The season had just ended, and the bitter taste of defeat still lingered.
Yet Jim Harbaugh wore a placid expression and seemed at peace with the result. His Michigan football team may have lost by 23 points to Georgia in its debut in the College Football Playoff, but the program was still trending upwards.
“Yeah,” Harbaugh said, “it was a great season.”
Even better, he continued, there was promise of more to come.
“To me,” he continued, “it feels like a start. … A beginning.”
As the reigning Big Ten champions sauntered into 2022 with renewed confidence, the vibes circulating around Ann Arbor were as positive as they’ve been during this century. Not only had the Wolverines reached their highest win total since claiming a share of the national title in 1997 but they also vanquished Ohio State for the first time in Harbaugh’s tenure. That victory was a cathartic one, sending thousands streaming onto the snow-specked field at Michigan Stadium to celebrate the conquest of an enemy that tormented Michigan for the last decade.
Once again, fans of the Maize and Blue believed anything was possible.
“Michigan should be at the top,” center Andrew Vastardis said days before the CFP semifinal. “I think that legacy must carry on.”
But the chances it will continue in the coming years appear less certain than they did a week ago. A report by the Athletic said Harbaugh “might be tempted” to return to the NFL, where the coach experienced great success while leading the San Francisco 49ers to three consecutive conference title games and a Super Bowl appearance.
Once again, fans of the Maize and Blue believed anything was possible.
“Michigan should be at the top,” center Andrew Vastardis said days before the CFP semifinal. “I think that legacy must carry on.”
But the chances it will continue in the coming years appear less certain than they did a week ago. A report by the Athletic said Harbaugh “might be tempted” to return to the NFL, where the coach experienced great success while leading the San Francisco 49ers to three consecutive conference title games and a Super Bowl appearance.
Could this be the consequence of Harbaugh seeing the huge talent disparity between Georgia and Michigan? Is there reason to believe he’s upset at the Michigan administration’s intransigence with its policies on transfer admission requirements or name, image and likeness?
No one knows for sure what may trigger a potential move or even if Harbaugh is considering a sudden departure from his alma mater. He’s a famously private person who keeps his own counsel, which only adds to the vexing nature of the whispers about his intentions.
Trying to get inside Harbaugh’s head is a futile endeavor, so the only sensible course of action is to take him at his word.
Harbaugh publicly supported a one-time free transfer rule for student-athletes and backed the university’s strict admission standards that potentially impeded undergraduate players who had left other programs from joining the Wolverines.
“It’s not an easy school to get into,” he said last July. “You’ve got to be a good student. We embrace that. We say good. That’s a good thing.”
Harbaugh offered a similarly sunny response when he was recently pressed about the reduced contract he signed last January.
“I would do this job for free,” he said on the eve of the Wolverines’ loss to Georgia. “I love it.”
But has that deep affection been tested by the new climate of college football, which is more transactional than ever? The rise of the transfer portal and the inception of NIL have changed the rules of engagement since Harbaugh returned to his alma mater in December 2014. Is there more appeal in the stable environment of the NFL, where Harbaugh is familiar with the inner workings of a league whose financial structure creates parity?
These are the questions now contemplated by a Michigan fan base on edge. The promise of a better tomorrow with Harbaugh at the helm has been replaced by gnawing doubts about what may lie ahead should he walk away.
Late last month, as he reflected on the ascent of his Wolverines, Harbaugh said the buzz around the program was back.
He was right. But as 2022 has begun, the hum has a different tone, and it’s not a pleasant one for Michigan diehards. It has become deafening as the murmurs have amplified, creating a loud, aggravating soundscape preventing U-M supporters from enjoying what their favorite college team just accomplished.
What a shame that is.
