It was expected, and yesterday, it happened. Jim Harbaugh is no longer the head coach of the Michigan football team as he is moving back to the NFL to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. The Wolverines were prepared to make Harbaugh the highest paid coach in college football, but it sounds like they brought out the big guns too late. Harbaugh was already in the final steps of becoming the head coach of the Chargers, and on Wednesday evening, he made it official. Now, Michigan needs a new head coach, but before we get to that, let's take a look at where Harbaugh is leaving the program.

The Michigan football team finished up their 2023 season two weeks ago with a win against Washington in the national title to cap off a perfect 15-0 season. Fans of the Wolverines have been waiting for a season like this for a long time, and they finally were able to pull it off this year.

There were a lot of ups and downs that Michigan went through to get to the national title game, and a lot of their key players that came back this season could've gone to the NFL. They all came back for one common goal: to win a national championship. The Wolverines accomplished that goal, and now, they are hoping to continue that success going forward, and the momentum they have built can help make that happen.

Let's take a look at what this team went through to get to where they are now. It can't be overstated how important it is to the future of this program.

First, head coach Jim Harbaugh started off the season at home for the Wolverines as he faced a self-imposed three-game suspension because of some minor recruiting violations. That wasn't a big deal, however, as Michigan started the season with home games against East Carolina, UNLV and Bowling Green. The Wolverines were fine for those games, but that wasn't the only suspension that Harbaugh would face in the season.

Around the halfway point of the season, news broke that the Michigan football team was being investigated for illegal sign stealing. The culprit ended up being a low-level staffer named Connor Stalions.

Michigan then took down Penn State and Ohio State without Harbaugh, won their third-straight Big Ten title, beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl and then took down Washington to win the national title. It was a massively important season of football in Ann Arbor.

Now, Michigan football is at the mountaintop of college football, but can they stay there? Their first year after winning the national title could prove to be mighty difficult.

The Wolverines could break the record for most players drafted this season. A ton of key players from this national title team are leaving, and if they lose their coach too, things could easily go downhill in Ann Arbor, and Michigan does not want that to happen.

The good news for the Wolverines is that their defense should be in pretty good shape next year, and that was a major strength of this year's team. However, they are losing their starting quarterback, starting running back and their entire offensive line. The offense ran through those positions, and those guys are all going to be very difficult to replace.

The most difficult person to replace, however, will be Jim Harbaugh. Everything that was just typed shows how important this hire is for Michigan football. They have gotten to where they want to be in the college football world, but they are also losing everything that has gotten them there. This is such a crucial hire, and while it looks like Sherrone Moore is a lock to be hired, the Wolverines should also take a look at Lance Leipold.

The case for Lance Leipold

Michigan football is a unique college football program, and a unique national title winner. They didn't get there by giving five-star recruits money and fancy cars and relying on the sheer talent of their players. They developed, they got stronger, and they got better than every single team at the line of scrimmage. This isn't a job where anybody can just come in keep handing out bags and fancy cars to continue the recruiting and continue the plan. They need another coach that can develop talent like Harbaugh. At the end of the day, that's going to be almost impossible to find. He's one of the best football coaches in the game right now for a reason. But there are certainly coaches that are better fit for the opening than others.

Lance Leipold likely isn't going to get this job as it is looking like it will go to Sherrone Moore, but he would be a good fit for the opening. Leipold took one of the worst power five teams in college football, Kansas football, and brought them back to a really good spot. Not many coaches can accomplish a turnaround like that, and when a coach does, it's a sign that they know what they're doing. This past season, the Jayhawks won nine games and spent five weeks inside the top 25. That was unheard of for Kansas a few years ago. Leipold isn't going to be with the Jayhawks forever, and whoever gets him next is going to be very lucky.