College football hot seat: 10 head coaches feeling the heat in 2021
2. Jim Harbaugh (Michigan)
Jim Harbaugh has always felt more like a college coach at heart, so his homecoming when hired by Michigan was hailed as a home run before the 2015 season.
His unique brand of energy injected life into a dormant program with back-to-back 10-win seasons, but after six years, it once again appears to be wearing off like it quickly had with the San Francisco 49ers.
Simply put, no Big Ten championship game appearances, continued losses in bowl games, and of course, zero wins against Ohio State are not good enough. Despite being an inch away from finally making their big breakthrough against the Buckeyes in that now-infamous game, Harbaugh has yet to deliver.
Michigan had a disastrous 2020 season as the Wolverines went 2-4 with some truly uninspired performances. Many thought Harbaugh would already be gone, but at the end of the season, Michigan actually extended his contract until 2025.
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However, do not be fooled. In an era where extensions are added onto extensions, the university almost let Jim Harbaugh’s contract run out before renewing it, presumably because they felt that no quality replacements were available. Harbaugh’s buyout for 2021 is now down to $4 million which is peanuts in today’s game.
Nonetheless, Harbaugh made changes by hiring several new assistant coaches and relieving his defensive coordinator Don Brown after the season. Actually, he is in a good position to win next year with a strong incoming recruiting class including a five-star quarterback, which has been his Achilles’ heel during his tenure.
However, it really all comes down to one thing: beat Ohio State or get sacked.