The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 25 "Personally, I can now sit at the big per- son's table in the family," Harbaugh said to laughter from the media after the win over Washington secured the champi- onship. "They won't keep me over there at the little table anymore. My dad, Jack Harbaugh, won a national championship [at Western Kentucky in 2002], and my brother [John] won a Super Bowl [Balti- more Ravens, 2013]. So, it's good to be at the big person's table from now on." Harbaugh became the first-ever coach to win three consecutive outright Big Ten titles. His team won 40 of its last 43 games. At the end of the 2023 season, he was one of five active head coaches to have won a national championship. He's one of six to win it all in Michigan history, and his mentor, Schembechler, is not on that list, showing just how hard it is to achieve. And with that, he'd accomplished his goal and prepared to say his goodbyes to Michigan. For three years, Harbaugh had flirted with the NFL. He admitted he had the itch after he interviewed with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, and sources said he was planning on taking the job, only to come back after reports he didn't interview well. Last year, Denver called and reportedly had two meetings with him before they hired Sean Payton. The third time was a charm. Sources said Harbaugh was offered a contract at Michigan that would have made him the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten and one of the highest in the country, and athletics director Warde Manuel said during the celebration at Crisler Center the Saturday after the title game he was trying to keep Harbaugh. "I am working on getting this man a new contract. I promise you," he said to a roaring crowd while Harbaugh tapped his heart in thanks. U-M President Santa Ono, on the field following the National Championship win over Washington, said he would do whatever he could to keep Harbaugh in Ann Arbor. However, the chance to chase the Lombardi Trophy proved too tough to overcome. Harbaugh admitted as much in his in- troductory press conference with the Chargers Feb. 1. While several accused the administration and athletics depart- ment of bungling his contract extension, Harbaugh made it clear why he really left. "It was time," he said. "I said this the other day, there's only so many sands left in the hourglass. I want another shot to simply be known as world champions and to win the Lombardi Trophy. That's my mission. "I felt that the Spanos family [Char- gers' ownership] and organization made clear they like what I did and how I did it. That's all you want from an employer." And now he'll have an opportunity to chase that dream. He leaves Michigan in great shape and as a national champion, having met the unbelievably high expectations everyone had for him when he arrived at U-M at the end of 2014. "The guy accomplished what we all wanted and expected him to do when he was hired," Skene said. "I think a lot of people thought he's here, all our prob- lems are gone, and we're going to be na- tional champions in three years. It took nine, and it felt great when they did it." Especially to his inner circle, includ- ing his family and closest friends. Per- haps nobody took it harder than his dad when the NCAA and Big Ten accused the program of "cheating." The only way to prove everyone wrong was to run the table, and that's what they did. Harbaugh's mother and father were recipients of two of the coach's biggest hugs on the field after the title game. "When he left the San Francisco 49ers, he called on the phone and asked [his mother] Jackie and myself what he should do. My wife said, 'It's hard to come home. It may not be what you want by coming home,'" Jack Harbaugh recalled, "I got on the phone. I said, 'Jim, you played there. You ran around the stadium. Bo [Schembechler] got on your tail and chewed you for the little things you did. You need to come back and see if you can't put Michigan in its rightful place in intercollegiate football.'" Nine years later, he's off on his next quest. But not before making Michigan great again. It was evident in speaking to him that it was as important to Jack Harbaugh as it was to Jim. "He's fulfilled the wish and desire he had to come back to make Michigan right," the elder Harbaugh said with a huge grin. And for that, Michigan fans every- where will be forever grateful. ❑ HARBAUGH'S RECORD AT MICHIGAN Year Record Big Ten League Finish Bowl Game, Result AP Rank 2015 10-3 6-2 B1G East (3rd) Citrus, Florida (W, 41-7) 11th 2016 10-3 7-2 B1G East (T-2nd) Orange, Florida State (L, 33-32) 10th 2017 8-5 5-4 B1G East (4th) Outback, South Carolina (L, 26-19) — 2018 10-3 8-1 B1G East (T-1st) Peach, Florida (L, 41-15) 14th 2019 9-4 6-3 B1G East (3rd) Citrus, Alabama (L, 35-16) 18th 2020 2-4 2-4 B1G East (6th) — — 2021 12-2 9-1 Big Ten Champs CFP-Orange Bowl, Georgia (L, 34-11) 3rd 2022 13-1 10-0 Big Ten Champs CFP-Fiesta Bowl, TCU (L, 51-45) 3rd 2023 12-0* 10-0 Big Ten Champs CFP-Rose Bowl, Alabama (W, 27-20 OT) 1st CFP National Championship, Washington (W, 34-13) Total 86-25 63-17 3x B1G Champions 2023 National Champions * Team finished 15-0; Harbaugh was suspended twice for a total 6 games; Michigan credited the final 3 regular-season wins to his record since that suspension was imposed by the Big Ten, not the NCAA When Harbaugh was introduced as Michigan head coach on Dec. 30, 2014, hopes ran high that he could turn the program around follow- ing a tough seven-year stretch. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN