Michigan football may not be perfect, but it’s close

To say that it has been a messy offseason for Jim Harbaugh and his Wolverines would be a substantial understatement. From NCAA violations, NFL drama, a coach being fired, and more, the headlines surrounding Michigan football over the past three months have been wild.

Still, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh claims that, while the Wolverines aren’t perfect, they’re as close as anyone gets.

Michigan football sees success on/off football field

Throughout the eight years of Jim Harbaugh’s tenure with Michigan football, the Wolverines have seen a great deal of success. If we only count full seasons — as most do — Harbaugh has led the Michigan Wolverines to five 10-win seasons, six ranked finishes, two Big Ten titles, and two CFP appearances in seven seasons as head coach — his only unranked finish was in 2017, when a young Michigan football team fell to 8-5 on the season.

Over the past two years, Michigan boasts a 25-3 record (19-1 Big Ten), two conference titles, two College Football Playoff berths, and more. The Wolverines also won 13 games in a season for the first time ever (2022) and finished in the top-3 in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the mid-1940s.

Off the field, the Wolverines have seen countless draft picks, many All-Americans and All-Big Ten selections, academic honors, Heisman finalists, and more. Without a doubt, the Michigan football team has been one of the best programs nationally since Harbaugh took over, especially since 2021.

Harbaugh claims Michigan is not perfect, but it’s close

On Thursday, Michigan football had its spring practice presser with Jim Harbaugh. The Wolverines’ head coach took the stand for the first time to address the 2023 and people’s initial questions about the season. When asked about the Wolverines’ offseason drama, Harbaugh had a lot to say:

“Yeah, I would just say just you have to be in [Schembechler Hall],” Harbaugh said. “You just got to be in this in this building to really feel it. Compare us to perfect and we’re going to come up short. In the major areas compare us to any other program. I think you’re gonna see that it doesn’t get any better. You talk about graduating players (it’s not) up to perfect, but it’s as close as you could possibly be to graduating players over the years. Talking about doing things with integrity on the field, off the field. players, coaches, staff, everybody within this football program, about as close as you can get to perfection. Winning games — all the same, it’s not perfect. 13-1 was not perfect but that’s we keep striving for, we keep chasing that perfection.”

This fall, the Michigan football team will be chasing on-field perfection as the Wolverines look to bring a national championship back to Ann Arbor for the first time in 26 years.

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