Jim Harbaugh, Juwan Howard, and the End of the Michigan Man

Jim Harbaugh delivered on the promise. Harbaugh finished his coaching tenure with the Michigan Wolverines with a CFP national championship — and three straight pounding victories over archrival Ohio State. Throw in an instant classic OT win over football blueblood Alabama in the 2024 Rose Bowl. Plus, his parting gift, sending a record 18 scholarship athletes to the NFL combine.

A true “Michigan Man,” the only thing more Harbaugh could have done for the Michigan Wolverines was to stay on as head coach. Instead, he chose to bolt to the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. No Michigan fan could begrudge Harbaugh his chance at a Super Bowl victory, of course. What Jim Harbaugh achieved, great as it was, is almost unfathomably elusive. The perfect record, 15-0, the national championship, the high-profile victories against elite opponents is itself nearly impossible — for anyone. Jim Harbaugh did it for Michigan — his school.

Juwan Howard, a member of Michigan’s Fab Five, a Michigan Man, left just a few weeks after Jim Harbaugh. Except, Howard was fired. The common theme for both is not that they are Michigan men. Rather, together they represent the end of the very notion of demanding the coach for the Michigan Wolverines be a Michigan Man. Probably, this is for the best. In fact, there is no other alternative.

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Jim Harbaugh Versus Juwan Howard

Jim Harbaugh returned to Michigan like the prodigal son — but, wizened, wealthy, and convinced of his future. Exactly what the Michigan Wolverines needed. The winningest program in college football history was going through a rare, decade-plus of football futility.

Harbaugh’s resume, as a player and as a coach, was impeccable. Bonus, he was a Michigan Man.

Contrast that with Juwan Howard, recently fired head coach of the Michigan Wolverines basketball team. A member of Michigan’s famous Fab Five, Howard, like Harbaugh, was successful playing at both college and the pros. His return to Michigan was not greeted with as much joyous welcome as Jim Harbaugh. Though to be fair, unlike Michigan football when Harbaugh returned, Michigan’s men’s basketball was experiencing unprecedented success under coach John Beilien, who, like Harbaugh, decided to leave for the pros.

Whereas Jim Harbaugh finished with a championship, Howard’s Michigan Wolverines finished in the basement of the Big Ten. Whereas Jim Harbaugh finished 15-0, Juwan Howard finished 8-24. Yes, the Michigan football team won nearly double as many this season as did the Michigan men’s basketball team. But their almost-mutually timed departures reflect the necessary end of the de facto requirement of hiring a former Michigan great (player) to become the head coach.

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A Whole New World of College Athletics

In today’s cutthroat era of big money college athletics, “student athletes” demand payments upfront and threaten to hit the portal if they aren’t guaranteed playing time. In the midst of all this, Jim Harbaugh developed a team culture where hard work and sacrifice were paramount.

This may no longer be possible.

Yes, Jim Harbaugh wants to win a Super Bowl. But he also understands the power of NIL money and a weaponized transfer portal. Combined, these may simply overpower the very best coaching efforts at the college level.

Alabama understands this new reality.

Alabama football coach, Nick Saban, is considered possibly the greatest college football coach of all time. He retired right after Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines defeated his Crimson Tide at the 2024 Rose Bowl.

Within days, the University of Alabama had his replacement signed — the highly regarded Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer comes from Washington, the team Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines defeated at the 2024 College Football Championship. DeBoer is not an “Alabama Man.” Alabama — shrewdly — did not insist its coach be a former Alabama player.

Does Michigan understand?

When Harbaugh departed for the NFL, a nationwide search for the very best possible candidate was the logical response. But Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel went with his gut. He hired Sherrone Moore, Harbaugh’s offensive coordinator — and the man who filled in as head coach when Harbaugh got suspended by the NCAA.

Probably, the choice was forced on him.

But who will Warde Manuel hire to replace Juwan Howard? The consensus candidates are not Michigan men. Only one candidate on the ‘rumor’ list can be considered a Michigan Man — San Diego State’s Brian Dutcher. Dutcher is in his 60s and served as an assistant at Michigan in the 1980s. He is not likely to get the call.

There is simply too much money, too much media. College sports — at least for football and basketball — are now, or very soon will be, fully professional endeavors. Hiring a coach because he (or she) has ties to the university is as much a relic as guaranteeing a “student athlete” a four-year scholarship. The end of the Michigan Man coincides with the end of the scholar athlete.

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