Michigan football: The case for keeping Jim Harbaugh

There is a chance Jim Harbaugh could be back with Michigan football in 2021.

Michigan football and head coach Jim Harbaugh may not split at the end of the season after all.

This feels like rock bottom for the Michigan Wolverines under Harbaugh. Michigan is a dreadful 2-4 on the season. The Wolverines’ two wins are at the Minnesota Golden Gophers in their first game of the season and at the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in triple overtime. Because the Maryland Terrapins game was canceled, Michigan will not win a single game at The Big House in 2020.

Doubt and uncertainty are the biggest things in Jim Harbaugh’s favor

At the start of the eight-game, conference-only schedule, Michigan was thought it would battle for second place in the Big Ten East with the Penn State Nittany Lions behind the arch rival Ohio State Buckeyes. As it turns out, both Michigan and Penn State are terrible teams this year with a combined three wins between them. This downtick may be flukey, but it sure did happen in 2020.

The only game left on the Wolverines’ schedule is a road date vs. Ohio State. If Michigan miraculously wins this game in The Horseshoe, no doubt Harbaugh will keep his job. The only problem is he has not beaten the Buckeyes in his first five chances since being back in Ann Arbor. If it were to happen, it would knock the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff picture entirely.

So barring a season-altering victory over Ohio State in Columbus, why would Michigan willingly give Harbaugh a seventh year on the job? Two things come to mind: Doubt and uncertainty, both internally and externally. This comes down to if Harbaugh would want to leave his alma mater for another job, who Michigan could get to replace him that is better or if it is certain he is not the one.

Harbaugh rarely stays in the same job for very long. He has been in Ann Arbor longer than he was at his three previous posts in the San Francisco 49ers, the Stanford Cardinal or the San Diego Toreros. Should the Chicago Bears fire head coach Matt Nagy after three seasons, Harbaugh would be a serious candidate to go coach for one of the most notable NFL teams he played for.

Ultimately, it is hard to see Harbaugh leaving Michigan on his own accord for anything other than an NFL job. Why would anybody leave their alma mater willingly and be viewed as a failure to go coach somewhere else, even if it is a place like Texas, hypothetically speaking? It would have to be the right job, but the Bears’ potential opening is the one to seriously keep an eye on here.

As for who the Wolverines could get to replace him, the best candidate they could get is Matt Campbell of the Iowa State Cyclones. He has done marvelous things in Ames. His Midwestern ethos would play well in Ann Arbor. Guys like Tom Herman and Urban Meyer would not consider Michigan because of their Ohio State ties. After that, would you try your luck with Hugh Freeze?

There are not that many home-run hires to replace what was once though to be a home-run hire in Harbaugh back in 2015. Bringing in someone like P.J. Fleck or Steve Sarkisian would be seen as either a lateral move of a slight step down. Michigan has to know it can do better than Harbaugh before thinking about terminating him. And the biggest thing of all here, is he the guy or not?

Michigan has to be completely honest with itself here. Any uncertainty surrounding him 100 percent not being the guy means he will get another season. This is a COVID year and one where a proven head coach like Harbaugh could get the benefit of the doubt. Simply put, Michigan will have to know Campbell will come to Ann Arbor and will be better than Harbaugh right away in 2021.

The case for keeping Harbaugh at Michigan is a bleak one, but there is a pathway for him to return.

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