In a press conference Tuesday to discuss the cancelation of Saturday's game against Ohio State game due to COVID-19, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel shot down reports that he has offered Jim Harbaugh a contract extension. Manuel said the two have yet to even discuss it.
Harbaugh's contract expires after next season.
"Jim and I will meet, as we have said, at the end of the year to discuss the program and where we are going to go," Manuel said. "How rumors get started before Jim and I sit down and have a conversation, I’m not going to get into that. That’s not for me to track down. But that’s where that is, and that’s where we’ll be at the end of the season."
It was reported Monday night that Manuel and Harbaugh have discussed a new incentive-based deal with a lower base salary, and that the decision is now Harbaugh's to either accept, decline or renegotiate.
That may well be Michigan's offer in the end, but Manuel said those discussions won't begin until after the season. Depending on their COVID-19 numbers, the Wolverines could play a final game Dec. 19.
"We have one more game currently scheduled, and that’s when the conversation at some point shortly after the season ends will begin," Manuel said. "And just to clarify, Jim and I have always talked at the end of the season, always. So this is not, well, we’re making this up this year."
Manuel also praised Harbaugh for leading the team amid a global pandemic. Until last week, the program had been COVID-free.
"Jim has been a leader and phenomenal in his efforts with his team. He has been there. He is committed to this team, he is committed to this department, he is committed to this university," Manuel said. "From my standpoint, he has been doing everything, and at a high level, including his efforts with the team."
Harbaugh is the only Power 5 head coach with less than two years remaining on his deal. With national signing day coming next week, there's a concern Michigan could lose recruits because of his uncertain future.
Asked if he feels compelled to address those concerns, Harbaugh said, "This isn’t the forum to discuss that. Warde and I, for months, have long agreed that we’ll talk about the extension at the end of the season."
Manuel, for his part, said he's not worried about the prospect of negative recruiting because "negative recruiting occurs all the time. All the time. So I’ll leave it at that."
Manuel made it clear that he and Harbaugh have talked frequently throughout the season, sometimes daily. In a different year, perhaps an extension would already be done. But Harbaugh's contract has taken a backseat to more important issues.
"I just don’t want people to get this sense that we’re just sitting around and nobody’s talking to each other, and we’re waiting and we’re waiting. That is the furthest thing from the truth," Manuel said. "We’ve had a lot to deal with, a lot of other things to talk about."