Michigan Football: 3 Thoughts on Jim Harbaugh’s expected new deal

Harbaugh at U-M for the long haul

The five-year deal now being reported is much different than the three-year extension that was first reportedly offered by Michigan football, so Harbaugh did win some ground in the negotiation.

But really, the length of the deal doesn’t matter that much, unless you are talking about recruiting and attempting to hire a staff.

Harbaugh is correct if he pushed for more years because a three-year deal would have been nothing more than one or two year deal, pushing the same can down the road.

After one season, Michigan would be in the same position as prior to 2020, where Harbaugh would be lame duck after 2022 and then another negotiation would need to take place.

Now, that won’t happen for years down the road. Some fans might wonder why about the length, but as long as the buyouts are low, which they reportedly are, Michigan can move on whenever.

Recruits don’t care about how highly a coach is paid and coordinators don’t either. But long-term stability is important and the five-year deal adds much more than just a three-year extension.