Michigan will pursue a contract extension for head coach Jim Harbaugh that would make him the Big Ten's highest-paid head coach, according to a tweet Monday from Michigan insider John U. Bacon.
The tweet was sourced to two "high-ranking" Michigan officials, which said the U-M Regents, president Santa Ono and AD Warde Manuel were in agreement that Harbaugh should be the conference's highest-paid coach, and would present him with said extension within the next month.
Harbaugh is currently under contract through 2026 and earns $8.25 million in 2023, according to the recently released USA Today coaching salary database. Ohio State's Ryan Day is the Big Ten's highest-paid coach at $10.27 million, the fourth-highest salary in the nation.
Getting Harbaugh to sign such an extension has proven to be a difficult task.
He pursued the Minnesota Vikings job in the winter following Michigan's 2021 Big Ten championship, swore off pursuing NFL jobs after missing out in Minnesota, then pursued NFL jobs last winter anyway.
"I’m here as long as Michigan wants me here," Harbaugh said this past February. "You would have had a story if I wasn’t here. But I’m here, and this is where I wanted to be.”
“Yeah, I mean like anybody, I’ve said it. You want to be somewhere where you’re wanted,” Harbaugh said Monday when asked about the topic of an extension. “They like what you do and how you do it, and they tell you that. Your bosses tell you that, and then that gets reflected in a contract. The bottom line … any of us, right? We want to be somewhere they like how you do it and what you do.”
I just received this from two high-ranking UM officials: “The Regents, Warde Manuel, and President Ono are all in alignment that Jim (Harbaugh) should have an extension within the next month that makes him the highest paid coach in the conference.”
— John U. Bacon (@Johnubacon) October 9, 2023
That should settle that.
Michigan is 31-3 since the beginning of the 2021 season, and 22-1 in Big Ten play. Harbaugh's current team is ranked second in both polls and fresh off a 52-10 win at Minnesota on Saturday night. Afterward, Golden Gophers head coach PJ Fleck described the current Michigan outfit as the best team he's seen in 11 years as a head coach.
Harbaugh has forecasted that as many as 20 Wolverines could be drafted in next spring's draft, so if Michigan manages to win a third straight Big Ten title and break through for a national championship, this winter could be a natural spot for him to return to the NFL.
Whether or not that happens is still months away, though. In the meantime, the past two years have taught us that Harbaugh's words mean nothing in regard to his coaching future, his actions are what need to be monitored.
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.