Jim Harbaugh wanted to remain Michigan football head coach

Jim Harbaugh isn’t the Michigan football head coach anymore but if things had worked out differently, he could still be, at least according to the new book from John Talty and Armen Keteyian’s “The Price: What It Takes to Win in College Football’s Era of Chaos”

CBS Sports got some excerpts from the book and it says that Jim Harbaugh told people close to him that he wanted to remain as Michigan football head coach, but didn’t trust athletic director Warde Manuel to be his advocate.

This is from the book:

“During a two-day getaway with his wife Sarah on Coronado Island off the coast of San Diego, Harbaugh unloaded to longtime friend Todd Anson. He told Anson he wanted to remain at Michigan but believed Manuel—no matter his public pronouncements—was not the advocate he needed in his corner, particularly in front of the Board of Regents. He also raged against Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who before the three-game Big Ten suspension had promised to meet Harbaugh in Ann Arbor and brief him on what the conference was doing, only to stand him up. [Through a spokesperson, Petitti declined an interview request.]

The day after his outburst to Anson, Harbaugh had an initial interview with the Los Angeles Chargers. Afterward, his tone had softened. Leaning toward taking the NFL job, if offered, he dialed down the Manuel rhetoric, no longer interested in a potential legal battle and fighting people he later said were “gunning for me.” It suggested in attitude and tone that his days in Ann Arbor were numbered.”

Michigan didn’t show Jim Harbaugh the love in the same way the Chargers did, that’s not really debatable, and much of that can be laid at the feet of Manuel. The tidbit about Tony Petitti is noteworthy but not surprising. He’s a total coward who was led astray by sniveling coaches who couldn’t beat Michigan. 

Harbaugh was arguably the most valuable asset the University of Michigan had and whether he actually would have stayed, we’ll never know. He wants to win a Super Bowl and I hope like hell he does but for some, it will be hard to forgive Warde Manuel if he didn’t do everything possible to keep Jim Harbaugh.

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms.