Many pieces from the back-to-back Big Ten Champions team are back in Ann Arbor for another run next season. 3 Heisman candidates on offense, a very strong and deep offensive line, 2 WR's with a ton of experience, and a young TE that could be the next Jake Butt. The defense which did lose a few pieces did replace some pass rush in the portal and now needs to make sure they can sure up the secondary.
One major piece was left, the head ball coach and former Michigan QB. When Michigan twitter was on fire last week and many wanted Warde to be fired, I wrote an article that you can't blame Warde for a decision that doesn't lie with him. That there was a new Santa and in town and the decision and dollars to keep Jimmy would be on his desk and his desk alone. He stepped in and got the job done and Jim Harbaugh will remain Michigan's head coach.
Which leads to a few questions:
Did Warde get cut off at the knees?
Was there little to no interest from the NFL?
Warde did lose some power when Santa was hired and clearly is invested in athletics. Will Santa be this involved in hiring the Tennis coach? Probably not, but a decision to pay and keep Harbaugh happy is a President's decision that affects the University of Michigan in so many ways. He did the right thing in getting involved. It's a business no brainer. I wouldn't be surprised if Warde found a new AD role sometime in the next year or so.
Jimmy called the CEO of the Broncos on Monday to let him know he is staying at Michigan. That the Bronco's remained interested but no contract terms were ever discussed as they go through the hiring process.
Now this is over, it's time to focus on recruiting.
#1 - Close out the 2023 class as strongly as possible in a couple of weeks.
#2 - Get Jadyn Davis commitment at QB for 2024
Also, Harbaugh has to sign a contract extension at some point. Which needs to have a silly buyout number.
Remember, it's never boring around here.
- The last piece in the puzzle, Kris Jenkins confirmed his intention to play another year in Ann Arbor.
- Did we see the GOAT throw his last pass last night? They say, "father time is undefeated" but Tom has beaten him longer than any of us could ever imagined. I hope he continues to play but understands if he doesn't.
- A few funny things from the Harbaugh social media blast. Santa jokingly refers to "Unless Oakland is still in play" - which happened way before his time, so he did his research. Also, Jimmy quotes a saying that has never been listed on the internet, ever: "Don't try to out-happy, happy"
- I think Santa might be the Michigan President fans have always wanted.
- CJ Stroud did enter the NFL Draft
- Blake Corum was awarded the first ever Collegiate Service Award from Jesse Jackson in Detroit last night. Reports are he is no longer on crutches and walking smoothly. Blake is a Michigan Man through and through.
7 comments:
My rundown on JH latest chapter:
I never felt Harbaugh was looking to leave as long as the contract presented addressed his main concerns.
Unfortunately contract problems arose when Warde failed to meet those concerns, thus contract talks stall.
President Ono steps in and addresses concerns, and soon after Harbaugh states he will remain as head coach.
If it were not for Ono intervening, Harbaugh would likely not be coaching Michigan football.
Contract negotiations has amplified the division between Harbaugh & Warde, evident with President Ono needed engagement as a mediator.
Hopefully Jim & Warde ego's won't prevent them in resolving their issues, both on & off the field.
If not resolved Warde needs to be replaced for the good of the football team, the engine that runs Michigan athletics.
Every year Jim's been at Michigan there's been rumors associating him with the NFL, those rumors will assuredly continue every year he's here.
The "23" class may end up stronger than what most expect. Michigan still has a few big recruits looking to sign, plus not enough weight is given to the overall class when looking at the top-level transfer portal players Michigan has brought in, with the majority of those players having multiple years of eligibility.
What does Harbaugh bring to Michigan football in signing his new contract? A much stronger NIL program (new developments forthcoming?), top-tier assistant pool funding needed in maintaining an outstanding staff, and perhaps the most important, a culture of continued team solidarity that has over these past couple seasons produced some of the greatest success's in Michigan Football history.
He he didn't say he's going to coach here beyond 2023, and I don't know why everybody blames Ward for this.. why does everybody think he's such a horrible athletic director? I don't see what he's done to prove that. He's dealing with a coach who's a little different to deal with than other coaches
Today everything is perfect in Michigan Land. The sun comes up and jimmy is back home....but don't worry, the jimmy soap opera is just on pause till next year. Then we get act three of jimmy's giant ego. Enjoy the ride till 2024.
Ron, I'll turn it around on you, what has Warde done that proves he's a good AD. He screwed up the renegotiated contract with JH in 2020. You don't cut a guys salary if you think he's not doing a good job, you move on. A lot of what has transpired in the past 2 years were the result of that contract. He botched the hockey scandal. Juwan Howard FELL in his lap. The baseball hire is underwhelming. Bakich was arguably the best baseball coach in school history. were you keeping him? No, he's a Clemson guy and ACC takes baseball way more serious than the B1G does, but Tracy Smith is a MEH hire at best! Maybe he's not horrible, but he's certainly not great, and a school like Michigan NEEDS a great AD
You say you screwed up the contract negotiation 2020? People wanted him out of him fired the fact that he cut his salary isn't that big of a deal than me he gave him a bunch of incentives that he earned and he ended up making just as much as almost any other coach. As far as the baseball coach goes we don't know the circumstances of that we don't know what happened with that.. he's dealing with a coach who isn't the average coach when it comes to personality
Warde is there to create revenue for the athletic department. Football is by far the biggest revenue maker for the entire department. So Warde is at the mercy of Jimmy and he forgot that. He’s not a fan of the NIL and that’s reflective in the 2023 class. Wouldn’t be surprised if the NIL was part of JH negotiations. Harbs has proven his value with more combined wins in the last two seasons than any two seasons in history. Warde has done little. Time to go.
The incentive laden contract pissed Jimmy off and when he went had a successful season in 2021, his first act was to go court the NFL. You and I have had this discussion before, I don't think the NFL has much interest in him, but that's not stopping Jim from shopping around. Forget the past 2 years, after 2020, it was problem time to move on from Jim based on the trajectory of the program. To his credit, he turned it around, but the way he got treated by Warde, coupled with his success guaranteed he was going to flex. UofM is coming off its best 2 year run in a long long time, instead of building on that momentum, we've kind of floundered. Recruiting isn't any where near where it should be after 2 trips to the CFP and 2 back to back B1G championships. Sure we're bringing back a really good team in 2023, but what about after that? Who's your QB after JJ leaves for the NFL? Who's your RB after Edwards leaves for the NFL? We used to get an ocassional 5 star and a bag of 4 stars. Now we're getting as many 3 stars as 4 stars. The longterm viability of a football program is based on the Jimmys and Joes and not Xs and Os
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