MIAMI — When Michigan asked coach Jim Harbaugh to take a pay cut to return as head coach this past offseason, he didn’t have to think much about it.
Harbaugh on Thursday said it was “no big deal” when asked how he reacted to the request, which cut his base salary from $8 million to $4 million as part of a four-year extension, which was loaded with incentives, that was announced in June.
“I reacted, ‘No big deal,'” Harbaugh said on Thursday’s Zoom call ahead of the CFP Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Friday. “Attacking each day with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind, as always. It didn’t really mean anything to me. It’s just money.”
At the time, Harbaugh had faced mounting criticism for the state of Wolverines’ program, which went 2-4 in a pandemic-shortened 2020 season and had not won a Big Ten championship since 2004, having fallen behind rival Ohio State in the race to not only win conference titles but national championships, too.
Harbaugh restructured his defensive staff, and both he and his players grew determined to make this team different. Though it might have surprised nearly all of college football to see Michigan make the CFP semifinal against Georgia, those inside the program saw the work that it took to get there.
“To do what he did this year, I think he brought in the perfect chemistry of guys this offseason in terms of coaches, in terms of our defensive staff, which was changed up a lot, and I think he found the perfect blend of guys, and it’s really what makes the team work,” Heisman Trophy finalist Aidan Hutchinson said this week.
For Harbaugh in particular, coaching at his alma mater, the entire arc of his coaching career has been particularly gratifying, even through the ups and downs.
“I would do this job for free,” Harbaugh said. “I just love it. Whether it’s the first day, first game or position we’re in now, which we feel really happy about, I guess I’ve just enjoyed the ride the whole time.”
The success Michigan has had this season has earned Harbaugh a great many bonuses, including a total of $2 million for winning the Big Ten East, the Big Ten championship and making it to the CFP. If Michigan wins the CFP, he would earn another $1 million bonus.
But Harbaugh and his wife, Sarah, made the decision to donate bonus money from this season to athletic department employees who had their pay reduced because of COVID-19 issues.
“People have been very appreciative,” Harbaugh said. “I was really happy to be blessed to be in a position to be able to do that. Bo Schembechler has a saying here at Michigan. It says, ‘Those who stay will be champions,’ and it’s always resonated with me. Those that stayed through the pandemic when there was voluntary pay cuts, mandatory pay cuts, that kind of thing. … Just to be able to reward those that stayed in that way was something that Sarah, my wife, and I wanted to do.”
As a result of the success Michigan has had this season, he feels the team has created some “new buzz” around the program.
“Let’s face it, it had died down a little bit, and I do feel like our guys have created some new buzz, and it’s been a good thing,” Harbaugh said.