Football Mailbag: Harbaugh's Back. Now What?

Who should Michigan target at defensive coordinator, which player is ready to take a leap, and how does Warde Manuel ensure we don't do this all over again?

I used my column-writing energy on the post that ended up in an alternate universe, so thank you to everyone who sent in questions to get my mind moving.

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE POST: Michigan After Jim Harbaugh Can Be Almost Anything

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How Long is the Honeymoon?

[Photo: Patrick Barron/MGoBlog]

From what I have seen on Twitter so far, it seems most people, including me, are elated Harbaugh is back (who knows for how long). We've seen firsthand this year how quickly perspective and feelings towards a head coach can change.  If Michigan goes 10-2 next year with losses to MSU and OSU (or maybe even loses a bad one), what do you think the feelings around the fanbase will be for Jim? It seems obvious winning the Big10 would earn him some leeway, but after the last month of thinking he was gone, I am not so sure. — Nolan, via email

This past season bought a lot of good will. The closer we get to the season, the more most fans will get over this month of uncertainty.

While Harbaugh’s NFL dalliance wasn’t fun, the ultimate result was greatly preferable to going through a coaching search after the carousel stopped for the rest of college football. Barring a surprise hire, it would’ve been extremely difficult to come out better than retaining Harbaugh.

Michigan signed a top-ten 2022 recruiting class that they wrapped up in the early signing period. They’re working on a number of top prospects in the 2023 class, which can’t sign their LOIs for another ten months. Despite the headlines about Harbaugh interviewing on “national signing day,” the timing should have a minimal impact on recruiting.

Meanwhile, this was the scene the last time Harbaugh coached in Michigan Stadium:

He’s in there somewhere.

If the terms of Harbaugh’s contract incentivize him to stick to his word about staying at Michigan for as long as the school wants him, it’ll be easy to focus on the above and forget about the Vikings. Anything else would self-sabotage, so I anticipate this will be the case.