Michigan Football: 5 Reasons Jim Harbaugh isn’t going anywhere
There has been plenty of talk about Jim Harbaugh being fired as Michigan football coach but here’s five reasons he probably won’t be.
The last few weeks haven’t been fun for Michigan football fans and the one constant — other than the lopsided losses — has been the rumor mill about Jim Harbaugh‘s job.
Obviously, after beating Minnesota on the road in the first week of the season, the wheels have fallen off for this Michigan football team, which has now lost five of its last six dating back to last season.
And there has been some bad markers along the way. This past week, Michigan football achieved something no other Big Ten team has in the last 15 years — going five consecutive halves of football without notching a sack or forcing a turnover.
From @ESPNStatsInfo: #Michigan’s defense has zero sacks and has forced zero turnovers in their last five halves of football. They're the first Big Ten team over the last 15 seasons to not record a sack or a takeaway in five consecutive halves.
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 15, 2020
There are a lot of stats like that and after losing 49-11 to Wisconsin and getting completely out-played, out-coached and out-classed, the calls for Harbaugh to go got even louder.
But Michigan isn’t known for making rash decisions and I don’t think Warde Manuel will be making any in the near future. Harbaugh will finish the season and unless he decides to walk away or leave for the NFL, he will be U-M’s coach next season and here’s five reasons why:
1. A different set of expectations
One reason that Manuel won’t pull the trigger on firing Harbaugh is that he has much different expectations than fans do and that’s probably a good thing.
Fans expect Michigan to compete for the national championship every year and that’s just not who the Wolverines are or who they have been. Bo had some great teams, but few that were legitimate national title contenders all season long.
Now, Michigan should be able to contend every few years as Wisconsin and Penn State and others have done, but year in and year out, it’s just not going to happen. Sure, Harbaugh has struggled to win big games and U-M has been poor this season, but he has never won fewer than eight games.
The fact that Brian Kelly had a 4-8 season and now has Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff hunt again could also be a reminder why it can be smart to stay the course. Plus, our friend John Bacon, who is well connected, doesn’t see any moves being made, unless it’s by Jim.
Second, Jim Harbaugh will not be getting fired at the end of the season, either. He brought Michigan back to life, and his players have very strong in the classroom and in the community (those things matter to UM AD and president). Even w/poor season, he will not be fired. (2/X)
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) November 15, 2020
The Wolverines are nowhere near perfect under Harbaugh, but he has gotten this program back to being a consistent winner and one down season probably isn’t enough to change the administration’s mind about him as head coach.
Here are the other four reasons why Harbaugh won’t be going anywhere as head coach.