Regarding Jesse Minter’s potential to stay at Michigan in the event that Jim Harbaugh leaves for the NFL, I’ve received a number of enquiries. Conversations with multiple programme sources have led me to believe that the program’s chances of keeping Minter in Ann Arbour, even with a pay hike, are somewhere between slim and none. This is in contrast to my initial suggestion on The Monday Morning Quarterback that the programme might have a legitimate chance of keeping him if it made a strong push to make him the highest paid coordinator in the nation.
Not a single person I spoke with thought Minter would return to Michigan the following season. They also agreed that, even if Harbaugh does return, he is still far from a sure thing. The only apparent “lock” is that, should Minter land a professional job, Harbaugh will likely ask him to serve as his defensive coordinator. In short, professional Minter is highly sought after. Thick! And the reason for that is that coaches I speak with generally agree that Minter is a top player.
As an illustration, consider the views of Vance Bedford, a coach whose judgement I much respect. Vance has one of the most informed perspectives on Minter’s coaching abilities of anybody you’ll find because to his vast coaching experience in both college and the pros and his in-depth analyses of every Michigan game over the past three years. Even though Vance isn’t one to shower praise on people, he was rather appreciative of Minter. He declared that Minter is “head and shoulders” superior to other collegiate football coordinators. Minter, according to him, is “way out front… he was ahead of even Nick Saban.”
Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider joined CBS Sports HQ this morning to discuss Jim Harbaugh’s most recent NFL flirtation. Three questions dominated host Brandon Baylor’s questions: 1.) After interviewing with the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers, how serious is the threat that Harbaugh will leave? 2.) In order for him to stay at Michigan, does his contract need to include a “immunity clause”? And 3.) If he joins the league, who will take his place in Ann Arbour?
According to Webb, “I think the threat level is higher than it was last season.” It’s comparable, in my opinion, to the Minnesota year. That was thus following the 2021 season. I believe he (Harbaugh) went into that interview believing he would be hired. After all, it turned into a real interview, and for some reason, things didn’t work out. However, I believe that at that moment, he was genuinely considering leaving. And I believe that the fact that he won a title is the reason behind his desire to rejoin the NFL. He fulfilled all of his commitments while at Michigan, and he also pursued his side goal of being a Super Bowl champion.
“I believe that Michigan fans—possibly even some administrators—are caught in a cycle of believing that there was anything they could have done to force him to drop his NFL consideration going forward. Simply put, I don’t think that will occur. Even if Jim Harbaugh remains at Michigan and agrees to a lucrative deal that would make him the best paid college football coach—which is on the table—I believe we’ll be back here the next year discussing it and, assuming the NFL is interested, him listening. Because he has demonstrated that he can and can have a parallel dream Divide and conquer. This would be such a distraction in many situations and with many instructors that it would reduce your performance and take you away from reaching the bottom line. It’s obvious that Jim Harbaugh hasn’t. Following the final three seasons, he has flirted with the NFL.
In that period, they have only defeated Ohio State three times in a row, captured three consecutive Big Ten titles—a first for the program—and won a national championship. He has therefore demonstrated that he is capable of succeeding at Michigan despite his NFL dalliance, his parallel desire, and the possibility of it.
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