College Is the Perfect Place for New Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh

In the end, how things developed behind closed doors weren't all that important—at least not in this case. Michigan got its guy. 

Whether it was his first choice or fifth, whether family influenced him or not, Jim Harbaugh came home. Not just home to coach Michigan, his alma mater where he played quarterback from 1983-86, but home to college football. 

"Throughout my life I have dreamed of coaching at the University of Michigan," Harbaugh said in a university-released statement Tuesday. 

Both are instantly better for it. The Wolverines feel like they have one of the elite coaches in the country, and they do. The sport gets a polarizing personality that rivals Alabama's Nick Saban, Oklahoma's Bob Stoops and, most importantly, Ohio State's Urban Meyer. 

Harbaugh probably could have stayed in the NFL as a head coach if he wanted to. Chicago, New York and Atlanta all had vacancies. At this point in time, though, the college game is the perfect place for him.

The college ranks are where Harbaugh cut his coaching teeth. He was a volunteer assistant for his father, Jack, at Western Kentucky (1994-2001) and then served as the head coach at the University of San Diego (2004-06) and Stanford (2007-10). Prior to coming to Michigan, Harbaugh spent four seasons as the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

Each stop was better than the previous one, though Harbaugh's time with the 49ers ended unceremoniously.  

As B/R's Jason Cole reported Saturday when Harbaugh was expected to take the Michigan job, his coaching style is better suited for college, via an NFL source: "That's what everybody on staff believes is going to happen this week. Jim has figured out that his style is best suited for the college game. His shtick works better with young guys who are gone after three or four years."

The apparent drawbacks for Harbaugh were the other activities he might deem frivolous, like glad-handing boosters and alumni. A NFL coach's job, on the other hand, is far more straightforward. However, per Cole, Harbaugh "measured those issues against the opportunities that might be available around the pros."

The flip side to that is Harbaugh has a type of control at Michigan that he didn't with the 49ers. He can pick his own players in recruiting and develop them before moving on to another group of signees. Furthermore, there is no battle of egos; Harbaugh is the main man. 

His task at Michigan is not unlike the ones he's faced at Stanford and San Francisco: take a downtrodden program that has remained surprisingly irrelevant for the better part of a decade and turn it into a force. Each time, he's succeeded. 

In fact, the way Harbaugh must rebuild Michigan is similar to how he rebuilt the Cardinal.

The first thing that will be pointed out is the quarterback situation. There's promise with sophomore Shane Morris, but the offense has been so bad and his experience is so limited that it's difficult to gauge what the program really has in the former blue-chip recruit. 

Given that Harbaugh recruited Andrew Luck to Stanford, you can bet there will be more than a few takes that the Wolverines need their own version of Luck. 

But what Michigan really needs is to dominate in the trenches again. The Wolverines have been abysmal up front for the past two seasons because of poor recruiting and developing by the previous coaching staff. Interestingly, two offensive linemen—tackles Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield—were drafted in 2014, with Lewan taken in the first round. 

However, Michigan ranked 87th in total offense, 109th in sacks allowed and dead last in tackles for loss allowed in 2013.

Stanford had four linemen drafted in the past three drafts, including first-rounder David DeCastro. All of those players were recruited by Harbaugh and his staff. However, Stanford's offenses, even this past season, have been more efficient and balanced. 

The Stanford remedy could take some time to cure what ails Michigan, but a turnaround seems as close to a sure thing as they come. Along the lines of Saban to Alabama and Meyer to Ohio State, the pair of Harbaugh and Michigan feels, as Dan Wolken of USA Today describes, too big to fail. 

Lynne Sladky/Associated Press

The larger-than-life pairing doesn't work for everyone, though, especially when egos are involved. Harbaugh didn't "mutually agree to part ways" with San Francisco shortly after a 20-17 win over Arizona on Sunday because he was a cruddy coach.

Quite the contrary, he amassed a 49-22-1 record with the franchise, taking it to three straight NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl appearance. 

Rather, Harbaugh was allowed to pursue other opportunities because he was reportedly "headstrong" and clashed frequently with management. Things were apparently so bad that the organization allegedly considered trading Harbaugh to the Cleveland Browns at one point. 

Harbaugh doesn't need a glowing recommendation for this homecoming, though. In fact, Michigan has apparently been so hellbent on Harbaugh that it's willing to make him a member of the $5 million club regardless, according to John U. Bacon. 

Season	Team	W-L
2004	University of San Diego	7-4
2005	University of San Diego	11-1
2006	University of San Diego	11-1
2007	Stanford	4-8
2008	Stanford	5-7
2009	Stanford	8-5
2010	Stanford	12-1
2011	49ers	13-3
2012	49ers	11-4-1
2013	49ers	12-4
2014	49ers	8-8

That's three million less than the amount originally reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. As gaudy as that number remains, though, the contract is similar to the one Harbaugh had in San Francisco. It's clearly not about the money for him.

But there's still a difficult question: How long will Harbaugh stay in Ann Arbor? Even after an 8-8 season and an awkward relationship with team management, Harbaugh remains a hot coaching commodity. Imagine how tempting he'll look in seven years—the length of his contract—if he elevates Michigan to a national power again. 

And in this day and age, seven years anywhere is a decent tenure. 

When you've tasted that type of success, you want to taste it again. In his final press conference with the 49ers, Harbaugh left the door open to a possible return to the pros: 

"

Question by @timkawakami: "Will u miss the NFL?" Jim Harbaugh: "Is the NFL going somewhere?"

— Cam Inman (@CamInman) December 29, 2014"

To be clear, Harbaugh would get that chance if he wanted it. He's earned the right to be in this position. 

Michigan is a great job for Harbaugh right now, though, because it's a career palate cleanser. He's proved he can win at the highest level in his first go-around as a head coach. That part can't be stressed strongly enough because, while it shows Harbaugh has tremendous ability, it also shows he has room to grow. 

Sometimes, the only way to see that is to take a step back. Going back to the college ranks will be good for Harbaugh. Whether it's for a few years, 10 years or longer, Harbaugh will make college football more compelling, and he'll be a better coach for it. 

Realistically, that's all both sides should want. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com. Draft information courtesy of NFL.com.