Jim Harbaugh saved Michigan Football and he deserves credit for it

Jim Harbaugh saved Michigan football from its lowest point in the modern era and people who don’t recognize that, need to start.

Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh is an easy target and that’s why certain members of the national media like to take shots at him.

If you take a look at his record, it’s easy to tear him down, especially because he arrived at Michigan with so much hype and such a high-paying salary.

And Pete Thamel, a long-time college football writer who is now working for Yahoo Sports, took the bait again this week, as he discussed if Harbaugh deserves an extension.

The obvious answer to anyone with a clue is that yes, Harbaugh deserves an extension. Sure, he hasn’t beaten Ohio State, but do you really think starting from scratch again is the answer?

Harbaugh has recruited and developed Joe Milton, as well as five-star QB J.J. McCarthy in the 2021 class. Maybe those two won’t realize their potential, but if they do, it could be a game-changer for Michigan football, so now is the wrong time to cut bait or even after this season.

While Harbaugh deserves criticism for his 0-5 record against Ohio State, his 2-12 record against top-10 teams and his lack of Big Ten titles, all of these things conveniently leave out where Michigan was before Harbaugh, which was easily the lowest point in the modern era.

Brady Hoke and Rich Rod destroyed Michigan football and in some ways, Harbaugh is a victim of his own success because people have forgotten just how bad it was.

In seven years, the Wolverines won eight games or more just twice. In five years, Harbaugh has done it five times. He also had three double-digit win seasons in four years, compared to one for Hoke/Rich Rod in the previous seven.

Even the 2-12 mark against top-10 teams, which Thamel and others frequently reference, disregards the fact that Harbaugh is 10-14 overall against ranked foes, which is a marked improvement from the 5-21 record U-M posted from 2008-14.

Another telling sign of Michigan’s improvement under Harbaugh? It can actually beat other quality programs. The same couldn’t be said under Hoke and Rich Rod, except a few rare instances.

Against the most comparable programs in the Big Ten and close by, which are Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Penn State, Iowa and Michigan State, the Wolverines were 8-19 in the previous seven seasons before Harbaugh. Since then, Michigan is 10-8.

That’s winning percentage of 56 percent compared to the 29-percent winning rate Hoke and Rich Rod posted.

So forget about Ohio State, Harbaugh had to catch Michigan football back up with the likes of Wisconsin, Penn State and Notre Dame, plus taking his own state back from MSU.

All of that has been achieved and if the Wolverines weren’t robbed by a terrible call in 2016, Harbaugh would have his win over Ohio State, his Big Ten championship and his College Football Playoff appearance.

I get that close doesn’t count and college football isn’t horseshoes, but when why not criticize James Franklin, Paul Chryst and Brian Kelly?

Yes, Kelly has led Notre Dame to the playoff twice, but each time, the Irish benefited from an easy schedule and once it came playoff time, they were exposed. He can’t beat Alabama Clemson, Ohio State or the Georgia’s either, but he gets a pass?

Franklin got lucky once against Ohio State and won a conference title even though he had the third-best team in the conference. What else has he done? Diddly squat.

And as for Wisconsin, if Michigan was in the Big Ten West, it would be in the Big Ten title game routinely, so again, why does Harbaugh get called out when other coaches have essentially the same record?

Harbaugh is an easy target but his critics lack context

The answer is that it’s easy.

It’s easy to say he can’t recruit against Ohio State or that he can’t beat them and it’s mostly true, but making a historical comparison to the past isn’t fair because when Harbaugh came to Ann Arbor, Michigan was as far from being Michigan as its ever been.

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Within one year, he restored Michigan back to respectability. And even though Thamel rips his recruiting, Michigan has routinely turned out NFL prospects and is among the leaders in players drafted to the NFL since 2015.

And while he is critical of recruiting, he mentions how Michigan has two very good defensive ends, which were recruited by Michigan in 2018. One of them, Kwity Paye, is projected as a top-10 pick even though he was a three-star recruit from Rhode Island.

In fact, with Paye, Hutchinson, Joe Milton and Cam McGrone, the 2018 class could easily have four first-round draft picks. And in 2019, the Wolverines did notch a better-ranking recruiting class than even Ohio State.

That’s not to say Michigan is recruiting at Ohio State’s level, nobody is except for Alabama, Georgia and Clemson.

So if the idea is to find a coach who can recruit at that level, I wouldn’t hold my breath.

Even though I’m not a fan of Kirk Herbstreit, he was right when he said Harbaugh was still building a program. This year’s team could be as talented as any he’s had since 2016 and if Milton and McCarthy are hits at quarterback, this program can finally compete with the best.

More. Jim Harbaugh's top five wins. light

So let things play out. If Harbaugh continues to lose to the Buckeyes, then maybe he’s not the guy to take the program to the next level. But he damn sure deserves credit from rescuing it and that’s something every Michigan fan needs to remember before we run him out of town.

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