It was one of the worse kept secrets and yet it made the most sense all the way around. Harbaugh wore out his welcome with the 49ers, Michigan was in need of a headline grabbing hire and it gets no bigger than Jim Harbaugh coming back to coach his Michigan Wolverines the same team he played for as quarterback 1983-1986. For Harbaugh it’s a dream come true.
“I have thought about that, dreamed about that since I was a young lad, 9, 10 years old, and throughout adult life — dreamed about coaching at Michigan and now it’s time to live that,” Harbaugh said. “And I have no other words to really describe how that feels except to tell you that I have great excitement about the challenge of serving the University of Michigan as your football coach.”
It was reported on Yahoo Sports that Harbaugh will make $5 million per year for seven years plus incentives. That figure is the same as what Harbaugh was making in San Francisco. Athletic director Jim Hackett said in a year he would revaluate the football program and adjust Harbaugh and his staff’s pay accordingly. The base pay is far lower than the initial reports that claimed Harbaugh was in line to become college football’s highest paid coach with a six-year contract worth at least $48 million.
