Jim Harbaugh Would Need Years to Turn Michigan into National Title Contender

Jim Harbaugh might be the best man for the job, but that doesn't mean the Michigan Wolverines would transform overnight upon his arrival.

Wolverines fans have long held out hope that Harbaugh would return to his alma mater and help it return to national prominence. As almost every Michigan fan now knows, the school reportedly offered him a six-year, $49 million deal, according to Joe Pequeno of CBS 5 in Phoenix:

ESPN's Adam Schefter posted on Facebook that "Jim Harbaugh’s family and friends have been encouraging him to take the Michigan HC job, but he is torn because his heart is in the NFL, per sources close to the situation."

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport added that Harbaugh hasn't had face-to-face contact with Michigan officials yet, so it's still way too early to definitively say that he's on his way to Ann Arbor:

With that said, the timing would be right for a move, and Harbaugh might have a hard time turning down potentially $8 million-plus a year.

This is one of those situations where anything he does won't come as a complete surprise, whether it's staying with the San Francisco 49ers, taking another NFL job or going to Michigan.

Let's just pretend he does in fact become the Wolverines' head coach. While he'd receive the full backing of the fanbase, expectations would also be sky high, especially after Urban Meyer helped Ohio State go unbeaten in his first season with the Buckeyes.

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The only snag is that Michigan's problems go deeper than finding a new head coach.

One of the more pressing issues for 2015 is whom will be the team's starting quarterback. Shane Morris, Wilton Speight and Alex Malzone will be vying for the job, and all three are largely inexperienced at college level.

Harbaugh's had success molding young quarterbacks in the past, and there's no reason to expect things would be any different at Michigan. Still, though, Morris, Speight and Malzone aren't guaranteed to be immediate sensations. J.T. Barrett, Johnny Manziel and Jameis Winston are the exceptions, not the rule.

In general, Brady Hoke did a good job on the recruiting trail, with Michigan's classes ranking sixth in 2012, fourth in 2013 and 20th in 2014, according to 247Sports. Hoke gave the Wolverines the talent, but he was unable to make the most of his personnel.

While the cupboard wouldn't be bare for Harbaugh, he'd need to overcome the same problem that hindered Meyer in his first couple of years in Columbus: the lack of explosive playmakers who can put the Wolverines on level pegging with the SEC's best.

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On December 12, Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod wrote an article titled "Is Ohio State 'SEC Enough' to Beat Alabama in the College Football Playoff?" in which he discussed how the Buckeyes needed to grow its recruiting base in order to keep up with the top teams in the country:

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Ohio State will always possess plenty of players from its own talent-rich state, but one glance at the Buckeyes' roster shows that this is far from your father's Ohio State squad.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a key player on this year's Buckeyes team who wasn't wooed by a school from the SEC, as Meyer hasn't been afraid to go head-to-head with his former conference on the recruiting trail.

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"We’re getting close," Meyer said of he and his staff's work on the recruiting trail. "We have to get our speed up with overall offensive skill, but where it was two years ago to where it is now is much different."

It's not enough for Harbaugh or any other Wolverines coach to dominate in-state recruiting. He also has to go out to California, Texas and Florida, among others, to find the best players in the country. That process takes time, especially with the team falling down the college football hierarchy.

Michigan is a big school in reputation only at the moment. The Wolverines are relying on past glories in order to lure in the best prep stars.

At least when Meyer arrived, Ohio State had won at least 10 games a season from 2005 to 2010. In comparison, the Wolverines have one 10-plus-win season since 2006.

Harbaugh would undoubtedly bring a lot of buzz to the program and elevate it in the eyes of potential recruits. But he'd still need to demonstrate that he can bring sustained success to Michigan. You can also bet that other schools would use Harbaugh's NFL history against him, planting that seed of doubt that he could bolt for the big leagues once again at a moment's notice.

To be clear, Harbaugh would be the dream hire for the Wolverines. Paying him $49 million would seem crazy, but The Daily Beast's Jesse Lawrence argued the investment could pay for itself in no time. It's a no-brainer.

Hiring the 49ers head coach would be the quickest way for Michigan to return to an elite level again, but the school would still be looking at a long, arduous climb back to the top.