DETROIT — During a year when positivity rates and contact tracing have become part of the football lexicon, when games have been played in front of empty stadiums or wiped out altogether, when almost nothing this season has gone according to plan, it seemed fitting that there would be a day like Tuesday for Michigan football.
At 1:23 p.m., the world learned the Wolverines would not play Ohio State for the first time in 103 years because of an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
By the 4 o'clock hour, Jim Harbaugh and his boss, athletic director Warde Manuel, were deflecting questions about the head coach's long-term future at the university.
Manuel all but sighed and said, "The world is unique right now."
It was an understatement. But it captured this sliver of time perfectly and explained how everyone within the Michigan program had come to arrive at a point where everything seems out of the ordinary.
At the same time Harbaugh rued the lost opportunity to face the Buckeyes, Manuel stumped for a rival trying to gain admittance to the College Football Playoff despite playing five times this year.
"I think Ohio State is one of the top four teams in this country," he said.
Manuel made that comment shortly after revealing his plans to table talks with Harbaugh about his contract status until the season is over, which defied both reports that extension talks were underway and commonsense as well.
After all, the early signing period begins Dec. 16 — three days before the last scheduled game. The class of prospects Michigan welcomes will want to know whether Harbaugh will lead them when they arrive on campus.
"Jim and I have always talked at the end of the season," Manuel said. "Always. This is not, 'Oh, we're making this up this year.' "
That may be true. But it would seem Michigan would be flexible and deviate from standard practice because of the unusual circumstances at play. Harbaugh is the only Power Five coach with less than two years remaining on his contract, which is due to expire three days after the last game is played in 2021. Logic suggests that if the school wants to secure Harbaugh for the foreseeable future it would do so before recruits consider other options. If the university determines Harbaugh isn't worth retaining, it would be prudent to make that call before potential replacements land jobs elsewhere.
But both Manuel and Harbaugh don't appear to be operating on an accelerated timetable dictated by the signing period or the next spin of the coaching carousel.
"We were going to talk about it at the end of the season," Harbaugh maintained.
Both Manuel and Harbaugh never envisioned this scenario materializing, where the favored son who came back to lead the program would be so vulnerable.
But as Manuel said, 2020 has been unique.
After Harbaugh campaigned in the streets for his team to play in September, the Wolverines have cratered on the field. They are 2-4 and have suffered a series of setbacks that were both historic and shocking, including the most lopsided home defeat since 1935 against Wisconsin, the first loss to Indiana in 33 years and a jarring upset by Michigan State.
The COVID-19 outbreak that has canceled their last two games was the latest blow to the program, which bragged about its testing protocols and the adherence to them. Since last week, Michigan has had to defend itself against baseless accusations that the interruptions caused by the virus were motivated by the team's desire to avoid a humiliating loss against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes were installed as a 29-point favorite Sunday and a resounding defeat Saturday would only add to the discontent that has grown in Ann Arbor.
It would also further chip away at Harbaugh's eroding reputation, which Manuel defended.
"Jim has been a leader and phenomenal in his efforts with his team," he said. "He's committed to this team. He's committed to this department. He's committed to this university. So, from my standpoint, he has been doing everything at a high level, including his efforts with the team."
The comment flew in the face of the reality where nothing seems certain or normal for a football team mired in adversity. The all-time winningest program has a losing record. A rivalry called "The Game" won't actually be played. And in the advanced stage of the season, it's still unclear whether a coach who grew up in Ann Arbor, who starred for the big university in town, will stay employed with the school he loves.
Manuel was right about one thing Tuesday: It's certainly unique.
