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Huge bid for Jim Harbaugh should boost confidence at Michigan - even if it fails

Offering nearly $50 million for a football coach seems preposterous.

The question Michigan must be asking, though, is this: "What's the cost of not making that kind of offer?"

The reports Wednesday night that Jim Harbaugh's old school is dangling $48 million over six years for Captain Comeback to come back probably wasn't greeted with shock for Maize and Blue fans as much as relief. Harbaugh is the only hire that could immediately unify a fractious fan base and restore faith in a maligned athletic department. Yes, Harbaugh would be paid more than any other coach in college football, but that only reinforces the belief among Michigan fans that the Big House has to be Big again. Backing up the Brinks for Harbaugh is that kind of Big.

Michigan hasn't been Michigan on the football field since the athletic department screwed up the Rich Rodriguez hire. The community never gave the outsider a full chance to succeed, in part because of the culture shock Rodriguez brought. He wasn't a "Michigan Man," and although the wide-open offense he invented worked elsewhere (and would work again), the tried-and-true Wolverines didn't appreciate the abdication of hard-nosed football. Mark Dantonio and his Spartans took full advantage and have bullied Michigan around ever since Lloyd Carr left.

The post-Rodriguez solution seemed clear: hire someone with Michigan roots. In came Brady Hoke, whose coaching qualifications wouldn't have stood out nearly as much had he not professed a deep love and allegiance to Michigan.

Is Jim Harbaugh considering Michigan's offer or is he just using it for leverage? (AP)
Is Jim Harbaugh considering Michigan's offer or is he just using it for leverage? (AP)

His tenure worked out even worse than Rodriguez's did, as Hoke's staff couldn't make good players better on the field. Hoke's failure, when coupled with Rodriguez's parallel success at Arizona, led to a disturbing conclusion: the "Michigan Man" philosophy was flawed. Athletic director Dave Brandon, another Bo Schembechler disciple who alienated students and fans with gimmicky marketing tactics, was another sign that having Bo on your résumé hardly guaranteed winning football. Gone was the Rodriguez offense; gone was the toughness of the Carr years; gone was the pride of the 100,000-fan attendance streak, which is still intact technically but not in the minds of those who sat in the too-empty sections of Michigan Stadium. Then Brandon and Hoke were gone, too. The ultimate indignity came only days ago: Ohio State won a Big Ten championship with its third string quarterback, while Michigan couldn't get to a bowl with its first-string quarterback.

All this has plunged Michigan into an identity crisis with only one obvious solution: Harbaugh.

The former star quarterback is a true Bo throwback, able to transform his football career into a coaching career that has worked everywhere he's gone. Harbaugh's done it with more than just whimsical stories about the old days; he's done it with an energy that borders on mania. His dad used to tell Jim and brother John to "attack this day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind." That, combined with his quarterbacking savvy and attention to defensive detail, has made Harbaugh successful at both levels of major football.

Sure, there are other, cheaper options for Michigan. But most don't have that Michigan blood, which would subject those candidates to immediate skepticism. Hiring someone like Dan Mullen, Steve Addazio, Jim Mora Jr. or Greg Schiano may well work, but there wouldn't be the immediate trust that Harbaugh brings. Les Miles, himself a Michigan Man, would get a portion of the fan base fired up, but others have issues with his personality and his game coaching. Miles could divide as much as he unites.

With Harbaugh, there would be zero resistance. The Rodriguez faction would love to see him develop a quarterback; the Hoke folks would feel a bridge to the old days. (Just watch this 2004 speech for the kind of red meat Harbaugh would throw at the Michigan masses). And the entire Michigan fan base could walk tall knowing their guy bolted the NFL for their team.

Jim Harbaugh yells to his team during Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. (USAT)
Jim Harbaugh yells to his team during Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. (USAT)

More important, actually most important, is this: Harbaugh would be a worthy adversary for Urban Meyer. Michigan coaches who don't beat Ohio State do not last. Harbaugh would bring not only the coaching chops to compete with Meyer, but also the edge. The kind of rivalry Harbaugh ignited with Pete Carroll in the Pac 12 – "What's your deal?!" – has been gone from Ann Arbor for a while. Harbaugh would bring it back, if not immediately on the field, then surely in the war of words.

So the value of Harbaugh is quite high indeed, and so is the cost of not going after him with a major offer. Settling on another coach would feel like Michigan simply doesn't have the bravado or the caché anymore. For a fan base that's just been humbled by their can't-miss hire turning into a disappointment, that kind of letdown would only make the identity crisis worse. And even if a major name is brought in, there will be those who will wonder if Michigan tried hard enough for the biggest fish.

Now there can be no doubt. Even if Harbaugh says no, or uses this offer to goose another NFL team for more cash, athletic director Jim Hackett can say, hey, we did our best. Wednesday's report has already built faith in Hackett that wasn't placed in Brandon, and that's a bigger step than most outsiders realize. To watch Michigan football over the last few years is to wonder if the people in Schembechler Hall really know what they're doing. That unsettled feeling has shifted even with this tenuous report.

It will shift seismically if Harbaugh says yes.

And then at least for an offseason, $50 million will feel like a bargain.