Joel Klatt assesses who takes over at Michigan if Jim Harbaugh leaves

With rumors continuing to spread regarding whether or not Jim Harbaugh is going to stay put as Michigan‘s head coach or leave for a head coaching position in the NFL, no one is really sure what the veteran football coach is going to do.

While there has yet to be a new contract agreement between Harbaugh and Michigan, many signs point to the coach wanting to leave for the NFL – but that still remains all speculation. Regardless of what decision Harbaugh makes, it’s going to have an impact on things – especially for the Wolverines.

If Harbaugh indeed departs his job at Michigan for an NFL position, one primary question is asked: Who does Michigan hire to replace him? To FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt, he thinks the Wolverines would target a specific college head coach and also look to hire from within their own program.

“The name that I would look at would be like a Matt Campbell at Iowa State,” Klatt said on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. “Is he looking to try to get out of Iowa State before the Big 12 changes? Or you go with one of the coordinators. That staff did a remarkable job. I know that they are so happy with their staff at Michigan, so it might be a guy like Josh Gattis.”

While Campbell has compiled a 42-34 overall record in six seasons as Iowa State’s head coach, Harbaugh’s primary coordinators at Michigan – the offensive coordinator Gattis and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald – have both played pivotal roles in the Wolverines’ success over the years.

Michigan is coming off a 12-2 season in 2021, which included a Big Ten championship win and a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Klatt explains the reason Harbaugh would leave Michigan

FOX analyst Joel Klatt made an appearance on The Herd and explained why Jim Harbaugh may be interested in the move back to the professionals. With college football being completely different than a few years ago, it may be less stressful in the NFL.

“I don’t know whether he’ll go or not,” Klatt said. “I’m 50/50 on that as well. I’ve tried to talk with people in the know. I don’t know if he’s going to go or not. If he does, I don’t believe it will be because of the contract situation. I don’t think he harbors ill-will toward the contract situation. If he leaves, I think it would be because college football has changed drastically in the last two, three years. Now, with NIL and the one-time transfer — they’ve got great jobs but it’s just different. It’s hard to manage rosters, it’s hard to recruit your own players constantly, now you got to recruit the transfer portal, now you’ve got to have a kid sit in your living room asking, ‘Hey, can I get a State Farm deal?’ and it’s like ugh.”