Greetings and welcome to SB Nation Reacts, an NCAA fan survey. We pose questions to the nation’s most engaged Michigan Wolverines supporters as well as fans across throughout the year. To take part in the weekly email surveys, register here.
The Michigan Wolverines won the national championship in 2023, and the season was extremely significant for the team. Since 1948, Michigan had not won a national championship outright. The split title they won with Nebraska in 1997 was their most recent national championship.
We questioned fans this week about the significance of Team 144 in light of Michigan’s championship.
The 2023 Michigan team is regarded by fans as the greatest in the four-team College Football Playoff era. Michigan got fifty percent of the vote, followed by Joe Burrow’s LSU team in 2019 with thirty-one percent and the Georgia team in 2022 with seventeen percent.
Eighty-six percent of Michigan fans believe that the Michigan team from 2023 was superior to the team from 1997. In the Rose Bowl, Michigan defeated Washington State 21-16 to wrap up a 12-0 season. Michigan defeated Washington in the national title game and Alabama in the Rose Bowl en route to a 15-0 record. There are players on both teams that will go down in Michigan history forever: luminaries like J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, Kris Jenkins, and Mike Sainristil are on the 2023 team, while guys like Charles Woodson and Brian Griese were on the ’97 squad. You can’t really go wrong either way, but it’s clear that Michigan supporters firmly believe that the Michigan squad of 2023 is THE TEAM.
The head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers might be appointed as early as next week. Though nothing is confirmed, it is known that Jim Harbaugh, the head coach of Michigan, will be visiting the Bolts this week. The NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports that Harbaugh and the Bolts are interested in each other, and the meeting is scheduled for this Wednesday.
In this cycle, this will be Harbaugh’s first NFL interview. He has already had meetings with the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos. All signs lead to Harbaugh going back to the NFL and turning the Chargers around, like he did with Stanford, the 49ers, and the Michigan Wolverines. However, we don’t want to throw in the towel too soon because Michigan might not allow him to go without a counterargument.
Jim’s current contract expires in 2026, but in late December, Michigan made him an offer to extend it for another 10 years at a cost of $125 million, making him the highest-paid college football coach. We’re not sure if that’s still a possibility, but if LA wants to entice him away from Ann Arbour, they would undoubtedly need to match that. Because Jim’s decision will have a significant impact, we might hear back as soon as this week. This interview will be watched closely!
