Good AnnArbor.com article

if you are not suggesting anything then why would you post it? Anyways people would have to wait just as long as they are waiting now for Harbaugh to get things turned around if he were to coach here.

"But I would say this that still Michigan is the place that he loves" - Jack Harbaugh Apparently, he must express this love by pissing off much of the Michigan fanbase and athletic department as possible. Jamie Morris: "I said, 'Jim, here's my question for you — do you really believe the comments you said, or are you saying them to make you look good?' "He said, 'I believe them.' And I said, 'Would you have said it if [former coach] Bo [Schembechler] was alive?' He said, 'That's not the point.' And I said, 'That's exactly the point. You didn't hurt Michigan, you hurt your coach, and you hurt the guys you played with. These are the teammates you turned your back on.' "

So far, Harbaugh has deflected questions about other jobs, even threatening to cut short a radio interview when the subject of taking over for Rich Rodriguez at Michigan came up. But with a three-year contract extension sitting unsigned on his desk and the off-season just under way, don't expect the speculation to end anytime soon. “I think he’s very, very happy at Stanford and Stanford is where he wants it to be,” Jack Harbaugh said. “But I would say this that still Michigan is the place that he loves ... "

Rich Rod gets another year here, no question, but if next season is another losing one, the rumblings for a new coach will become a roar. Harbaugh will be a candidate, unless he winds up at ND. Somehow I don't see him at ND, though.

If RR flames out at UM, Harbaugh would have to be the top candidate. The dude can flat out coach. Note to OP: Please use more informative thread titles.

Good article. I'll only say that the reality of the coaching situation here (8-16 record, next year's tough schedule, prolonged cultural dissatisfaction) makes Harbaugh an interesting person to me and I would guess to the administration as well.

..his first two years as RR did. He was 4-8 and 5-7, with 8-4 this year. Rather than Harbaugh's record being another excuse to have a referendum on RR's job status, it should be a lesson to those who want to throw RR under the bus so quickly. If RR goes 9-3 next year, which is possible, his record will be the same for his first three years as Harbaugh's is for his.

The University of Michigan, from the President to the Regents to the various academic departments to individual faculty members, takes the question of academic integrity extremely seriously. The University, also at the highest levels on down, has also publicly praised the late Bo Schembechler extensively as a representative of the ideal of the student-athlete, notably at the various ceremonies and observances of his death. One is free to mock or disparage those statements or values, but there is no doubt that publicly they represent official University values. Jim Harbaugh, on more than one occasion, has directly and publicly criticized the academic integrity of the football program run by Schembechler. Explain to me just how the University will then proceed to hire Harbaugh, as doing so would either mean it would blithely disregard a direct assault on its own reputation by an employee, or it would mean implicitly that it agrees with Harbaugh's criticism of Schembechler's football program, which in turn would make a mockery of all the words of praise spoken by University officials about Schembechler after his death. Either one would be hugely and publicly hypocritical, and universities the size and stature of Michigan are not in the habit of exposing themselves in such an obvious way. This is in no way a criticism of Harbaugh's coaching abilities, which appear to be considerable. But people who think that Michigan will simply ignore his statements when and if RR needs to be replaced appear to be unaware of how universities like Michigan function in the public arena.

Can we just look at him and be happy for a guy who's a product of Michigan University? We have our coach, he has his team, he's doing well. I like to see that. I don't know why all of these deteriorate into 'fire rich rod' discussions (or the less flamboyant, but similiar, "if he flames out next year").

It's funny how this thread wasn't meant to imply anything... Jim Harbaugh can flat out coach, and yet this season is his best so far and he has four losses. He also has been a jerk in some games and in interviews yet he is the top choice for some people. If Rodriguez doesn't pan out we will have to wait a long time for another adjustment back to pro style ball. Can't we just be patient and hope things get better similar to how other coaches succeeded when they got the time?

I hate to say it because I really would like Rodriguez to be given the chance to install his system to the full extent and see what it can do. But... Jim Harbaugh Is a Michigan MAN he is one of the last disciples of Bo, he knows the tradition and he has shown he can beat USC and teams like them, If Rich Rod does not do absolutely better in 2010, I hope Jim is still around and Michigan can land him.

How does Jack Harbaugh know what Bo is saying in heaven to Woody?

lets not overlook the editorial history on JH right here at Mgoblog: http://mgoblog.com/content/destroy-harbaugh. Admittedly, Brian's editorial knives were out when he wrote this, but it would be better that we read what is here and chose to overlook or disregard it, than to rush in un-informed. The comments are also forceful, pro and con, though not all substantiated. #12 contains the following: "For me, simply seeing the name Jim Harbaugh reminds me of the days when I lived in the same dormitory as this "Michigan Man" and had the opportunity to see that (even as a teenager) he was anything but what names like Gerald Ford, Bo Schembechler, Todd Harmon, and others have embodied for my alma mater. During his stay in the slightly less than hallowed halls of South Quad, Jim Harbaugh distingushed himself as the most ego-centric and arrogant individual I have ever had the bad fortune to meet." (Sorry I don't know how to do the yellow box quotation thingy.) I loved JH's UM QB days, and was somewhat saddened by this whole controversy when it erupted. I have no desire to tarnish the name of one of UM's great QBs, but I don't think it's time to close the vetting process on JH yet. More importantly, I think folks should stop fidgeting over the fact that we are still solidly in the RR era here. Focus for now should be on RR's steps toward restoring our old winning ways, not on who RR's successor should be. The grass is always greener on the other side.