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Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel on Jim Harbaugh contract extension: 'We're working on it'

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•06/16/23•

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Warde Manuel
(Photo by Dominick Sokotoff / TheWolverine.com)

Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh — the 2022 Big Ten Coach of the Year — has led his team to two consecutive conference championships and College Football Playoff appearances. While he made over $10 million last year due to incentives, Harbaugh’s base salary was $7.05 million — fourth in the Big Ten behind Michigan State’s Mel Tucker, Ohio State’s Ryan Day and Penn State’s James Franklin.

For a second straight offseason, Harbaugh received interest from the NFL, where he played quarterback for 15 years and then was the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach, leading the organization to 49 wins in four seasons from 2011-14. He had multiple conversations with the Denver Broncos, including an in-person sit-down in Ann Arbor this past winter.

Harbaugh chose to remain at Michigan after Denver made a strong push. He was reportedly negotiating a contract extension with Michigan that would include a hefty raise in salary, but it has yet to be signed. Per reports, including from TheWolverine.com‘s Chris Balas, the NCAA’s investigation into Harbaugh and his program (they were presented with multiple allegations earlier this offseason) has played a factor in the delay.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, who just presented the fiscal year 2024 budget to U-M’s board of regents in a Thursday meeting, was asked about the status of Harbaugh’s potential raise.

“Jim and I keep talking and will continue to talk — he’s in the second year of a five-year agreement, but we’ve had conversations about that,” Manuel said following the board meeting, per the Detroit Free Press. “At the appropriate time, we’ll make an announcement, but he’s in a good place, he and I have had great conversations and so I feel good about where we are.”

Manuel would not give a firm timeline on when the deal will be finalized.

“It’s a ‘We’re working on it, talking about it and when it’s there to announce, we’ll announce it,'” he added.

He also said there is “no update at this point in time,” regarding the NCAA allegations.

Harbaugh has won 74 games in eight seasons at Michigan, including the shortened 2020 campaign (six contests). That ranks seventh in the nation and second in the Big Ten (Ohio State; 90) during that span. During his tenure, only two teams have won multiple Big Ten titles — U-M and the Buckeyes.

The Wolverines went 2-4 in 2020, prior to the last two seasons which have included 25 wins, prompting Manuel to slash Harbaugh’s salary in half, in unprecedented fashion. The coach received a raise last offseason.

Harbaugh’s win total ranks fourth among the 20 Michigan head coaches in history, trailing Bo Schembechler (194 wins), Fielding Yost (165) and Lloyd Carr (122). His .747 winning percentage also checks in fourth among those with more than 90 games coached. The Maize and Blue won just 46 games in the seven seasons prior to Harbaugh’s arrival.

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