Jim Tressel doesn't hold back on Jim Harbaugh's tenure at Michigan

Former Ohio State head coach (2001-2010) Jim Tressel sounded off on Jim Harbaugh’s track record at Michigan.

“Because of his lack of winning in The Game (against Ohio State) and lack of winning in the postseason, that makes it tougher to have a win-loss legacy,” Tressel said. “I really don’t know what his legacy is with his student-athletes and what the relationships are and so forth. And that’s the ones that last the longest anyway.”

If anyone knows what it’s like to win The Game, it’s Tressel. He won nine of his ten games against Michigan during his tenure. Harbaugh only has one, which was this past season and the first time in 17 seasons — the first time since Tressel’s lone loss in 2003.

His postseason point rings true as well. Harbaugh’s Wolverines are 1-5 in bowl games and haven’t won one since his first season in Ann Arbor when they defeated Florida in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day in 2016.

“The public is going to assess the win-loss records,” Tressel said. “But the impact that you have with your students, that’s really what your record is and honestly, I’m not sure what those relationships are. So, I guess I’ve got to give him a 1 star on the win-loss thing.”

Harbaugh’s win-loss record is actually pretty impressive. He sits at 61-24 in seven seasons with Michigan. Tressel is talking about winning where it counts — Harbaugh has yet to do that.

The thing is, he may never accomplish that at Michigan. Rumor has it that he’s heavily considering the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job.

It’s no secret Harbaugh wants a Super Bowl ring and is willing to take any job that’s the right fit, not just the Raiders job, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. His brother, John, robbed him of that during Super Bowl XLVII where the Ravens defeated the 49ers 34-31 in 2013. Two years later, Harbaugh took the Michigan job and until this past season, didn’t look like it was going to work out long-term.

Over 25 percent of NFL teams will likely be looking for a breath of fresh air on the head coaching front, so who’s to say Harbaugh should be limited to just Las Vegas?

The Vikings, Bears, Broncos, Dolphins and Jaguars are the other five teams to have already fired their headman and with at least a couple more firings incoming once the postseason winds down, Harbaugh has options.

But with all the buzz of Harbaugh to the NFL building up as the days go by, it almost seems inevitable he heads out of Ann Arbor. But why? 

He just led Michigan to their first win over Ohio State in 17 seasons, not to mention their first College Football Playoff appearance in school history. Harbaugh earned $1.5 million in incentives from winning their division and conference as well as their playoff berth. Fans are reeling for more, so why not give them what they want?