Michigan should fire Jim Harbaugh immediately and hire the NFL coach who wants his job
It has to be a weird time to be a Michigan Wolverines football fan. On Wednesday morning, it appeared that head coach Jim Harbaugh was on his way out of Ann Arbor. Various reports suggested that Harbaugh was going to be offered the Minnesota Vikings job. And the expectation was that Harbaugh would accept the […]
It has to be a weird time to be a Michigan Wolverines football fan.
On Wednesday morning, it appeared that head coach Jim Harbaugh was on his way out of Ann Arbor. Various reports suggested that Harbaugh was going to be offered the Minnesota Vikings job. And the expectation was that Harbaugh would accept the job.
In a surprising twist, Harbaugh called Michigan on Wednesday evening and informed the school that he planned on returning for the 2022 season.
At first, it seemed like maybe Harbaugh had a change of heart and decided that he just couldn't walk away from Michigan.
But that's not what happened.
Harbaugh didn't even get offered the job by the Vikings. After a lengthy interview, Harbaugh left Minnesota with no offer. He had no choice but to return to Michigan.
The truth is that Harbaugh has been looking to get out of Michigan for a while. According to The Athletic, Harbaugh "insisted" to the Vikings during the early stages of their coaching search that he was very serious about returning to the NFL. Harbaugh even warned recruits that he was looking for an NFL job.
None of this should be surprising. After all, this is the coach that skipped a contract meeting with Michigan earlier this year.
It's clear that Harbaugh doesn't want to be at Michigan. So why should Michigan want him?
Considering it's February, it would be easy for Michigan to just get through next season, wait for Harbaugh to leave for the NFL (if he gets an offer next time), and then hire a new coach.
But there's actually another option. And it's one I think Michigan should strongly consider.
Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule, who played college football at Penn State, wants out of Charlotte. Things aren't going well for him in the NFL — he's just 10-23 in two seasons as the Panthers' head coach.
Last month, it was reported that Rhule would be interested in the Michigan job if Harbaugh left for the NFL.
Rhule may not be a good NFL coach, but he did a good job during his three seasons at Baylor. He took the Bears from 1-11 in 2017 to 11-3 in 2019. Quite a turnaround.
He had similar success at Temple, winning 10 games in back-to-back seasons (2015 and 2016).
Is Rhule on the same level as Harbaugh? I don't know the answer to that. My first reaction is that Harbaugh is the better coach. But maybe Rhule could thrive at Michigan in that situation. We haven't really seen him in a great situation at the college level.
The biggest thing is that Rhule wants the Michigan job while Harbaugh doesn't want the Michigan job.
Shouldn't the Wolverines want someone who wants them?
If the answer is yes, then they might as well move on from Harbaugh now, because it's not going to get any better.
Featured image via Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK/Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports
