ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In last year’s Michigan fan survey, I asked fans to predict how much longer Jim Harbaugh would coach at Michigan.
Ninety-three percent thought Harbaugh would still be Michigan’s coach when the Wolverines opened spring practice in 2024. Kudos to reader Nick S. for being one of the few who peered into the crystal ball and accurately predicted the future of Michigan football.
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“If he wins it all this year, I could see Jim sailing off into the sunset (NFL), anointing Sherrone (Moore) as his successor,” Nick wrote. “He’ll have turned the program around, put it in position to be successful for a long time and gets a chance to pursue his dream of winning a Super Bowl. Flash back to December 2015, and every single Michigan fan would take that outcome.”
Here we are a year later, and that future has come to pass. Michigan has a new football coach and a national championship banner inside Glick Field House. The Wolverines also have a new men’s basketball coach in Dusty May, hired in March after Juwan Howard’s five-year tenure came to an end.
Come November, Moore could be coaching against Oregon for a trip to the Big Ten championship game and a spot in the new 12-team College Football Playoff. None of that would have made sense a year ago, which shows how quickly things can change in college sports. In many ways, 2024 will be the start of a new era at Michigan, and sustaining the success of the past three years will require an ability to adapt and thrive.
With the spring game coming up Saturday, this is a good time for our annual vibe check on the state of Michigan athletics. Fill out the survey below to share your thoughts, and I’ll compile the results in a story next week.
(Note: Readers using our app on an Android device may find it easier to access the survey directly through this link.)
(Photo: Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA Today)
