The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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18 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2021 challenging and difficult 2020 for ev- eryone, and we want to make sure we are doing what is right for our stu- dent-athletes at every step along the way — and that ultimately is ensuring their health, safety and welfare." Ensuring Michigan's competitive welfare comes next on the docket. Manuel and Harbaugh insisted right along they'd talk about a contract extension after the season ended. That end came about abruptly, and at press time, followers of the Michi- gan football program remained wait- ing for the other shoe to drop. For his part, Harbaugh insisted on Detroit radio station 97.1 The Ticket that he wants to be around for the next chapter. "My plan is, I'm committed to Michigan," Harbaugh said. "I have been, am and will remain." The coach noted that despite all the struggles of 2020, he appreciated the Wolverines' togetherness. "I mean, I love this team," he said. "I am most impressed with how they handled themselves, with how they've handled a lot of the adversity." GETTING IT FIXED Provided Harbaugh's commit- ment gets parlayed into an exten- sion of his contract — on which one year remains — there's still plenty of work to do. That will likely involve staff changes and a hard look at ev- erything the Wolverines are doing, according to U-M radio sideline re- porter Doug Karsch. "Michigan football needs a re- boot," he said. "They need a restart that includes anybody that doesn't have a vision of team first being wel- comed to move on. This has been a strange year, and there's been a lot of talk about culture, and that things might get toxic. "Sometimes it's good just to flush your system from whatever ails you and come back next year. If I were Jim Harbaugh, he should be going one-on-one with every player and talking about their priorities, making sure everybody's mind is where he hopes and thinks they are. "Once he's established that, and weeds out whoever doesn't have the same priorities, then it's time to hit the transfer portal or keep recruiting the kids who have committed else- where. There's a late signing period, and you fill out your roster with kids who want to be at Michigan." Obviously, those in the highly re- garded, 20-man group of early sign- ees do, Karsch noted. "I'll say this about the kids that signed," he stressed. "The kids that signed, signed even with the uncer- tainty of the head coach. If you're looking for a silver lining, those are kids that want to be at the University of Michigan. "It's still a place that has great tra- dition. It's got the biggest stadium. It's got phenomenal facilities. It's a remarkable university, and even if The Wolverines set several marks of futility for the Jim Harbaugh era, including the team's worst-ever offensive (28.3 points per game) and defensive (34.5) scoring averages under the sixth-year head coach. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL