The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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20 THE WOLVERINE ❱ OCTOBER 2024 The Wolverine: Some will say the NCAA and the Big Ten drove Jim Harbaugh out of college foot- ball. Some will say he simply wanted to make the jump to the NFL and win a Super Bowl. Some will inevitably say Michigan didn't do enough to keep him in Ann Ar- bor. What do you say about why Harbaugh is in the NFL right now? Manuel: "Jim is one of the strongest people I know. I don't think this sense that he ran from anything is anything people should be thinking about. "I also know what we put forward for Jim. Any speculation that Michigan wasn't trying or didn't work hard to keep him — whether it's me or anybody else they want to try and come down on — I think is unfounded. "The way I would answer that question is with his own words. Jim may not always say something directly, or the way people would want, leaving them longing for in- terpretation. But there's nothing there for people to lack the understanding. "At his press conference he said, 'I couldn't win the Lombardi Trophy at the University of Michigan.' It had nothing to do with anything else. "I told him, I wish you well. I didn't want that outcome. But I'm always going to be a fan of Jim and support him, just as I was here,and did here." The Wolverine: What are your thoughts on hiring Sherrone Moore, and the level of patience he should be granted in building his own program up? Manuel: "He has my full support. He has the support of the president and the board. He's the first coach I've ever hired that had a four-game interview process before we hired him, because of every- thing we were dealing with. "Jim had a really high regard for him as a coach and as a leader. He expressed to me that he thought Sherrone really had what it takes to be a head coach and to ultimately replace him, if he left. "This was at a time when things weren't tumultuous. We just had a conversation, as I do with a lot of my coaches. Who's next? Who do you like? Who is strong on your staff? Give me a sense of where you are. For the last few years, he's spoken very strongly and highly of Sherrone. "Because of all of that, and all the suc- cess we generated, the success under him as offensive coordinator, my observa- tions of him, with what Jim conveyed to me, led to an interview with me. He and I talked about the team and the direction, and what he would do to lead the team. I didn't want him to come in and say, 'I'm just going to do what Jim did.' He's not Jim. Different personalities. "He was unbelievable in that conver- sation and discussion. With that, I made the recommendation to the president. He felt good about Sherrone and the con- versation I had with him, and about why. It led to him being hired pretty quickly. "We had, in my opinion, the best can- didate to lead Michigan right here on our staff. With that, there was no need to go into the next level of candidates that I had looked at, reviewed and prepared. "All in all, it's the best decision for us. He's a great coach, and he has the time to build. This is a very tough schedule. We have 16 players from last year's team on NFL rosters — right now. We have another eight to 10 that were in [train- ing] camps. "You have 26 student-athletes from a national championship team that are no longer on your team. I don't care how great of a coach you are. You have a harder job that next year, because of the amount of loss you had from the success you had. "Now, I feel good about the team we have. We are working hard. He's done a great job, putting together his staff, particularly on the defensive side. The players have been working to win — now. We don't go into any game thinking we're going to lose. We can't make mis- takes, for example, against a very, very good Texas team, the same way people couldn't make those mistakes against us last year and think they were going to stay in the game. "When you're young, and have that level of inexperience, particularly on the offensive side, you can't make mis- takes and think you're going to overcome those, particularly when you make sev- eral of them. "He definitely has time. He definitely has done a great job with the team. I've been around. I've watched them. I've talked to the guys on the team. They're all focused and putting every effort into In July, Manuel was named recipient of the 2024 National Football Foundation's John L. Toner Award, which recognizes athletics directors who have demonstrated superior administrative abili- ties and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics, particularly college football. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS