Despite all the rumors and the interview talk with the Broncos, we are still hearing that both Michigan and Harbaugh are in talks on a new deal.
From talking with my strongest sources this evening, it appears that both U-M and Harbaugh are in lockstep on a number of things in regard to the said deal.
Those things include:
- An increased salary to make him the highest-paid coach in the conference ($11 million base is what I have heard but have NOT been able to confirm that number). Some achievable incentives could see that number go even higher.
- A major increase in staff salary, a pool that looks to be around $7.3 million and with incentives of around $1.7 million to bump that number up to $9 million. Again, those numbers are what I am hearing and haven't been fully verified but it jives with a lot of what we're hearing.
- Buyout numbers appear to be in the same ballpark. We are hearing around $5 million for the buyout. Again, not 100% confirmed but that's the initial number that was thrown out there. It appears that the two sides did some negotiating to get to a number that both parties could come to an agreement with. I'm not sure if it's finalized but it's headed in the right direction.
- Things that are not in the contract language include increased efforts in NIL, which Harbaugh has explicitly stated needs support.
It sounds like it's coming down to the contract being on the desk waiting for Harbaugh to sign it. We were told that Harbaugh intended to meet with Santa Ono yesterday. That meeting, from what we were told, did indeed happen but Harbaugh left the meeting without signing the deal.
So that's kind of where we're at. I am in wait-and-see mode right now. The attitude about whether he stays or goes hasn't really changed and those I trust are referring to the NFL as a 'Plan B' option. I think there is some growing annoyance that it's getting dragged out like it has but the opinion remains the same: Harbaugh is going to stay in Ann Arbor.
From talking with my strongest sources this evening, it appears that both U-M and Harbaugh are in lockstep on a number of things in regard to the said deal.
Those things include:
- An increased salary to make him the highest-paid coach in the conference ($11 million base is what I have heard but have NOT been able to confirm that number). Some achievable incentives could see that number go even higher.
- A major increase in staff salary, a pool that looks to be around $7.3 million and with incentives of around $1.7 million to bump that number up to $9 million. Again, those numbers are what I am hearing and haven't been fully verified but it jives with a lot of what we're hearing.
- Buyout numbers appear to be in the same ballpark. We are hearing around $5 million for the buyout. Again, not 100% confirmed but that's the initial number that was thrown out there. It appears that the two sides did some negotiating to get to a number that both parties could come to an agreement with. I'm not sure if it's finalized but it's headed in the right direction.
- Things that are not in the contract language include increased efforts in NIL, which Harbaugh has explicitly stated needs support.
It sounds like it's coming down to the contract being on the desk waiting for Harbaugh to sign it. We were told that Harbaugh intended to meet with Santa Ono yesterday. That meeting, from what we were told, did indeed happen but Harbaugh left the meeting without signing the deal.
So that's kind of where we're at. I am in wait-and-see mode right now. The attitude about whether he stays or goes hasn't really changed and those I trust are referring to the NFL as a 'Plan B' option. I think there is some growing annoyance that it's getting dragged out like it has but the opinion remains the same: Harbaugh is going to stay in Ann Arbor.
