January 24th, 2024 at 10:28 PM ^
And.....if you really want to be somewhere, you go there, regardless of what phase of negotiations you're in. I accepted a job right out of college in San Francisco at a great place whose bridge I did not wish to burn, rented an apartment, signed the lease, and when I got back to Chicago to pack, got an offer from a place that was good, too, and I really wanted to stay in Chicago, so I told the SF place, "Sorry, I know I already accepted the job but......."
January 25th, 2024 at 12:05 AM ^
Enjoyed read this thread, and come to same stance as Wendy. If he Michigan was his no.1, he would have accepted.
the 11th hour is likely not accurate either. That would mean Michigan up until the last hour stated his term were a deal breaker? Find that hard believe. He just wanted to coach in the NFL. That’s simply it
January 24th, 2024 at 10:35 PM ^
Bingo. I said for 2 weeks now when JH leaves, his team will make it look like Michigan was the problem. I said it before and I'll say it again, Jack Harbaugh could be the AD and offered him everything he wanted, but Jim was still going to leave.
January 24th, 2024 at 11:27 PM ^
Yeah, I’m not surprised it’s Bacon who is the “source” of this. He has an axe to grind with Warde from the Pearson thing. Grain of salt…
January 24th, 2024 at 10:41 PM ^
Two things can be true.
1) Michigan Ath Dept can leak earlier today that they offered to make JH the highest paid coach and will cave to all of the other non-pay demands
AND
2) The Harbaugh camp can leak that the AD attempted to slow play negotiations and only caved after it was too late
They're not mutually exclusive.
I too agree that he's where he wanted to be in the NFL. And ultimately I don't think any of this was going to be any different.
But also, insiders keep talking about how angry Jim still was about the pay cut. Is that surprising? A guy THIS competitive. And how much overplay that story got (and still gets). And these same insiders also said this contract could have been pushed harder and signed earlier in the year, but the Ath Dept was reluctant to rush bc of NCAA things (cheeseburgers and such).
All of that to say, even if he signed the contract we were told he was going to sign back in August... he was still probably going to have the same talks with the NFL, and if the right situation came along, with the right owner, the right team, and all the "love" the Spanos' are showing... he was still going to go (imho).
January 24th, 2024 at 11:43 PM ^
He took a base pay cut that was made up for in incentives. After he had gone 2-4 and managed a team that looked completely disorganized and dispirited, after he had given up 56 and 62 points to OSU the preceding two years. And “keep your current contract for the remaining year” was on the table.
The 2020 pay cut was not some cosmic injustice. If Harbaugh blames it all on Warde and doesn’t take any personal responsibility… that does not make me think better of Harbaugh.
January 25th, 2024 at 7:12 AM ^
If any, Warde was the one who kept Harbaugh at Michigan. If Warde had listened to other people, Harbaugh would've been gone after 2020 season.
January 25th, 2024 at 10:55 AM ^
This is a "new take" on this situation that keeps popping up. "Warde saved Jim."
Jim wasn't getting fired. The only people who wanted him fired are the same crazy mobs online now who think the program is spiraling out of control 16 days after a National Championship. Dave Portnoy and angry people on Twitter weren't making the decision.
I am perfectly content with the idea that while unhappy with the progress of the COVID season, I was rational enough to also know that Jim also had 3 10 win seasons, and was still one of the best coaches in football. We weren't doing better, and the COVID season was a pass. Had 2021 been another debacle or a 2-4 equivalent, sure. Warde may have had to step in to save Jim. But not the year before, and 2021 didn't go that way did it?
Warde did a classic 'over manage' the situation.
It was Warde's job as the Athletic Director to understand that he had one of the best coaches in the country, to make him happy, give him the resources he needed to succeed, and keep him happy.
I don't know how many people you manage or what your management style is... but Warde strikes me as a guy who believes that he is in a job, so he has a job "to do." I prescribe to the idea that sometimes not doing something, even though you may want to, is just as impactful as doing. Just because I can do something, doesn't mean i SHOULD do something.
By the insider accounts I'm reading, this situation started with the sour feelings coming out of that contract. And three years later, here we are with dueling press releases that kind of nod to the idea (and insider confirmation) that nod to the idea that all wasn't exactly smooth between JH and WM.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:18 PM ^
This thread should be fun.
January 24th, 2024 at 11:16 PM ^
Warde is a buffoon. I don't want him near anything I love, and that includes my dinner. Where is WD to do our AD dirty work?
January 25th, 2024 at 1:00 AM ^
Outstanding
January 24th, 2024 at 10:18 PM ^
If this is even 1% true then everyone involved needs to be launched into outer space
January 25th, 2024 at 3:03 AM ^
Can't get past the firmament, but I get your point.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:18 PM ^
Fire Warde
January 25th, 2024 at 12:22 AM ^
Not mean enough Joe!
January 25th, 2024 at 2:20 AM ^
You don’t even have to consider the Harbaugh contract negotiations in ‘23-‘24 to reach this conclusion. I have seen enough. Cutting Harbaugh salary in half and humiliating him in the process was a Ballsack McGee move that will live in infamy in Ann Arbor and Michigan lore.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:19 PM ^
I think Jim was gone regardless but Warde still has to go. He simply never seems on top of things.
If there was even a 10% chance Jim would return and this was the thing that pushed it to 0% , he's gotta go. Even if that was his only mistake that's a fireable mistake. You offer the guy that just won a National Championship anything he wants. You don't negotiate anything but money and even that you do so with your cards turned up and on the table.
I think Jim was gone regardless but Warde has to go. It's not just this.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:32 PM ^
He’s screwed up baseball, basketball and god forbid football. I don’t know enough here to totally blame him, but his body of work sucks.
January 24th, 2024 at 11:59 PM ^
Warde is damaged goods.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:19 PM ^
If Harbaugh wanted to be at Michigan that's where he'd be. That's not what he wanted so in reality there was nothing Michigan could offer that would have made a damn bit of difference.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:23 PM ^
I have a love for the city of Flint, Michigan but there is much that would have to change before I move back.
If Harbaugh had his lawyers make proposals that Michigan sat on until it was too late then the Michigan athletic department may have sabotaged its own football program.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:31 PM ^
And Harbaugh could've made an offer they had no choice but to refuse. Doing his own sabotaging.
January 25th, 2024 at 12:06 AM ^
Harbaugh is not the employer; Michigan is. If I go to my employer and tell them I want a raise. If they decline or sit on it then they are demonstrating that I am replaceable. Harbaugh is not replaceable.
January 25th, 2024 at 12:01 AM ^
Have you ever had a job where you either did not like or respect your boss?
It affects if you want to be there.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:19 PM ^
I don't know why I'm expected to believe Harbaugh's attorneys completely. They're not going to say anything that would put onus on Jim. It's been clear the last four years he's been ready to bail. He was offered all he wanted and said no. It's on Jim.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:23 PM ^
Agree but your offer has to be what came at the final hour on the day after he wins a National Championship. You make sure you can tell the school, players and fans that you did absolutely everything as early as could be done and he still left.
Now, yet again, he looks like a doofus that gets the joke an hour after everyone walked away.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:30 PM ^
One of Harbaugh's demands was that the contract not start until Feb 15th. The dude wanted out. I think he was wrong to want out but that's obviously where this was going.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:32 PM ^
I forgot about that, that's a good point, but I thought it was that he wanted his buyout to drop until Feb 15th (which may be six of one, half a dozen of the other).
January 24th, 2024 at 11:38 PM ^
I think that’s right, but it almost makes it worse - he wanted his immunity and salary bump immediately, but delay the only bone he threw to Michigan (slightly increased buyout).
There was literally zero upside for Michigan in signing that contract - they were taking a ton of extra liability and getting nothing in return, least of all any guarantee that Harbaugh would stay.
January 25th, 2024 at 12:29 AM ^
So you think Jim’s lawyers under his direction are purposely making the University he loves look bad? To cover for him? When he has nothing to hide and most everyone affords him the opportunity to make his own career choice after bringing us a National Championship?
Doubtful.
January 25th, 2024 at 12:40 AM ^
Yeah I'm sure Jim was deeply involved in this leak to Bacon. That makes sense.
January 25th, 2024 at 12:08 PM ^
"So you think Jim’s lawyers under his direction are purposely making the University he loves look bad? To cover for him?"
Sort of.
I 100% think his lawyers are purposely making the University look bad to cover for him.
I'm not sure about the "University he loves" or "under his direction".
January 24th, 2024 at 10:20 PM ^
I would prefer this stuff if it came from Jack Harbaugh's Twitter account.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:20 PM ^
Jim is where he wants to be.
When was the last time Bacon, Balas, or Angelique provided accurate intel to this entire contract saga?
January 24th, 2024 at 10:20 PM ^
Unreal if true
January 24th, 2024 at 10:20 PM ^
"Posting without comment" isn't really helpful for those of us who are not on Twitter. All I see is:
From @chengelis 's piece in the @detroitnews https://t.co/uo3d578zxB
wtf is that supposed to mean to me?
January 24th, 2024 at 10:35 PM ^
Not certain why the tweet isn't loading for you (you shouldn't need to have a Twitter/X account to see this). Either way, here is a picture view:
January 24th, 2024 at 10:39 PM ^
I don’t have X either but if I click the link it comes up in my browser.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:22 PM ^
1. Harbaugh has been flirting with the NFL for three years.
2. Harbaugh tends to leave places on less than positive terms.Fans refusing to see that Harbaugh’s personality plays a significant role in these issues is an issue.
3. Warde Manuel’s position is tenuous at best. I suspect he will retire or be re-assigned sometime this year. Fair or not people will blame him for Harbaugh leaving and Howard’s implosion is not helping his case when it comes to hiring the right people for the biggest jobs.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:29 PM ^
1. Agree
2. Agree
3. He has to go for a lack of confidence if nothing else. This kind of cements that no matter that the truth is. There is a significant portion of the fanbase that thinks he was working against Jim during BurgerGate and the sign BS. I don't see how he's still AD this time next year if Ono actually pays attention.
January 24th, 2024 at 11:33 PM ^
At this point I wouldn't trust Warde Manuel to hire people to run a Steak N Shake. He's beyond useless.
January 24th, 2024 at 10:36 PM ^
To be fair, people liked the Juwan hire at the time. And it's not as if Beilein left for another college job, he saw the opportunity to coach in the NBA slipping away because he was towards the end of his career and wanted to make a go of it before it was too late. And please, no one bring up Bakich. If you follow Michigan Baseball on Facebook, you know that their posts get like 10 likes. People don't go to games unless they're in the tournament. Very few people care about Big Ten baseball, and Michigan fans care about Michigan baseball when they can use it against Warde.
January 24th, 2024 at 11:17 PM ^
OMG THANK YOU. I’m by no means a Warde apologist and am fine if he doesn’t return to the role next year, but holy hell, the revisionism that was going on with regard to the Howard hire (which happened after Beilein resigned in May, well after all the top coaching candidates signed new contracts), Bakich, the Pearson scandal, and even Harbaugh’s post 2020 and post 2021 contracts was giving me whiplash.
January 24th, 2024 at 11:21 PM ^
Juwan should not under any circumstances still be our head BB coach. He's embarrassed the university- repeatedly. And I don't mean with the win loss record. He still sitting on that bench is 100%, 1000%, on Warde.
January 24th, 2024 at 11:25 PM ^
Michigan has never fired coaches mid-season. If he’s still coaching next season, then I will agree.
January 24th, 2024 at 11:26 PM ^
Why was he flirting with the NFL? Maybe something to do with a huge pay cut and Warde not showing enough support?
January 24th, 2024 at 11:28 PM ^
Note that nobody in the NFL wanted him in 2020 either.
January 24th, 2024 at 11:35 PM ^
2. Yeah, now that he’s gone, I think people really need to honestly evaluate the role Harbaugh played in the trouble Harbaugh had here.
Yeah, Burgergate was Grade A bullshit… but Harbaugh made it worse by thumbing his nose at the NCAA.
Yeah, Harbaugh wasn’t directly involved in Signgate - but he did hire ultra-weirdo Stalions and his manifesto, and then turned him loose with minimal oversight into a rules gray area.
Yeah, the University abandoned their suit against the B1G, but only after Harbaugh’s man Partridge torpedoed the “we’re all innocent but Stalions” defense by breaking the first rule of being under investigation.
Harbaugh is obviously a great coach and Michigan Man, but there’s clearly a cost of keeping him around that seems to follow him wherever he goes.
January 25th, 2024 at 7:18 AM ^
Brian or Seth wrote something about Pat Fitzgerald back when he got fired about how coaches have flaws and sometimes those flaws are so big they cause their downfall. In Fitz’s case it was not evolving team culture away from the 1990s to the present. Evolving culture is a Harbaugh super power.
One of Harbaugh’s main flaws has to be his hiring process. Especially for non-coach positions. Jim Minnick, Conor Stalions, and Schemy all disgraced the program in ways that were entirely preventable. According to some here Matt Dudek may be a potential source for the initial NCAA investigations after going to the SEC and feeling burned at M.