Analysts are concerned with ‘tension’ inside Michigan football program

After a dominant win over Nebraska last weekend, analyst Joel Klatt has the Wolverines ranked No. 1 in the nation heading into Week 6. That said, Klatt has some concerns within the Michigan football program when it comes to the Jim Harbaugh NFL rumors. The “tension,” as Klatt describes it, between Harbaugh and athletic director Warde Manuel is troubling to him.

Analysts concerned with ‘tension’ inside Michigan football program

The Jim Harbaugh NFL rumors are starting early this year — despite it being Week 6 of the college football season, Harbaugh is already being tied to a number of top NFL jobs. After some flare-ups between Jim Harbaugh and Warde Manuel earlier this year, many have been speculating that there is a good bit of tension within the Michigan football program between the Wolverines’ head coach and long-time athletic director.

“The dynamic with him and his leadership at (Michigan football) is interesting,” Joel Klatt explained recently. “I believe that there is some tension, and it’s the reason why the President (Santa Ono) had to jump in and do the new contract. I just know that there’s some tension, and by the way, it has seeped into this self-imposed suspension at the beginning of this year.”

Klatt also pointed out that he feels it was clear that Jim Harbaugh and his Michigan football team were not in agreement with Manuel’s decision to suspend the 9th-year head coach. Hence why Wolverine stars like JJ McCarthy donned “Free Harbaugh” shirts before the team’s season opener in September.

Cowherd suggests Michigan could choose Harbaugh over Warde Manuel to calm NFL rumors

Colin Cowherd — the host of ‘The Herd’ sports talk show — also suggests that there may be a decision that Santa Ono needs to make. If this all comes down to keeping Jim Harbaugh or Warde Manuel, Cowherd believes that the choice is clear — something that just about all Michigan fans seem to agree with right now.

“You can find another AD,” Colin Cowherd said to Joel Klatt. “There’s another accountant somewhere in the Midwest. I’m not getting rid of the president, and I’m not getting rid of Harbaugh.”

Jim Harbaugh and Michigan football are locked in on the 2023 season and bringing a national title back to Ann Arbor this year. That said, the NFL is going to come calling by season’s end — perhaps even before then — and the university needs to be ready to do whatever it takes to retain one of the best head coaches in all of college football.

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