Michigan Football: With new deal signed, can Jim Harbaugh deliver?

Despite what some Michigan football fans would like, Jim Harbaugh is returning to Ann Arbor. But will he finally get this program over the hump?

In 2015, Michigan football hired Jim Harbaugh as their head coach. At that time, Michigan was at its lowest of lows. The Wolverines were coming off two failed coaching hires, Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke.

But Harbaugh was coming off an incredible stint in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers and he was coming home, to a place he loved more than anything in the world.

A great start

The Jim Harbaugh era got off to a great start. After walking into a 5-7 team, year one finished with a record of 10-3 with a blowout win over Florida in the Citrus Bowl to cap it off.

Year two was another improvement as the Wolverines went into “The Game” 10-1. We all know what happened that afternoon in Columbus, some call it the game that broke Jim Harbaugh. Michigan football would go on to lose to Florida State in the bowl game after a busted kickoff late in the game.

Frustrating times begin

Year three was a disaster as the Wolverines finished with an 8-5 record. In 2018, despite going 10-2 in the regular season, the Wolverines never looked good on either side of the ball. It never felt like that team could do anything worthwhile and the Ohio State game proved that to be true, once again.

With the 2019 and 2020 seasons just as bad, it begs a very serious question.

Can Harbaugh get over the hump?

I did not want Jim Harbaugh to sign an extension, I wanted him fired, but we need to accept the fact that he is still the head coach and we need to root for him to have success.

The first problem we saw during the Harbaugh era was the offense. The pro-style offense wasn’t getting the job done and the play calling was even worse. But once Jim gave up the play calling and hired Josh Gattis, the offense has seen glimpses of hope and progress.

I know people are still frustrated with the offense, but I truly think it has been because they haven’t had the quarterback to do what Gattis wants.

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The solution to that problem has just arrived in Ann Arbor with J.J. McCarthy. I know we have hyped up other quarterbacks in the past and they haven’t worked out, but I really think McCarthy is different.

As of late, the problems have been with the defense. This offseason got started by defensive coordinator Don Brown being fired, a big step in the right direction. Rumors are now spreading that Michigan will hire Baltimore Ravens linebackers coach Mike MacDonald to replace Brown.

If that hire goes like the Josh Gattis hire, things could be turning around on that side of the ball as well. Obviously, the defense needs a lot of work. But at the end of the day, people forget everything Jim Harbaugh has accomplished.

In 2004, Jim took over San Diego, a member of the FCS. After a 7-4 year one, he led them to back to back 11-1 seasons winning the conference title both times.

In 2007, he took over Stanford. Starting his tenure going 4-8, he ended it going 12-1 and winning the Orange Bowl.

In 2011, Harbaugh started his tenure with the San Francisco 49ers by winning three straight division titles, making the Super Bowl in year two.

Just because Jim hasn’t been able to win a title as quickly at Michigan as he has in other places doesn’t mean he can’t.

Jim Harbaugh knows how to win at every level and he has the talent in Ann Arbor to do it once again. Michigan football fans should get behind him heading into the 2021 season, hoping that the coaching changes will lead to success on the field as it has in the past.