Thoughts on the Future of Michigan Football

I have been avoiding writing about Jim Harbaugh because, quite frankly, I do not want him to leave Michigan. I was not a fan when they hired him over seven years ago, assuming he would leave after four years as he did at every other stop. I also was sick of hearing about him going back to the NFL after every season. At the end of Michigan football's season the rumors would inevitably start. It was always announced that he was a "front runner" or "was gauging interest" or "going to be interviewed", only to be squashed by Harbaugh himself within a week or two. But that hasn't happened this time around. Harbaugh has only come out once to talk about it, and he all but confirmed he was going to listen to NFL teams if they come calling. And by all accounts, the NFL has come calling.

Now, take this as you will, but I have no idea how real the reports are. There seem to be differing reports within minutes of one another. The football team has had only one decommitment and the assistant coaches are going on business as usual. As is Harbaugh. He is out there recruiting, lifting weights in a high school gym and taking pictures with recruits and their families. But with every passing day, with no real comments coming from Harbaugh, with those in the know saying they are being left in the dark, it just seems like he is going to jump to the NFL, and most likely he will do it as soon as the Las Vegas Raiders offer him the job, which I expect them to do by the end of this month. And that will hurt.

Again, I did not want him in the first place, but I have grown to like him. He has been a winning coach since he took over, save for 2020. This team won the Big 10 this year. They went to the CFP. They finally beat the university of Ohio State. But it has been so much more than that. When he took over this team was a mess. They went on to win nine games, including their bowl game, in his first season. The second year they were one inch away from the Big 10 title game and Jabrill Peppers was a Heisman finalist. They "slumped" to eight wins in year 3, but they had a ferocious defense and they played hard. Also, John O'Korn was their QB. Take that as you will. After that, prior to this season, they were a perennial top 20 team, they played hard, they won nine or ten games and played in some solid bowl games.

2020 was a lost year, and then we had this year. I mentioned all the accolades before, but forgot that he hired a new, young, exciting coaching staff. They also had another Heisman finalist, Aidan Hutchinson. The team looked like a modern college football team. They were making big plays, big stops, winning big games and seemed to be having fun doing it. Anytime televised games were on and the camera would pan to Harbaugh, he was as engaged, excited and smiling more than I have seen him in his time as the head coach at Michigan. And he is building on that. That is why I do not want him to leave. He has said that he "would do this job for free", that "this is my dream job", " that he loves this team". So why leave now? I guess he wants to challenge himself at the highest level. I think maybe he thinks this is as good as it will get for him at Michigan. Maybe he just wants to stop recruiting all the time. Maybe he is sick of selling Michigan to 17 and 18 year old kids. There are plenty of reasons why, but I just do not want him to go now. I want him to stay.

Truth is I want there to be continuity. You look at all these consistently great college teams, Alabama, the university of Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, they all have had the same head coach seemingly forever. That is what I want from Michigan. I miss the Lloyd Carr days. That was a reassuring time.

With that being said, if/when Harbaugh jets to the NFL, I hope Michigan stays within the program when hiring the new head coach. I have seen some names floated, namely Matt Campbell, and I do not want that. That means a whole new staff and a full on rebuild. But if the team were to hire, say Mike Hart or, my personal choice, Josh Gattis, they could keep the entire staff in place. Hell, I'd take Sheronne Moore as the next head coach at Michigan. Look at what he did with that offensive line this past season. I just do not want Michigan to go big name shopping for the next head coach if Harbaugh bolts. Stay in house. Keep the staff and team as fully operational as possible. If Harbaugh does bounce, I do not want to go through what Oklahoma fans just did with Lincoln Riley this offseason. I'd prefer they just hire Gattis, who is coming off winning assistant of the year, and move on. But I truly hope Harbaugh just stays and continues returning Michigan to its place as a perennial power.

I will have my fingers crossed until all of this is resolved. Go Blue.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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