Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is the only Power Five coach with less than two years remaining on his contract, and there’s been a lot of talk about his future at U-M as a result. Today, ESPN’s Rece Davis said on GameDay what we’ve been reporting for months — that the pandemic more than anything is the reason it hasn’t gotten signed.
“There have been other fish, bigger fish to fry,” Harbaugh said when asked last week.
Asked what he’d tell recruits who asked him about his situation, he responded, ‘Go Blue!’
“One source I spoke to yesterday said they were close to crossing the finish line on a new contract before this got changed a little bit,” Davis said, alluding to the COVID pandemic and the fallout. “The idea that they’re waiting to use this season as a referendum on whether Jim Harbaugh should continue as Michigan coach? That’s not the way the Wolverines administration is looking at this, at all.”
Analyst and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit agreed.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said. “But any time you’re 0-5 against Ohio State as the head coach at Michigan, it’s going to create an intensity … a buzz. He’s struggled against top 10 teams, and that’s also going to create an intensity. This is a prideful fan base. They want to be, deserve to be in their minds, a top five program year in, year out. The reality — it’s been a long time since they’ve been there.
“I personally am a fan of Jim Harbaugh. I look at him understanding this program better than anybody. I think he is a quarterback away from having a chance to get to an elite level. I also think they need skill. Ronnie Bell and an entire new group of wide receivers ... if 21 [Desmond Howard] could put his uniform on tonight and help out, you need guys like Des. They’ve had big, tall receivers. Today’s game is about playing in space, the area they really need to improve.”
Howard added U-M hadn’t had an identity on offense since Harbaugh arrived, and he hoped that would change with redshirt sophomore Joe Milton under center.
"He’s a 6-5, 240-pound dual threat, very athletic, but he’s a guy who is primarily a pocket passer,” Howard said. “He can make all the throws, and he has [offensive coordinator] Josh Gattis now.
“The offense is starting to establish an identity. They do need playmakers in space. They have had big receivers, big possession guys, but weren’t dynamic. Today’s game, you need dynamic receivers .. and don’t forget, too, when they could score, when they did put points on the board, the defense has let them down, too.”
Harbaugh has proven himself in the past, Davis said, and “is a tremendous coach” in his eyes.
“He fixed Stanford, took [San Francisco] to the super bowl. Have they won at a level Michigan expects? No,” he said. “But they’ve been good. This is not the way the Michigan administration feels … yet.
“Now look … if you lose to Ohio State again, get beat 52-0, maybe things change. Right now, though, I don’t think it’s the proper way to look at it as some kind of referendum.”
That’s been the word out of Ann Arbor for some time now, and that hasn’t changed.
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