Michigan Football: Is Jim Harbaugh building a dynasty?

Since Harbaugh arrived in 2015, Michigan football has been building toward many common goals. In 2021, those goals started to become a reality; however, many still wonder if Harbaugh’s success at Michigan is sustainable.

If so, Jim Harbaugh could be building the next college football dynasty with the Wolverines.

Michigan football before Harbaugh

Following the retirement of legendary coach Loyd Carr in 2007, Michigan football hired a new head football coach: Rich Rodriguez from West Virginia University. Though Rodriguez had turned the Mountaineers into a winning football team in the Big East, coaching in the Big Ten would prove a challenge he could not face.

In Rodriguez’s first season at Michigan, the program dipped to an all-time low. The Wolverines would finish 3-9, the worst record Michigan football had ever seen, and would not show much improvement in the following seasons. In year two, Michigan would again fall short of .500 with a 5-7 record, and in Rodriguez’s third season as head coach, Michigan would finish the year 7-6.

After only three years, it was clear that “Rich Rod” was not working out at Michigan, and the Wolverines decided to move on. The University of Michigan would then look to another small school coach with a Michigan background. One of Loyd Carr’s former assistants, Brady Hoke, would be brought in following the 2010 season as the new head coach of Michigan football.

In Hoke’s first season, the Wolverines appeared to be back as they finished with an 11-2 record. Michigan football compiled key wins throughout the season, most notable being their win over Ohio State in late November and the Wolverines’ win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

Though Hoke seemed to restore Michigan’s winning culture, his first season would turn out to be his best. Over the next three seasons, Michigan football would slowly decline, going from 11-2 to 8-5, to 7-6, and finally 5-7. Once again, Michigan was forced to move on.

During the seven seasons that preceded Jim Harbaugh, Michigan hired and fired two head coaches and compile a record of 46-42. A once-great program was now struggling even to make the least desirable bowl games.

In December 2014, Jim Harbaugh, one of the greatest Michigan football players in the program’s history, returned to Ann Arbor to take over head coaching duties.

Harbaugh had already established a name for himself at Stanford and with the San Fransisco 49ers and was deemed the savior of Michigan football before coaching a single game. While Harbaugh did not live up to the god-like hype, he has still done a tremendous job with the Wolverines so far.