The clock is ticking for Jim Harbaugh, Michigan Football

The clock is ticking. The ball is in Michigan’s court. We’ve been through these waters many times before as Michigan football fans. Every single year, there are Jim Harbaugh-to-the-NFL rumors. Every single year without fail.

Last year, supposedly, Harbaugh was very close to going to the NFL as he held out from signing his extension for weeks and weeks, putting Michigan’s athletics department in a bind, and making the Michigan fanbase extremely nervous.

Now this year, Jim Harbaugh supposedly told class of ’22 Michigan WR commit Darrius Clemons that he would “entertain” the NFL options. This word “entertain” is key because of all the rumors that keep spreading that seem to imply that Harbaugh will definitively leave.

We’ve got people like trusted insider Bruce Feldman saying one thing, then Sam Webb says another thing. Nick Baumgardner is saying something. Colin Cowherd is saying something. Eleven Warriors is (weirdly) saying something.

All of these insiders claim to have the scoop on Michigan, but nobody really knows anything because Jim Harbaugh has supposedly gone dark on everyone, keeping his cards close to his chest.

What we do know is that Jim Harbaugh wants Michigan football to be an elite program. He wants Michigan to hoist the national championship trophy someday. Jim got a real taste of success this past season, beating Ohio State, winning the Big Ten title, and going to the playoff. He literally said “this is only the beginning” after the playoff appearance.

He got blasted to an extremely talented Georgia Bulldogs team, and it’s possible it made him realize some things. It’s made him realize that Michigan still has another level it needs to achieve in order to compete with the SEC and the very best of the best.

Jim Harbaugh has brought Michigan football back to relevance. The Wolverines are in the same tier as programs Iike Notre Dame and Oklahoma. Those two programs are annual top-10 teams but don’t make the playoffs every single season.

They are still a tier below the Alabama’s and Ohio State’s of the world. Let’s just say Michigan is in Tier 2 (which is a great tier to be in but there’s still room to go even further up the pecking order to Tier 1). This is where NIL comes into play.

As part of Jim Harbaugh’s new contract, he’s going to want greater access to NIL opportunities for players him and his coaching staff are recruiting. We already had Hunter Dickinson call out Michigan with its lack of NIL opportunities last year, so it is imperative that the University get this right.

Time for Michigan to step up

For Michigan football to compete with Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, etc, in terms of getting the best players consistently, Michigan needs to up its NIL opportunities. Especially if it wants to keep Jim Harbaugh around. Harbaugh freaking loves Michigan, his assistant coaches, and the players. He took a massive pay cut to bet on himself.

He donated all of his incentives to his assistants. He continuously praised the fighting spirit of the team throughout the season. “They don’t flinch” Jim Harbaugh said throughout the season. But Michigan has to love him back.

How long have Michigan fans wanted a special season? It had literally been 17 years since the last Big Ten title. We’ve all suffered through the Rich Rodriguez’s, the Brady Hoke’s, and had to wait 10 years to finally beat Ohio State again.

And the coach who took away the pain and anger might not be back the following season. How ironic is that?

This year, I actually believe the Harbaugh rumors. I didn’t believe them in year’s past, but this year I do believe them because Harbaugh has been at Michigan for seven seasons now, and eventually he probably will leave, so now could be the perfect opportunity, right?

It’s a misconception that the higher ups at Michigan and the old heads think that just because more recruits have better NIL opportunities with more money that it will stain the reputation of the university. That’s not true at all.

NIL opportunities can be had for every single athlete in every single scholarship sport at Michigan. It’s not just limited to football. People have to remember that in order to be on scholarship, certain requirements have to be met, which includes doing well in school at Michigan. It’s called being a student athlete.

You see a bunch of academic Big Ten awards given to these athletes every single year. So, yes, the athletes take their education seriously. No, the “reputation” of Michigan won’t be diminished for one recruit making $1 million plus in NIL deals. It is what it is. That athlete still has to have the grades to be enrolled at Michigan.

Any athlete on scholarship in any sport at Michigan should be given an opportunity. Michigan has a top-3 following and fanbase in the entire country. It needs to act like it. There is no reason why Michigan football can’t recruit with the likes of Alabama and Georgia. Especially now that the team has made a playoff appearance.

All we can do now though is sit back and wait for things to play out. Will Jim Harbaugh return or will he leave?

If he does leave, Michigan only has itself to blame. It shouldn’t take a coach having to possibly leave for Michigan to be pushed to do things.

That’s the issue. Just the laziness and lack of drive to progress. Adaptation is how you survive in the 21st century. Michigan is in so many ways still stuck in the past, and it’s affecting the present now more than ever.

We’ll just have to sweat out the remainder of the offseason and find out if Jim will be back. So tired of these rumors. So tired of the higher ups getting in the way of potential success for Michigan. It’s like a roadblock that can’t be moved. Stay tuned for ongoing coverage regarding these annual rumors.