The relationship, or lack thereof, between Jim Harbaugh and University of Michigan president Mark Schlissel has come under the microscope recently -- magnifying doubts about Harbaugh's future at his alma mater.
Harbaugh and Schlissel clashed over the Big Ten's original decision to postpone football this fall due to COVID-19. When Harbaugh took part in a protest in September to #LetThemPlay, he indicated he and Schlissel weren't on speaking terms.
Now Harbaugh is entering the penultimate season of his contract without an extension in place, an abnormality for a Power 5 coach. A result of abnormal times? Quite possibly. Harbaugh said in July he was "right there" on an extension before a global pandemic changed the university's priorities.
With Michigan set to open the season Saturday at Minnesota, Harbaugh said Monday nothing has changed on the contract front: "Been other fish, bigger fish to fry." Asked Tuesday about his relationship with Schlissel, Harbaugh said everything is fine, confirming that they've been speaking to one another of late.
"We do, we always have," Harbaugh told the Stoney & Jansen Show on 97.1 The Ticket. "Our president, Mark Schlissel, one, I know that he's our president. He's also a doctor and I can tell you his first and foremost has been the health and safety of all the students on campus, everybody who works at the University of Michigan, and that includes the football players. Everything he has done has been toward that goal. He's been very supportive in so many ways and we're happy that we have a president like that."
Since returning to campus this summer, the football program has been mostly COVID-free. Harbaugh said Tuesday that all 74 members of Michigan's traveling party are ready to make the trip this weekend to Minnesota. He credited Schlissel and the many doctors on campus with helping his program operate safely amid the pandemic.
"We've got some tremendous doctors at the University of Michigan who have been incredibly helpful at every step of the way, all the procedures and protocols, and care for all the students here at Michigan and faculty and staff, including football players. In all those regards, it's been A-plus," Harbaugh said.
Harbaugh's contract situation will remain a point of interest until it's resolved, one way or the other. But he and Schlissel appear to have resolved their differences, which bodes well for Harbaugh's future in Ann Arbor.
