Pete Thamel lays out potential holdups in Jim Harbaugh contract extension at Michigan

Contract extension talks between Michigan and Jim Harbaugh have been ongoing for months, but thus far nothing has been agreed to.

There are multiple reasons a contract extension has yet to be signed, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

On ESPN College GameDay Saturday morning, Thamel detailed what is holding up the process.

“Michigan and Harbaugh have been talking for months about a contract. And there’s really two complications that sources have told me about in this,” Thamel said. “One is Michigan obviously would want a big buyout for Harbaugh to leave for the NFL. They don’t want to sign something, then [him] walk out the door weeks later.”

For the past few years, there have been rumors about Jim Harbaugh leaving Michigan for an NFL job. Those have already started heating up again, even with the Wolverines set to play Alabama in the Rose Bowl on Monday.

In addition to Michigan wanting Harbaugh to have a buyout that would deter him from leaving for the NFL, Thamel says that Harbaugh wants to be protected against being fired for cause.

There are currently two NCAA investigations taking place that involve Harbaugh.

“For Harbaugh, with these NCAA issues, there’s complication with the language for being fired for cause,” Thamel said. “They’re going to have to be very careful about that. The sides right now are at a bit of an impasse. And nothing is expected to happen until this NFL coaching cycle happens.”

If Jim Harbaugh does make the move to the NFL, it wouldn’t be the first time.

The former Michigan and longtime NFL quarterback went from being the head coach at Stanford to the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers ahead of the 2011 season.

Harbaugh was successful in San Francisco, leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl, where they came up just short. He was hired at Michigan ahead of the 2015 season but now could be looking to get back to the NFL. As Thamel pointed out, he has ties to a couple of NFL jobs that are open.

“We should brace for the third straight year of ‘Jim Harbaugh in the NFL’ cycle. There’s two NFL jobs that Harbaugh has ties to – the Chargers and the Raiders where he obviously played and then started his coaching career,” Thamel said. “Look for Harbaugh to seek an NFL job where he has some say, or at least some synchronization with the general manager. That dynamic did not go well in San Francisco and led to his departure from there.”