Indiana is a must-win for Michigan Football, but not Jim Harbaugh

In terms of must-win games, this Saturday’s tilt at Indiana qualifies as one for Michigan football, but it’s not must-win territory yet for Jim Harbaugh.

If the Michigan football team has any hope of contending in the Big Ten East this season, the Wolverines will need to find a way to win Saturday at Indiana.

It’s really as simple as that. Lose that game and the division race is all but over for Michigan football. That makes it a must-win game, but does it qualify as that for head coach Jim Harbaugh?

I highly doubt it.

Certainly, a loss would be a bad thing. It would only create more noise and give other programs more ammunition to recruit against Harbaugh and the Wolverines.

It doesn’t help that Harbaugh’s contract is unresolved and is expiring after next season. That leads to uncertainty and while it didn’t seem to matter following a big win, it certainly had people talking after an embarrassing loss.

But I don’t think there is any way that Harbaugh doesn’t finish the season as head coach and despite the many calls for his job, I have a hard time not seeing him as the coach next year too.

Even if Ohio State blows out Michigan in Columbus once again, I just don’t really see Warde Manuel making a move, at least not that early.

Does Michigan want to hire a new coach during a pandemic?

For starters, Harbaugh and the Wolverines could still turn things around this season and that would start with a win Saturday over the Hoosiers. But say he does that, suddenly, that’s a top-15 win on the road and Michigan is right in the thick of things in the Big Ten East.

As long as Ohio State beats Michigan State, the Wolverines could win the division by winning out. At the very least, they would be alive in the Big Ten title race going into “The Game” which should always be the goal.

But say Michigan football winds up 7-2 or 6-3, which is very possible, Harbaugh won’t be going anywhere, unless he leaves for the NFL on his own.

For one, Michigan, like most schools is struggling with its budget right now, so a buyout and an expensive new coaching hire doesn’t seem like an ideal move.

And beyond that, Harbaugh has done a lot of good at Michigan and unless the team really falls off and loses just about every game down the stretch and clearly quits, I really don’t see Jim going anywhere, at least not until after the 2021 season.

At that point, his contract would expire and if he’s 0-7 against Ohio State, it’s possible he would walk away or they would just not offer another contract.

Yet, as bad as the team was Saturday, a turnaround this season is possible and if it happens, even with a loss to Ohio State, you’ll hear more talk about an extension than you will about a new head coach.