Michigan football's Jim Harbaugh confirms hiring agent: 'He's working hard'
It's a feeling he has long dreamed of, but Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed winning the national title was even better than he'd imagined.
"It restarts every day, you wake up and it's 'yeah, we did that, we did that,'" Harbaugh told the Free Press on Friday during a team visit to University of Michigan Health's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. "When you go through the day, there's not too much that gets me down. I'll misplace my wallet, but hey, that's OK, we're national champions. Go to bed, wake up the next day and it starts again. Just fresh again.
"Got the trophy in the trophy case, everything our guys accomplished, it's just wonderful. It's biblical. It's been a journey, a physical journey, a mental journey, a spiritual journey and just a job well done."
Harbaugh led U-M to the top of the mountain after a 27-20 OT thriller over Alabama in the Rose Bowl (which just so happened to be Nick Saban's final game) and then a 34-13 victory over Washington to cap just the fourth 15-0 season in college football history.
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Celebrations will continue Saturday afternoon with a parade through Ann Arbor, followed by a sold-out event on Saturday night at Crisler Center — Harbaugh told return man Jake Thaw on Friday he'd heard tickets were gone in three hours, so quickly that U-M had to start selling floor seats.
When he's not taking pictures with the trophy, signing autographs, or traveling around southeast Michigan for various events, Harbaugh said he's been speaking with players like quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who are debating a return to school or a potential NFL future.
Harbaugh approached McCarthy about his future in early December, when the quarterback said he wanted to focus on the season at hand. Now that it's in the rearview mirror, attention has been turned to the future, with the deadline to enter the NFL draft set for Monday.
"Yeah, I have," Harbaugh said if he's talked with McCarthy about what's next. "Been having all those conversations with guys. Many, many conversations, that's what my days have looked like, talking about those guys futures."
McCarthy, Donovan Edwards, Rod Moore, Makari Paige, Josaiah Stewart, Trente Jones and Quinten Johnson are a handful of players who have been said to be undecided on their 2024 plans, and they aren't the only ones.
Harbaugh, 60, has explored NFL opportunities each of the past two seasons — he flew to Minnesota to interview with the Vikings on national signing day after the 2021 season, then spoke with the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers last offseason — and his name is as hot as it's ever been.
In late December, multiple outlets reported that Harbaugh had hired NFL-affiliated agent Don Yee, who represents Tom Brady, Sean Payton and Jimmy Garoppolo among others, however Harbaugh had never confirmed that publicly.
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Until Friday, when he told the Free Press the two have been working together for longer than that.
"Beginning of December," Harbaugh said of when the two partnered.
The NFL coaching carousel is spinning as fast as ever. Mainstays like Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll both left their posts this week, creating two of the seven open positions around the league.
Harbaugh said he's still been dialed into his team's national championship aftermath and said that he and Yee have hardly spoken, if at all, since he hoisted the championship trophy Monday night in Houston.
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"I don't even think I have time to talk to him right now," Harbaugh said. "The game, since the game, been really working, honestly working, on other peoples futures. ... Just looking forward to kind of putting the guys needs ahead of mine. Just been enjoying it, every minute, every second."
Even though Harbaugh said the two haven't spoken much this past week, he said of Yee: "He's working, he's working hard."
Harbaugh's working hard, too. But does he expect to be working hard in Ann Arbor in 2024?
"Enjoying every minute," he said. "And every second."
Contact Tony Garcia: apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's Jim Harbaugh confirms hiring agent, current focus
