Jim Harbaugh: Michigan Desperately Wants Him, but Is the Feeling Mutual?

The Michigan Wolverines have won more games than any other team in college football history, but they have fallen out of prominence recently.  Their Brady Hoke experiment didn’t work out, and now they are scouring the coaching carousel looking for someone to replace Hoke, who was fired on December 2.

They haven’t tried to hide the fact that Jim Harbaugh is their top candidate.  The former Michigan quarterback, Harbaugh brought unprecedented success to a Stanford program that was a perennial loser for decades.  Then, he became the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and promptly led them to the NFC Championship Game in each of his first three seasons.

Michigan has already offered Harbaugh a very lucrative contract, reportedly a six-year, $48 million deal per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.  That annual salary of $8 million would immediately make him the highest-paid coach in all of college football, a perk that would be hard to pass up.  They also gave Harbaugh a shoutout on Twitter, wishing him happy birthday on December 23 when he turned 51.

Even 49ers general manager Trent Baalke confirmed Michigan’s interest in Harbaugh during an interview on radio station 95.7 The Game (via The Wolverine).

Ever since Lloyd Carr left Michigan after the 2007 season, the Wolverines have been struggling to uphold their sterling tradition and prestige.

Rich Rodriguez took over for Carr, and he and Hoke each did their fair share of damage to the program. Now Michigan is in dire need of someone to transform U-M back into a winner.

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If Harbaugh does anything, it’s win.  He has proved throughout his career that he is a winner.  He is one of the most intense and passionate coaches around, and a startling story of Harbaugh while he was at Stanford recently reported by Max Cohen of The Michigan Daily is a perfect example.

According to Cohen, Harbaugh rubbed a Stanford player’s blood on his face like war paint to show that he wanted badly to be on the field with his team.  Say what you want about this incident, but it’s the epitome of intensity.

Michigan needs that type of coach pacing its sideline in 2015.  Harbaugh has everything that would turn the Wolverines into championship contenders.  He is a U-M alum, so he is aware what it is like to be part of the tradition.  He is extremely competitive, and he would do everything in his power to win games.  He has national appeal due to his past success, and he would recruit with outstanding aplomb.

But if there is anything that makes the Michigan fans hurt worse than the team’s mediocre play in recent years, it’s that Ohio State has been tremendously successful since it hired Urban Meyer.

Harbaugh is Michigan’s Urban Meyer, someone who can come in and change the culture and win quickly.

So it’s crystal clear that Michigan desperately wants and needs Harbaugh, but does Harbaugh want and need Michigan?

That is the million dollar question and one that can only be answered by the coach himself.  He is almost surely going to leave the 49ers on a sour note, as they are reportedly going to fire Harbaugh within 48 hours after the team’s final game against the Arizona Cardinals, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports.

There is likely to be a host of other NFL job openings at season’s end, including the Oakland Raiders and Chicago Bears, and if Harbaugh feels like he wants to remain a pro coach, he will unquestionably be at the top of almost every team’s list.

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Harbaugh’s competitive nature might keep him in the NFL too.  His brother, John, has a Super Bowl ring with the Ravens as does the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll.  Carroll and Harbaugh have a well-documented rivalry that goes back to both coaches’ college coaching days, Carroll at USC and Harbaugh at Stanford.  Whether the animosity started with their angry handshake after Stanford beat USC 55-21 in 2009 or some other time is unknown, but it has to be hard for Harbaugh to see Carroll as a Super Bowl-winning coach.

But Carroll also won championships at USC, and that is something that Harbaugh has never experienced.  He has never reached the pinnacle, college or NFL, and he is going to have to decide if Michigan or some other pro job gives him the best chance to finish the season ranked No. 1.

This will definitely be one of the most interesting stories in sports for the near future.  Harbaugh and Michigan is a terrific match, and it has already made an outrageous offer that would make Harbaugh a very rich man, but money is not going to be the deciding factor.

Harbaugh will be well compensated wherever he ends up, and where he ends up will depend on if he would rather pursue a national championship at Michigan or a Super Bowl in the NFL.