Jim Harbaugh says he has a plan for Michigan. Here’s what needs to happen

An agreement that has been in effect for almost a year, and an agreement that should have been entered into earlier, is being made.

Jim Harbaugh, who earned the nickname “Captain Comeback” more than two decades ago and drove with his strange coaching prowess in Ann Arbor in December 2014, will be for a while. That’s if he can figure this thing out in time.

Harbaugh on Friday signed a four-year extension that serves more than a brand new five-year contract, language and all, replacing the original agreement he signed more than six years ago, making him one of the highest paid college football coaches in the world. made the country. country.

The new treaty, which guarantees that Harbaugh will earn more than $ 4 million a year, no longer allows him to claim it. Instead, he will have to win more games and bring home championships, both in the Big Ten and the College Football Playoff, to almost recoup the $ 8 million he would raise in 2021.

It was a fiscally prudent move by Michigan and its athletic director, Warde Manuel, who got stuck between a rock and a tough spot to negotiate a contract extension for his head football coach amid a global pandemic. The school’s athletics department is financially hurting as its football team comes down from its worst season in the Harbaugh era, with just a 2-4 record and defense coordinator Don Brown’s defense.

More: Jim Harbaugh’s new contract: 5 years, $ 21 million, big incentives to win

But what struck Manuel was the right balance by giving Harbaugh the right financial package to hold on to while he had big incentives hanging in front of him trying to turn things around. Will it work? Only time will tell. And if that’s not the case, Michigan’s buyout amount (which starts at $ 4 million in 2021 and drops to $ 1 million each year thereafter) is small enough to justify rapid change – preferably under better economic conditions.

In the official announcement Friday afternoon, while Michigan received fierce social media criticism from its supporters and devoted supporters, Harbaugh Manuel thanked school president Mark Schlissel and his board of regents for following him while making candid comments about the state of the soccer program.

“Over the past few weeks, Warde and I have had discussions that have been honest, open, informative and constructive to move our football program forward,” Harbaugh said in a statement. Conversations I look forward to over the months and years to come. We have a plan. ‘

“There is work to be done and challenges to be addressed,” Harbaugh continued. “These challenges will be addressed as we continue to strive for excellence in the classroom and field championships, a message I hope will be noticed in the language of our agreed contract.”

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As noted above, Harbaugh’s new deal does not offer much in the way of an increase. If he lasts the life of the five years, his guaranteed wage will increase by about $ 426,000, a cost of living of 8 percent. It’s small compared to the original two of both parties, which includes two separate 10% increases, plus an addendum that provided Harbaugh with a $ 2 million life insurance credit.

This new deal is strongly focused on incentives, which is the duty on Harbaugh to win – and win fast. This is an appropriate request given the timeline – Harbaugh’s had six years to get there, with more than enough money and resources to do so, just to think of just one part of the Big Ten East Division title in 2018 . The Wolverines appeared to be heading in the right direction under Harbaugh, who stormed the scene in 2015 and won ten games, including a Florida route in the Citrus Bowl. Michigan followed up a 10-win regular season in 2016 and played a game of a Big Ten championship, but a controversial call in overtime led to a loss to the state of Ohio. Harbaugh’s teams have not come close since then, despite averaging nine wins over the next three seasons. The gap between Michigan and the second-best team in the eastern state of Ohio has widened without changing the signs of much change.

This raises the obvious question: What can Harbaugh do to change this? This is a complicated, nuanced matter that will not be resolved overnight. It’s going to require fundamental change in both approach and staff, and it looks like he’s destined to recover on the defensive side with the recent dismissal of Brown, whose valued man-to-man defense during the successful early years in Michigan celebrated and the last two, when statistical performance began to decline, just like recruiting profits. Whoever wants to replace Harbaugh with Brown, and recent reports suggest that Baltimore Ravens linebacker Mike Macdonald may be the man to design a defense that can best keep up. This is no easy task, given the pace at which college football teams are achieving these days, but a mix of speed, athleticism and size is needed. Anything less and the results, like this year, with sudden losses for the Ohio states and Wisconsin of the world, will continue.

Offensive, Harbaugh is in an interesting predicament. He has already given coordinator Josh Gattis two years to install his system and develop his play chops. Sure, you could point to a shortened season and important opt-outs to hamper progress in 2020, but the players Gattis wants are here. Gattis helped recruit Giles Jackson, Mike Sainristil and Roman Wilson. Ronnie Bell fits the system well. Backward AJ Henning is a man who Gattis had an integral part in landing. The excuse of not having staff is no longer valid.

Related: Jim Harbaugh signs contract extension with Michigan

That brings us to the quarterback position, a major reason why Harbaugh finds himself in Michigan for six years, without any hardware to show for it. He put everything into his ability to transfer Jake Rudock, the first-year student, but he has since got a slap in the face. Wilton Speight showed promise, injured and moved on. The John O’Korn transfer never took place. He fails to develop Brandon Peters. Shea Patterson never met hype – nor did his recruiting rankings. And as things currently stand, the jury remains on two other Harbaugh-designated quarterbacks, Joe Milton and Cade McNamara. And where does five-star signer JJ McCarthy fit into all this? Harbaugh has shown reluctance to play young full-backs early on, preferring to prevent them from being colleagues. Can he change the course for McCarthy? Maybe McCarthy will eventually win the job anyway. But the bottom line is that Harbaugh needs a better quarterback game to be able to work. After the coaching carousel laid the dust, and Michigan had its defense coordinator and staff in place, the quarterback should be a priority. 1. Maybe that means Harbaugh is dedicated to coaching the post.

Finally, recruiting remains the most important lifeline of a successful program – and Michigan finds itself in a rut. Yes, it continues to recruit well and pulls into the top 10 in most years, while still bridging the gap between the Wolverines’ obvious path to the Big Ten championship game and College Football Playoff – the state of Ohio. It’s a catch-22, right? Win attracts the best talent, and the best talent wins games. Until Michigan can compete with OSU and sometimes win a game, the road to regular recruiting of the Buckeyes is incredibly narrow. That’s why talent development is so important, especially on the defensive side. Whoever Harbaugh eventually hires with his defense staff must be the right mix of recruiters – coaches who are willing to put in extra effort, dig in and dominate talented areas – and talent developers.

Michigan’s have sunk some good under Harbaugh over the years. Jabrill Peppers. Maurice Hurst. Jaag Winovich. Devin Bush. Kwity Paye. The names on which staff can still point and say to a site: ‘It could be one day.’ But they do not regularly meet with the Wolverines to compete at the highest level. A concise, clear recruiting plan must be developed on the defensive side of the ball if it is to succeed.

Whether Harbaugh will still be here in 2025, the end of his new deal, remains to be seen. Many factors play a role – from the progress (and success) that Michigan will show in the next two years to the rest of the Big Ten East, a division that appears to be changing with the reinstatement of Greg Schiano at Rutgers, Tom Allen’s boom in Indiana and a Michigan State team is already in rebuilding mode (and finding success in it) under first-year head coach Mel Tucker. Meanwhile, the state of Ohio continues, without delay.

Harbaugh is no stranger to comebacks, but history shows he has never been in this situation before as a football coach. This makes the next year crucial for his reputation and Michigan, whose status of ‘blue blood’ in the eyes of traditionalists of college football has been eroding for years.