REPORT: Michigan Working On Five-Year, $55 Million Extension For Jim Harbaugh
It has been an incredible three-year run for Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines. After reaching a low point in 2020 where the program finished at 2-4 and it looked like Harbaugh might be on his way out, the Wolverines rallied over the next three seasons by winning three-straight against Ohio State, three-straight Big Ten Championships, and making three consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoff.
The tremendous success by the football program over the last three seasons has led many to push for a new contract that would keep Jim Harbaugh in Ann Arbor for the foreseeable future. Based on the latest report from Richard Johnson of Sports Illustrated, it sounds like Michigan is close to doing just that...assuming Harbaugh avoids pursuing NFL opportunities.
Reporting of Harbaugh's potential departure to the NFL has become an annual tradition that Michigan football fans would be happy to see go away, but Harbaugh made it clear during the last off-season that it's something he thinks about.
"It went back to February 3, 2013, when the team in San Francisco got within five yards, one play of winning the Super Bowl," Harbaugh said. "And two years after that, (I) left the 49ers to come to Michigan and signed a seven-year contract. And those seven years were up, and I wondered if that was the time, or if there would be a time to go back and try to finish that. And so yeah, I explored it. I don't apologize for exploring it."
Although he opted to return to Michigan after interviewing for an NFL head coaching job, his relationship with the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA has led many to believe (once again) that this could be his final year in Ann Arbor.
Harbaugh began the season with a self-imposed three-game suspension regarding minor NCAA recruiting violations from 2020. Harbaugh then missed the final three games of the regular season against Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State due to a suspension from the Big Ten Conference surrounding the sign-stealing controversy. Even with missing a total of six games during the 2023 season, there's a chance that the NCAA could still hand down additional punishments for the sign-stealing issue moving forward - and that's something that likely factors in to Harbaugh's decision-making process.
Either way you cut it, it's clear that the University of Michigan, its leadership, the players, and the fans all prefer Jim Harbaugh to remain as head coach of the Wolverines for years to come.
