in NCAA. 10-year, $125 million.
January 4th, 2023 at 2:10 PM ^
Jim isn’t just about the money. If he was, he wouldn’t have donated back the 2M in bonuses he earned last year.
January 4th, 2023 at 2:15 PM ^
If thats the case - float that money back to his assistants. Make them the highest paid in the NCAA.
January 4th, 2023 at 2:53 PM ^
Exactly. This is the opportunity to create a stable program (which I define as one that has virtually no turnover for 3-4 straight years). Pay everyone a ton and be like Clemson was when they were winning titles. Venables, for example, stayed WWWAAAAAYYYYY longer than he should have.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:06 PM ^
I would put a claw-back clause for games like TCU. /s obviously.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:14 PM ^
It can't... but a $50 million buyout that never decreases across the life of the contract will come pretty close.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:51 PM ^
I'm not arguing, I'm curious.
Who says it's not good enough? The AD? The University? Clearly, any coach can leave any time he wants to take a different job, as long as someone's willing to pay the buyout, and we've seen it happen at multiple schools.
Harbaugh has leverage because the athletic department knows they have one of the top coaches in football at any level. The athletic department clearly benefits from every season he stays.
If what he's trying to do is get a new contract, as long as he's not being completely nuts about the money, they'll pay him - assuming that he really doesn't want to go to the NFL again.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:08 PM ^
How many college jobs have definite stability long-term though? For sure there are a few, but not many
Any coach that underperforms by 2-3 wins in consecutive years might get fired. Any coach that overperforms by 2-3 wins will be discussed as a candidate to get hired elsewhere -- no matter how much the coach "shuts down" that talk
January 4th, 2023 at 1:13 PM ^
But at this point, the damage is already done. This is 2 years in a row of flirting. What recruit is going to want to even think about coming to an unstable coaching program? Sucks, because at this point after winning the big ten and being in the playoffs 2 years in a row at a program with as much to offer as Michigan, we should be landing number 5 ish classes year in and year out with 2 five stars each year.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:24 PM ^
If you were a recruit, what coach are you certain will be a his current school for the next 4 years:
Ryan Day?-if he continues to lose to M all bets are off
Nick Saban?-How old is he again?
Lane Kiffin?- He has flaked out at several locations already.
Sark?-I'm sure Texas is happy.
Jimbo?-see 2022 record
Lincoln Riley?- Possibly, but he did leave OU high and dry and raided the cupboards on his way out. Is his word legit?
James Franklin?- ask some PSU fans about him.
Brian Kelly?- he flirts with the NFL they just don't want him. Plus he bolted in the middle of the night for LSU so he's full of shit too.
Kirby Smart?-Probably the only one I would feel solid about on this list.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:38 PM ^
If I am a recruit and Nick Saban is calling me, I dont give a fuck how old that man is. Sign me up.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:25 PM ^
You mean like the great teams and recruiting classes Michigan had in the years that immediately preceded Harbaugh’s arrival?
January 4th, 2023 at 1:32 PM ^
so a recruit would rather play for a coach that isn't good enough to get attention from any NFL owners, vs a coach that is so good that NFL owners are very interested in him?
believe it or not, most of the highly talented young men playing college football have aspirations of playing NFL football..... wouldn't a coach with NFL experience, a coach that is good enough to go back to coaching the NFL, be a guy you'd want helping develop your skills?
January 4th, 2023 at 1:40 PM ^
Not if he is not going to be there. Did you miss that point?
January 4th, 2023 at 1:54 PM ^
he would have to still be there, if he is going to do this 'every year'.... cuz he couldn't if he wasn't.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:50 PM ^
Believe it or not most of the coaches on this list above are actually good at developing their players and turning them into Heisman winners, National Champions, and NFL players. And you probably dont want to hear this, but some are way better coaches than Harbaugh too. That is not a knock on Jim, but just reality.
January 4th, 2023 at 2:06 PM ^
Back to back B1G championships.Back to back playoff births. Hutch and Peppers Heisman finalists. Corum would have been too. #2 overall pick in the draft just last year with another in the first round (Dax Hill). Gary, Peppers, Devin Bush, Cesar Ruiz, Onwenu, Uche, Paye, Nico Collins, DPJ and several other NFL players. So basically we are down to no NC yet.
January 4th, 2023 at 2:08 PM ^
Which ones?
January 4th, 2023 at 3:29 PM ^
This is why no high level basketball recruits signed with Coach K or Izzo after their flirtations with then NBA.
Do I need the /s?
January 4th, 2023 at 1:54 PM ^
Show me the damage.
The first year after the NFL exploration, he produced the most wins in a season in program history.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:55 PM ^
and a nice mess of quality players are coming to A2 via the transfer portal.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:25 PM ^
Being a bit intellectually dishonest here aren't we? Recruiting classes almost never immediately impact the following season. But 2-3 years from now? These "down" classes are going to be the bulk of the roster and that's when we'll feel the impact.
January 4th, 2023 at 4:17 PM ^
That was the point of an earlier commenter. You won't see the damage yet. You'll see it in three years. With one year of down recruiting, you can patch those holes with the portal. We all know you can't run a program out of the portal (see Mel Tucker). The last two seasons Michigan has used the portal to add to its existing culture. MSU showed what happens when you build your culture out of the portal.
I love where Michigan is as a program. The program is in such a better place than it was in 2015. I also think the program will need for Harbaugh to definitely stay or definitely leave to keep its culture in place. Hopefully he stays obviously. He's an excellent, excellent coach.
January 4th, 2023 at 2:45 PM ^
I agree here but shitting down your leg against TCU doesnt help recruiting either. Any recruits that watched the coaching blunders of that game are probably reconsidering who they want to play for.
January 4th, 2023 at 2:54 PM ^
No doubt. They can easily see it would be better to play for coaches who didn’t make the CFP the last two years.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:31 PM ^
The mob has spoken. 5 point losses in semifinals and an NFL level coach are damning to a program.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:12 PM ^
I think your recruiting aspirations are a bit optimistic. Our NIL isn’t competitive enough to have top 5 classes every year. Our academic standards are still higher than most power 5 schools, and it’s tough to convince elite recruits from Cali, Fl, Ga, TX, to come to Michigan. Top 10 is doable, but there’s very little chance we are going to recruit with bama, osu, usc, Georgia, clemson, and some others from year to year.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^
Klatt basically saying that he thinks Harbaugh wants to be at Michigan, and would only leave if Michigan is unwilling to pay him for his value.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:56 PM ^
Agree with that. But there’s better ways to get the contract then to shoot your program in the ass in the process.
January 4th, 2023 at 6:45 PM ^
Thank you for the summary. Klatt's opinion makes no sense to me. If he wants more money, which Harbaugh has never said or acted like this is a priority, then why not talk to Warde himself in private? Or why not his agent privately have the discussion with Warde? After his last two seasons and to avoid another national coaching search Warde would pay Jim whatever he wants. Also, Jim is only hurting recruiting by waffling again. Makes no sense unless he is trying to get to the NFL again but refuses to openly admit in case the NFL dumps him again like last year.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:18 PM ^
Never pander to the haters that like to drink their Haterade and eat their Hater-tots
January 4th, 2023 at 1:18 PM ^
My hope is that this really is about getting the contract he deserves at Michigan rather than actually going to the NFL. Unlike most other college coaches, it’s not realistic to think Harbaugh would consider a big offer from another school—so NFL is really his only leverage. Last year it was about going to the NFL, so it is a legitimate and convincing way to pressure Warde.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:25 PM ^
I agree with this, but he should have been able to walk in Warde's office and get whatever he wanted prior to these rumors. If Warde didn't give him whatever he wanted, Warde should have been fired immediately. I think/hope he stays, but none of this was necessary for him to get a new contract at UM. This only hurts the team/recruiting whether he stays or goes at this point and it didn't need to happen. As others have said, UM has beat OSU, won the Big 10, and made the playoff two years in a row and due to this crap, instead of using that to bump recruiting up a level, it is worse than it was before.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:02 PM ^
Seriously, what the fuck does Warde do all day?
Your most high profile employee needs a new contract. Should've been done yesterday.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:19 PM ^
Nothing. Warde lets the coaches run the department. Warde is such a pushover JH probably told him ‘I’m gonna look at the NFL, if I don’t see a job I like, let’s get a new contract’. JH wants to look, that’s the problem. If Warde had any balls, he’d put a $10 mil a year base deal, plus incentives on the table then leak this information to the press. He will never hold Jim’s feet to the fire like that though.
January 4th, 2023 at 3:33 PM ^
You dont want to play a game of chicken with Harbaugh. Never go full Niners.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:21 PM ^
Joel Klatt is one of the best in the business
January 4th, 2023 at 1:27 PM ^
Yeah the Big Stupidhead business.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:23 PM ^
Biff Pogi for president!!!
or Speaker of the House....
or something!
And pay JH.... the fact that he's not one of the top paid coaches in NCAA football is crazy. He's not even in the top 10. He makes less than Day, Tucker, Riley, Kelly, Cristobal & Fisher. Even David Shaw was making more than Jim before he retired.
January 4th, 2023 at 1:41 PM ^
Dude signed a new contract last year. Like, willingly signed a new contract knowing what was on the paper in front of him. He must be an absolute moron when it comes to contract negotiations if everyone and their mothers keep saying "pay the man".
January 4th, 2023 at 1:59 PM ^
Mel Tucker was 1 year into his contract when he was given a new one more than doubling his salary
Day's contract was not up when he was given an extension and a hefty pay raise
Frames Janklin was under contract when he signed an extension with a pay raise
Jimbo Fisher's contract wasn't up when it was extended with a large pay increase....
These things are quite common....
January 4th, 2023 at 2:07 PM ^
It's been 10 months since he put the pen on paper. 10 months.
After beating Ohio State, winning the B1G Championship, taking the team to the playoffs and interviewing and flying out to Minny to assume he'd be given their head coaching job - you'd think he'd have all the leverage in the world to get him whatever money he was asking for to continue coaching at Michigan and be happy with what he was making.
Dude has zero negotiating skills.
10 months..... LOL
January 4th, 2023 at 2:39 PM ^
Maybe that's why he now has an agent?
January 4th, 2023 at 5:28 PM ^
The fact that Harbaugh makes less than MeL Tucker is insane.