A timeline of tumult: Is Jim Harbaugh's chaotic tenure at Michigan nearing an end?
Jim Harbaugh’s time at Michigan has been anything but boring.
The former NFL QB and current head coach is nearing the end of his eighth season with the school. Michigan has posted a winning record in seven of those eight seasons and has made the College Football Playoff three different times.
But the Wolverines are still searching for playoff success. Michigan enters its game against Alabama on Jan. 1 looking for its first CFP win and first national title since 1997. If the Wolverines don’t win the national title this season, will they ever do so with Harbaugh at the helm?
He's flirted with a return to the NFL in recent seasons and could be a hot commodity again after the 2023 season despite two different three-game suspensions. If Harbaugh stays at Michigan for 2024 and beyond, he’ll likely get another contract extension. Especially if the Wolverines win the national championship.
Here’s a look back at what Harbaugh’s time with the Wolverines has been like.
December 2014: After an 8-8 season with the San Francisco 49ers, Harbaugh and the franchise agreed to go their separate ways. It was the first non-winning season of Harbaugh’s four-year tenure and he left the franchise with a career record of 44-19-1.
As Harbaugh and the 49ers parted, Michigan had a coaching opening following a 5-7 season under Brady Hoke. The Wolverines had gotten worse in each of Hoke’s four seasons with the team and seized the opportunity to go after their former quarterback. Harbaugh was introduced as Michigan’s new coach on Dec. 30.
September 2015: Michigan opened the season on the road against Utah and lost 24-17. A week later, the Wolverines beat Oregon State at home for Harbaugh’s first win as Michigan’s coach. In Week 4, Michigan beat No. 22 BYU 31-0 to move to 3-1 and jump into the AP Top 25.
November 2015: After losing to Michigan State in October, Michigan entered its rivalry game against Ohio State on a four-game win streak. But the No. 8 Buckeyes throttled the No. 12 Wolverines 42-13 as Ezekiel Elliott rushed 30 times for 214 yards and Ohio State rushed 54 times for 369 yards and five scores. After finishing the regular season at 9-3, Michigan ended the season 10-3 following a blowout bowl win over Florida.
November 2016: Michigan entered the Ohio State game at 10-1 following a 14-13 loss to Iowa on Nov. 12. The Wolverines opened the season with nine consecutive wins and had blown out Penn State, Rutgers and Maryland along the way.
However, the Buckeyes had the upper hand once again. Ohio State won 30-27 in Columbus in a double-overtime game that will go down in infamous Michigan lore. OSU QB J.T. Barrett barely got a first down in the second overtime on the way to the winning touchdown.
The Wolverines finished the season at 10-3 again after losing a thriller to Florida State in the Orange Bowl.
November 2017: After starting the season 4-0, Michigan lost to Michigan State and Penn State in October. The Wolverines were 7-2 heading into a road game at No. 5 Wisconsin on Nov. 18 and lost that game 24-10.
A week later, Ohio State beat Michigan once again as the No. 8 Buckeyes scored a 31-20 win in Columbus. It was the second time in three seasons that Harbaugh had lost to both Michigan State and Ohio State in the same season. The season ended with a 26-19 loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl as Michigan finished 8-5.
November 2018: You’re probably starting to sense a theme here. After a season-opening loss to Notre Dame in Week 1, Michigan won 10 straight games and was 10-1 before a trip to Ohio State. And much like it had been for the first three seasons of Harbaugh’s tenure, Ohio State had Michigan’s number. The Wolverines never led as Ohio State scored 17 unanswered points in the third quarter to make the game a rout in a 62-39 win.
Michigan went on to lose 41-15 to Florida in the Peach Bowl and again finish 10-3.
November 2019: Michigan played five ranked opponents over the 2019 season and lost to four of them. The Wolverines were 9-2 entering Ohio State week after losses at Wisconsin and Penn State. And once again, one of the losses to ranked opponents came against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes blitzed Michigan again in a 56-27 win. The Wolverines gave up 577 total yards as J.K. Dobbins rushed 31 times for 211 yards and four scores. Michigan finished the season at 9-4 after a loss to Alabama in the Citrus Bowl. Until Monday, that’s the only time Harbaugh’s and Nick Saban’s teams have met.
2020: The COVID-impacted 2020 season was a mess for Michigan. The Wolverines went 2-4 and three of those losses were by two or more possessions. The porous season raised questions about Harbaugh’s future with the program and it seemed possible that his time at Michigan could be coming to an end as his contract had just one more year remaining.
Ultimately, Harbaugh and Michigan agreed in January of 2021 to a new deal through 2025 that lowered his base salary and added loads of incentives. The contract didn’t last very long before it was torn up and renegotiated again.
November 2021: The 2021 season felt familiar for Michigan fans entering Ohio State week. The Wolverines were 10-1 and their only loss had come in a 37-33 defeat at Michigan State. It seemed entirely possible that Michigan was going to once again have a good season that included losses to its two biggest rivals.
Instead, Harbaugh and Michigan finally got a win over Ohio State. The Wolverines beat the Buckeyes 42-27 as Hassan Haskins scored five touchdowns and Michigan Stadium had a long-awaited moment of catharsis.
December 2021: After a blowout win over Iowa in the Big Ten title game, Michigan made the College Football Playoff for the first time. But it was quickly apparent that the Wolverines were overmatched against Georgia. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 27-3 halftime lead on the way to an easy 34-11 victory. Michigan rushed 27 times for 91 yards as it was clear that Michigan still had work to do to win a national title. Harbaugh, however, reaped the benefits of the season and signed a reworked contract before the 2022 season.
November 2022: Both Michigan and Ohio State entered the regular season finale undefeated as the Wolverines searched for their first win in Columbus since 2000. A close game through three quarters became a blowout in the fourth as Michigan outscored Ohio State 21-3 over the final 15 minutes on the way to a 45-23 win.
December 2022: Michigan made the playoff for a second straight season after a win over Purdue in the Big Ten title game. The Wolverines entered the Fiesta Bowl favored over TCU but could never dig out of a first-half hole. TCU led 21-6 at halftime on the way to a 51-45 victory. Michigan scored 39 points in the second half, but TCU kept the Wolverines at bay.
January 2023: Harbaugh refused to officially admit to the NCAA that he lied to investigators regarding allegations of recruiting violations. In 2022, the NCAA had accused Michigan of committing multiple Level II violations, including meetings with recruits during a COVID-19 dead period.
While Harbaugh eventually did admit that Michigan had committed recruiting violations, he refused to officially say that he had misled NCAA investigators. That refusal led to a breakdown in negotiations between Michigan and the NCAA regarding a resolution in the case.
August 2023: A deal between Michigan and the NCAA falls apart. The sides were working toward a four-game suspension for Harbaugh to start the season as other members of the coaching staff were set to be sanctioned.
After that deal fell apart, Michigan self-imposed a three-game suspension for Harbaugh to start the season. Michigan opened the season at home against East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green.
October 2023: The NCAA informed Michigan on Oct. 18 that it had evidence of in-person scouting allegations against the University of Michigan. The alleged sign-stealing scheme was orchestrated by now-former staffer Connor Stalions and he was suspended with pay on Oct. 20. The day before, Harbaugh said in a statement that he had no knowledge of an in-person sign-stealing scheme.
Stealing signs is not prohibited by NCAA rules. In-person scouting of future opponents is, however.
November 2023: The Big Ten meets with Michigan on Nov. 2 and lays out all the evidence it has of Stalions’ alleged sign-stealing scheme. The Big Ten said it told Michigan that the NCAA “knew and could prove” numerous aspects of the scheme and that Stalions had “participated in and coordinated a vast off-campus, in-person advance scouting scheme.”
After the Big Ten’s meeting with Michigan, other teams in the conference pressured the Big Ten to take action against the Wolverines. On Nov. 3, Stalions was officially no longer part of the Michigan football staff.
A day after Michigan parted ways with Stalions, the Big Ten gave Michigan official notice that the school had violated the conference’s sportsmanship policy. On Nov. 8, Michigan responded to the Big Ten’s notice and said that “it believed it had evidence of other conference members engaging in impermissible in-person sign-stealing.” The Big Ten has said that it doesn’t have evidence to back up Michigan’s claim.
On Nov. 10, Michigan suspended Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season because “the existence of the impermissible scheme is proven” and that suspending Harbaugh would be the best punishment even though the conference didn’t have any evidence Harbaugh knew about the scheme.
“It is a sanction against the University that, under the extraordinary circumstances presented by this offensive conduct, best fits the violation because: (1) it preserves the ability of the University’s football student-athletes to continue competing; and (2) it recognizes that the Head Coach embodies the University for purposes of its football program.”
Michigan immediately filed for a stay in the case in Michigan state court, but a ruling wasn’t issued before Michigan’s win over Penn State. Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore was the team’s interim head coach for the game and gave an impassioned speech about Harbaugh following the win.
On Nov. 16, Harbaugh agreed to serve his three-game suspension in full and settle the case. Even without him on the sidelines, Michigan beat Ohio State for a third straight season as the Wolverines topped the Buckeyes, 30-24.
December 2023: With Harbaugh back on the field, Michigan easily beat Iowa 26-0 in the Big Ten championship game to cap an unbeaten 13-0 season and make the College Football Playoff as the top seed.
January 2024: The Wolverines finally score their first CFP win in a Rose Bowl thriller. Blake Corum’s 17-yard run in overtime gives Michigan a 27-20 victory over Alabama. It’s the first win in three straight College Football Playoff appearances for the Wolverines as the program looks for its first national title since 1997.
