Though Jim Harbaugh and Warde Manuel refused to confirm it during their press conference on Tuesday, they are various reports floating around saying that Michigan has already offered Harbaugh a contract extension and the ball is now in his court.
Those same reports mentioned that the proposed offer would be more of an incentive-based deal and would decrease Harbaugh’s base salary.
Well, according to college football analyst Joel Klatt, the Wolverines will not fire Harbaugh but their current offer is “not very close” to what their head coach is looking to get with an extension.
From Saturday Tradition:
“Michigan is not going to fire Jim Harbaugh so the only way they part ways is if it’s amicable and Jim has a landing spot in the NFL,” Klatt said on The Herd. “This is true, there are ongoing extension talks with Michigan and Jim Harbaugh.”
Klatt did say that Michigan is looking to lessen Harbaugh’s salary, which is currently north of $8 million. Per Klatt, the Wolverines are looking to extend Harbaugh with an incentive-laden contract.
“What I’m told from sources, they are not very close on the money, Michigan wants to take him way down on the base salary and make it an incentive based contract,” Klatt said.
Though it looks like we are going to have to wait and see what happens with Harbaugh’s contract situation, we do know one thing. If Harbaugh does decide to leave the Wolverines to take another shot at winning a Super Bowl, he will have coached his final game against the Ohio State Buckeyes as this year’s game has been canceled.
Nation, how do you anticipate this playing out? Will Harbaugh sign an extension with Michigan? Will he just finish out his current contract? Or, will he decide he has had enough and return to the NFL?
Only time will tell.
I’m a Buckeye fan first of all. I think all this turmoil, setbacks, and missed opportunities has hardened Harbaugh more than ever. I feel he will agree to a contract settlement for a couple of reasons. He loves Michigan enough to back down on salary. Secondly, he has the heart to revamp his program into the front of the class where it should be and needs to be. Like I said, he is a Michigan man.
you just want harbaugh to come back because of his and his staffs ineptitude……i like msu and i want him back!
Harbaugh is the biggest jerk-poser coach if there ever was one. If he really loves Michigan, he *should* RESIGN, now! Instead, he worries about how else he can bilk more millions of $$ from the University. Eff that and him too. LEAVE Jim – do it NOW, please!