From Harbaugh rumors to a perfect fall, Michigan football's 2022 is almost too crazy to believe
It’s been a wonderful, wild, wacky and worrisome ride for the Michigan football team this year. But more than anything, it’s been exhausting.
Since news broke in late January that coach Jim Harbaugh would interview for the Minnesota Vikings job, the Wolverines have created constant commotion. The season has been one big, long, unending news update. If you set up your phone for alerts about this team, you’ve probably gone through one or two batteries by now and melted your case.
Even when it seemed like there was nothing more of significance that could happen after Michigan’s victory in the Big Ten championship game, a day later tight end Erick All announced he would be leaving the team. And he didn’t mind scorching those maize-and-blue bridges on his way out of Ann Arbor.
“Not everything/everyone are what they seem and I learned that from my time here at Michigan,” the team co-captain tweeted Monday.
Four days earlier, defensive lineman Mazi Smith was arraigned on a felony gun charge in Washtenaw County court in an incident that stemmed from a traffic stop that happened nearly two months earlier.
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Three days before that, quarterback Cade McNamara announced he would enter the transfer portal, which eventually spit him out into Iowa City, where of course he will lead the Hawkeyes to next season’s Big Ten West title and a matchup with Michigan in the conference championship game.
McNamara was the first of two team captains who announced their decision to transfer within a week. McNamara’s was at least expected and, honestly, a lot classier than All’s exit.
Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot. Two days before that, Michigan crushed Ohio State for a second straight year and started the countdown for Ryan Day’s firing. I’m sure a coach who was born on third base can appreciate the baseball metaphor of three strikes and you’re out.
It hasn’t been a steady stream of news. It’s been more like we’ve been drinking from a fire hose. And that’s just for those of us in the cheap seats. Imagine the poor beat writers who probably have PTSD every time their phone buzzes. Someone should start a GoFundMe page for them: For just $20 you can give the gift of Red Bull and NoDoz to keep your Wolverines beat writer awake and invigorated. (Marriott gift cards also accepted.)
Michigan has been such a lightning rod for commotion that even an inanimate object like the stadium tunnel caused a stir with an incident that involved Penn State on Oct. 15 and then two weeks later with the infamous fight after the Michigan State game that resulted in a $100,000 fine against the Spartans. The tunnel fight with MSU will forever be a landmark moment, albeit an ugly one, in the rivalry.
And through it all, the Wolverines have played a beautiful, inspired brand of football that has led them to the cusp of a national championship on the 25th anniversary of their last title. The beatdown of the Buckeyes, the slap down of the Spartans, the escape against Illinois. What a season it has been. And what a season it almost wasn’t.
If I told you 11 months ago that Michigan would come off its best season under Harbaugh, then almost lose him to the NFL, then lose its offensive coordinator to another school and its defensive coordinator the NFL, then lose its two star defensive ends to the NFL, then have a controversial quarterback battle that the popular incumbent would lose and still have a better season in 2022, you would have been right to contact the Free Press ombudsman and suggest a psychiatric evaluation.
Maybe that’s fitting because sometimes I feel like we’ve all been thrown a little off kilter watching the Wolverines. I sometimes believe we’re all just characters in Harbaugh’s personal version of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as he stands on the East Delhi Bridge outside Ann Arbor and considers taking the Vikings job, chucking it all away because he thinks his time at Michigan has been meaningless.
Of course, Harbaugh didn’t jump — off the bridge or to the NFL. He promised athletic director Warde Manuel his flirtation with the NFL wouldn’t be “a reoccurring theme every year,” when he signed a fat, new contract in February.
Hours after Michigan won this year's Big Ten title, NFL.com reported several teams are vetting Harbaugh as a potential candidate. To which he offered this cryptic answer: “No man knows the future.”
Sorry, coach, but I must disagree with you. Because after such a wild and wonderful and exhausting year, I’m confident I can predict the future. And I’m here to tell you it’s time to break out the Red Bull and NoDoz because the future is filled with constant news about you and your Wolverines.
Next up: Fiesta Bowl vs. Horned Frogs
Matchup: No. 2 Michigan (13-0) vs. No. 3 TCU (12-1), CFP semifinal.
Kickoff: 4 p.m. Dec. 31; State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona.
TV/radio: ESPN; WXYT-FM (97.1).
At stake: Winner faces winner of Georgia vs. Ohio State for national title on Jan. 9 in Inglewood, California.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's 2022 is almost too crazy to believe
