Michigan BOR Jordan Acker: I love Harbaugh but I am not interested in negotiating through the public or through the press.
Full text of tweet:
Two things and two things only about this:
1. I love @CoachJim4UM, think he is the best coach in the country, and want him to coach at Michigan for as long as he would like.
2. I am not interested in negotiating through the public or through the press.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:15 PM ^
Regents negotiating. Warde negotiating. Santa negotiating.
Can't imagine why this whole process is a clusterfuck.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:22 PM ^
Well when the coach wants a guarantee that he can’t be fired and we owe him the full value of his 100MM contract in the event the NCAA suspends him, I think having a few more people with their eye on the situation is important. Don’t you?
January 16th, 2024 at 7:27 PM ^
Makes me wonder what the hell was in that notice of allegations.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:38 PM ^
Wait, I thought we still hadn’t received the notice yet?
Did we get the notice? Is the investigation complete?
January 16th, 2024 at 7:45 PM ^
I believe the NCAA sent the notice the week of signing day for maximum effect.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:53 PM ^
I thought that was for the cheeseburgers and not the signs. Still no NOA on signs.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:59 PM ^
They sent it on Signing Day itself. Odd timing, but it would have been worse if it had come a week or two earlier. By the time we got it, the LOIs were already coming in.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:13 PM ^
I haven't noticed the notice.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:38 PM ^
Nope, it's not over. The BiG is done and promised it won't proceed but NCAA is still investigating. Baker from NCAA did say we won it all fair and square FWIW.
January 16th, 2024 at 11:25 PM ^
And it may be over if Baker decides it is. He would probably have to override a potentially vengeful committee.
But given they have not made a decision about a trivial technicality, Harbaugh should expect the school to support him.
Also, these guarantees are often offset by any future earnings. I.e. If the NCAA decides to hand down an unjustified show-cause, Harbaugh has protection and M and Jim agree to move on. If Harbaugh is owed $100M over 8 years, usually that is offset by anything he would earn from an NFL contract. And Jim is not going on vacation in that situation.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:03 PM ^
That Notice is not for the Stallions investigation, but for the cheeseburgers, for those asking or confused.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:16 PM ^
Ah okay. I assume that notice hasn’t been made public yet?
January 16th, 2024 at 8:20 PM ^
It's not being kept under wraps. It just hasn't been given out.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:50 PM ^
Also makes me think that Harbaugh came up with an absurd request knowing the university wouldn’t oblige so it makes it easier to leave for the NFL rather than just saying he wants to go due to yearning for a Super Bowl.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:53 PM ^
This is what's happening. Disappoints me a little in Jim, but hey, the dude was our program's salvation, so you can't really criticize
January 16th, 2024 at 8:02 PM ^
I don't think in 2024 that Ono can get the Regents to sign off on blanket immunity for anything predating the signing of the contract. Even if it is limited to NCAA issues. What about the unknown unknowns?
Now, Harbaugh would be foolish to turn down a fully guaranteed NFL contract for a Michigan deal that allows "termination for cause." Whatever the hell that constitutes.
Harbaugh can get an NFL gig. With all the openings (Philly?) something will materialize. So just take one with our best wishes. We will never forget what Team 144 accomplished. Now go win a fucking Super Bowl.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:42 PM ^
Agreed. Just don't take all our great coaches with you!
January 16th, 2024 at 11:30 PM ^
It’s not an absurd request. Jim needs to protect himself if the NCAA is allowed to make an unfair unilateral decision that is not subject to arbitration or due process. Further, these things end up going through a scenario process to find middle ground. The good news for Jim is that he has already seen how the NCAA can make unilateral unfair decisions so that he can protect himself. Had this not happened, Jim more likely would have agreed to something closer to a handshake.
January 17th, 2024 at 7:06 AM ^
His agents know damn well what the constraints are on U-M's side. It would be malpractice if they didn't
January 17th, 2024 at 8:55 AM ^
My initial thoughts on the blanket immunity issue were the same but this is now a full ‘risk-reward’ scenario in the face of a crumbling NCAA. If the NCAA is all about the dollars and I think they are then why not keep a golden goose? Yes the NCAA might take it in the shorts in the media but ultimately they are in a much better position with Harbaugh than without him even with him stirring the pot on a regular basis. The only wrinkle here is my assumption that the NCAA has the brain of a functioning human being. Just to clarify, I think Harbaugh finishes his career in Ann Arbor
January 16th, 2024 at 10:04 PM ^
oh, that’s what’s happening, huh? your certainty is impressive, o sage of the book of harbaugh. enlighten us unwashed further, we beg you!
January 16th, 2024 at 7:57 PM ^
Which is kind of odd… because he could just say “You’re welcome I’m going to the NFL.” Also weird, if the conduct in the NOA was that bad, nobody would even be considering this contract, it would be rejected out of hand.
Harbaugh is an amazing football coach. He is also a person capable of leaving with bad blood only a couple of weeks after winning a national championships.
It doesn’t have to go this way, Coach. Obviously the school isn’t going to agree to this, though. Seriously, just go coach the Chargers. It looks like a great gig. Thanks for everything. It’s all good.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:37 PM ^
Agreed. The manufacturing of "impasses" is unnecessary. Just say you want to move on to the next challenge, coach
January 16th, 2024 at 9:17 PM ^
Hard to do that when he doesn't know any nfl team will hire him. Were second fiddle, he's just keeping us going until he knows for sure he's hired.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:05 PM ^
honestly, the more absurd request i thought was basically asking for the contract to have a “get out of contract free” clause for another month. that defeats the entire purpose of the renewal. it’s not like michigan is trying to sign him, he’s already under contract. if michigan were to give him an extension, they would want something in return, namely that he would not immediately go and sign somewhere else. michigan has absolutely zero reason now to sign anything with that provision in it, because he can just leave anyways. so just wait until that date.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:57 PM ^
Will people stop repeating this nonsense? He doesn't want a guarantee he can't be fired, he wants the decision out of the AD's hands and in a 3 person panel's. He has also offered a matrix of monetary penalties for given NCAA infractions. That's still a big demand, but it's way more reasonable than the hE wAnTs CoMpLeTe ImMuNiTy take.
January 16th, 2024 at 9:25 PM ^
That people think to seem this an outrageous stance is wild to me
January 16th, 2024 at 11:25 PM ^
The notion that the NCAA has any say in this is fucking absurd. Fuck the NCAA. They are an anachronism currently spinning down the toilet. What do people think is going to happen? Is the NCAA going to send armed guards to block the doors to Michigan stadium and prevent the games from happening? Are they going to empty their coffers to engage in a massive lawsuit against Michigan when they themselves are being sued six ways to Sunday by exploited athletes all across the country? This is the easiest fucking thing in the world for Michigan to give to Harbaugh. If he can't provide it, Warde Manuel needs to be run out of town with torches and pitchforks.
January 17th, 2024 at 8:41 AM ^
The situation is best explained by this post.
We don't know if you mean JH or UM. LOL.
January 16th, 2024 at 9:51 PM ^
Just because you get a show cause does not mean you get fired so I don't think we would fire Jim regardless, ever. The NCAA already briefed the B1G that Harbaugh had no clue or there's no evidence of it. He's also has given us his word and Ono said that was ironclad.
Maybe it's Michigan that's creating the scenario were ultimately Harbaugh leaves so they can say, "we tried everything we could". Its especially troublesome when I see fans concerned about money. Fans should never be concerned about Money. Michigan has lawyers for that.
Initially, I thought maybe Jim was stalling and maybe he is but now I'm not so sure.
January 16th, 2024 at 10:07 PM ^
Exactly the whole thing is held up because Harbaugh is making some ridiculous demands
January 17th, 2024 at 3:12 PM ^
We don't know that's the hold up. The "sources" said the contract was done, both parties agreed to it, and would be signed after the regular season. Then the "sources" said it would be signed after bowl season.
At this point, we have to quit reading into everything coming out. There's been too much smoke without any fires. JUB's, Webb's, and everyone else "sources" have been wrong about everything about the contract negotiations
January 16th, 2024 at 7:29 PM ^
I am not interested in negotiating via the press or the public.
I am interested in negotiating via the twitter.....
I like that Acker makes himself available, but this is dumb.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:40 PM ^
I believe it is no longer known as the twitter.
Those who use it .. will occasionally refer to it as the “X”.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:10 PM ^
Let’s just call it “Elon’s Folly”
Because it is, and unlike Seward’s, which was a boon, for Elon it’s a boondoggle
January 16th, 2024 at 7:42 PM ^
you read that as “negotiating through twitter?” do you know what the word “negotiating” means?
January 16th, 2024 at 8:07 PM ^
is this a negotiation? i’m sure a bunch of people were asking the regents what they were doing. it’s not like he’s tweeting “i’ll only sign harbaugh if agrees to let us fire him if he gets a show cause.” he’s just issuing a statement that he does not plan to comment at all on the contract. pretty standard.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:31 PM ^
Would you prefer only 1 person be involved and get a deal done with zero input from anyone else?
It seems like the main person making this a clusterfuck is Harbaugh and his agents constantly leaking stuff to the press to create an even bigger circus.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:39 PM ^
I think the fact that Harbaugh is still at the table and everyone is negotiating hard tells me that everyone genuinely wants this to work. I have always gotten the sense that a huge part of Harbaugh wants to stay for good.
The foundation of a good deal is that the deal has to work for both parties, or someone will get out of it.
Regarding his previous NFL flirtations- I am sure some part of it was genuine but it’s clear a lot of it was a negotiating tactic.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:30 PM ^
I’m not sure. This is a weird ask on his part. If there is nothing major there, he doesn’t need this. If there is, Ono and Manuel already know it.
January 16th, 2024 at 8:40 PM ^
I think the idea is that he wants administration to issue their own judgment on what happened, rather that react to the NCAA's response to what happened.
January 17th, 2024 at 12:45 AM ^
☝️This. It’s also a trail balloon for the shitstorm JH and Michigan will be navigating as JH continues to press for player compensation.
(Michigan as a money making institution would rather not pay its players)
January 16th, 2024 at 9:41 PM ^
He’s been suspended by his own Administration and the Bigten while never being convicted of anything so I’d think he would be quite leery of both.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:40 PM ^
the only reason YOU think it’s a clusterfuck is because it’s not being done publicly.
you know what WOULD be a clusterfuck? telling the yahoos who is saying what, and when, for how much and how long, out in the open. that’s not how adults do business.
January 16th, 2024 at 9:09 PM ^
Its all theater and meaningless until the NFL hiring cycle is over anyways. If Harbaugh gets an NFL offer he's gone regardless of what gets signed, its why he is fighting for the contract to start after this hiring cycle and if he doesn't get hired by an NFL team he will be back at Michigan regardless of what happen in negotiations over the next month
January 17th, 2024 at 8:32 AM ^
it's a cluster because of the looming unknown of NCAA penalties, and each side is trying to insulate themselves from those penalties as much as possible. Harbaugh wants the full value of his contract even if the NCAA does the unthinkable. Michigan doesn't want to be on the hook for 8 or 9 figures to a guy who might not be allowed in the building.
likely both sides have to bend a little, or this relationship has reached its end.
January 16th, 2024 at 7:16 PM ^
He gone
January 16th, 2024 at 8:05 PM ^
Your post reminded me of this EC song
January 16th, 2024 at 8:28 PM ^
I'll see your Eric Clapton and raise you one Hall & Oates.