Michigan Football: 4 things that must happen in the 2021 season

The Michigan football season kicks off in just under a month and Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines certainly have something to prove.

This isn’t going to be one of those off-season hype articles that so many of us have gotten used to reading between the months of February and September year after year. Of course, we should all be excited about the upcoming season, but the Michigan football program is in an interesting spot right now as we head into year seven of the Jim Harbaugh Era.

Coach Harbaugh is on the hot seat. Some people aren’t comfortable admitting that for whatever reason, but it’s a fact. His new contract took him from being the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten to one of the lowest.

It also gave the university a very manageable buyout should they decide to move on from him. It’s not hard to read between the lines and figure out why the new contract was structured this way.

Maybe Jim Harbaugh was promised at least two years with the new staff to get things turned around. Maybe he’s on a year-by-year plan and is expected to win right away this season.

Michigan football fans want Jim Harbaugh to succeed. The university wants Jim Harbaugh to succeed. Nobody wants to go through another transition period and potentially live through a few more dark years for the program. With that said, the University of Michigan is now in a place to move off Harbaugh after this season if things don’t work out.

Here are four things that must happen this season for Jim Harbaugh to get off the hot seat.