Reporting of Harbaugh’s potential departure to the NFL has become an annual tradition that Michigan football fans would be happy to see go away, but Harbaugh made it clear during the last off-season that it’s something he thinks about.
Although he opted to return to Michigan after interviewing for an NFL head coaching job, his relationship with the Big Ten Conference and the NCAA has led many to believe (once again) that this could be his final year in Ann Arbor.
Harbaugh began the season with a self-imposed three-game suspension regarding minor NCAA recruiting violations from 2020. Harbaugh then missed the final three games of the regular season against Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State due to a suspension from the Big Ten Conference surrounding the sign-stealing controversy. Even with missing a total of six games during the 2023 season, there’s a chance that the NCAA could still hand down additional punishments for the sign-stealing issue moving forward – and that’s something that likely factors in to Harbaugh’s decision-making process.
Either way you cut it, it’s clear that the University of Michigan, its leadership, the players, and the fans all prefer Jim Harbaugh to remain as head coach of the Wolverines for years to come.
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