Jim Harbaugh tells story of how Bo Schembechler changed the trajectory of his football career

Michigan Wolverines football head coach Jim Harbaugh, once upon a time, was the quarterback of the very program he now coaches (1982-86). In an appearance on the Rich Eisen Show, Harbaugh was asked if he channels his former coach, Bo Schembechler, whose name is on the building in which the team operates out of.

“Yeah, daily,” Harbaugh responded. “As I drive into work, park in the spot and walk by the statue, it’s every day. Put the fingerprint on the door and walk in. Recommit every day.”

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Harbaugh then told a story of how his Michigan coach helped shape his future. It occurred ahead of spring ball during his redshirt freshman season of 1983.

“The trajectory was just going on a line, just kinda finding myself the first couple years,” Harbaugh said, adding that it was Schembechler who helped the trajectory turn for the better.

“I was coming out of Angel Hall, walking across State Street, and I see Bo Schembechler coming out of the union, coming down those steps. You could picture that. I get about halfway across the street and go, ‘Uh oh, I’m going to run into Coach Schembechler here; I hope he doesn’t see me,’ is what I was thinking.

“But he did see me, and we cross paths. He stops me — ’how you doing, Jim?’ ‘Coming from class. Yes, coach. Coming from class!’ ‘How’s it going?’ ‘It’s going good.’ ‘What are you weighing?’ ‘Ah, about 202 pounds.’ And I’ll never forget, he looks down at his shoes, looks up at me, kinda kicks the sidewalk a little bit and he goes, ‘Jim, you might be the best quarterback we’ve ever recruited to the University of Michigan, or you might be the biggest mistake ever made in recruiting the quarterback position.’

“He looked back down at his shoes, and he started walking down State Street. I started watching him go, and I couldn’t figure out what the heck that was about. It took me some months, but when I finally figured it out, it dawned on me. What he was telling me was, my fate was in my hands.

“That was a real inflection point for me. I decided, it’s up to me; it’s my responsibility to turn my circumstances into success. I have a lot of gratitude to Coach Schembechler for a lot of things, but none more than that fateful meeting in March right before spring practice of my sophomore year.”

Harbaugh, of course, wound up throwing for over 5,000 yards in his Michigan career, earning All-America honors as a fifth-year senior and being tabbed as a Heisman Trophy finalist that same season. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the first round of the 1987 NFL Draft and went on to play 15 seasons in the league.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh on NIL, Big Ten revenue share

At Big Ten Media Days in late July, Michigan’s head coach laid out his stance that the Big Ten should sign players to NIL deals and share in the revenue from its massive television contract. The deal the conference signed, that begins in 2023 and runs through the 2029-30 athletic year, is worth $7 billion.

To Harbaugh, it’s obvious that the players should get a piece of the pie.

“Yeah, who wouldn’t feel that way? I can’t imagine that,” Michigan’s coach, who’s long been an NIL supporter, said. “To put more depth to it, though, I think the Big Ten is the one who’s negotiating those contracts, and they are in the billions. In my opinion — and I don’t think I’m alone in that opinion — the players should share in that revenue.

“It’s been decided in the courts that the players can profit off of their name, image and likeness. Again, that’s another just simple, fair thing to do. If somebody’s selling a jersey, for example, with your name on it or your son’s name on it, your son should be able to profit from that sale. I think we could all agree that would be fair. And that’s already been decided; that’s already been decided at the NCAA level and at the court level. 

“I would also argue that the Big Ten, who’s negotiating the TV deals, they are using the name, image and likeness of the players. So, henceforth, I would make the connection that the players should be able to profit off their name, image and likeness.”

Eisen asked Harbaugh if Schembechler would be in favor of NIL.

“It’s unknowable, other than, football’s always been a game that’s evolved,” the eighth-year Michigan coach said. “You look back to, it’s evolved to a forward pass. There have been many innovations and changes to the game.

“I’d be only speculating, but I would speculate and say that if Bo Schembechler saw what some of the revenues were and some of the TV revenues were, that he would’ve wanted his players to share in that. That’s only a guess; it’s unknowable.”