For better or for worse, Jim Harbaugh has become one of the most prominent coaching names in American sports.
Success on the field is one reason. Harbaugh has guided Michigan to back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances and seemingly has a chance to compete for a national championship this season.
On the other hand, controversies have begun to keep Harbaugh's name in the headlines even when the Wolverines aren't playing. He was suspended at the start of the season amid an NCAA investigation into a recruiting violation -- Harbaugh was accused of lying to investigators -- and he's now facing potential punishment for Michigan's wide-ranging sign-stealing scandal.
Will the scandal be one footnote in Harbaugh's tenure in Ann Arbor, or will it be the defining moment?
Here's a closer look at Harbaugh's history at Michigan and his other stops along the way.
Harbaugh, 59, is in his ninth season as Michigan's coach. He was hired by the school on Dec. 29, 2014, a day after parting ways with the 49ers.
Michigan went all-in on Harbaugh in hopes he would become the program's long-term head coaching solution, and to this point, he's lived up to those expectations. Harbaugh has outlasted the combined tenures of predecessors Brady Hoke and Rich Rodriguez, giving the Wolverines some stability that is now starting to be eroded by scandal.
While the last three seasons have been what Michigan expected when it hired Harbaugh, the coach's earlier seasons weren't always smooth sailing. Here's a closer look at Harbaugh's record at Michigan by season.
| Season | Record | Final CFP ranking |
| 2015 | 10-3 | 14 |
| 2016 | 10-3 | 6 |
| 2017 | 8-5 | Unranked |
| 2018 | 10-3 | 7 |
| 2019 | 9-4 | 14 |
| 2020 | 2-4 | Unranked |
| 2021 | 12-2 | 2 |
| 2022 | 13-1 | 2 |
| 2023 | 9-0 | TBD |
| Total | 83-25 |
Harbaugh has had only one losing season at Michigan, and it came during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Still, with expectations perennially high in Ann Arbor, a 2-4 season after five years without a playoff appearance put intense pressure on Harbaugh.
The Wolverines opted against any bold decisions, keeping him on for 2021, and Harbaugh has rewarded Michigan with just one regular-season loss over the last three years.
Harbaugh has a record of 83-25 during his time with the Wolverines, though he's 1-6 in bowl games including two semifinal exits in the playoff.
Harbaugh is 2-5 against Ohio State. He lost his first five games against the Buckeyes, including a double-overtime loss in 2016, and his search for that elusive win over Michigan's bitter rival continued through 2020 when "The Game" was cancelled because of the Wolverines' COVID-19 issues.
Michigan's eight-game losing streak against Ohio State ended in 2021, when Harbaugh and the Wolverines earned a 42-27 win en route to their first College Football Playoff berth. A year later, the Wolverines went into Columbus and convincingly knocked off the Buckeyes again for their first win streak in the rivalry since 1999-2000.
Here's the full picture of Harbaugh's results vs. Ohio State.
| Season | Result |
| 2015 | L, 42-13 |
| 2016 | L, 30-27 (2OT) |
| 2017 | L, 31-20 |
| 2018 | L, 62-39 |
| 2019 | L, 56-27 |
| 2020 | Did not play |
| 2021 | W, 42-27 |
| 2022 | W, 45-23 |
Harbaugh got his foot in the door as a coach when he became the Raiders' quarterbacks coach from 2002-03, but his first head coaching opportunity came at the University of San Diego in 2004.
Harbaugh went 29-6 at San Diego, an FCS program, including a 22-2 record over his final two seasons with future NFL QB Josh Johnson under center. That success earned Harbaugh the job at Stanford, where he endured two losing seasons but by 2010 would go 12-1 and win the Orange Bowl. Andrew Luck was Harbaugh's starting QB for both winning seasons with the Cardinal.
After the Orange Bowl victory, Harbaugh made the jump to the NFL to replace Mike Singletary as head coach of the 49ers. He was an instant hit, resurrecting the career of Alex Smith and guiding San Francisco to a surprise 13-3 season. The 49ers would reach the Super Bowl in Harbaugh's second season, even with an unproven Colin Kaepernick taking over at quarterback midseason, though Harbaugh would lose to his brother, John, and the Ravens.
After finishing 12-4 in 2013, it all went south in 2014. Rumors of discord among Harbaugh, GM Trent Baalke and CEO Jed York became difficult to ignore, and San Francisco missed the playoffs at 8-8. The two sides parted ways the night the season ended, at which point it was already clear that Harbaugh's likely destination was Ann Arbor.
While Harbaugh has flirted with the idea of returning to the NFL over the last two offseasons, he's found stability at Michigan. The question now is whether the Wolverines' sign-stealing scandal will fully derail that stability in what could still be a historic season for the program.
