The end of the Jim Harbaugh extension saga is near … or at least it needs to be, one way or the other.
Harbaugh still had not signed his deal as of Sunday night. That, of course, leaves the door open a bit in case he wants to pursue other jobs (in this case it would be the NFL. The New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers are expected to have openings, the Jets already having confirmed it).
It stands to reason Harbaugh would already have some idea about New York’s interest, if any, and his name hasn’t been linked to that (or any other) job. The Chargers gig is a bit more interesting. It’s essentially in his wife’s family’s backyard, and the owners have been going back and forth on head coach Anthony Lynn.
Lynn won his last four, has quarterback Jason Herbert’s endorsement and is 50-50 to return now, according to reports. He’ll sit down tomorrow with ownership, at which point his fate will be determined.
Meanwhile, as has been reported, Harbaugh has been telling everyone he wants to return to Michigan, plans to return and is working hard toward securing a new staff. As we’ve also reported, Tuesday is the day he plans to meet with his staff in Ann Arbor, and that’s been understood as the day his extension is made official and — potentially — some big names are announced as new staff.
We’ve said many times, “the longer it goes, the less likely it is that Jim Harbaugh returns.” Strong opinion — Tuesday needs to be the drop-dead date, and Harbaugh has essentially drawn his own line in the sand in that respect. According to many, he’s made it clear that that’s when a lot should be settled (and believe us, a lot of questions have been asked).
Coaches and players have been acting on the information that he’s likely to return — and again, nothing is done until it’s signed — and they deserve to know what their immediate boss is thinking, not only for their families and their own futures, but in dealing with recruits.
Players who may or may not transfer have a vested interest, as do recruits and their families, and A.D. Warde Manuel needs to know if he should ramp up his search for a new coach. He simply can’t head into the 2021 season with a lame duck coach in the last year of his contract.
If Harbaugh doesn’t sign Tuesday, it’s probably time to pull the plug.
Essentially, then, that gives Harbaugh less than a day to secure an NFL gig, unless there’s been a clandestine effort to do something behind the scenes. If so, as one of our colleagues noted, it might be the greatest head fake in the history of sport given what Harbaugh’s been saying and doing in the pursuit of other coaches to round out his staff, etc.
Those whose jobs/careers depend on his return would very likely feel betrayed. Harbaugh, though, could always say he was acting as U-M’s coach should and putting in all that effort because he was under contract, and that’s what he was paid to do regardless of speculation. Remember, even when things were working behind the scenes with Michigan six years ago, he was 100 percent committed to finishing his season strong at San Francisco and committed to the cause, refusing to talk about other jobs.
Most close to it remain convinced he’ll be back. Even if he's interested in the NFL, there’s no guarantee the interest is mutual. There’s also not much time to wait and see where he falls in the pecking order if other candidates fall through, for example.
But while words like “optimistic,” “close” and “finish line” have been thrown around, “it’s signed” hasn’t. As another astute colleague we respect (who also strongly believes Harbaugh will return) said, ‘even a 90 percent chance of rain leaves a 10 percent chance it won’t.’
Either way, this needs to end sooner than later.
Harbaugh still had not signed his deal as of Sunday night. That, of course, leaves the door open a bit in case he wants to pursue other jobs (in this case it would be the NFL. The New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers are expected to have openings, the Jets already having confirmed it).
It stands to reason Harbaugh would already have some idea about New York’s interest, if any, and his name hasn’t been linked to that (or any other) job. The Chargers gig is a bit more interesting. It’s essentially in his wife’s family’s backyard, and the owners have been going back and forth on head coach Anthony Lynn.
Lynn won his last four, has quarterback Jason Herbert’s endorsement and is 50-50 to return now, according to reports. He’ll sit down tomorrow with ownership, at which point his fate will be determined.
Meanwhile, as has been reported, Harbaugh has been telling everyone he wants to return to Michigan, plans to return and is working hard toward securing a new staff. As we’ve also reported, Tuesday is the day he plans to meet with his staff in Ann Arbor, and that’s been understood as the day his extension is made official and — potentially — some big names are announced as new staff.
We’ve said many times, “the longer it goes, the less likely it is that Jim Harbaugh returns.” Strong opinion — Tuesday needs to be the drop-dead date, and Harbaugh has essentially drawn his own line in the sand in that respect. According to many, he’s made it clear that that’s when a lot should be settled (and believe us, a lot of questions have been asked).
Coaches and players have been acting on the information that he’s likely to return — and again, nothing is done until it’s signed — and they deserve to know what their immediate boss is thinking, not only for their families and their own futures, but in dealing with recruits.
Players who may or may not transfer have a vested interest, as do recruits and their families, and A.D. Warde Manuel needs to know if he should ramp up his search for a new coach. He simply can’t head into the 2021 season with a lame duck coach in the last year of his contract.
If Harbaugh doesn’t sign Tuesday, it’s probably time to pull the plug.
Essentially, then, that gives Harbaugh less than a day to secure an NFL gig, unless there’s been a clandestine effort to do something behind the scenes. If so, as one of our colleagues noted, it might be the greatest head fake in the history of sport given what Harbaugh’s been saying and doing in the pursuit of other coaches to round out his staff, etc.
Those whose jobs/careers depend on his return would very likely feel betrayed. Harbaugh, though, could always say he was acting as U-M’s coach should and putting in all that effort because he was under contract, and that’s what he was paid to do regardless of speculation. Remember, even when things were working behind the scenes with Michigan six years ago, he was 100 percent committed to finishing his season strong at San Francisco and committed to the cause, refusing to talk about other jobs.
Most close to it remain convinced he’ll be back. Even if he's interested in the NFL, there’s no guarantee the interest is mutual. There’s also not much time to wait and see where he falls in the pecking order if other candidates fall through, for example.
But while words like “optimistic,” “close” and “finish line” have been thrown around, “it’s signed” hasn’t. As another astute colleague we respect (who also strongly believes Harbaugh will return) said, ‘even a 90 percent chance of rain leaves a 10 percent chance it won’t.’
Either way, this needs to end sooner than later.
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