On the National Signing Days of 2016 and 2017, Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh presided over an event he’d created — “Signing with the Stars.”
It was part unveiling of the high school recruits who would be play for the Wolverines — prospects such as Rashan Gary, Devin Bush and Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Mostly, though, it was a celebration of Michigan football and the carnival barking of Harbuagh hopefully gaining the attention of future recruits. He was newly arrived in Ann Arbor and trying to rebuild a program that had fallen on hard times, going just 24-32 in Big Ten play from 2008-14.
Tom Brady was there. Derek Jeter too. Ric Flair wooed. The Atlanta-based hip-hop group Migos performed. The Sklar Brothers joked. The national anthem was sung. Hail to the Victors, as well, of course.
It was over the top, with a live audience and television cameras. It was the sign of a coach who wasn’t just all-in on college football, but pushing the boundaries of what had been done before.
“I just wanted to do something different,” Harbaugh said. “I wanted to do something awesome. I think today did that.”
On Wednesday, on National Signing Day 2022, Harbaugh flew to Minnesota to interview for the Vikings job.
To be fair, National Signing Day isn’t what it used to be. The creation of an early signing period meant the Wolverines’ 23-recruit class, ranked No. 8 nationally by Rivals.com, was signed and sealed in December. Many of them are already on campus.
“Signing with the Stars” lasted just two years. It was replaced by nothing.
Yet it is also true that Harbaugh’s work at his alma mater is essentially complete, that his future is in the NFL. Even though Michigan could stage some kind of event to draw hype to the program — we hear Tom Brady is unemployed and likely available — Harbaugh has moved on to other tactics.
Seven seasons on the job, Harbaugh has done mostly what he promised he would. Four 10-win seasons. A Big Ten title. A College Football Playoff appearance. A steady stream of great players — Michigan should have three first-round picks this year, including potential No. 1 overall Aidan Hutchinson.
Oh, and a victory over Ohio State about two months ago that may have meant more to fans than a national title.
Now he’s essentially in the transfer portal. Maybe he comes back for an eighth year. Or maybe his discussions with the Vikings lead to an offer that sources close to him say he will almost assuredly accept.
Give Harbaugh credit for this: He isn’t hiding it, isn’t sneaking around, isn’t stepping out of home visits to take secret phone calls. He never did anything like a typical college football coach, and so why change now?
“He told William he was definitely looking, and if an opportunity came up, he was probably going to take it,” Deon Johnson, the father of Will Johnson, the five-star jewel of the 2022 Michigan recruiting class, told the Detroit News on Tuesday.
“[Harbaugh] told him he felt the team was gonna be good, they’re gonna win a lot of ball games, they’re gonna do a lot of good things,” Johnson continued. “But he wants to chase a Super Bowl. That’s one of the things on his list is to be a Super Bowl-winning coach.”
Seriously, Hail Hail to Jim Harbaugh. No excuses. No lies.
Whether he gets the Vikings job or not remains to be seen. At some point though an NFL team is going to hire a guy with a 44-19-1 regular-season record and, more importantly, three NFC championship game appearances and one trip to the Super Bowl, all with the San Francisco 49ers. There are no other candidates available with that resume.
Harbaugh played quarterback for 14 seasons in the NFL. His brother coaches in the NFL. Once he got to the NFL — after leading the University of San Diego and Stanford to near unheard of success — no one thought he’d ever come back to the college ranks.
Michigan was different though. It was home. His dad was a former assistant coach. Harbaugh both grew up and played there. And the Wolverines needed him, the program floundering under Rich Rodriguez and Brady Hoke.
It took longer than Harbaugh expected to finally get past Ohio State and win a league title, but there were close calls in 2016 and 2018. And sure, a national title would have been the ultimate, but while the Wolverines have won more games than any program in the sport’s history, in anything close to the modern era, its place in the sport is to be very, very good and very, very consistent, but rarely, if ever, truly elite.
It claims just one national title since 1948 — a split deal in 1997. Bo Schembechler, Harbaugh’s old coach, never won it all. Winning the Big Ten, beating Ohio State, racking up strong seasons … that’s Michigan football.
After finally beating the Buckeyes, Harbaugh talked about how it felt like “a beginning” and “the start of something.” Maybe that meant a push toward more, a push toward true national contention.
There are two local high school quarterbacks who have college programs everywhere mesmerized — Dante Moore from Detroit in the Class of 2023 and Bryce Underwood of Belleville in the Class of 2025. Those are the kind of five-star talents that could possibly take Harbaugh to the top.
He didn’t spend Wednesday bringing in pro wrestlers and Hall of Fame alums to get their attention though. He went looking for a job in the NFL.
Maybe he goes, maybe he stays and signs them anyway. Here’s guessing it’s the former; either with Minnesota or someone else. If so, the Wolverines will find a successor. Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell? The Carolina Panthers’ Matt Rhule? The promotion of offensive coordinator Josh Gattis? It won’t take long. This is still Michigan.
Right now Jim Harbaugh is still the coach. But he did for Michigan what he set out to do, restore the program and settle some family business with the people in Columbus. Now he is seeking that next challenge.
It’s right out in the open, as can’t-miss as Tom Brady and a marching band at a signing day news conference.