Jim Harbaugh wanted to stay at Michigan, but didn't have support from AD, book claims

A new book says that Jim Harbaugh didn't feel Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel was in his corner.

Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh talks to athletic director Warde Manuel during the national championship celebration in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jim Harbaugh wanted to stay on as Michigan football coach after winning the national championship last season, but was concerned he didn't have enough support from athletic director Warde Manuel, according to a new book.

Harbaugh wanted to stay with the Wolverines, the coach told a close friend on the day before his first interview with the Los Angeles Chargers, an excerpt from the forthcoming book "The Price: What it Takes to Win in College Football's Era of Chaos" has revealed.

But Harbaugh told his friend that the Michigan athletic director wasn't as strong of a supporter that the coach hoped he would be before the school's Board of Regents, the book claims.

Harbaugh also "raged" against Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti the same day, telling his friend that Petitti promised to speak with the coach after the league's decision to suspend him for the final three games of the regular season amid Michigan's sign-stealing scandal.

But Harbaugh claimed Petitti didn't follow through with that meeting, the book says.

Michigan reportedly offered Harbaugh a contract for five years worth more than $11 million per season, but also requested language in the deal that protected the school should something have come out of the NCAA's sign-stealing scandal, according to the book.

Manuel told the book's authors that there may have been a potential "stumbling block" in working to figure out how to weather any possible revelations from the sign-stealing allegations in the school's purported offer to the coach.

Harbaugh's lawyer told the book's authors that he wasn't sure if that part of the deal played a role in the coach's decision to leave Michigan.

Whatever the ultimate reasons, Harbaugh departed for the NFL, where he will debut as the Los Angeles Chargers head coach starting this season.

(CBS)

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