Jim Harbaugh discusses what his legacy at Michigan will be: 'That's something I think about daily'

Michigan Wolverines head football coach Jim Harbaugh has been at the helm in Ann Arbor for seven seasons now, going on eight. He’s posted a 61-24 record, won one Big Ten title and appeared in a College Football Playoff. On the flip side, his detractors are quick to point out his record against Ohio State (1-5) and that he hadn’t won the Big Ten until his seventh season.

What would Harbaugh’s legacy at Michigan be if he would’ve departed for the NFL this offseason?

It’s a discussion many fans began to have once he got on that plane to interview with the Minnesota Vikings back in early February, but not one that ever really finished (mostly because Harbaugh decided to stay at Michigan).

He certainly returned the program to prominence, taking over a team that won five games the year prior and flipping the trajectory, with 10-win campaign in his first year and three more throughout his tenure. The Wolverines are one of five programs to win eight or more games in every full-length season since 2015, with Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma being the others.

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In an interview with Lindsay Huddleston of Sports Psychology Solutions, Harbaugh said he believes his legacy will end up being a good one, but not for the reasons we listed or ones others might be thinking of.

Huddleston asked Harbaugh about his legacy, though he noted the Michigan coach probably hasn’t thought about that yet. That assumption was incorrect, in fact. His legacy is something that comes to mind on a daily basis.

“I do think a lot about that, as a matter of fact,” Harbaugh said. “That’s something I think about daily.

“Now, you’re not gonna know it for another 10 years, 15 or even 20 years. And it’s all gonna be about what these young men that I coach, how they turn out to be. What kind of fathers they are, what kind of husbands they are, what kind of people they are in their communities.

“I think you’re gonna find it’s gonna be pretty good. But that’s something I think about all the time. That’s overarching, what this is all about.”

Harbaugh has prioritized character during the recruiting process, and his teams at Michigan have had very few off-the-field issues. The Wolverines also stress academics and have earned high APR scores (In 2020, Michigan was one of 30 FBS programs to notch a multiyear score of 980 or higher, for example).

So Harbaugh is likely right to feel good about how the future will play out.

Jim Harbaugh’s Legacy Stance Not A New One

Harbaugh credited his father, Jack Harbaugh, for inspiring his belief on what a coach’s legacy is. The truth is, Jack Harbaugh probably didn’t come up with it, either (and that’s not a knock on the now-retired longtime coach). That’s long been the stance at Michigan, dating back to the Bo Schembechler days.

Then the head coach at San Diego, Harbaugh told a story with the same exact principle at Michigan’s 2004 reunion that celebrated 125 years of Wolverines football.

“I want to share a story with you,” Harbaugh told fellow former Michigan players at the event. “It took place six days before my first start at quarterback at the University of Michigan. We’re getting ready to play Miami, Florida, who, by the way, was the No. 1 team in the nation, the defending champs.

“I’m sitting in [then-Michigan quarterbacks coach] Jerry Hanlon‘s office — it’s a Monday — I’m bugging him, he’s doing a crossword puzzle. I’m trying to get his attention, and I throw out a dumb question to him. And then Jerry answered it, and unlocked the secret to what Michigan football is all about.

“And the question was, I just simply said, ‘What kinda team we gonna have this year, Coach?’ And without looking up, he said, ‘It’s too early to tell, Jimmy.’ I said, ‘Coach, six days until we play our first ball game … you don’t know what kinda team we’re gonna have?’

“He looked up and said, ‘Jimmy, when you guys come back 15, 20 years from now, and we know what kind of men you are, what kind of husbands you’ve become, what kind of fathers you are, then we’ll know how good this football team is.'”