Michigan has a leadership problem that runs from Juwan Howard to Jim Harbaugh

Juwan Howard’s return as head coach of Michigan basketball should have been an entirely joyful event. Literally a life-affirming event. A reason to celebrate without any question or qualification.

“Truly a blessing,” he said after Saturday’s 83-66 win over Eastern Michigan at Crisler Center.

Indeed, open-heart surgery for a 50-year-old is no joke, especially when Howard’s doctor didn’t think he would live to see April without it.

Instead, Howard’s return was shrouded by uncertainty and equivocation, stemming from an incident that involved Jon Sanderson, the team’s strength and conditioning coach. Despite reports about a “heated dispute” during which the two men stood “nose-to-nose” and led to Sanderson filing a human-resources claim, the “incident” warranted no discipline, according to an ambiguous statement from athletic director Warde Manuel released 19 hours before Saturday’s tip-off.

Three months after Howard’s life was on the line, his job suddenly was, too. Thanks to a zero-tolerance policy written into Howard’s contract after he struck Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the face during a postgame skirmish in February 2022, Howard’s dismissal seemed like a real possibility until Manuel’s statement hit inboxes at 7:03 p.m. Friday.

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It’s unlikely anyone will ever agree on what happened behind closed doors between Howard and Sanderson. But as the head coach of Michigan’s second-most prominent sport, Howard is most at fault because it’s incumbent upon him as a coach, a leader and a teacher to practice self-control and rise above disagreements and arguments.

However, is anyone shocked that Howard might have struggled with self-control? That he reportedly lashed out, possibly defending his player and his program, the way he lashed out at Krabbenhoft and then-Maryland coach Mark Turgeon in 2021?

Even if Sanderson stepped over a line with his actions or words, one would expect Howard to be the bigger person and diffused the situation in a private meeting with Sanderson.

But when I think back to the images of assistant coaches having to restrain Howard from going after Turgeon — of Isaiah Livers having to restrain his own head coach twice his age — it’s not likely that happened.

If Howard’s problem is self-control, his Crisler Center next-door neighbor lacks a similar level of institutional control while guiding the most prominent sport if not entity, academic or otherwise, at Michigan.

The difference is that Jim Harbaugh has staved off potential firings by going on a winning tear that has left administrators no choice but to swallow hard and endure all manner of suspensions and extramural flirtations as they’ve watched applications rise (4% alone last year) and surely donor contributions toward endowments and fundraisers right along with them.

Maybe if you’re wearing a “Michigan vs. Everybody” sweatshirt and humming “Hail to the Victors” as you read this, none of it matters. But even with Michigan football two wins away from its first national title in more than a quarter century, I can’t imagine it feels entirely great to be a Wolverines supporter right now. Perhaps maize and a little blue?

Cheating allegations and a strew of assistant firings and departures from Matt Weiss to Shemy Schembechler to Connor Stalions to Chris Partridge this year indicate there’s little executive awareness from Harbaugh — you know, the person who’s supposed to be aware of everything about the program he’s leading. And lack of institutional control is one of the NCAA’s biggest no-no’s.

Speaking of which, I believe the University of Michigan from time to time invokes a saying that has something to do with “leaders.” And yet the two people who lead U-M’s two most prominent teams and could very well be described as the school’s two most famous, recognizable, prominent and influential employees (sorry, Santa Ono), aren’t doing a whole lot of leading these days.

Harbaugh is largely being given a pass — for now, while an NCAA investigation continues into alleged sign stealing — because of his winning. Howard may not have as much runway when you consider he’s three years removed from a Big Ten title, two years removed from an NCAA tournament appearance and he’s only won 20 games once in four seasons. He’s also two years away from entering the final year of his contract without having gotten to a Final Four.

I respect that coaches have to be themselves and do things their way. But it’s also reasonable to expect them to uphold at least the minimum standards of leadership when it comes to controlling their own staff members and certainly themselves. Leadership is about more than winning. It’s about selflessness and setting a good example for everyone who’s part of an athletic and academic institution with a $17.9 billion endowment.

Surviving life-saving surgery truly is a blessing. But so is the privilege of being a leader and guiding an elite football or basketball team at your alma mater, where you are considered an icon and more than just a coach.

I hope Howard remembers that the next time someone raises his ire and Harbaugh does the same the next time he makes a decision about hiring an assistant and supervising them appropriately.

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan needs Juwan Howard and Jim Harbaugh to be better leaders