Subscribe
Follow Us
Jim Harbaugh's Michigan history didn't begin when he was named their head coach in 2015. The now legendary head coach got his start as quarterback of the Michigan Wolverines in 1982. His time at Michigan would lead him down the path of a 14-year NFL career, which ended in 2001.
Harbaugh's full-time coaching career began in 2002 as quarterback coach for the then Oakland Raiders. He had prior experience as an assistant under his father, Jack Harbaugh, from 1994 to 2001 at Western Kentucky. Despite playing in the NFL, Harbaugh helped his father by being an offensive consultant and scouting and recruiting high school students. Harbaugh had a part in recruiting 17 players on Western Kentucky's Division I-AA National Championship team.
Harbaugh became the head coach at the University of San Diego in 2004, winning two Pioneer League titles in three years with the program. Stanford liked what they saw and named Harbaugh their new head coach in 2007. His most-storied success in his early years was beating No.1-ranked USC as 42-point underdogs in 2007.
Harbaugh led the Cardinal to their first bowl game since 2001 when they played in the 2009 Sun Bowl. It was a sign of things to come, as Harbaugh led the team to an 11-1 record in 2010. Their only loss came to Oregon, who went undefeated and played for the BCS National Championship. They had a No.4 ranking and won the Orange Bowl 40-12.
Harbaugh's Stanford success helped him land a job with the San Francisco 49ers in 2011, a position he held for four seasons. He became the first NFL coach to reach the conference championship game in his first three seasons. After an 8-8 season in 2014, the 49ers decided not to bring him back, and Harbaugh signed with Michigan.
Jim Harbaugh, the quarterback
Harbaugh saw limited action in his first two seasons at Michigan, completing two of five passes for 40 yards in his second year with the team. Michigan named Harbaugh their starter in his sophomore season, beating out Chris Zurbrugg and Russ Rein.
Harbaugh showed the impact he was about to have when he beat Bernie Kosar and the No.1-ranked Miami Hurricanes in the first game of the season. After wins over Wisconsin and Indiana, Harbaugh broke his arm against Michigan State and missed the remainder of the season.
Harbaugh had a successful junior season, leading the Wolverines to a 10-1-1 record and finishing with a No.2 ranking in the final AP poll. He completed 145 of 227 passes for 1,976 yards, 18 touchdowns, and six interceptions. He led the nation in passing efficiency rating with a 163.7 mark.
The Wolverines finished No.8 in the AP poll in Harbaugh's senior season. They had an 11-2 record, losing to Arizona State in the 1987 Rose Bowl. Harbaugh was third in Heisman Trophy voting behind Vinny Testaverde and Paul Palmer.
He finished his college career as Michigan's record holder for passing yards with 5,449 yards. He also had a 62.4% completion percentage, 31 touchdown passes, and 22 interceptions.
Michigan's favorite quarterback comes home
The Wolverines announced hiring Harbaugh as their new head coach on December 30, 2014. It didn't start well, losing the first game against Utah. Harbaugh had an acceptable first year, finishing with a 10-3 record. However, the Wolverines failed to beat Ohio State, a trend that would stick with Harbaugh in the early years.
Michigan was given a No.7 ranking in the AP Poll to start the 2016 season. They started the season 9-0, with enormous wins over Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Rutgers. Iowa handed Michigan their first loss and ended the regular season with a 30-27 overtime loss to Ohio State. They lost the Orange Bowl 33-32 to Florida State, finishing the season 10-3.
The 2017 season was one to forget, as the Wolverines went 8-5 and lost to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.
The 2018 and 2019 seasons were much of the same for Harbaugh. They couldn't break through against teams close to them in the rankings and ended both regular seasons with blowout losses at the hands of Ohio State. Each year, they lost in their bowl games with disappointing offensive performances.
The 2020 season was rock-bottom for the program, finishing 2-4 in the COVID-shortened campaign. It was the first time they failed to win a game at home.
Jim Harbaugh finally beats Ohio State
Harbaugh had failed to deliver a Big Ten championship through six seasons. Rumors started to circulate about Harbaugh's job security. Michigan stuck by their head coach, signing him to a four-year contract extension through the 2025 season. The team started the season 10-1, with their only loss coming in a top-ten matchup on the road at Michigan State. They ended the regular season by finally beating Ohio State, 42-27.
It was Harbaugh's second Big Ten East division title, and they beat Iowa 42-3 in the Big Ten Championship game. The Wolverines lost to Georgia in the College Football Playoff, but Harbaugh won the AP Coach of the Year award.
The Wolverines started the 2022 season with an 11-game winning streak but needed a win at Ohio State to claim its first 12-win regular season since 1905. They beat the Buckeyes 45-23 and won 43-22 over Purdue in the Big Ten Championship to head to the College Football Playoff for the second consecutive year. Despite a favorable matchup against TCU, Michigan lost 51-45 in an offensive battle.
Jim Harbaugh's up-and-down 2023 season
Harbaugh began the 2023 season by sitting out with a self-imposed three-game suspension for violating recruiting regulations. On November 10, the Big Ten Conference announced another three-game suspension against Harbaugh as part of the investigation into the sign-stealing scandal.
It was alleged that Wolverines staff member Connor Stalions was illegally compiling game tape for Michigan's opponents in the Big Ten. It was claimed that Stalions had a spreadsheet of play-calling signals used by Michigan's opponents. These actions were illegal because Stalions was attending opposing teams' stadiums to get the information, videotaping and logging the signs by himself from seats purchased in the stadium.
Despite the controversy, Michigan again went undefeated in the regular season, including a 30-24 victory over Ohio State. Michigan finally got over the hump in the College Football Playoff, beating Alabama in the Rose Bowl to advance to the National Championship Game against Washington.
