Jim Harbaugh Is the 1 Man Who Can Save Michigan Football

At a critical moment for Michigan football—with hope seeping out of the program little by little—the Wolverines discovered an industrial patch. In Jim Harbaugh, there is life. There is energy. There is hope.

We laughed at the idea in its infancy, treating the potential match as fantasy and nothing more. The fit made sense, because of course it did. A proven Michigan Man heading home to repair a broken Michigan football program from the ground up…it reads like a storyline reserved for a Hollywood script.

Still, even then, with all parties considered, we never truly gave much merit to the prospects of Harbaugh leaving the NFL. As it turns out, the Wolverines’ all-in gamble, patience and magnificent poker face paid off.

Bleacher Report's Jason Cole reported over the weekend that Harbaugh was Michigan-bound, and a slew of other outlets quickly followed suit. On Tuesday, Michigan confirmed the hire shortly before an introductory press conference.

"

It's official. #WelcomeHomeCoach pic.twitter.com/zgVKI5L7df

— Michigan Football (@umichfootball) December 30, 2014"

Option A, B and C—Jim Harbaugh, bona fide program rebuilder, documented winner at every level and proud, animated Michigan Man—is poised for his next great challenge.

It is the only name that would have satisfied a starved fanbase, one that has seen just 12 wins over the past two seasons.

As a result, expectations will be colossal. Given Harbaugh's immaculate and diverse track record as head coach, they should be. And operating along this same magnificent career line, there’s no reason to believe that this won’t be an overwhelming success given a realistic and sensible timeline to succeed.

It became clear back in the fall, once things went south early on for Brady Hoke, that there would be interest on Michigan’s end. You could connect the dots between Michigan and Harbaugh far earlier, although the conversation amplified once the position opened. But with a year on Harbaugh’s contract and his NFL aspirations, it still seemed unlikely that he would make the leap.

Information (or “noise”) this time of year can be difficult to process, especially when it comes to high-profile coaching searches such as these. In the instance of Harbaugh, however, momentum seemed to be swaying toward college ball and away from the NFL, an unusual shift based on recent history.

Given the fit, salary and circumstances, the unusual and unexpected still made quite a bit of sense for both parties. It’s why one of the more notable hires of the past five years won’t be greeted with shock, even though it seemed unlikely just weeks ago. 

This was the man Michigan had to have. It’s not just that he played four years for the program, oftentimes showcasing the same sort of emotion that you see on the sideline with a headset. It certainly didn't hurt, though.

As the Wolverines quarterback in the mid-'80s, Harbaugh was never shy or afraid to speak his mind. Prior to his last matchup with rival Ohio State, the senior expressed his honest thoughts on the upcoming game.

Reed Saxon/Associated Press

''We don't care where we play the game,'' Harbaugh told Hank Hersch of Sports Illustrated in December 1986. ''I hate to say it, but we could play it in the parking lot. We could play the game at 12 noon or midnight. We're going to be jacked up.''

This is the heart and soul of the connection that will be packaged en masse. The tie-ins to the university are noteworthy, especially at a time when it has done nothing but tread water. But more significant than the popular “Michigan Man” tag that will be exhausted in days is his ability to win at a level most simply cannot.

This is the root of the issue; it’s also the root of the solution.

To Michigan, this is about results. It’s why the Wolverines put everything on hold, sacrificing an entire recruiting class—currently No. 90 in the country, just behind Texas State and dead last in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports’ team rankings—in order to land the individual capable of turning it all around in an instant. That should change in short order.

Over the past month, Ann Arbor brass have stayed publicly patient, essentially putting all of their eggs in one basket without having to acknowledge doing so. Silence was everything. The only noise to surface was a very popular birthday wish to a certain NFL head coach.

"

Happy Birthday, Jim. #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/kameWJ7F5S

— Michigan Football (@umichfootball) December 23, 2014"

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, Michigan frantically orchestrated a pitch centered on an enormous sum of money and the opportunity no NFL team could offer: the prospects of being a football god and a larger-than-life leader in a comfortable setting.

At a time when Michigan was slowly fading into irrelevance, it landed a coach who has won for every organization he has ever worked for. It hasn’t always come wrapped in smiles and moving renditions of "Kumbaya," but it has come with khaki-infused passion. More importantly and significant to the cause, it has come with results.

Harbaugh has proved that he can do plenty with very little, as he did at Stanford and San Diego. He has proved that he can turn “very little” into something much more in short order, something he did at the college level and in the NFL, reaching one Super Bowl game and two NFC Championship Games.

Year	Team	Record
2004	San Diego (CFB)	7-4
2005	San Diego (CFB)	11-1
2006	San Diego (CFB)	11-1
2007	Stanford (CFB)	4-8
2008	Stanford (CFB)	5-7
2009	Stanford (CFB)	8-5
2010	Stanford (CFB)	12-1
2011	San Francisco (NFL)	13-3
2012	San Francisco (NFL)	11-4-1
2013	San Francisco (NFL)	12-4
2014	San Francisco (NFL)	8-8

At Michigan, he’ll be tasked to do the same thing all over again. While the program wasn't absent of talent under Brady Hoke, the formula was broken. These issues stretch back well beyond Hoke, to Rich Rodriguez and even the tale end of Lloyd Carr's successful tenure. With only two 10-win seasons in the past 11 years, the perception of the program has evolved.

It'll be up to Harbaugh to alter this trend, and he'll have ample ammunition—beyond simply being good at what he does—to accomplish this. The sacrificed recruiting class won’t suddenly evolve into Alabama’s overnight, although it will morph in the weeks to follow. In the coming years, these classes will flourish.

The sales pitch will be simple and remarkably effective: Come play for one of the most respected football minds in the country in a city and at a program he deeply cares for. And if the NFL is on your mind, well, no coach knows more about the current climate and the requirements necessary than this one.

"Coach Harbaugh coming to Michigan is the best choice for many reasons," 4-star Michigan QB commit Alex Malzone told Bleacher Report's Tyler Donohue. "He's going to bring attitude back to the team. He's going to bring in the right guys that want to play for Michigan. Also, as a quarterback, I couldn't be more excited. I'm very excited to play under Coach Harbaugh."

For the nation’s most gifted athletes, it will be a tantalizing offer. Talent will flock to Michigan.

Leon Halip/Getty Images

This pitch will also help drive home a simple formula that Michigan has been unable to sustain in recent years: acquire talent, develop this talent and win at a rate far greater than what has transpired for the past decade.

There are far too many advantages and resources at Michigan to be average, something it has become over time. To ensure that these resources are maximized, Michigan landed the most significant recruit in the program’s history. It did something that many—including myself—dismissed from the onset. It landed a personality suited for a billboard and a sideline.

There are no guarantees that this enormous investment will result in national championships, but there are few coaches more deserving of such robust expectations. The fact that this can be openly (and reasonably) addressed shows just how much Harbaugh will add and how different things might look in short order. Let the rebuilding begin.