SlinkyRedfoot
Well-Known Member
Slinky, my attempted point is that the more years Harbaugh has remaining on his contract, the higher the buyout if he is fired. Also, a big chunk of his salary is put into an insurance plan (reportedly upwards of $2 million annually) So, its not as simple as just firing him and paying a couple of million to make him go away as is the case with many other coaches. Secondly, Michigan is a true blue blood school in the matter of alumni and donors. There are some very heavy hitters financially speaking, who wanted Harbaugh there, and in fact signed some nice checks to make it happen. So there are political ramifications in addition to the dollars.
These are a catch 22 in my opinion. The school did some unprecedented things to bring him back to the program, but also makes it more difficult to let him go. His predecessors, Hoke and Rodriguez did not have the backing of influential alumni, nor were their contracts supplanted by other financial sources (ex. life insurance premiums).
As a friend of mine who worked for the University's Athletic department said right before Harbaugh was hired, "They are going to have to make a deal with the devil on this one"
Well said.
Those are things I'd not considered.