Three Misleading Things Warde Manuel Said About Jim Harbaugh, Michigan Football
Earlier this month, Jim Harbaugh signed a five-year contract extension after more than a month of uncertainty. A couple weeks after the decision was announced, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel spoke on the In The Trenches podcast with Jon Jansen about the extension, Harbaugh's future at U-M and the overall outlook as Harbaugh prepares for year No. 7. Manuel obviously isn't going to speak negatively about Harbaugh in a public forum, but so much of what he said just sounds like complete fluff.
"I’m very happy with the contract extension with Jim. I’m looking forward to his leadership for years to come."
Part of this I believe, part of it I don't.
I've personally thought that it was time to move on from Harbaugh for a while, and I'm not changing my mind on that. I think Manuel dropped the ball after the season ended, but if Manuel "had" to keep him, the new contract is definitely pro-Michigan. Cutting Harbaugh's salary in half while essentially eliminating a major buyout means that it will be much easier to move on from Harbaugh should things remain disappointing.
As for Manuel looking forward to Harbaugh's leadership for years to come, I'm calling BS. He's not going to say the opposite in open air, but he doesn't have to. It doesn't matter that the extension is for five years, slicing an employee's pay and removing hurdles that make it easier to terminate said employee doesn't exactly scream, "I love this guy and want him around for the long haul."
"The goal here is to win those rivalry games and win the Big Ten. That is not going to change, and that quest continues."
What Manuel said isn't what's misleading, but the approach is. Jim Harbaugh is about to enter into year seven with essentially nothing to show for his efforts. We all know about the winless record against Ohio State. It's 0-5, but it would be 0-6 had Michigan taken on the Buckeyes this past season. After the inexplicable loss to Michigan State in Mel Tucker's first year, Harbaugh can't even claim a winning record against the Spartans anymore. Throw in .500 records or worse against Penn State, Iowa and Wisconsin and you have a coach who simply hasn't gotten it done against the opponents that matter the most. Instead of finding someone who might be able to do better, Manuel opted to give Harbaugh five more years to try to figure it out, at least on paper. That's not the way the quest should look at this point.
"The difference you see on the field in wins and losses is how well someone is able to use their talent against somebody else. We know that."
Do you? Because Harbaugh is struggling in a massive way against anyone with equal or comparable talent, and it's getting worse.
In 2020, Harbaugh was not only being beaten by teams with less talent, he was getting trucked by some of them. A three-point loss to a Michigan State team with far less talent in year one of a coaching staff overhaul. A 17-point beatdown at the hands of Indiana for the first loss against the Hoosiers in more than 30 years. A 10-point loss against a Penn State team that hadn't won a game yet. And perhaps the worst of them all — a damn near 40-point loss against Wisconsin inside Michigan Stadium. These kinds of results, along with the 0fer against Ohio State and the 1-4 bowl record seem to indicate that the important people don't know that using talent against someone in a successful manner is the difference. Jim Harbaugh has more talent to work with than most, but it's not translating to on-field wins that matter.
