Getty Image
Jim Harbaugh is 47-18 overall and has led Michigan to three 10-win seasons in his five years as the head football coach in Ann Arbor. Plenty of Power 5 programs around the country would gladly accept those numbers from their head coach, but the spotlight at Michigan is a bit brighter.
Harbaugh has failed to deliver a Big Ten title for the Wolverines and the fact that he’s 0-5 against Ohio State isn’t silencing the critics by any means either. Some Michigan fans out there would likely rather see a 1-7 season this year if it meant that one win was over the Buckeyes and until he earns that elusive win, a significant chunk of the fanbase will never be happy.
While there are plenty of positives involving Harbaugh’s time in Ann Arbor, fans tend to focus more on the negatives. Given those negatives, plus the fact that his coaching contract is set to expire after this season, the coaching rumors have been swirling for quite some time now. According to ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit, however, it’s time to pump the brakes on the idea of replacing Harbaugh.
Herbstreit’s analysis is rather simple, what coach out there is going to do any better than Harbaugh?
“If Jim Harbaugh can’t turn that thing to where they’re beating Ohio State consistently and they’re a perennial top-five, top-10 team, who the heck are you going to hire that makes you think that he’s going to do a better job than Jim Harbaugh? I don’t know,” Herbstreit said on the Herbstreit and Pollack podcast. “I guess there’s a good young coach maybe out there.
Herbstreit believes that Harbaugh is the right guy for the job, at least for right now, and that Wolverine fans need to be very careful for what they wish for.
“Be careful what you wish for is what I would say. He’s close. I still think that quarterback position is the key. Everything else seems to be in line. We’ll see if Joe Milton ends up being the guy. No question, when you don’t beat Ohio State and you’re the head coach at Michigan, it’s just the reality.”
Harbaugh will face a stiff test this Saturday as Michigan opens up its season at No. 21 Minnesota on Saturday night before its season opener the following week against rival Michigan State.
[H/T 247 Sports]