Joel Klatt believes Jim Harbaugh NFL saga forced U-M to act on future
Michigan football has its head coach back for the foreseeable future in Jim Harbaugh, but not before another dance with the NFL. Whether or not it was a genuine pull or an attempt at negotiating a higher salary remains to be seen.
Ultimately, it finished in Michigan and Harbaugh coming to an agreement it would be sticking by each other. A new contract is on the way soon, but the NFL dalliance may have been a kick in the pants.
FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt thinks that it served to help Harbaugh not only angle for a better contract, but continue to push Michigan forward as a program.
RELATED: TheWolverine.com Chat: Michigan football – NCAA and Jim Harbaugh, Matt Weiss, more
“Well, let’s take a look at some of the reasons I think Jim Harbaugh is doing everything he can to push his program, Michigan, in a positive direction,” Klatt said this week on his podcast. “You might be thinking like how in the world is interviewing with an NFL team pushing your program in a positive direction? Well, life is about leverage, in a lot of ways. It is for me and my job and it is for you and your job, the more leverage you can gain and value you can derive.
“Then you can place that pressure on your employer to do things that you need them to do or to. You can make your life easier, you can try to make more money or you can push things that you care about further down the road.”
Top 10
- 1Breaking
DJ Lagway
Florida QB to return vs. LSU
- 2
Dylan Raiola injury
Nebraska QB will play vs. USC
- 3
Elko pokes at Kiffin
A&M coach jokes over kick times
- 4New
SEC changes course
Alcohol sales at SEC Championship Game
- 5
Bryce Underwood
Michigan prepared to offer No. 1 recruit $10.5M over 4 years
Klatt still does not believe that Michigan and Harbaugh were ever going to drift apart. Instead, he suggests that part of his playing hardball with the university had to do with modern issues – like NIL, transfer portal, etc. – and how to adapt.
“I believe that Jim Harbaugh’s flirtation with the NFL is a direct result of his desire to move Michigan and their football program along in the evolution of the sport, get further commitments as far as investments into the staff, get further commitments as far as investments into a collective and what’s going on with the NIL,” Klatt said. “Because the fact remains that if you look at the recruiting rankings, they weren’t as good as you would probably expect for a team that just finished with the second best record in college football over the last 18 months. Well, part of that is because Michigan, in a lot of ways, loves to rely on their reputation and their tradition, which is immense.
“They’re the winningest program in the history of college football. I get it right like I get it. I’ve been around Michigan a lot. And yes, you could and should rely on the tradition of your program. But that being said, one of the reasons why Michigan went through what they did in the last 15 years before Jim Harbaugh arrived in Ann Arbor was because at the last inflection point, they did not invest like other people did.”
Nothing has been signed as of this posting, but it is believe that Michigan will pay Harbaugh with a deal that makes him the highest-paid coach in the Big Ten and one of the highest in the nation. A timeline is not available on when that could take place, but with the NFL no longer an option, it should come together sooner rather than later.
